A Phenomenological Study of Customer Disvalue

In this paper we present the structure of “customer disvalue” phenomenon as the complementary concept for customer value. Authors, who are proponents of humanized marketing, rely on the lived-experience of customers as the primary source of data in order to grasp a first-hand understanding of the phenomenon that has been profoundly shadowed by objectivism of economics. The research is based on a descriptive phenomenological method as introduced by Paul Colaizzi. The findings of the study illustrate the distinct essence of customer disvalue experience that differentiates it from interconnected notions like cost, loss, and dissatisfaction. The authors discuss the origins of customer disvalue as a key issue, how it is generally overlooked in value models, and how its integration into marketing value theory offers it a greater depth and brings about a better understanding of customer behaviors.