Previous studies offered inconsistent empirical results for the influence of customer participation on service satisfaction. One possible explanation for this inconsistency is that existing conceptualizations of customer participation do not clearly differentiate the distinct roles of customer participation in service. To address this gap, Dong and Sivakumar (2015) have proposed an updated classification for customer participation based on “output specificity,” which refers to the degree to that the nature of the output is influenced by the person who provides the resource. The output of the customer participation can either be “specific” or “generic”. The “specific output” is defined as the expected service outcome can be idiosyncratic depending on whether the service is provided by the customer or the employee. In contrast, “generic output” refers to expected service outcome is well defined regardless of whether it is delivered by the service provider or the customer. How output specificity of customer participation influences service satisfaction still lacks of empirical examination.

Previous studies offered inconsistent empirical results for the influence of customer participation on service satisfaction. One possible explanation for this inconsistency is that existing conceptualizations of customer participation do not clearly differentiate the distinct roles of customer participation in service. To address this gap, Dong and Sivakumar (2015) have proposed an updated classification for customer participation based on “output specificity,” which refers to the degree to that the nature of the output is influenced by the person who provides the resource. The output of the customer participation can either be “specific” or “generic”. The “specific output” is defined as the expected service outcome can be idiosyncratic depending on whether the service is provided by the customer or the employee. In contrast, “generic output” refers to expected service outcome is well defined regardless of whether it is delivered by the service provider or the customer. How output specificity of customer participation influences service satisfaction still lacks of empirical examination.