Using the Evaluative Space Grid to better capture manifest ambivalence in customer satisfaction surveys

Considering that midpoints on linear scales wrongly aggregates indifferent, uncertain and ambivalent responses, this research investigates the ability of the Evaluative Space Grid (ESG) to disentangle uncertainty from manifest ambivalence. Uncovering situations in which respondents hold simultaneous and conflicting but certain evaluations, manifest ambivalence reveals of utmost significance for market researchers. Using a mixed approach, both qualitative and quantitative, this research confirms that the ESG isolates manifest ambivalence in its upper-right zone, and provides implications for practitioners involved in service quality and consumer satisfaction measurement.