An Empirical Field Study of the Yield Shift Theory of Satisfaction

Stakeholders who experience dissatisfaction with a system, even for reasons unrelated to its technology, may decline to adopt it or may abandon it even if there is clear evidence of substantial benefit from its continued use. Yield Shift Theory (YST) proposes a causal explanation for the onset, magnitude, and direction of satisfaction responses. This study of 282 professional knowledge workers in the field doing technology-supported work on real problems finds that the satisfaction responses of the knowledge workers are consistent with the relationships proposed by YST. The relationships held for both causal constructs of YST: shifts-in-utility and shifts-in-likelihood of goal attainment. The relationships held for two objects-of-satisfaction: work processes and work outcomes.