Abstract

This paper addresses empirically two issues. One is whether or not basic marketing relationships at the establishment level are robust to a substantial change in the market environment. Another one is whether after this event takes place the marketing relationships for new establishments are the same as those for existing establishments. We rely on two data sets: a survey of gas stations in 1998 in Pamplona, Spain, when prices of gasoline products were fixed by the government; and a similar survey in 2007, when gas retail prices were determined by market participants as a result of the price liberalization law. Briefly put, customer satisfaction and its determinants have a robust, stable relationship with respect to the law’s change in market environment during this nine year period. On the other hand, some aspects of the relation between future patronage intentions and its determinants are substantially altered by the law’s change in market environment.