Up-to-date information about customer satisfaction is important for successful management of complex projects. The importance of customer satisfaction is emphasized in the case of projectbased organizations, where a customer often plays an integral role in the project delivery process. Turner and Keegan (2001, p. 256) elegantly define project-based organization as an organization in which: | “Measuring customer satisfaction in the context of a project-based organization” Tuomas J. Ahola, Helsinki University of Technology Jaakko Kujala, Helsinki University of Technology ABSTRACT There is a lack of research that focuses on the suitability of the concept of customer satisfaction and the current methods used for measuring it in organizations operating in business-to-business (B2B) markets, such as project-based organizations (PBO), which typically provide customized product and service offerings to a rather limited customer base. In this theoretical paper, we discuss how certain characteristics of PBOs should be taken into consideration when measuring customer satisfaction. In addition, we discuss the suitability of different customer satisfaction measurement (CSM) methods for PBOs. We argue that PBOs can expect to benefit from survey- based CSM methods. However, survey-based methods do not often suffice alone and standard instruments should not be directly transferred from a B2C context to a B2B context. In addition, we argue that the match between the selected CSM methods and the salient features of the PBO in question should always be considered. KEYWORDS: customer satisfaction, methods, project-based organization, project management Introduction Up-to-date information about customer satisfaction is important for successful management of complex projects. The importance of customer satisfaction is emphasized in the case of project- based organizations, where a customer often plays an integral role in the project delivery process. Turner and Keegan (2001, p. 256) elegantly define project-based organization as an organization in which: (1/37) “the majority of products made or services supplied are against bespoke designs for customers” According to Kerzner (1995) the client organization can have a great deal of influence on project success. Information about sources customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction can be .
