A multi-country study of national customer satisfaction, ISO 9001 certifications, quality of life, prosperity, happiness, and economic indicators

Customer satisfaction measurement is widely studied in the quality management literature, but research at the national level remains limited. The National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) is assessed in only a few countries. Currently, NCSI assessment relies on direct survey methods, yet scholars and policymakers have speculated whether macro-level indicators could serve as proxies for NCSI to reduce cost and complexity. This study aims to predict NCSI using such indicators. If NCSI can be reliably predicted through these measures, its proliferation, adoption, and analysis could become much easier. This research attempted such prediction using seven indicators: gross domestic product (GDP), human development index (HDI), Legatum prosperity index (LPI), number of ISO 9001 certifications, country image score, national happiness scores, and number of listed companies. The study was conducted using publicly available data from four countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and South Korea. Statistically valid relationships between NCSI and some of these indicators were established; however, different indicators proved significant for different countries.