Purpose: Customer experience
research predominantly anchors the customer journey on a specific offering,
implying an inherently firm-centric perspective. Attending calls for a more
customer-centric approach, this study aims to develop a goal-oriented view of
customer journeys.

Design/methodology/approach:
This study interprets the results of a phenomenological study of a
transformative journey toward a sober life with the self-regulation model of
behavior to advance understanding of customer journeys.

Findings: The consumer’s
journey toward a higher-order goal encompasses various customer journeys toward
subordinate goals, through which consumers engage in iterative cognitive and behavioral
processes to adjust or maintain their experienced situation vis-à-vis the goal.
Experiences drive behavior toward the goal. It follows that negative
experiences may contribute to goal attainment.

Research limitations/implications:
This study highlights the importance of looking at the consumers’ higher-order
goals to obtain a more holistic understanding of the customer journey. Practical implications: Companies and
organizations should extend their view beyond the immediate goals of their
customers to identify relevant touchpoints and other customer journeys that
affect customer experience.

Originality/value: This study
proposes a conceptualization of the customer journey, comprising goal-oriented
processes at different hierarchical levels, and it demonstrates how positive
and negative customer experiences spur behaviors toward the higher-order
consumer goal. This conceptualization enables a more customer-centric perspective
on journeys.