Primary and secondary effects of emotions on behavioural intention of theatre clients

Abstract

Emotions have emerged as an increasingly important component of customer satisfaction and an antecedent of repurchase and referral behaviour. There has been relatively little reported research into the differential effects of positive and negative emotions, and furthermore, whether emotions act differently on core and secondary components of a service offer. This paper reports on a study of 513 theatre guests. The research framework distinguished between a core service offer, operationalised here as a musical performed on-stage, and the secondary service offer, which in this context referred to supporting facilities available at the venue. The analysis showed evidence that emotions have a differential effect on satisfaction with the core service (the musical performance) and the secondary service (the venue). While positive emotions had a direct and significant effect on both core satisfaction and secondary satisfaction, negative emotions had no effect on core satisfaction. Positive and negative emotions only had an effect on respondents' likelihood of recommending the core service to a friend. This paper contributes to our understanding of the effects of emotions on satisfaction and behavioural intention, and identifies that emotions primarily work on the elements of the service offer associated with its primary purpose.