Servicescape Dimensions Research Articles

Impact of Computer-Generated Images on LODGSCAPE Perceptions and Visit Intentions

ABSTRACTPrevious studies have recognized that the quality of physical environment influences customers’ satisfaction and positive behavioral outcome. A limited number of studies have incorporated an extensive range of hotel guestroom servicescape attributes into their instruments. The purpose of this study is to examine the multidimensional role of perceived servicescape of computer-generated images (CGI) of hotel rooms that are displayed on hotel websites. This study has two objectives: (a) To develop an instrument that comprehensively measures multidimensional perceived servicescape quality of a 3-D CGI depiction of hotel guestrooms; (b) To measure the effect of different 3-D CGI servicescape dimensions on expected guestroom satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Guestroom aesthetics, layout, light, and furniture quality were identified as factors of the LODGSCAPE instrument. Two factors, aesthetics and layout had significant effects on customer satisfaction. The results suggest that hotel management should emphasize guestroom aesthetics at the expense of lighting and furniture quality.

The relationships between the factors affecting perceived service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions among theme park visitors

Theme parks have many contributions to their destination, local and regional economies, tourism, etc. If they meet the changing demands of theme park visitors, more satisfied and revisiting visitors are acquired. This study attempted to determine the dimensions that influence theme park visitors’ perceived service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions. In this context, this study aims to analyze the dimensions of servicescape and experiential quality and determine the influence of these dimensions on visitors’ service quality perception, satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The data of this study were collected through a questionnaire applied to 301 visitors of a theme park operating in the city of Istanbul. Descriptive statistics and the factor analysis were used for analyzing the data obtained, and path analysis was utilized for testing of the theoretical model. Study results revealed that “communicative staging” was the variable which best represented the dimension of servicescape, while “surprise” was the variable which best represented the dimension of Experiential Quality. There is also a significant relationship between the dimensions of “servicescape” and “experiential quality”, on the one hand, and “perceived service quality”, on the other. Finally, a significant relationship was found among “perceived service quality”, “satisfaction” and “behavioral intentions”. In general, this study contributes to the managers of the tourism and leisure industries.

Observing the Natural Dimension of Hospital Servicescape on Patient Satisfaction

Abstract Healthcare is dynamic because due to the changes of patient have taken place and they participating in production, performance and quality evaluations are affected by their actions, moods and cooperativeness. Thus, healthcare quality evaluations raise problems owing to service size, complexity, specialization and expertise within healthcare organizations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine patient's satisfaction on natural dimension of hospital servicescape. Using non-probability sampling technique, a target sample of 570 was chosen. Questionnaires were distributed to patients at different hospital in Northern Region of Malaysia. Out of the 570 respondents, only four hundred and ninety four (86%) has been completed and analyzed using descriptive analysis. The results indicate that natural dimension has a significant relationship with patient's satisfaction at r=0.660. The designs of natural environments deserve attention to create more appropriate and healthier environments for hospital customers. Further research should be devoted to trace more psychological responses to the physical environment from other perspective.

Service quality and gender differences in Brazilian self-service restaurants

This paper presents an experimental approach to assess the quality of restaurants regarding amenities, services provided and sustainable practices. Several studies have been conducted to identify factors that influence the restaurant quality. However, the analysis of gender differences appears to be meaningful because gender may influence the diners' perception of restaurant service quality. This study was conducted in Brazilian self-service restaurants. Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlations were used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire. One way ANOVA was used to examine the differences between male and female customers. Quartile analysis was used to determine the most critical items; linear regression and Cook's distance were used to identify outliers. Only one of the most relevant dimensions is related to servicescape dimensions; however, the most critical items are related to such dimensions. The quality ratings of the restaurant given by males and females differ for certain items.

호텔의 서비스스케이프 요인과 특성에 관한 연구 - 서울시 1급 관광호텔 사례를 중심으로 -

The servicescape of a hotel means the physical environment in which a service is produced and consumed. The users perceive the quality of the service and their inner response affects their satisfaction or behavior such as repurchase. Servicescape has been addressed mainly in marketing as a strategic element of service marketing research. The aim of this research is to find out which dimensions of servicescape is required in hotel facilities and to identify servicescape of tourist hotel in Seoul. For this study, questionnaire survey with facilities users and site research were used. Servicescape factors were derived cleanliness, convenience, aesthetics and ambience. According to case study, the most significant servicescape need for hotel facilities was cleanliness. Therefore, facility managers must continuously manage the facilities. In terms of convenience, layout of guest bathrooms and furniture was the important indicator of servicescape. Facility aesthetics play an important role as differentiation from competitors. By providing a customized design, customers choose hotels that best satisfy their needs. It is important to recognize that ambience can be controlled to a large extent by facility management.

The voice-to-technology (V2T) encounter and the call centre servicescape

Purpose – Because the voice-to-technology (V2T) encounter remains under-theorised, the purpose of this paper is to overcome this gap by investigating customers use of the interactive voice response (IVR) system and “the customer journey” through the call centre service system. Design/methodology/approach – From an interpretive study of a UK call centre, the metaphorical aspects of language used to represent the service process are analysed, accompanied by an examination of how the servicescape dimensions of spatial layout and signs are constituted in the call centre service process, and the resulting implications for virtual-aural navigation. Findings – Despite no physical movement, customers represent their experience of navigating “through” the service process in spatial terms. Therefore, understanding precisely how servicescape dimensions are reconfigured within the virtual-aural setting of the call centre is necessary to appreciate customer experience of V2T but also voice-to-voice (V2V) encounters. The call centre servicescape lacks a spatial representation of layout and signs that would conventionally support navigation and purposeful movement. Research limitations/implications – Despite observing live calls, direct interaction with customers was not possible. The paper was based upon a single case study, and the hermeneutic focus on understanding and meaning meant that the study did not emphasise the quantification of phenomenon. Therefore, further research on virtual navigation is required. Practical implications – Problematic V2T encounters compromise the quality and efficiency of service provision. A visual representation of the IVR system may possibly support V2T encounters, while encouraging customer service advisors to act as “guides” during V2V encounters may reduce problems emerging from V2T encounters. Originality/value – First, an original theorisation of the customer experience of the V2T encounter is provided through the theoretical notion of spatialisation metaphors. Second, a preliminary conceptualisation of the call centre servicescape is developed, which shows how spatial layout and signs are reconfigured and represented in this virtual-aural setting.

An explorative study of shopper-based salient e-servicescape attributes: A Means-End Chain approach

This study aims to address the gaps inherent in existing studies by exploring the salient e-servicescape attributes. Employing the Means-End Chain (MEC) approach, empirical evidence was obtained through in-depth interviews with online shoppers using laddering technique to determine the most frequently mentioned attributes from four servicescape dimensions: (1) ambient; (2) design; (3) signs, symbols and artifacts; and (4) interaction. Accordingly, we laddered three levels of online shoppers’ responses from concrete to less concrete abstractions, i.e. attributes, benefits, and end-desirable beliefs. As a result, seven salient e-servicescape attributes were identified. Each of the four dimensions suggests the attributes’ linkage to benefits and end-desirable beliefs. Specifically, the study finds quality photograph, as the salient attribute of the ambient dimension, may set the point of initial attraction and move shoppers from understanding the product to linking the web site contents. In the design dimension, navigation bar, categorization, and simple arrangement are the salient attributes. Company logo represents the most salient attribute under the signs, symbols and artifacts dimension because it not only facilitates recognition and recall of prominent web sites, it also acts as the determinant of perceived risks. In the interaction dimension, although pricing information is the salient attribute that evokes happiness and confidence among online shoppers, it may dilute their perception on web site's success. Instead, confirmation mail can possibly act as a determinant to web site's success. By offering a finer granularity of information, our findings provide insights to online sellers on the salient attributes to consider in order to effectively promote their shopping web sites to create positive emotional response and buying behavior among the online shoppers.

The Impact of Servicescape Cues on Consumer Prepurchase Authenticity Assessment and Patronage Intentions to Ethnic Restaurants

In the context of ethnic dining services, authenticity is the key ingredient. This study aims to investigate the impact of servicescape dimensions on consumers’ prepurchase authenticity perceptions and patronage intentions to ethnic restaurants. The authors propose that three key dimensions of the servicescape—the physical setting, service providers, and other customers—provide ethnic-associated cues for consumers to assess authenticity in the preconsumption stage. Empirical results from a between-subject experimental design suggest that servicescape dimensions can induce preconsumption authenticity perceptions of ethnic restaurants and that the dimensional cues interplay to affect authenticity assessments. Furthermore, a customer’s ethnicity (referent ethnic vs. mainstream) affects how she/he interprets servicescape cues and, therefore, his/her authenticity assessment. The perceived authenticity, together with a consumer’s trait of cosmopolitanism and his/her familiarity with such ethnic restaurants, consequently affect consumers’ patronage intentions. These findings contribute to hospitality research on consumers’ authenticity assessments of ethnic restaurants. Furthermore, managerial implications for ethnic restaurants in terms of marketing strategies will be discussed.

Building Consumer Loyalty through Servicescape in Shopping Malls

India is experiencing exponential growth in retail sector and Global Retail Development Index consecutively ranked as one of the most promising retail destinations of the world. Due to this reason lot of investments are happening in India and new players are entering the market. Shopping Mall being the latest organized retail format entering the market witnessed huge popularity and consumer attention, luring mall developers going all out to launch their projects. However the mushrooming growth of shopping malls has posed lot of challenges. Recent studies have revealed that 45% of the malls in cities are vacant. Poor mall management and poor tenant mix have resulted in poor mall traffic and low conversion rate. This paper attempts to explore the possibility of building consumer loyalty through effective use of servicescape (physical environment) in a shopping mall to attract and retain serious buyers. Study revealed that seven servicescape dimensions considered i.e., ambient factor, aesthetic factor, layout, variety, cleanliness, signs, symbols & artifacts, and social factor are all relevant in shopping mall context and capable of inducing significant variations in consumer loyalty.

The Impact of Servicescape on Emotional Response and Satisfaction of Lifestyle Center's Customers

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of servicescape on the customer’s emotional response and investigate their influences on customers satisfaction. Data were collected from 300 customers shopping in lifestyle centers in Sukhumvit area which has high lifestyle mall density. According to previous studies, factor analysis was employed as an analysis tool to confirm the underlying servicescape dimensions and then regression analysis was used to quantify the relationship between customers’ emotional response and satisfaction. The study found that all dimensions of servicescape except social density have a positive impact on both customers’ emotional response and satisfaction. Results also indicated that facility aesthetic emerged as the most important factor to customers’ emotional response. This finding has implications for lifestyle center’s developers to concern more about their design to create good emotional response and leading to customer satisfaction.

Designing the e-Servicescape: Implications for Online Retailers

This exploratory study attempts to establish the link between Internet retailing and services marketing and proposes a conceptual framework for examining the Web site as an e-servicescape. Findings suggest that the dimensions of the servicescape as they pertain to Web sites play a significant role in influencing customers' attitudes, evaluation, and purchase intentions with respect to online retailers. Whether a Web site is an extension of an organization's bricks-and-mortar establishment or a stand-alone service portal, it is clear that the servicescape dimensions of ambient conditions (AC), spatial layout and functionality (SLF), and signs, symbols, and artifacts (SSA) are present and influential in organizations' cyber settings.