A fresh insight into the management of the servicescapes
(A2019-4664)

AUTHORS

Spiros Gounaris, Universtiy of Strathclyde; Kalypso Karantinou, Athens University of Economics & Business; Kalliopi Chatzipanagiotou, University of Glasgow; Christos Koritos, ALBA Graduate Business School - The American College of Greece

KEYWORDS

servicescapes; configural-cue ; motivation-and-hygiene configurations

ABSTRACT

With this study we challenge the findings reported in the past resulted by looking at either individual elements of the servicescape or the entirety of the service environment. Since both approaches have received significant criticism in psychology, which marketing academics consistently have ignored, we introduce the configural-cue approach as a more relevant alternative to study the impact on consumer behaviour from the service environment. Using multidimensional scaling, SEM and fuzzy-set QCA we demonstrate a set of four configurations that are relevant for consumers in the context of restaurants. Moreover, we report on the different roles (hygiene vs. motivation) these configurations play and the impact of information load in moderating the kind of response (emotional vs. cognitive) the motivating configurations trigger