A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Background Music on Customers of Tourism Services
(R2020-83534)

AUTHORS

Maria-Angeliki Trompeta, Athens University of Economics and Business; Kalypso Karantinou, Athens University of Economics & Business; Christos Koritos, ALBA Graduate Business School - The American College of Greece; Tammo Bijmolt, University of Groningen

KEYWORDS

Background music; Tourism; Meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Background music is the most studied atmospheric stimulus of service settings. However, this growing body of research has produced contradictory results. Previous attempts to synthesize this empirical evidence are narrative, have focused mainly on non-tourism settings, and/or have been limited to certain outcomes or aspects of music. The present meta-analysis of 55 studies and 228 effects quantitatively synthesizes available empirical evidence of the influence of five different musical aspects on tourism services customers’ responses. Our findings offer tourism providers a better understanding of the impact of music and help them in making better, evidence-based decisions about their musicscapes.