Word-of-mouth, servicescapes and the impact on brand effects
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Word‑of‑mouth, servicescapes and the impact on brand effects Judy A. Siguaw1 · Enping Mai2 · Xiaojing Sheng3 Received: 16 May 2020 / Accepted: 16 October 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract This paper empirically tests a framework integrating servicescape satisfaction, word-of-mouth (WOM), brand image, brand love, engagement, and consumer loyalty intentions. Survey data within a noncommercial context were electronically collected from three large universities in the United States. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that positive WOM valence enhances servicescape satisfaction and WOM credibility positively moderates this relationship. Servicescape satisfaction directly affects brand image and brand love, as well as indirectly through the mediating mechanism of servicescape engagement. Brand image was also found to directly affect brand love. In turn, brand image and brand love yield a greater likelihood of consumer loyalty intentions including recommendation and monetary donations. Managers on a quest to achieve brand love need to place an increased focus on managing servicescape experiences. Managers must not become complacent when customer have been retained over the years. They must still monitor and respond to WOM communications and continue to find new ways to engage customers to enhance brand image and brand love. Finally, managers must recognize that servicescapes are the “packaging” that prepares consumers for the level of quality and value of the service. Keywords Servicescape · Word-of-mouth · Brand image · Brand love · Service engagement JEL Classification I23
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s4354 6-020-00016-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Judy A. Siguaw [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article Vol.:(0123456789)
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SN Bus Econ
(2021) 1:15
Introduction The importance of servicescapes cannot be overstated. Consumers are immersed in all manner of man-made and natural physical spaces in their neighborhoods, when shopping, when working, and when vacationing. Indeed, one is hard-pressed to identify a task or event when the surrounding environs, and the humans occupying those spaces, are not signaling information to the consumer. Consumer perceptions of these servicescapes can yield many consequences for the relevant organizations. For example, servicescapes have been linked to consumer well-being (Sheng et al. 2016), attitude (Sahoo et al. 2016), behavioral intentions (e.g., Durna et al. 2015), and perceptions of service quality (Reimer and Kuehn 2005), as well as numerous other outcomes that have been surfaced in the wide-ranging servicescape literature. Yet, despite the plethora of servicescape articles produced since Bitner’s (1992) seminal work, some important areas have received little scrutiny. In particular, a review of the literature reveals that limited attenti
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