Servicescape, moderating factors and loyalty intentions : the evaluation of an organizational climate culture conceptualization

Ezeh, Christopher Ifesonachi 2007. Servicescape, moderating factors and loyalty intentions : the evaluation of an organizational climate culture conceptualization. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.

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Abstract

This strategic marketing thesis explores the effects of the service environment (servicescape) on customers' loyalty intentions towards UK restaurants. To obtain a deeper understanding of approach-avoidance behaviour, the study draws from broadly parallel perspectives in the economics, psychology and organizational behaviour academies, in conceptualizing and operationalizing loyalty intentions. The organizational behaviour domain was particularly integral to the study as the climate and culture of an organization were shown to respectively determine the cues placed in the servicescape and the performance of service staff, thereby proving useful lenses through which the servicescape could be explored, conceptualized and rigorously tested. In furtherance of conceptualization efforts, a model was developed to evaluate the linear influences of nine servicescape variables on customers' loyalty intentions. Additionally, the model appraised the impact of personal and environmental factors which were believed to moderate the servicescape - loyalty intentions relationship. The insertion of nine servicescape variables and four moderating factors into the model allowed for the development of a global configuration of the servicescape and provided a variation to the traditional servicescapes model. The results of rigorous statistical and econometric testing support ten of the thirteen advanced hypotheses, thus sustaining the adoption of an organizational behaviour perspective as a legitimate approach to servicescape study. To validate these findings, triangulate empirical results and add richness to the study, a series of focus group sessions were conducted to obtain high-quality data on customers' perceptions of servicescape cues. The findings of these sessions were shown to complement utilized empirical techniques and enrich understanding of the restaurant servicescape via the organizational behaviour domain. Consequently, organizational climate and organizational culture should, at the very least, be equated in importance to overall services marketing strategy.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
ISBN:	9781303182006
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	10 Sep 2024 11:53
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/55674

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