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The purpose of this paper is to extend existing engagement research in two directions: first, it operationalizes the dynamic nature of the engagement process within a customer-brand dyad and, second, it tests the interrelationships with other network actors in a triadic network setting.

A 2×2 experimental design models the iterative nature of the engagement process based on repeated measures at three points in time, considering the contextual effects of connections with other customers and crowding-in effects based on monetary incentives.

This research demonstrates that in a utilitarian service setting, customer engagement does not emerge per se in the dyadic interaction between the customer and the brand. For high levels of engagement behavior to occur, incentives and ties to other network actors are essential. Further, the findings suggest a non-linear relationship between engagement behavior and its antecedents and consequences: engagement behavior must overcome a certain intensity threshold to unfold its effect.

Further research is needed to explore the dynamic nature of the engagement process in experiential and interactive service settings, and more complex network settings that may involve more actors and more complex relationships.

By facilitating connections between customers and compensating for low intrinsic interest, managers can facilitate actual engagement behavior even in utilitarian service contexts. Once engagement behavior has been triggered, an increased engagement disposition, higher satisfaction, higher involvement and higher loyalty follow.

This study empirically tests the dynamic nature of the engagement process within and beyond the dyad, and has revealed a non-linear pattern of customer engagement behavior within its nomological network.

The aim of this study is to determine whether the cumulative effects of satisfaction, trust, and perceived value may, under certain conditions, provide more explanatory power for customer loyalty intentions than the often studied and more elusive customer delight. Herzberg's two-factor theory is used to explain why the frequent nature of grocery shopping, a primarily utilitarian experience, might introduce considerations that have not yet been addressed in the study of delight.

A survey is administered to a quota sample of Portuguese supermarket shoppers via phone, using a CATI system.

Research findings suggest that perceived value, trust, and satisfaction have a greater impact on behavioural outcomes than customer delight in the grocery shopping setting. In such a setting, cognitive drivers may be even more important for customers who are primarily concerned with hygiene factors (rather than motivators).

Retailers are encouraged to focus on the more mundane factors that influence consumers' perceptions of value and trust rather than trying to invest in the substantial resources required to continually delight consumers. Future research may explore other determinants of loyalty intentions and test the extended model in different service sectors, cultural contexts and countries.

This study applies Oliver et al.'s consumer delight model in a utilitarian, frequent-use setting, finding previously undiscovered limitations to its validity.

Greater attention should be paid to the emotional aspects of the service experience. In this context, this paper aims to propose that emotions will have a different impact on customers’ complaint behavior and satisfaction depending on the hedonic or utilitarian nature of the service and for this purpose a valence-based approach is followed.

A sample of 809 service users was analyzed through multi-group structural equation modeling, including both hedonic (bars and cafeterias, n = 210) and utilitarian services (bank and public transportation services, n = 599).

Research findings show the different influence of emotions on customers’ complaint behavior and satisfaction depending on the service nature. Further, the negative affect does not influence behavioral outcomes in hedonic services, whereas positive affect exerts a slight lower influence in utilitarian services. Finally, the service nature plays a moderating role in the emotions–satisfaction and emotions–complaint behavior relationship.

This research shows the important role of the service nature, reporting different results for hedonic and utilitarian services in the influence of emotions in behavioral outcomes.

This article aims to provide an understanding of how utilitarian services can make the customer experience more hedonic.

The author performs an in-depth case study of a leading wealth management firm that is reinventing its business model to incorporate a hedonic perspective into experience design.

The findings reveal how a traditionally utilitarian firm integrates hedonic elements into the customer experience. The findings describe and expose how four experience design characteristics are interactively linked to form a customer journey model, from eliciting emotional engagement to trigger rapid enrolment through to individualising the experience to drive purchase.

This research takes the perspective of the firm to explore the research question. No customer data are collected.

The article provides evidence-based recommendations that can serve as a platform to develop an action plan for designing and deploying hedonic elements in the customer experience in utilitarian contexts.

This study challenges the dichotomy between utilitarian and hedonic services. It derives an empirically grounded understanding of an intended experience that combines design characteristics associated with both the utilitarian and hedonic model at different stages of the customer journey. The emergent conceptual framework describes and links these design characteristics to enact the customer journey. Together, these empirical insights extend and enrich existing knowledge and provide actionable recommendations for managers.

The purpose of this study is to explore the private general practice (GP) clinics' service environment, patients' satisfaction and their impact on word of mouth (WoM) for others for future treatment in GP clinics.

Data are collected from 367 respondents using a paper-based survey questionnaire. Partial least square (PLS) is used to evaluate the proposed model and hypotheses relationships.

The findings reveal that ambience and service delivery have a high significant influence on patients' emotional satisfaction (β = 0.27, t = 4.31, p = 0.00) and (β = 0.26, t = 4.81, p = 0.00), respectively, while interior décor has a positive and significant influence on satisfaction (β = 0.13, t = 1.98, p = 0.04). The results indicate that exterior design and cleanliness are not associated with satisfaction. Patients' emotional satisfaction is highly related to WoM (β = 0.55, t = 13.44, p = 0.00). The results also show that emotional satisfaction has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between clinic service environments (ambience, interior décor, service delivery) and WoM (β = 0.15, t = 3.94, p = 0.00), (β = 0.073, t = 3.94, p = 0.04), (β = 0. 0.143, t = 4.13, p = 0.00), respectively.

The study will provide insights regarding Malaysian health consumers' perceptions toward GP clinics' service environment, whether they remain utilitarian or have evolved to entail hedonic appreciations. The contribution to the service environment could be adopted by future health-care studies, particularly those intended to examine GP clinics and other clinic-based institutions.

Emotions have been extensively studied in hedonic service sectors but not in utilitarian service sectors. This study aims to address this gap by examining how hospitals’ Servicescape influences the Emotional Satisfaction of their customers, their perception of Service Quality and its subsequent effect on Hospital Image.

Data were collected from 220 respondents from corporate hospitals in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the neighboring cities of Noida and Gurgaon. The reliability and validity of the scale were established and the relationship among the constructs was tested by structural equations modeling.

Results show that all dimensions of Servicescape, i.e. ambient factors, design factors and social factors have a positive impact on both Emotional Satisfaction and Perceived Service Quality. However, between Emotional Satisfaction and Perceived Service Quality, only Emotional Satisfaction had a positive impact on Hospital Image.

The results of this study can help researchers in understanding the role of Servicescape in the health-care industry.

The results emphasize that hospitals should seek to understand their patients’ perceptions particularly focusing on their emotional reactions to enhance their brand image.

Based on the stimuli-organism-response model and relationship marketing theory, the effect of different dimensions of Servicescape (Ambience, Cleanliness, Functionality, Spatial Layout, Employee Service Quality) on Customer Satisfaction and Behavioral Intention in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic are considered.

The study takes a quantitative approach, applying structural equation model using partial least square structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. A total of 360 responses were collected using questionnaires distributed to different individuals who visited private hospitals in the past two months in India.

Contradicting previous research, this study found that among servicescape dimensions, employee service quality had the maximum influence on customer satisfaction and cleanliness does not have any significant impact on customer satisfaction as hypothesized. Mediation results show that customer satisfaction has a partial mediation effect for all servicescape dimensions except ambience, as both direct and indirect effects are significant. Importance-performance map analysis was performed on the responses collected, and it was found that employee service quality is the most important dimension affecting servicescape, followed by functionality and spatial layout. Thus, health-care institutions should focus on these factors to keep their customers satisfied.

Past studies have focused on the roles of servicescape and customer satisfaction separately. The authors have extended the literature by examining the combined effects of both servicescape and customer satisfaction. The findings from the study, therefore, help in developing a deeper understanding of the literature on the behavior intention relationship in the context of health care, as well as in service marketing.

The purpose of the paper is to review the contribution of the paper, “The Importance of Servicescapes in Leisure Service Settings” to the discipline and to offer directions for further research and developments in the research area.

Key findings from research streams in sports and entertainment, leisure and hospitality, and services and retail marketing, which emanated from the publication of the paper, are highlighted. Opportunities for future research are discussed.

The importance of the servicescape in leisure settings has become even greater on a national and global basis as individuals spend more time, money and effort pursuing hedonic consumption in service settings. More research is needed within specific service contexts among and between individuals, groups and cultures to determine the holistic and particular influences of the physical environment on consumer response.

With increased co-production of service experiences, including the integration of technology and mobile/wearable devices, marketers and researchers must better understand the role of the physical surroundings on individual, group and organizational behavior in the evolving servicescape.

The original paper motivated significant, highly cited studies in multiple disciplines integrated and overlapping with services and retail marketing. Taking a historical perspective encourages other researchers to conduct research of personal interest to address theoretical, methodological and practical issues. The retrospective analysis by the authors gives insight into the thought processes associated with understanding key aspects of the servicescape that contribute to the historical development of services marketing and offers food for thought (if not ambience and layout) for future research directions.

This paper investigates the reasons for the differences in customers' acceptance of service robots (CASR) in actual experience and credence service settings for the following two aspects: (1) different antecedents affecting CASR and (2) different customer perceptions of their own characteristics (role clarity and ability) and service robot characteristics (anthropomorphism and ability).

The data were collected using online surveys in an experience service setting (Hotel, N = 426) and a credence service setting (Hospital, N = 406). Differences in experience and credence service settings were examined using two statistical methods, namely, PLS-SEM to test the differences in antecedents affecting CASR and independent-samples t-tests to test the differences in customer perceptions of their own characteristics and service robot characteristics.

The results indicate that customers in an experience (vs credence) service setting have stronger positive attitudes toward and a greater intention to use service robots. Further, this paper finds there are two key reasons for the differences in CASR. The first is different antecedents. Perceived usefulness is positively influenced by the anthropomorphism of a service robot and customer ability in the experience service setting, but is influenced not in the credence service setting. Conversely, service robot autonomy positively relates to perceived ease of use in the credence service setting, but does not in the experience service setting. The second reason for CASR differences is different customer perceptions. Customers' ability and perceived ease of use are higher, while their perception of anthropomorphism of the service robot is lower in the experience (vs credence) service setting.

This study helps explain why there are differences in the CASR in different settings and presents two perspectives: (1) antecedents' affecting CASR and (2) customer perceptions of their own as well as service robot characteristics.

This research explores how to design service delivery systems to facilitate a customer experience that enables the realisation of prevention-oriented goals.

Case-based research is undertaken to inform the design of service delivery systems for prevention-oriented consumption goals. Data from multiple informants, from both the provider and customer perspective, in two in-depth case studies, provide empirical insights.

Drawing on customer and provider perspectives, a model of service design for prevention-oriented goals is presented. The model is informed through the identification of service delivery system characteristics (facility layout, staff service orientation, facility appearance and staff presence/appearance) and perceived experience quality dimensions (control, duration, privacy and reliability impressions) that contribute to the fulfilment of prevention-oriented consumption goals.

The research affirms that it is critical for organisations to comprehend the goals they want their service delivery systems to enable in the customer experience. Specific attention should be given to the design of facility layout, staff-service orientation, facility appearance, staff presence/appearance to positively impact perceived quality dimensions and to facilitate the realisation of customer prevention goals.

The main research contribution lies in the articulation of the design characteristics of the service delivery system that enables a customer experience supporting the fulfilment of prevention goals. The empirical study draws on both customer and organisational perspectives to identify prevention-oriented goals, and corresponding experience quality dimensions, to inform service delivery system design.