Physical and Social Servicescape: Impact on Customer Affection and Behavior at Full-Service Restaurants

This study utilizes Stimulus Organism Response (SOR) theory to examine how customer, employee, and physical servicescape affect consumer behavior in full-service restaurants, as well as how customer affection mediates, and gender moderates these effects. We managed to collect 308 valid responses, which we further analyzed through structural equation modeling. The data supported the idea that customers, employees, and physical servicescape favorably affect customer affection, which in turn influences revisit intentions and WoM. Customer affection also mediates the effects of the three servicescape dimensions on WoM and revisit intentions. Males were more affected by employee servicescape and customer affection. Whereas females had a larger effect of customer servicescape on customer affection; other differences were insignificant. Within the SOR theory, we added customer affection as a mediator and gender as a moderator between servicescapes’ dimensions and behavioral outcomes (e.g. WoM and revisit intentions).