Servicescape moderation on personality traits, emotions, satisfaction, and behaviors

This study aims to extend the previous servicescape literature and to examine servicescapes as a moderating variable on a comprehensive model of individual personality traits, emotions, satisfaction, and approach-avoidance behaviors. The highlight of the present research is to incorporate the effects of different personality traits (i.e., extroversion, openness to experience, and arousal-seeking tendency) and moderation of different servicescape situations (i.e., Gestalt versus Non-Gestalt) on emotions, satisfaction, and approach-avoidance behavior. The value of assessing the effects of different personality traits with different settings is demonstrated. This study utilizes an experimental design with the appropriate manipulation of ambient stimuli of the combined colors and music to form differential servicescapes and participants were randomly assigned to these servicescapes. Survey data from 261 participants were then collected on personality traits, emotions, satisfaction and approach-avoidance behavior and the data were analyzed by structural equation modeling to test the present research framework. Results indicate that Gestalt versus Non-Gestalt servicescape situations moderated the relationship between arousal-seeking tendency and emotions. Pleasure was found to enhance satisfaction, and satisfaction was found to enhance approach-avoidance behaviors. Limitations, managerial and future implications are explained further in the content of the paper. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.