Advances in Economics and Business 5(1): 1-10, 2017 http://www.hrpub.

org
DOI: 10.13189/aeb.2017.050101

Social and Physical Aspects of the Service Encounter:

Effects on Trust and Customer Loyalty to
the Service Provider
Temessek Behi Azza1,2,3,*, Ben Dahmane Mouelhi Norchene1,2,3

1
Institute of High Business Studies, University of Carthage, Tunisia
2
Marketing Research Laboratory (LRM), University of Sfax, Tunisia
3
Normandie Innovation Management Entreprise Consommation (NIMEC), University of Caen Normandy, France

Copyright©2017 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License

Abstract The purpose of this research is to evaluate the This definition implies that in the service industry, customer
influence of two strategic service encounter dimensions on interactions with physical and human elements may be
consumer beliefs and service loyalty. A conceptual model necessary for service delivery. Some authors have suggested
was generated with the aim of seeking to reveal the that service encounters have more impact on customer
contribution of the physical environment and social evaluation than the service outcome [2,3]. This statement has
interactions with front line employees on customer’s been illustrated by the Nordic approach of service quality
evaluation of the service provider and loyalty. An empirical which distinguishes between the technical (service outcome)
study is conducted based on a sample of 400 customers of and functional (service interactions) dimensions. It might
fitness centers. Collected data was analyzed using a seem that customer perception of tangible clues such as the
structural modeling that highlight the contribution of each establishment’s decor, furniture and front line employees’
predictors. The results revealed that physical and social cues behavior are greatly significant in service evaluation and
differently influence customer trust and loyalty to the service future intentions [4].
provider. It seems that social interactions are more effective Many of the researchers on this issue have underlined the
in building customer trust. Overall, the joint effect of relevance of the physical environment and customer-contact
servicescape and social relationships positively influence personnel in service performance. While Eiglier and
customer trust and lead to service loyalty. This paper Langeard [5] have classified those elements as key factors in
provides empirical evidence on the contribution of two service delivery («servuction theory»), Booms and Bitner [6]
service encounter cues: servicescape and social interaction emphasize their strategic relevance by integrating them in
the service mix marketing.
on customer trust and service loyalty. The research offers a
A review of the existing literature on this subject reveals
conceptual framework that can be tested in a variety of
that prior research has employed different methods to
services. Managerial recommendations focus on improving
understand the role of the physical environment and/or
relational aptitudes of frontline employees, mainly in
customer-contact personnel on customer evaluation.
personal services such as fitness centers.
Although qualitative research has focused on service
Keywords Servicescape, Social Interactions, Front Line experience, quantitative studies have tried to examine these
Employees, Trust, Loyalty, Structural Modeling two elements (separately) as predicators of service quality,
satisfaction and patronage intentions [7]. Scant empirical
researches have combined the role of physical environment
and customer-contact employees’ relationship [7, 8] in
customer’s beliefs, in particular, trust in the service provider.
1. Introduction This research attempts to address this gap by (1) jointly
investigating the effect of physical environment and
There have been several attempts in service marketing customer-contact personnel relationship on trust and loyalty
literature to discuss the issue of service encounter and (2) comparing their influence on customer evaluation of
dimensions and their effects on service outcomes. the service provider.
Shostack[1] defines a service encounter as “a period of time After reviewing the literature, the paper describes the
during which a customer directly interacts with a service”. study designed to test the conceptual model. This is followed
2 Social and Physical Aspects of the Service Encounter: Effects on Trust and Customer Loyalty to the Service Provider

by a discussion of structural modeling results, managerial to friendship than to economic transactions [15].
implications and finally a suggestion of future research. To support this idea, Rémy and Kopel [16] proposed the
concept of “linking services” to address the customer need of
social interaction and communitarian links. They suggested
2. Physical Environment in Service that the physical setting, the customer involvement in service
delivery and interactions with contact-personnel are
Encounter fundamental cues in creating social bonds. The
Previous physical environment research in marketing has customer-employees interaction is a determinant of customer
attempted to define and illustrate the influence of the assessment of its relationship with the service provider.
physical setting in retailing and service organizations. Kotler Hening-Thurau et al. [17] showed the power of the employee
[13] used the terminology of atmospherics to describe «the smiling in generating customer positive emotions and a
effort to design buying environments to produce specific favorable assessment of the relationship with the service
emotional effects in the buyer that enhance his purchase provider.
probability». This definition points out the managerially Many authors draw on the exchange theory to illustrate the
controllable dimension of environmental stimuli and nature of service relationships [18]. In this research, there is
explains the internal mechanisms leading to consumer’s consistent evidence that the boundaries between
emotional and behavioral reactions. transactional and social relationships are unclear. This
The Kotler[13] framework is anchored in the statement supports the idea that service relationships vary on
environmental psychology paradigm [14]. Models were a continuum from transactional to social. Somewhat similar
developed in this area to examine the direct physical inferences can be found in the framework of Goodwin and
environment influence on affect and the mediating role of Gremler[18]. The authors identify two types of social
emotion in understanding consumer behavior. behavior in service delivery, functional aspects (that refers to
Based in this research tradition, the seminal study of “provider personalization”; “friendliness”; “empathy” and
Bitner [10], illustrated the cognitive, affective, physiological “Appreciation”) and communal aspects that reflect
and behavioral reactions of both customers and employees to friendship behaviors.
the physical environment. This conceptual framework has In the same way, Butcher et al. [19] emphasize
encouraged many scholars to investigate the influence of interpersonal relationships in the service process and
physical cues in the service context by taking into account distinguish relational outcomes from service partner’s
the frontline employee’s behavior and the social dimension characteristics or behaviors. We propose to retain their
of the service [7-9]. However, those studies focus only on the definition of Relational outcomes to capture the construct of
social interactions “the feelings, thoughts, and perceived
passive role of the contact employees such as appearance and
relationships arising from the social interaction with the
attitude.
service employee”.
Referring to Bitner[10], we consider that the physical
environment or what the author named servicescape is the
“manmade, physical surrounding as opposed to the natural
or social environment”. This conceptualization only focuses 4. A conceptual Framework of the
on “objective’’, “measureable” and “managerially Influence of Physical and Social
controllable” environmental cues [11]. Aspects of Service Encounter on
Serviscape as tangible facilities must run in tandem with
intangible services to create value to customers [3,4,12]. The
Consumer’s Trust and Loyalty
service intangibility is mainly attributed to the attitude and Empirical studies on this issue are relatively scant,
behavior of contact employees who play a key role in the particularly regarding the investigation of the joint impact of
service encounter [5]. servicescape and social interactions with front-line
employees. In the following sections, the influence of the
two aforementioned constructs will be discussed in order to
3. Social Influence in the Service propose a model that explains how consumers form beliefs
Encounter and behaviors in service encounters.

Interactions between the customer and contact personnel 4.1. Physical and Social Aspects of the Service Encounter
derive from the nature of services and the customer as Predicators of Loyalty
involvement in the service delivery process. In the majority
of service encounters, customers interact with front-line In service marketing literature, the loyalty phenomenon is
employees as coworkers and share conversations that go mainly conceptualized as a tri-component construct that
beyond the core service. This social aspect of service encapsulates behavioral, attitudinal and cognitive
encounters is viewed as a key concept in service literature dimensions [20]. Thus, service loyalty is depicted as
because it reveals that several service encounters are closer customer commitment to a particular service provider, which
 Advances in Economics and Business 5(1): 1-10, 2017 3

led to a repetitive purchasing behavior, an advocacy of the linked to the customer’s beliefs. In Bitner’s [10] framework,
service to others and a strong belief that this service provider the physical setting may reduce cognitive reactions as beliefs,
is a first choice among a set of competitors. In service, it is categorization or symbolic meanings. In service literature,
argued that loyalty is linked to interpersonal relationships the customer’s beliefs toward the service organization are
and tangible cues of the service encounter. For this research, also considered as an outcome of interpersonal bonds with
it is assumed that the physical setting and social interactions frontline employees.
with the contact-personnel are salient in explaining service In this research, trust in the service organization will be
loyalty. Further support can be found in the works of some investigated as an outcome variable reflecting the customer’s
researchers. In her conceptual framework, Bitner [10] beliefs. Trust will be incorporated in the conceptual model as
suggests that behavioral outcomes such as spending money a central relationship-building construct.
and returning to the service provider are influenced by the Researchers have yielded a variety of terms such as
servicescape. However, this influence reflects an indirect confidence, reliability, integrity, expertise, to define trust.
causal relationship that can be mediated by “internal Relationship marketing theory has suggested that trust could
responses” (cognitive, emotional and physiological be defined as the customer’s confidence or willingness to
responses). Numerous researches have also been inspired by rely on the exchange partner’s competence, reliability and
the SOR paradigm and have illustrated that the perceived integrity [27,28]. It would seem that customer trust arises
servicescape can predict behavioral outcomes through the from the perceived intentionality of the service provider to
costumer’s beliefs and emotions. Investigating on this issue, fulfill their promises.
research in retailing stores has demonstrated the direct The service encounters present to the customers an
impact of environmental stimuli on returning, advocacy opportunity to test the service provider’s intentionality. Any
behavior and spending money [9]. Hui et al. [21] have found interactions with the servicescape or the frontline employees
a positive influence between ambient conditions and act as an indicator of the trustworthiness of the service
advocacy behavior in service area. In the same way, Keillor provider. Insufficient inferences exist on this issue, so this
et al. [22] confirm the same results in an intercultural study in investigation attempts to fill this gap in the research.
the hotel industry. In order to thoroughly understand this The study of Julien and Dao [29] has suggested an
influence it is useful to examine the following hypothesis: influence of frontline employees’ behavior on customer trust.
The findings indicate that perceptions of employees’
H1: Perceived servicescape has a positive and direct
expertise have a positive impact on customer trust. Similar
influence on service loyalty.
inferences can be drawn from Berry [30]. However, the
H1a: Fitness center’s space design has a positive and
authors didn’t find a link between benevolence behavior and
direct influence on service loyalty.
customer trust. Regarding retail banking services, Shainesh
H1b: Fitness center’s ambient conditions have a positive
and direct influence on service loyalty. [31] highlights the role of consumers' beliefs of
trustworthiness arising from the competence, benevolence
Regarding the social aspect of the service encounter, and problem solving orientation of front line employees in
researchers tend to support the vital role of front-line building trust in the service provider. In line with these
employees on loyalty to the service provider. It’s often theories and some empirical results we expect that:
argued that loyalty is a relational construct [23,24] that could
be predicted by social interactions. On the basis of this H3: The customer-front line employees’ relationship has a
assumption, many researchers have found a positive and positive and direct influence on trust in the service provider.
direct impact of customer-service employee relationships on Little research has examined the link between the physical
repurchasing behavior, advocacy and positive environment and trust in the service context. In their study,
word-of-mouth. In his study, Barnes [25] found that a strong Guenzi et al. [32] generated some interesting results about
relationship between the customer and the contact-personnel the influence of the store environment on customer trust in
lead to repurchasing intentions and advocacy of the service the supermarket retailer. Somewhat similar inferences can be
provider. Similarly, Butcher et al. [26] illustrated the positive drawn from the study of Bitner [2], showing the influence of
impact of relational outcomes on loyalty. The authors travel agency decor on customer attribution for the agent
specifically demonstrated that friendship was a strong behavior. Bitner [10] supports the idea that “The perceived
predicator of service loyalty. Similar results were found by servicescape may elicit cognitive responses…influencing
Goodwin and Gremler [18] and Price and Arnould [15]. people’s beliefs about a place and their beliefs about the
Therefore, the following hypothesis is advanced: people and products found in that place”. By logical
H2: The relationship with front line employees has a extension, it can be argued that:
positive and direct influence on service loyalty H4: perceived servicescape has a positive and direct
influence on trust in the service provider.
4.2. Physical and social Aspects of the Service Encounter
H4a: Fitness center’s space design has a positive and
as Predicators of Trust
direct influence on trust in the service provider.
Physical and social aspects of service encounters are also H4b: Fitness center’s ambient conditions have a positive
4 Social and Physical Aspects of the Service Encounter: Effects on Trust and Customer Loyalty to the Service Provider

and direct influence on trust in the service provider. 4.4. Service Loyalty and Trust
Extensive literature in social psychology and relationship
4.3. The Physical Environment’s Effect on marketing has emphasized the role of trust in creating long
Customer-Frontline Employees’ Socialization lasting relationships. Doney and Cannon [34] suggest that
The conceptual framework of Bitner [10] has addressed customer trust refers to a psychological state, an expectation
the question of the influence of the physical environment on or a belief. Whereas Moorman et al. [27] associate trust with
social interactions. This idea underlines the role of the willingness to rely on the exchange partner and
environment clues in shaping individual behaviors in the trustworthy behavior. Trust seems to be an implicit condition
service encounter. Thus, “all social interaction is affected by leading to loyalty and a key factor in long-term customer
the physical container in which it occurs” (Bennett and orientation toward the service firm [35,29]. The link between
Bennett, 1970 in [10]). Equipment and furniture arrangement trust and service loyalty has been supported by numerous
in the service could enhance or limit social interactions empirical studies [35,29]. To test that relation, the following
between customers and front line employees. This implies hypothesis is formulated:
that the physical environment affects the nature and the H6: Customer trust has a positive and direct influence on
quality of social interactions. This is consistent with service loyalty.
Varlander and Yakhlef’s [33] results. The authors have
performed interviews and observation in the travel, banking
and book-selling industries in order to examine the effects of 5. Research Setting and Sample
the implementation of the Internet on spatial designs. The
results show that furniture and artifacts model social To test the hypothesized relationships a survey was
interactions in terms of spatial orientation (proximal or conducted in fitness centers. This choice is advantageous
distant), temporal orientation (accelerated or decelerated), since it offers a setting where customers spend a lot of time
behavioral outcomes (approach or avoidance) and service observing, experimenting with the physical environment and
outcomes (suboptimal or optimal). Thus the following developing interactions with frontline employees. In addition,
hypothesis is formulated: few studies have investigated hedonic service with a high
linking value [16] as Fitness centers.
H5: Perceived servicescape has a positive and direct
A total of 400 customers of fitness centers were
influence on the customer-front line employees’ relationship.
interviewed face to face. The sample was proportionally
H5a: Fitness center’s space design has a positive and
distributed with regard to gender (52 percent women and 48
direct influence on the customer-front line employees’
percent men). Interviewed customers were predominately
relationship.
young (45 percent aged between 20 and 30 years). The
H5b: Fitness center’s ambient conditions have a positive
majority of the respondents had an occupation (53.8
and direct influence on the customer-front line employees’
percent).
relationship.

Figure 1. The conceptual framework of service encounter

 Advances in Economics and Business 5(1): 1-10, 2017 5

5.1. Measures
To measure customer loyalty, four items were selected from the behavioral consequences of service quality scale
developed by Zeithaml et al. [36]. This scale has been used in several studies to determine customer loyalty [15].
In order to measure the servicescape, scales proposed by researchers in different service context have been also considered
[37]. The customer-contact personnel relationship was measured by Butcher et al.’s [19] relational factors. Customer trust in
the service provider was measured by a three-dimensional indicator (benevolence, integrity and competence) developed by
Bartikowski and Chandon [38]. All the indicators were measured by a 5 points Likert scale ("strongly disagree" to "strongly
agree").
Table 1. Measurement scales structure (EFA results)
Space Ambient Social Customer
Items Loyalty
design conditions interactions trust

The decoration and the aesthetics of fitness center facilities (furniture,

0.653
equipment, rooms) are attractive

The signalization inside this fitness center has helped me to find my way 0.761

The architecture of this fitness center is original and attractive 0.777

The colour schemes give an harmonious feel to this fitness center 0.651

The rooms of this fitness center are spacious and comfortable 0.706

The facilities of this fitness center are functional and well prepared 0.626

The installations of this fitness center are contemporary 0.673

The temperature of the fitness room is comfortable 0.589

This fitness center is well lighted 0.843

In this fitness center all is clean 0.813

We have developed a good rapport 0.661

There is a friendship between us 0.719

I tend to relax easily with the employees of this fitness center 0.820

I feel very comfortable in their presence 0.804

I feel completely at ease with the employees of this fitness center 0.761

I feel as though I am well regarded by the employees 0.689

I appreciate the values shared by this fitness center 0.746

This fitness center is guided by sound principles 0.811

This fitness center is very capable to manage service providing 0.740

This fitness center seems to be able to succeed in his business 0.789

This fitness center have a solid knowledge to provide a good service 0.744

This fitness center is highly efficient in its sector 0.755

I am confident that this fitness center will take care of my body 0.639

I will say positive things about this fitness center to other people 0.664

I will recommend this fitness center to someone who seeks my advice 0.845

I consider this fitness center as my first choice to buy health club services 0.805

I will do more business with this fitness center in the next few years 0.808
6 Social and Physical Aspects of the Service Encounter: Effects on Trust and Customer Loyalty to the Service Provider

6. Results reliability of the constructs [42]. However, there was a less

satisfactory reliability and validity score for "ambient
An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out to conditions” dimension (Table 2).
examine the construct structure. Then, the two–step The factor contributions are significant (p value =.05) and
approach recommended by Anderson and Gerbing [39] was the Rho of convergent validity (AVE) exceeds the
used with LISREL 8.3. Firstly, a confirmatory factor
recommended threshold by 0.50 except for the "ambient
analysis (CFA) was performed to ensure the validity of the
conditions" dimension (Table 2). The discriminant validity is
measurement model. Secondly, a path analysis revealed the
carried using the Fornell and Larcker [43] criterion. Table 3
hypothetical causal relations of the research model. We have
checked the appropriateness of the data for EFA. The KMO shows that, the AVE is superior to the shared variance (the
(Kaiser-Myer-Olkin) range from 0.745 to 0.861 and Bartlett square of the correlation between a two variables) for all the
test of sphericity is significant at the level of 0.01 which constructs (Table 3).
means that the set of data is factorable. A component After verifying measurement model fit we tested the
principal analysis (PCA) is then carried to examine the scale structural model. The values of the indices show an
structure (Table 1). Through a Varimax rotation, two acceptable fit between the empirical and theoretical model
components are generated for the scale of the perceived (RMSEA = 0.059, SRMR=0.054, Khi ² / dl=2.39, GFI=0.88,
physical environment. "Space design" is the first dimension CFI = 0.91, IFI=0.91, NFI=0.85 NNFI=0.89). The
with 7 items and "Ambient conditions" is the second one predicators of the model satisfactorily explain the dependent
including 3 items. The PCA generate one-dimensional scale variables. Thereby, the SMC relative to “customer trust” and
for the other constructs. The amount of variance extracted for “loyalty” is 0.40 and 0.52. The physical environment
each scale is equal or close to 60%. To ensure the scale’s dimensions only explain a small part of the social
reliability, we use the popular test of Cronbach’s alpha [40]. interactions between the customer and the service employees
The scores ranged from 0.72 and 0.82 which is considered as (SMC=0.08). The results of the path analysis support the
acceptable [41]. hypotheses (Table 4). The examination of the standardized
The CFA method is then performed to assess the model estimates and the significance of the relationships highlight
measurement fit and to test the reliability and the validity of the influence of social interactions and the physical
the scales. The CFA confirm all the scale’s structures,
environment on customer trust and loyalty towards the
generated from the PCA, providing a good fit. Joreskog's
service provider.
Rho ranged from 0.68 to 0.87 indicates an acceptable
Table 2. Measurement Scales’ Reliability and validity

Scales structure Cronbach’s Alpha Joreskog’s Rhô Rho of convergent validity

Perceived physical environment Bi-dimensional
Space Design 7 items 0.82 0.82 0.56
Ambient conditions 3 items 0.72 0.68 0.48
one-dimensional
Social interactions 0.84 0.81 0.54
6 items
One-dimensional
Customer trust 0.75 0.87 0.52
7 items
One-dimensional
Loyalty 0.79 0.79 0 .51
4 items

Table 3. Discriminant validity of measurement scales

Rho of convergent validity (AVE) Space Design Ambient condition Social interactions Customer trust
Space design 0.56
Ambient conditions 0.48 0.00
Social interactions 0.54 0.003 0.003
Customer trust 0.52 0.059 0.059 0.185
Loyalty 0 .51 0.04 0.10 0.242 0.27

As assumed, the interaction between the customer and the service employees acts positively on consumer’s beliefs in the
service provider’s integrity (H4) and increases their loyalty intention (H2). The physical environment dimensions do not act
directly and significantly on loyalty to the service provider (H1). The results (Table 2) similarly validate hypothesis H6. It
thereby appears that consumers who trust the service provider are more likely to develop repatronage and advocacy behaviors.
The results do not totally support the relation between the physical environment dimensions and the social interaction
between the customer and the service employees. Only the ambient conditions seem to positively influence the
customer-frontline employees’ relationship (H1a).
 Advances in Economics and Business 5(1): 1-10, 2017 7

Table 4. Results of model testing

Hypothesis Structural path Path Coefficients and t test Hypothesis testing

H1a Space design → Loyalty 0.09 (t=1.33) Not supported
H1b Ambient factors → Loyalty 0.10 (t=1.21) Not supported
H2 Relationship factors→ Loyalty 0.38 (t=4.60) Supported
H3a Space design → Trust 0.17 (t=2.34) Supported
H3b Ambient factors → Trust 0.28 (t=2.09) Supported
H4 Relationship factors → Trust 0.44 (t=6.00) Supported
H5a Space design → Relationship factors 0.00 (t=0.03) Not supported
H5b Ambient factors → Relationship factors 0.25 (t=3.00) Supported
H6 Trust→ Loyalty 0.35 (t=4.27) Supported

7. Discussion and Managerial and ambient conditions, on the one hand and between loyalty
and design, on the other hand. This result points to the
Implications possibility of an indirect relationship between physical
The purpose of this research was to examine the influence environment dimensions and loyalty. It is possible to
of physical environment dimensions and social interaction consider a mediating effect of customer trust. This option
on trust and loyalty towards the service provider. The results confirms the theoretical Bitner’s [10] framework which
provide some important insights that could enhance suggest an indirect effect induced by servicescape
theoretical and managerial understanding of the role of components on loyalty and behavioral outcomes. However,
servicescape and customer-frontline employees’ relationship the results indicate that loyalty is positively influenced by
on behavioral outcomes. The social interaction between the social interactions between frontline employees and
customer and the contact personnel appears to be an effective customers. This finding converges with other research
factor that reveals the customer loyalty level to the service [19,26,15]. The relationship with contact personnel is an
provider. This result confirms previous research, which important dimension in the formation of the consumer's
insists on the strategic role of service employees in customer behavioral intentions.
trust [27] and loyalty [26]. From a managerial point of view, Indeed, it seems that the influence of social interactions on
this result suggests developing the relationship between the the consumer's loyalty is stronger in the case of services with
customer and frontline employees by promoting interactions high spatial and psychological proximity like fitness centers
based on respect and even friendship. Coaching sessions [26]. Within this context, service providers would benefit
should be considered to improve service employees’ from focusing their attention on the nature of the interactions
awareness of the importance of their role in the formation of between their customers and the service employees. This
consumers' beliefs. attention should begin with the implementation of hiring
Trust is also an outcome of physical environment procedures in order to choose candidates with undeniable
dimensions. It seems in this framework that the ambient relational qualities. Training seminars are also necessary to
conditions have a more significant effect on customer trust anchor the customer orientation in the mind of the employees.
than the design. Thus, the service providers should focus on The valorization of friendly and respectful interactions also
ambient clues such as local cleanliness, temperature or even passes through an effective reward system. The loyalty is
lighting which seems indispensable to the creation of an also affected by the degree of customer trust, which the
atmosphere inspiring confidence and denoting the service consumer grants to the service provider. Thus, as it has been
provider integrity and professionalism. Furthermore, the confirmed by a variety of research in different domains, the
design relative to the aesthetic level, the architecture, and the intention of consumer loyalty depends on the consumer's
furniture of the fitness centers act slightly positively on perception of the benevolence and the integrity of the partner
customer trust. These factors would be probably more exchange [35]. Trust and social interaction seem to be
associated with evaluative judgment variables like service effective predicators of service loyalty. However, the
quality, perceived value and satisfaction. physical environment dimensions seem to indirectly
However, the two dimensions of the service encounter contribute to service loyalty. This study validates the
explain 40 percent of the scores for variation of customer combined role of servicescape, customer-frontline
trust. This result consolidates the choice of the explanatory employees’ relationship and trust as drivers of service
variables and enables emphasis on their importance in the loyalty. They explain 52% of the variation in loyalty scores.
formation of the consumer's beliefs towards the service Thus, loyalty is a process determined by consumer beliefs
provider. The relationship between the dimensions of the regarding their level of interaction with service employees
servicescape and loyalty did not find any empirical support. and their perception of the physical environment dimensions.
No significant relationship has been found between loyalty Service providers could develop sensory and relational
8 Social and Physical Aspects of the Service Encounter: Effects on Trust and Customer Loyalty to the Service Provider

stimuli that would engender positive beliefs and would proposed conceptual model, with other measurement scales
denote their good intentions towards the customer. The of the research variables, would improve the internal validity
ambient conditions and space design should first reassure of the study. In spite of the significant size of the sample (400
customers in regards to the competence and integrity of the people), generalization of results always remains raised up
service provider. Social interactions would then play an and other applications of the model with larger samples
essential role in the development of customer trust and the would be desirable. Another limitation is in the choice of
demonstration of loyalty intention. By verifying the studying a single survey context. An empirical test of the
relationship between the two dimensions of the service conceptual framework in a variety of services could provide
encounter, it has been possible to highlight a significant a better understanding of the variation of variable’s scores
impact between environmental factors and social interaction. between service settings. Future researches should
Thus, social interaction is directly affected by lighting, investigate this conceptual model in utilitarian (financial
temperature and cleanliness in the servicescape. Pleasant services) and hedonic services (hotels, restaurants, etc.).
ambient conditions will generate more positive social Service encounter literature offers directions for other
interactions between the consumer and service employees. important dimensions such as customer to-customer
However, the predictive power of the physical environment interactions that could enhance the explained variance of
on the social interaction remains marginal (R² = 0.08). This behavioral outcomes in the service setting Furthermore, the
result suggests that an adapted physical environment is integration of mediating and moderating factors could
essential but not a sufficient element to direct the interaction improve this framework. The absence of direct relationships
between the customer and the service employees. between loyalty and the two dimensions of the physical
environment questions the trust mediating role. It would then
be promising to widen the potential track of the possible
moderating effects of situational factors (temporal
8. Limitations and Future Research perspective, objectives of the visit) or individual (familiarity
The findings of the current study should be interpreted with the service, customer personality) between the
with caution due to several limitations. dimensions of service encounter (physical environment and
This research raises new interrogations and several points social interactions) and the consumer's reactions (trust and
which should be improved in future research. A test of the loyalty).

Figure 2. Path model

 Advances in Economics and Business 5(1): 1-10, 2017 9

[17] T .Hennig-Thurau,. M. Groth, M. Paul, and D. D. Gremler.

Not All Smiles are Created Equal: How Employee-Customer
Emotional Contagion Impacts Service Relationships. In
Marketing, Technology and Customer Commitment in the
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