The effect of signage and emotions on satisfaction with the servicescape: An empirical investigation in a healthcare service setting

Marketing and environmental psychology studies have long emphasized the importance of signage in large and dispersive service settings but have focused little on utilitarian service contexts. Previous studies have also analyzed the role of emotions in customer satisfaction with the servicescape, particularly in hedonic service environments such as malls, hotels, and restaurants, but a limited research has been conducted on the role of emotions in utilitarian service settings such as healthcare services. This study draws from the environmental psychology and service marketing literature to investigate the effects of signage and emotions on satisfaction with the servicescape in the hospital setting. In addition, it explores the moderating effect of emotions on the relationship between signage and satisfaction with the servicescape. The findings show that signage has a positive and significant effect on satisfaction with the servicescape. Negative emotions have a significant negative effect on satisfaction, while positive emotions have no significant effect. Differently from what was expected, emotions do not moderate the relationship between signage and satisfaction. Managerial implications are provided for service managers who wish to design a utilitarian service setting to effectively increase user satisfaction with the servicescape.     

The impact of consumer decision‐making styles on consumer confusion in Mauritius: An empirical analysis

This article investigates the effects of consumer decision‐making styles on consumer confusion and harm. While consumer confusion has been well documented in the literature, this investigation attempts to bridge our understanding on its relationship with consumer decision‐making styles. Empirical data was collected from a field survey where 400 consumers selected at 20 supermarkets in Mauritius were asked to respond to a questionnaire measuring three variables under study: consumer confusion, consumer decision‐making styles, and situational factors. Findings from the MANOVA parametric test showed that there is a significant difference between consumer decision‐making styles and consumer confusion. Even when covariate situational factors were controlled through the parametric test MANCOVA, results still showed a significant difference between consumer decision‐making styles and consumer confusion. More specifically, ANCOVA tests showed that the findings were specifically significant for three types of confusion: product confusion, packaging confusion, and product complexity. The study tends to confirm that a consumer's style of decision making does impact on consumer confusion.     

An empirical analysis and extension of internalization theory in emerging markets: The role of firm-specific assets and asset dispersion in the multinationality-performance relationship

This study examines the relationship between firm multinationality and financial performance with a focus on firm-specific assets and dispersion of these assets for MNCs from emerging markets. Drawing upon internalization theory, the authors reveal that while the financial performance of manufacturing MNCs depends on technological assets, service MNCs are more dependent on marketing assets to succeed in international markets. Study findings further emphasize the critical role of the industry context in emerging markets as the authors demonstrate that international asset dispersion weakens the effects of internationalization on financial performance more for MNCs in manufacturing industries than for MNCs in services.