Global InformationServicescape information
Servicescape is a model developed by Booms and Bitner[1] to emphasize the impact of the physical environment in which a service process takes place. The aim of the servicescapes model is to explain behavior of people within the service environment with a view to designing environments that does not accomplish organisational goals in terms of achieving desired behavioural responses. For consumers visiting a service or retail store, the service environment is the first aspect of the service that is perceived by the customer and it is at this stage that consumers are likely to form impressions of the level of service they will receive.[2]
Booms and Bitner defined a servicescape as "the environment in which the service is assembled and in which the seller and customer interact, combined with tangible commodities that facilitate performance or communication of the service".[1] In other words, the servicescape refers to the non-human elements of the environment in which service encounters occur. The servicescape does not include: processes (e.g. methods of payment, billing, cooking, cleaning); external promotions (e.g. advertising, PR, social media, web-sites) or back-of-house (kitchen, cellars, store-rooms, housekeeping, staff change rooms), that is; spaces where customers do not normally visit.
The servicescape includes the facility's exterior (landscape, exterior design, signage, parking, surrounding environment) and interior (interior design and decor, equipment, signage, layout) and ambient conditions (air quality, temperature and lighting). In addition to its effects on customer's individual behaviors, the servicescape influences the nature and quality of customer and employee interactions, most directly in interpersonal services.[3] Companies design their servicescapes to add an atmosphere that enhances the customer experience and that will affect buyers' behavior during the service encounter.[4]
- ^ a b Booms, BH; Bitner, MJ (1981). "Marketing strategies and organisation structures for service firms". In Donnelly, J; George, WR (eds.). Marketing of Services. Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association.
- ^ Hooper and Coughlan, Daire and Joseph (2012). "The servicescape as an antecedent to service quality and behavioral intentions" (PDF). Journal of Services Marketing: 271.
- ^ Bitner, Mary Jo (2016). Journal of Marketing. American Marketing Association. p. 61.
- ^ Hooper, Daire; Coughlan, Joseph; Mullen, Michael R. (2013). "The servicescape as an antecedent to service quality and behavioral intentions" (PDF). Journal of Services Marketing. 27 (4): 271–280. doi:10.1108/08876041311330753.