The Moderating Effects of Service Characteristics on the Relationships between Store Image and Customer Satisfaction

• Main Authors: Teh-chuan Jui, 芮德全
• Other Authors: Duh, Fu-Yann
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/62148417829824612422

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 國際企業研究所碩博士班 === 96 === Since the arrival of the 21 century, the individual service industry has been facing more competitive market than ever. Competitors not only initiate the price war to extend market share but look for effective strategic tool to differentiate their products to enhance consumer satisfaction. The effective strategic tool discussed in the present study is “store image”. Store image means the long-accumulated integrated perception and impression from the consumers toward the store. Store image can be analyzed by being broken down into several dimensions, such as: product quality, promotional activities, employee’s service, in-store atmosphere, and so on. Nevertheless, consumer’s priority on the store image dimensions in different industries varies; the challenge exists even within different business models which are in the same industry. Therefore, the service managers have to gain the knowledge of which store image dimensions consumers value more then the others. To attain the goal, the study chooses and analyzes 5 service industries to investigate consumer’s priority on different dimensions within each industry. In addition, the study examines the impact of “service characteristics” on consumer’s priority on store image. The present literature has provided several tools for analyzing service characteristics and their impact. But the comprehensive investigation and categorization are lacking. This study analyzes and categorizes service characteristics, then selects four attributes：purchase effort, customization, customer contact, and labor intensity. Finally, the interfering effect of service characteristics on the consumer’s priority on store image is examined. The empirical results are as follows: 1. Store image dimensions can positive influence customer satisfaction. 2. Service characteristics can moderate the relationship between store image and customer satisfaction 3. Before store image is built, store managers should meet two requirements. (1) Understanding consumer’s priority on store image’s dimensions and investing on them in different service industries. (2) Since consumes’ priority on store image’s dimensions within different business models are different from person to person, the store manager can enhance consumer satisfaction by successfully executing differentiation strategy on those important dimensions. 4. Different service characteristics exert different kind of impact on store image. Within short-term, store managers should make the best of service characteristics to shift consumer’s priority on store image’s dimensions. In a long-term, they can shape a store image both satisfying customers and catering to store’s image.