Post on 07-Feb-2018
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 1
July 2005
Aesthetics and Professionalism of Virtual Servicescapes*
Iris Vilnai-Yavetz
Anat Rafaeli
Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management
Technion Institute of Technology
Haifa 32000
ISRAEL
+972-4-8235194 [Fax]
+972-4-8294421 [Office]
+972-9-8663782 [Home]
E-mail:
yavetzir@tx.technion.ac.il
anatr@ie.technion.ac.il
Key words:
Aesthetics, Professionalism, E-service, Virtual servicescape, Emotion
Paper submitted for Publication in Journal of Service Research
* We thank two anonymous reviewers for their insights that helped us improve this
manuscript. We also thank Techiya Ramati, Rafi Yavetz, and Dafna Vilnai for their help
with this study and Caryn Schneider-Yaacov and Meira Ben-Gad for editorial assistance.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 2
Aesthetics and Professionalism of Virtual Servicescapes
ABSTRACT
We document the effects of the aesthetics and professionalism of virtual servicescapes
on customer feelings of pleasantness, satisfaction, and approach toward service interactions.
Data were collected using an experimental manipulation of the physical setting (the
servicescape) viewed by customers during a service interaction in a virtual (remote) service
situation. Participants interacted with the service provider and reported their reactions
through a specially developed interactive program. Experimental conditions varied in the
aesthetics and professionalism of the virtual servicescape in which the employee was seated
and viewed.
Aesthetics were found to influence feelings of pleasantness, satisfaction, and approach
toward a service interaction. In our experimental manipulation, professionalism was found
to influence satisfaction, but not feelings of pleasantness or approach toward a service
interaction. However, perceptions of professionalism did influence these variables. Also as
predicted, feelings of pleasantness mediated the relationship between aesthetics and
satisfaction and between aesthetics and approach toward a service interaction, but not the
relationship between professionalism and these variables. The implications of the findings
for research and practice are discussed.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 3
Aesthetics and Professionalism of Virtual Servicescapes
INTRODUCTION
Technological developments have created new channels for both sales and service
(Browne, Durrett, and Wetherbe 2004; Thompson 2002). With these developments, it has
become important to understand how the design of e-commerce and e-service systems
affects customer reactions (Cao and Zhao 2004; Iqbal, Verma, and Baran 2003; Kim and
Lee 2002; Rahul, Lakshmi, and Salam 2003; Rust and Kannan 2002; Santos 2003;
Thompson 2002; Mummalaneni 2005). One change created by the move from physical
service locations to Internet or other virtual service processes is the nature of the
'servicescape' that customers encounter (Bitner 1992). We focus on this aspect of e-service.
The "servicescape" – the set of tangible, physical cues that represent an organization
to its clients – has been shown to strongly influence customer behavior and satisfaction
(Bitner 1992; Stone and English 1998; Wirtz and Bateson 1999; Yun et al. 2001;
Mummalaneni 2005). The design of the virtual site that customers encounter in an e-
service setting can be labeled the "virtual servicescape", and is likely to influence customer
feelings toward, perceptions of, and inclinations to do business with an organization
(Browne, Durrett, and Wetherbe 2004; Mummalaneni 2005). When sales or service
encounters occur through virtual means (i.e., in a 'bricks and clicks' service setting or in a
'clicks only' setting), the servicescape may become particularly critical, because it is the
key artifact representing the organization to customers (Rafaeli and Pratt 2005). This
artifact is likely to invoke in customers particular images and expectations regarding the
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 4
organization (Rafaeli and Vilnai-Yavetz 2004a), producing emotional responses as well as
behavioral reactions (Browne, Durrett, and Wetherbe 2004; Hall and Hanna 2004).
In this study we explore just how the virtual servicescape affects customer
perceptions and reactions. Various virtual representations have been evaluated in previous
research, especially with regard to their aesthetic impact and appeal (Tractinsky and Zmiri
in press). However, following Rafaeli and Vilnai-Yavetz (2004a), we suggest that analysis
of such representations should consider two independent and complementary dimensions –
aesthetics and symbolism. Below we predict that these dimensions will influence customer
satisfaction and customer approach toward a service interaction. We then examine emotion
(feelings of pleasantness) as a mediator of these relationships. Our research model is
summarized in Figure 1, which also summarizes the research hypotheses that are
developed below.
[Insert Figure 1 about here]
Aesthetics and Symbolism of Virtual Servicescapes and Customer Satisfaction
Our first goal in this paper is to establish how the aesthetics of virtual servicescapes
affects customer reactions. Aesthetics, as noted by Nasar (1988; 1994), Tractinsky and
Zmiri (in press), and Rafaeli and Vilnai-Yavetz (2004b), deals with the sensory experience
elicited by an artifact, and the extent to which this experience tallies with individual goals
and attitudes. Aesthetics can be predicted to affect customer reactions because customers
are likely to have expectations regarding the aesthetics of a virtual servicescape, and
customer satisfaction is likely to result from the extent to which these expectations are met
(Booms and Bitner 1981; Bitner 1990; 1992; Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman 1993;
1996). Previous work has documented that customers expect to find aesthetic design in a
service place, and are more satisfied when the design of a servicescape is aesthetic rather
than unaesthetic (Nasar 1988; Hall and Hanna 2004; Tractinsky and Zmiri in press).
Extending these findings to the context of virtual servicescapes, customers can be
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 5
predicted to be more satisfied by a virtual interaction that takes place in a more aesthetic
virtual servicescape. Hence our first hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Customers will be more satisfied when service is offered in an
aesthetic virtual servicescape than when the same service is offered in a
less aesthetic virtual servicescape.
Support of Hypothesis 1 will be an important extension of previous work on
aesthetics, because it will document the importance of aesthetics in situations where
customers are experiencing the notion being judged (i.e., the servicescape) virtually rather
than physically. Previous research on servicescapes has focused on the physical premises
of an organization, while in virtual service the servicescape is experienced via a computer
screen - potentially a completely different experience.
Our second goal in this paper is to explore the symbolism of virtual servicescapes as
a dimension that influences customer reactions. Symbolism refers to the associations
elicited by an artifact (Jones 1996; Pratt and Rafaeli 2001), and has been shown in previous
research to be empirically separate in people's perceptions from aesthetics (Vilnai-Yavetz,
Rafaeli, and Schneider-Yaacov 2005; Tractinsky and Zmiri in press). This suggests that a
virtual servicescape can be perceived by customers as aesthetic or unaesthetic, and
independently be perceived as symbolizing qualities such as friendliness, good service,
high status or high prices.
We specifically examine the symbolism of professionalism elicited by a virtual
servicescape, predicting that the extent to which a virtual servicescape symbolizes (i.e.,
elicits associations of) professionalism positively relates to customer satisfaction. As with
aesthetics, this prediction is based on the assumption that customers expect professionalism
in a servicescape (e.g., Serena, Lee-Chai, and Bargh 2001), and that customer satisfaction
is determined by the degree to which these expectations are met (Bitner 1990; Zeithaml,
Berry, and Parasuraman 1993; 1996). Hence our second hypothesis:
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 6
Hypothesis 2: Satisfaction will be greater when service is provided in a virtual
servicescape perceived as more professional.
As with other factors that affect customer satisfaction, the aesthetics and
professionalism of a virtual servicescape have implications for customers' willingness to
(or approach rather than avoidance toward) continued business with a service provider
(Russell and Mehrabian 1978; Pratt and Rafaeli 2001; Feng, Lazar, and Preece 2004). As
documented by Dube, Chebat, and Morin (1995), the conditions that foster greater
satisfaction are also likely to foster greater approach tendencies. Thus, as summarized in
Figure 1, we predict a relationship between the aesthetics and professionalism of a virtual
servicescape and customer approach toward the virtual service interaction:
Hypothesis 3: A more aesthetic virtual servicescape will create stronger approach
toward a service interaction.
Hypothesis 4: A virtual servicescape judged as more professional will create stronger
approach toward a service interaction.
Feelings of Pleasantness as Mediating the Relationship between Virtual Servicescape
and Customer Reactions
When claiming that aesthetics and professionalism affect customer reactions toward
a virtual servicescape, an important question is what psychological dynamics underlie
these effects. Our next set of predictions suggests the key role of emotion, and specifically
feelings of pleasantness (Mehrabian and Russell 1974; Russell and Pratt 1980), in this
regard.
First, both aesthetics and professionalism can be predicted to directly evoke feelings
of pleasantness – that is, agreeable or pleasing sensations. The aesthetics of physical
settings has been shown to work in this manner (Nasar 1994; Strati 1999), with good
aesthetics (operationally defined as beauty, tidiness and order) evoking feelings of
pleasantness, and poor aesthetics (defined as ugliness, dirt, messiness or disorganization)
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 7
producing the opposite (Berlyne 1971; Gilboa and Rafaeli 2003). It has also been
documented that customers’ interactions with virtual servicescapes influence their
emotional responses (Novak, Hoffman, and Yung 2000; Mummalaneni 2005). We can
therefore predict that an aesthetic virtual servicescape will be more pleasant to customers:
Hypothesis 5: Customer feelings of pleasantness will be higher in response to an
aesthetic virtual servicescape than in response to a less aesthetic virtual
servicescape.
An image of professionalism communicated by a virtual servicescape can likewise be
predicted to inspire feelings of pleasantness. An impression of professionalism has been
linked to pleasant feelings in physical settings (Rafaeli and Vilnai-Yavetz 2004b). In a
virtual environment, Mummalaneni (2005) showed that a website design factor that can be
viewed as symbolizing professionalism – based, among other items, on whether a design is
well-organized, comfortable, and well-displayed – correlates with feelings of pleasantness.
By extension, we predict similar reactions to the perceived professionalism of a virtual
servicescape:
Hypothesis 6: Customer feelings of pleasantness will be higher when a virtual
servicescape is perceived as communicating professionalism.
Our hypotheses thus far do not predict the role that emotional reactions to aesthetics
and professionalism (and specifically feelings of pleasantness) play in predicting customer
satisfaction or approach toward a service interaction. Yet building on available research on
physical and virtual service, we can make such predictions. Customers' feelings of
pleasantness were found to mediate the influence of the physical servicescape on their
behavior (Donovan and Rossiter 1982; Babin and Darden 1995; Sherman, Mathur, and
Smith 1997). Mummalaneni (2005) extended these findings to specific features of the
virtual servicescape (such as size, attractiveness, type of display, and quality of signage)
and documented the mediating effect of pleasantness on the relationship between website
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 8
characteristics and on-line shopping behaviors. Building on Nasar (1994), we expect a
direct link between aesthetics and pleasantness. We also assume that greater feelings of
pleasantness increase customer satisfaction and approach toward a service interaction
(Dube, Chebat, and Morin 1995). Thus, we expect the relationship between the aesthetics
of the virtual servicescape and customer reactions (satisfaction and approach toward a
service interaction) to be mediated by customer feelings of pleasantness:
Hypothesis 7: Customer feelings of pleasantness will mediate the relationship
between aesthetics of a virtual servicescape and customer reactions
(satisfaction and approach toward a service interaction).
In contrast, we see no foundation for predicting emotion as a mediator between
professionalism and customer reactions. Professionalism, as discussed earlier, is an
association. It therefore represents a symbolic rather than a sensory notion, and symbolism
relies on a cognitive rather than emotional process (Ornstein 1986; Frost and Morgan
1983; Jones 1996). Similar to other cognitive notions, professionalism may evoke
emotions (Smith & Ellsworth, 1985; Rafaeli & Vilnai-Yavetz, 2004b). However there is no
foundation to expect emotions to explain the effect of cognitive notions such as
professionalism on other variables. Thus, we do not expect the relationship between the
professionalism of a virtual servicescape and either customer satisfaction or approach
toward a service interaction to be mediated by feelings of pleasantness:
Hypothesis 8: Customer feelings of pleasantness will not mediate the relationship
between the professionalism communicated by a virtual servicescape and
customer satisfaction or approach toward a service interaction.
In sum, the hypotheses of the study – as summarized in Figure 1 – suggest
relationships between three sets of variables: (1) the aesthetics and professionalism of a
virtual servicescape; (2) customer feelings of pleasantness; and (3) customer satisfaction
with the service and approach toward a service interaction. The aesthetics and
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 9
professionalism of a virtual servicescape are predicted to influence customer satisfaction and
customer approach toward a service interaction. Customer feelings of pleasantness are
predicted to mediate the relationship between the aesthetics, but not the associated
professionalism, of a virtual servicescape and customer reactions (satisfaction and approach
toward a service interaction).
METHOD
Data were collected using an experimental, between-subjects design of 2 (levels of
aesthetics) x 2 (levels of professionalism). Participants were told they had been recruited to
evaluate a new method of service delivery through the Internet, and they were asked to
help by offering their feedback on a demonstration of the new method. During the study,
participants sat at PC terminals, through which they operated a program in which they
viewed a service provider who instructed them on how to operate a product they had
presumably purchased. At several points during the session the participants were asked by
the service provider to use their mouse to click on various locations on their screen (they
were required to do this for the program to continue). Participants assumed they were
interacting with the service provider in real time through an Internet connection.
Four conditions created the experimental manipulation of the virtual servicescape.
These conditions were identical in all respects, save for the aesthetics and professionalism
of the physical setting that served as backdrop to the virtual encounter (Figure 2). In all
conditions the same male service provider performed the same set of actions, while sitting
at the same workstation; in each case the provider spoke directly to the observer (the study
participant). Digital editing of the service provider's scripted behavior was integrated with
programming in Visual Basic to produce the interactive features of the program. The
approximate time of each virtual interaction was 1.5 minutes, with slight deviations due to
variations in the speed with which participants responded to each stimulus. Thus,
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 10
participants experienced an interactive program that required their active participation to
proceed, simulating a real e-service set-up while allowing complete experimental control
over the study variables.
We chose this type of e-service program based on the findings of Basso et al. (2001),
who studied shoppers' loyalty to an e-commerce website. Their results showed that real-
time interactivity in a web interface, as compared with a standard web interface, made
shoppers more likely to judge a salesperson trustworthy. The interactive condition of their
study included features similar to ours, such as a TV-based application that allowed a
salesperson to talk to the customer. The decreasing cost of transferring video images
suggests that such a tool for offering service over the Internet will likely become feasible
in the not-too-distant future. Figure 2 presents still images from the four experimental
conditions.
[Insert Figure 2 about here]
Participants
Participants included 137 employees of various organizations (82 males and 55
females, aged 18-65), who participated in the study on a volunteer basis.
Data Collection Process
Participants were contacted by a research assistant and asked to help evaluate a new
method for e-service. Following brief instructions, participants were randomly assigned to
one of the four conditions. Each participant experienced only one experimental condition,
for a between-subjects design. A set of structured questions appeared on the screen after all
service interactions. Participants indicated their responses to these questions by clicking
with a mouse.
Independent Variables: Aesthetics and Professionalism of the Virtual Servicescape
Aesthetics of the virtual servicescape included two levels. In the high aesthetics
condition the service provider sat at a neat desk with a small vase of fresh flowers on it.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 11
The low aesthetics condition featured a messy desk on which were scattered torn papers,
coffee cups, and an ashtray filled with cigarette stubs.
Professionalism of the virtual servicescape also included two levels. In the high
professionalism condition, a bulletin board behind the desk displayed Excel tables, graphs,
and lists. In the low professionalism condition, the bulletin board showed stickers, cartoons,
fast food menus, postcards, and children’s drawings.
Dependent Variables
Customer feelings of pleasantness were measured by an index of 3 items (using a 5-
point Likert agreement scale, with 5 for "strongly agree" and 1 for "strongly disagree")
adapted from Mehrabian and Russell (1974), and empirically supported by Russell and
Pratt (1980): "I feel pleasant while looking at this office;" "The office gives me a pleasant
feeling;" and "The office gives me a comfortable feeling" (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.87). The
term "office" was intentionally used in these items to strengthen participants' belief that
they were interacting with a real yet remote service provider.
Satisfaction with virtual service was measured via an index that integrated multiple
approaches to customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1997; Szymanski & Henard, 2001). The index
aggregated 4 single-item measures so that it captures overall satisfaction with the service,
broadly defined (Szymanski & Henard, 2001). The index reflected the understanding of
satisfaction as a broad construct that can comprise multiple perceptions, including that a
service is needed in order to be satisfying, a sense that a service that meets one's needs
promotes satisfaction, a general sense that one is satisfied with a service, and a sense that
when satisfied one would recommend a service to others. The index therefore included the
following 4 items (using a 5-point scale): perceived necessity of the service ("Do you think
there is a need for such an e-service method?", with 5 for "certainly yes" and 1 for
"certainly not"), intentions to use the service ("Would you use this e-service method when
it becomes available?", with 5 for "certainly yes" and 1 for "certainly not"), overall
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 12
satisfaction with the service ("How satisfied are you with the way this method was
applied?", with 5 for "highly satisfied" and 1 for "very unsatisfied"), and willingness to
recommend the service to others ("Would you recommend this e-service method to any of
your friends or family members?", with 5 for "certainly yes" and 1 for "certainly not")
(Cronbach's Alpha=0.90).
Customer approach toward the service interaction was measured with a 3-item
index (using a 5-point Likert agreement scale, with 5 for "strongly agree" and 1 for
"strongly disagree") adapted from Russell and Mehrabian (1978): "I would like this
employee to deal with all my e-service business;" "I would enjoy interacting online with
this employee" and "I prefer that this employee not deal with my e-service business in the
future" (reverse coded) (Cronbach's Alpha=0.81).
Manipulation Check
Two tests confirmed the validity of our manipulation. First, a pilot study with a set of
participants (n=30) unrelated to the study sample verified that participants saw no difference
between the four conditions in regard to the performance of the service provider. However,
when these participants rated the professionalism and aesthetics of the virtual service setting
they encountered (using a 5-point Likert scale, see Table 1), their ratings confirmed the two
levels of the (independent) design variables (high aesthetics: 3.4, low aesthetics: 1.9 ,t(135)=
2.8, p<0.01; high professionalism: 2.5, low professionalism: 1.9, t(135)= 2.2, p<0.05).
Second, study participants were asked to rate the aesthetics and professionalism of the
virtual service setting they encountered (using a 5-point Likert agreement scale, with 5 for
"strongly agree" and 1 for "strongly disagree") on two items that measured aesthetics ("this
office is very beautiful" and "this office is ugly" (reverse coded), Cronbach’s alpha=0.64);
and four that measured professionalism ("the offices of employees in this firm show the high
professionalism of the firm", "this office shows that there is a strict policy in this company
regarding employees", "this office shows that the company in which he works is very
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 13
professional", and "judging from this office it is reasonable that there are clear and well
defined policies in this firm", Cronbach’s alpha=0.86), as summarized in Table 1.
As expected, aesthetics was rated significantly higher in the condition experimentally
designed as higher aesthetics than in the condition designed as lower aesthetics (3.3 versus
2.7) (t(135)= 2.8, p<0.01), and professionalism was rated significantly higher in the condition
experimentally designed to appear more professional than in the condition designed to
appear less professional (2.7 as compared to 2.3) (t(135)=2.9, p<0.01). Thus, participant
perceptions of aesthetics and professionalism confirmed the experimental manipulation had
worked.
Our method, therefore, allowed for a complete and accurate manipulation of the virtual
servicescape, while maintaining experimental accuracy and capturing the situation from the
customer's point of view (Echeverri 2000). Following Bateson and Hui (1992), the
psychological effects of our method can be assumed to be similar to the effects of real-life e-
service interactions, while the internal validity of the study is ensured.
Construct validity of study variables
Confirmatory as well as Exploratory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) established the
construct validity of our variables. As shown in Table 1, perceptions of the virtual
servicescape included two factors - the independent variables, with Factor 1 representing
perceived professionalism and Factor 2 corresponding to perceived aesthetics. Results of
EFA Promax oblique rotation revealed this factor pattern, with a correlation between the
factors of .44. The various fit measures for the CFA were largely satisfactory and the
interfactor correlation in the CFA was .64. Thus, both EFA and CFA supported the
theoretical structure of the research variables.
As seen in Table 2, participants’ reactions included three distinct factors – the
mediating and dependent variables, with Factor 1 representing customer satisfaction, Factor
2 representing feelings of pleasantness, and Factor 3 corresponding to approach toward a
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 14
service interaction. The strong loadings of the variables' items on their corresponding
factors (in both EFA and CFA) support the validity of the variables. Results of EFA Promax
oblique rotation revealed this factor pattern, with a correlation between the factors ranging
from .52 to .58. The various fit measures for the CFA are also good. The interfactor
correlations between pairs of variables in the CFA ranged from .52 to .76. Thus, both EFA
and CFA supported the theoretically presumed structure of the research variables. Table 3
presents means, standard deviations and inter-correlations of the dependent variables.
[Insert Tables 1, 2 and 3 about here]
RESULTS
We first tested our predictions using the experimental conditions as independent
variables. As elaborated below, these analyses confirmed most, but not all, of our
hypotheses. A second test, using participants' perceptions of aesthetics and professionalism
as independent variables, confirmed all the research hypotheses.
Customer Satisfaction and Approach toward a Service Interaction
Supporting Hypothesis 1, customer satisfaction was significantly higher with a more
aesthetic than with a less aesthetic virtual servicescape (3.4 as compared to 2.8, F(1,135)=
13.04, p< 0.001). In support of Hypothesis 2, satisfaction was also higher with a more than
with a less professional virtual servicescape (3.3 versus 2.9, F(1,135)= 6.72, p< 0.01).
Hypothesis 3 was also supported, since reported approach toward a service interaction was
significantly higher among participants who experienced a more rather than a less aesthetic
virtual servicescape (3.4 as compared to 2.9, F(1,135)= 7.41, p< 0.01). However, Hypothesis 4
was not supported, since professionalism of the virtual servicescape had no effect on
customer approach toward a service interaction. The interaction between aesthetics and
professionalism had no significant effect on the analyses (see Table 4).
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 15
Feelings of Pleasantness and Qualities of the Virtual Servicescape
As predicted by Hypothesis 5, customer feelings of pleasantness were significantly
higher when the experienced virtual servicescape was more aesthetic than when it was less
aesthetics (3.1 versus 2.4, F(1,135)= 14.43, p< 0.001). However, Hypothesis 6 was not
supported, as there was no significant difference between the two conditions of
professionalism in reported feelings of pleasantness. The interaction between aesthetics and
professionalism did not have a significant effect on reported pleasantness. (See Table 4).
[Insert Table 4 about here]
Hypotheses 7 and 8, as depicted in Figure 1, suggested feelings of pleasantness as the
mediator between aesthetics of the virtual servicescape, but not professionalism, and
participant reactions (satisfaction and approach toward a service interaction). As
summarized in Tables 5 and 6, we followed Baron and Kenny's (1986) recommendations to
test the mediation predictions.
First - Stage 1 in Tables 5 and 6 - we verified that the mediator (feelings of
pleasantness) was predicted by the two independent variables (aesthetics and
professionalism). Second – Stage 2 in Tables 5 and 6 - we explored whether the dependent
variables (satisfaction and approach toward a service interaction) were predicted by the
independent variables. Third – Stage 3 in Tables 5 and 6 - we examined what happened
when the predicted mediator (pleasantness) was added to the independent variables
(aesthetics and professionalism) and both were entered as predictors of the respective
dependent variables.
These analyses confirmed that, as predicted by Hypothesis 7, feelings of pleasantness
mediated the relationship between aesthetics of the virtual servicescape and customer
satisfaction. A significant relationship was found between aesthetics and feelings of
pleasantness (the mediator) in Stage 1 (Beta = 0.31, p<0.001). Stages 2 and 3 suggested
partial mediation since, as evident in Table 5, the relationship between aesthetics and
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 16
satisfaction was significant in Stage 2 (Beta = 0.29, p>0.001), and remained significant but
became weaker in Stage 3 (Beta = 0.16, p<0.05), where pleasantness was highly related to
satisfaction (Beta= 0.42, p < 0 .001). Thus, pleasantness was shown to explain some but not
all of the variance in satisfaction explained by aesthetics.
[Insert Table 5 about here]
These analyses also confirmed that – as predicted by Hypothesis 8 - pleasantness did
not mediate the relationship between professionalism as symbolized by the virtual
servicescape and customer satisfaction. As can be seen in Table 5, the relationship between
professionalism and feelings of pleasantness was not significant in Stage 1, and an
insignificant change occurred between Stages 2 and 3, in the relationship between
professionalism and satisfaction, after pleasantness was included in the regression equation.
The pattern is similar with regard to the relationship between aesthetics and
professionalism and approach toward a service interaction. Consistent with Hypothesis 7,
feelings of pleasantness fully mediated the relationship between aesthetics and customer
approach toward a service interaction. The mediation is evident in Table 6. As this table
shows, in Stage 1 we found a significant relationship between aesthetics and pleasantness
(the mediator) (Beta = 0.31, p<0.001). At the same time, the relationship between aesthetics
and approach toward a service interaction is significant in Stage 2 (Beta = 0.23, p<0.01), but
becomes non-significant in Stage 3 (when pleasantness is included in the regression), where
the effect of pleasantness is significant (Beta= 0.60, p <0 .001).
Here as well, as also predicted by Hypothesis 8, feelings of pleasantness did not
mediate the relationship between professionalism and approach toward a service interaction.
The relationship between professionalism and pleasantness (the mediator) was not
significant in Stage 1, and there was no relationship between professionalism and approach
toward a service interaction either before or after pleasantness was added to the regression
equation (Table 6).
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 17
[Insert Table 6 about here]
Customer Perceptions of Qualities of the Virtual Servicescape as Independent
Variables
Our data allowed for two complementary sets of analyses. Our primary focus – as
described above – concerned participant reactions to the experimental conditions of
aesthetics and professionalism. These analyses make an unambiguous statement about
causality because they rule out effects of same-method variance, since the experimental
conditions are the independent variables and these were externally defined and imposed
upon the participant (Campbell and Stanley 1966). Testing our hypotheses using the
experimental conditions as independent variables confirmed 4 of the first 6 hypotheses, but
left 2 hypotheses unsupported.
A second mode of data analysis was afforded by participants' perceptions of the
aesthetics and professionalism of the virtual servicescapes. These perceptions could also be
considered as predictors of pleasantness, satisfaction and approach toward a service
interaction (Hypotheses 1-6). These analyses run the risk of same-method variance, since in
each case both the independent variables (aesthetics and professionalism) and the dependent
variables (feelings of pleasantness, satisfaction, and approach) came from the same
participants. However, these analyses offer additional insight into the issues at hand in that
they explore our hypotheses through participants' subjective perceptions.
In this second set of analyses, when the independent variables were participants'
perceptions of aesthetics and professionalism rather than the experimental manipulations, all
first 6 hypotheses were confirmed. Virtual servicescape perceptions were significant
predictors of satisfaction (aesthetics: Beta=0.31, p<0.001; professionalism: Beta=0.27,
p<0.01) and of approach toward a service interaction (aesthetics: Beta=0.34, p<0.001;
professionalism: Beta=0.29, p<0.01), supporting Hypotheses 1 to 4 (Table 7). Similarly,
both perceived aesthetics and perceived professionalism were found to be significant
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 18
predictors of feelings of pleasantness (aesthetics: Beta=0.58, p<0.001; professionalism:
Beta=0.28, p<0.01). Thus, Hypotheses 5 and 6 were also supported, as summarized in Table
7.
[Insert Table 7 about here]
A final set of mediation analyses examined Hypotheses 7 and 8 using perceived
aesthetics and professionalism. These analyses fully supported Hypothesis 7 and as before
confirmed that feelings of pleasantness mediated the relationship between aesthetics of the
virtual servicescape and customer satisfaction, as well as the relationship between aesthetics
and customer approach toward a service interaction. A significant relationship was found
between aesthetics and feelings of pleasantness (the mediator) in Stage 1 of both analyses
(Beta = 0.58, p<0.001). In stage 2 the relationship between aesthetics and customer
satisfaction as well as the relationship between aesthetics and approach toward a service
interaction was significant (for customer satisfaction: Beta = 0.31, p<0.001; for approach
toward a service interaction: Beta = 0.34, p<0.001). Both relationships become non-
significant in Stage 3 (when pleasantness was included in the regression), while the effect of
pleasantness was significant (effect on customer satisfaction: Beta = 0.26, p<0.05; effect on
approach toward a service interaction: Beta = 0.50, p<0.001).
With regards to Hypothesis 8 the results were somewhat different from those observed
with the experimentally manipulated professionalism. Feelings of pleasantness partially
mediated between professionalism and satisfaction (stage 1- effect on pleasantness: Beta =
0.28, p<0.001; stage 2 - effect on satisfaction: Beta = 0.27, p<0.001; stage 3 - effect on
satisfaction: Beta = 0.20, p<0.05, effect of pleasantness on satisfaction: Beta = 0.26,
p<0.05). Feelings of pleasantness also partially mediated between professionalism and
approach toward a service interaction (stage 1- effect on pleasantness: Beta = 0.28, p<0.001;
stage 2 - effect on approach toward a service interaction: Beta = 0.29, p<0.001; stage 3 -
effect on approach toward a service interaction: Beta = 0.16, p<0.05, effect of pleasantness
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 19
on approach toward a service interaction: Beta = 0.50, p<0.001). These unexpected partial
mediation effects seem attributable to the fact that these analyses rely on same source data,
since all variables in the analyses reflect participants' self-report.
Overall, our findings support our theoretical framework, as depicted in Figure 1,
documenting the effects of aesthetics and professionalism on various customer reactions,
and illustrating the importance of distinguishing between these two distinct aspects of a
virtual servicescape in influencing customers.
DISCUSSION
Our findings suggest that certain aspects of the virtual servicescape influence customer
reactions to service delivered through virtual means. The aesthetics of the virtual
servicescape were found to influence customer feelings of pleasantness, satisfaction with the
service, and approach toward a service interaction. In our experimental manipulation, the
professionalism of the virtual servicescape was found to influence customer satisfaction, but
not feelings of pleasantness or approach toward service interaction. However, when viewed
through the prism of participants' perceptions, professionalism did influence these variables,
suggesting that professionalism does evoke emotion and that people do associate
professionalism with their approach toward a service interaction.
Our findings also reveal the important role played by feelings of pleasantness in
mediating the relationship between virtual servicescapes and both customer satisfaction and
customer approach toward a service interaction, thus supporting previous research
documenting the mediating effects of pleasantness in physical as well as virtual settings
(Donovan and Rossiter 1982; Babin and Darden 1995; Sherman, Mathur, and Smith 1997;
Mummalaneni 2005). These results affirm the centrality of emotion as a key variable in
explaining customer reactions to different aspects of service. Customer feelings of
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 20
pleasantness were shown to clearly and powerfully mediate the relationship between the
aesthetics of the virtual servicescape and customer approach toward a service interaction. In
addition, customer feelings of pleasantness were shown to partially mediate the relationship
between the aesthetics of the virtual servicescape and customer satisfaction. Using perceived
aesthetics it was found that pleasantness fully mediates the relationship between the
aesthetics of the virtual servicescape and customer approach toward a service interaction as
well as the relationship between the aesthetics and customer satisfaction.
It thus appears that while the pleasant sensations aroused by aesthetics certainly help
to produce satisfied customers, other dynamics are also at play here. These results are
important because they suggest a distinction between the emotion – pleasantness – and the
reaction – satisfaction, two concepts that are often considered identical. Further research is
required to unravel the additional dynamics involved
The results further clarify when emotion is likely to serve as a key explanatory
variable. Customer feelings of pleasantness were not found to mediate the relationship
between the professionalism communicated by a virtual servicescape and either customer
satisfaction or approach toward a service interaction. With regards to customer perceptions
of professionalism, feelings of pleasantness partially mediated between professionalism and
satisfaction as well as approach toward a service interaction. We suggest that these
unexpected partial mediation effects are attributable to the fact that these analyses rely on
same source data, since all variables in the analyses reflect participants' self-report. In any
case, however, consistent with Nasar (1994) and others, we find that while emotion does
mediate the effects of aesthetics on customer reactions, it does not do the same for
professionalism. Professionalism is a symbolic interpretation of an observed artifact, and as
such involves cognitive as well as emotional processes (Nasar 1994; Rafaeli and Vilnai-
Yavetz 2004a). Such symbolic interpretations are complex (Cohen 1976; Jones 1996) and
difficult to predict.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 21
In systematically assessing reactions to virtual servicescapes, this study draws a
connection between Bitner's (1992) ideas regarding the effects of servicescapes on customer
reactions and the current trend toward alternative types of service interactions, especially
electronic or virtual interactions (Rust and Kannan 2002). Reports concerning physical
environments are beginning to confirm the separate and simultaneous effects of
functionality, aesthetics and symbolism of such environments (Strati 1992; Rafaeli and
Vilnai-Yavetz 2004b). Our findings extend this work, showing that virtual environments, no
less than physical ones, should be considered in light of aesthetics as a dimension separate
from symbolism, thus enriching our ability to predict the reactions of customers. Our study
thus adds an important dimension, symbolism, to previous work on aesthetics (Hall and
Hanna 2004; Lavie and Tractinsky 2004) and functionality (Nielsen 2000; Hong, Tam, and
Yim 2002) in an e-service context, which have been highlighted elsewhere.
Our findings suggest that the effects of aesthetics are stronger and more
straightforward than the effects of symbolism. These are important findings, because they
further elevate the importance of aesthetics in service management. Aesthetics appears to be
a major factor in producing top-quality service that deserves both research and managerial
attention.
A close look at our findings reveals a paradox of sorts. On the one hand, individuals'
perceptions of professionalism were found to influence their feelings of pleasantness and
approach tendencies. On the other, 'objective' professionalism, determined by our
experimental design, did not have a significant effect on these reactions. We believe that this
paradox should not be viewed as negating the importance of symbolism. On the contrary,
our findings most likely reflect the greater complexity of symbolism (Cohen 1976; Jones
1996), where professionalism is but one association that can be drawn from the appearance
of a service site. Other associations may produce different customer responses, which may
mask or confound the effects of professionalism. For instance, the virtual servicescape we
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 22
studied – in which the more "professional" setting was deliberately designed to look formal,
because of a presumed association between formality and professionalism – may elicit in
some people the association of conservatism, rather than professionalism. This alternative
association might alienate some customers and make them less likely to want to engage in
service interactions with this organization.
An additional consideration in this regard is that our study participants were Israelis,
who are known to hold ambivalent attitudes toward formality (Schwartz 1999; Hofstede
2001; Vilnai-Yavetz, Rafaeli, and Ramati 2004). Such ambivalence may color reactions to a
highly professional setup, such as the one we studied, in a unique fashion: The conflict
between two forces may have attenuated the effects of professionalism on consumer
reactions: On the one hand, some of our participants may have appreciated the
professionalism, which would have improved their attitude toward the more professional
set-up. On the other hand, other participants may have been turned-off by the greater
formality. These cultural dynamics may have colored our participants' reactions to the
formal, "professional" setting and contaminated our findings. Replicating our study in other
cultures would enable us to assess the implications of culture on attitudes toward
professionalism in the design of e-service and virtual servicescapes (Hall and Hall 1990;
Hofstede 2001).
One interesting question that our study could not address, but which is worthy of
exploration, concerns the potential effects of a virtual servicescape at different junctures of
an interaction between a customer and an organization. The classic idea of the 'moment of
truth' in service delivery (Gronroos 1990) takes on completely new meaning when it comes
to e-service or service interactions conducted through 'clicks' rather than with 'bricks'
(Browne, Durrett, and Wetherbe 2004). In the case of physical service environments, initial
'first-impression' effects of the servicescape have been documented (Morrow and McElroy
1981; Baron 1994; Sherman, Mathur, and Smith 1997; Scholder-Ellen and Fitzgerald-Bone
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 23
1998), as well as continuous effects over the course of a more prolonged interaction
(Donovan and Rossiter 1982; Oldham 1988; Bitner 1992; Babin and Darden 1995; Dube,
Chebat, and Morin 1995; Oldham, Cummings, and Zhou 1995). In the case of e-service, the
first-impression effects are most critical because the costs for a customer of transfer from
one setting to another are much lower. Our study documents these first-impression effects
on reported tendencies. The 1.5-minute duration of the virtual interaction in our study is
longer than the few seconds within which first impressions of a web site are created, but
falls clearly within the realm of initial exposure or first impressions.
Managerial Implications
The idea of e-service is of great interest to service organizations because of its
advantages over physical service in terms of lower costs and easier access to customers.
However, it remains an open question whether customers prefer the personal, human touch
of classic service interactions over impersonal, 'clicks only' service. Thus far, advocates of
both arguments can find support in the literature. For instance, Steinbruck et al. (2002)
found that including photographs of customer service agents in an e-bank's website made
customers more likely to express trust in the site. Similarly, Basso et al. (2001) showed that
interacting with a salesperson in real time made customers more likely to judge the
salesperson as friendly and trustworthy. On the other hand, it has been argued that social and
affective cues, such as photos, can be a risky strategy if the photos are not perceived as
functional (Riegelsberger and Sasse 2002). Jeandrain (2001) showed that consumer
reactions to the design of a virtual shop are not uniform, and depend primarily on individual
buying styles: People who regard shopping as recreation seem to prefer shopping in a
realistic virtual shop, while those who consider shopping a task prefer the convenience of
physical stores. Our study begins to connect these findings by exploring what happens when
service is delivered through personal interaction in a virtual rather than physical setting. A
classic extension of our study, which could further clarify this complex issue, would involve
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 24
comparing our setup to a web site featuring all the text heard by our participants, but without
the personal touch afforded by the human actor.
Assuming customer preferences for a personalized interaction (Basso et al. 2001;
Steinbruck et al. 2002), the setup we used could conceivably become a standard service
procedure. For example, in cellular phone customer service, call center staff provide service
either by phone or over the Internet; the latter, while faster and less expensive for
organizations, is far less popular with customers, most likely because of the absence of
personal contact. Moreover, the lack of visual interface with customers may create
alienation among call center employees. The service procedure we suggest, Internet service
with visual interface, might be a way to improve quality of service while lowering costs, as
suggested by Hallowell (2002a; 2002b).
The bottom line of our study is that a virtual servicescape, no less than a physical one,
can have strong effects on customer emotions, customer satisfaction, and customer approach
toward a service interaction. Thus, the managerial attention to servicescapes recommended
by Bitner (1992) must not be forgotten in the design of virtual-service delivery, with special
attention given to the aesthetics and symbolism of such designs.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 25
REFERENCES
Babin, Barry J. and William R. Darden (1995), "Consumer self-regulation in a retail
environment," Journal of Retailing, 71 (1), 47-70.
Baron, Reuben M. and David A. Kenny (1986), "The moderator-mediator variable
distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical
considerations," Journal of personality and social psychology, 51 (6), 1173-82.
Baron, Robert A. (1994), "The physical environment of work setting: Effects on task
performance, interpersonal relations, and job satisfaction," Research in Organizational
Behavior, 16, 1-46.
Basso, Andrea, David Goldberg, Steven Greenspan, and David Weimer (2001), "First
impressions: emotional and cognitive factors underlying judgments of trust e-
commerce," in Electronic Commerce - the 3rd ACM conference on Electronic
Commerce. Tampa, Florida, USA, 137-143.
Bateson, John E.G. and Michael K. Hui (1992), "The ecological validity of photographic
slides and videotapes in simulating the service setting," Journal of Consumer
Research, 19 (September), 271-81.
Berlyne, Daniel E. (1971), Aesthetics and psychobiology. New York: Appleton century
crofits.
Bitner, Mary Jo (1990), "Evaluating service encounters: The effects of physical
surroundings and employees responses," Journal of Marketing, 54 (2), 69-82.
---- (1992), "Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and
employees," Journal of Marketing, 56, 57-71.
Booms, Bernard H. and Mary Jo Bitner (1981), "Marketing strategies and organization
structures for service firms," in Marketing of services, James H. Donnelly and William
R. George, R., Eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 26
Browne, Glenn J., John R. Durrett, and James C. Wetherbe (2004), "Consumer reactions
toward clicks and bricks: Investigating buying behaviour on-line and at stores,"
Behaviour & Information Technology, 23 (4), 237 - 45.
Campbell, Donald Thomas and Julian C. Stanley (1966), Experimental and quasi-
experimental design. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Cao, Yong and Hao Zhao (2004), "Evaluations of e-tailers' delivery fulfillment: Implications
of firm characteristics and buyer heterogeneity," Journal of Service Research, 6 (4),
347-60.
Cohen, Aaron P. (1976), Two dimensional man: An essay on the anthropology of power and
symbolism in complex society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Donovan, Robert and John R. Rossiter (1982), "Store atmosphere: An environmental
psychology approach," Journal of Retailing, 58 (1), 34-57.
Dube, Laurette, Jean-Charles Chebat, and Sylvie Morin (1995), "The effects of background
music on consumers' desire to affiliate in buyer-seller interaction," Psychology and
Marketing, 12 (4), 305-19.
Echeverri, Per (June 2000), "Service encounter communication: A video-based analysis of
conduct towards customers with emphasis on non-verbal communication," in QUIS 7 -
Service quality in the new economy: Interdisciplinary and international dimensions, B.
Edvardsson, S. D. Brown, R. Johnston, and E. E. Scheuing, Eds.. Karlstad, Sweden:
ISQA - International Service Quality Association Inc.
Feng, Jinjuan, Jonathan Lazar, and Jenny Preece (2004), "Empathy and online interpersonal
trust: A fragile relationship," Behaviour and Information Technology, 23 (2), 97-106.
Frost, Peter and Gareth Morgan (1983), "Symbols and sensemaking: A real-ization of a
framework," in Organizational symbolism, Louis R. Pondy, Peter Frost, Gareth
Morgan, and Thomas Dandridge, Eds. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 27
Gilboa, Shaked and Anat Rafaeli (2003), "Store environment, emotions and approach
Behavior: Applying environmental aesthetics to retailing," The International Review
of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 13 (2), 195-211.
Gronroos, Christian (1990), Service management and marketing. Lexington, Massachusets:
Lexington Books.
Hall, Edward T. and Mildred R. Hall (1990), Understanding cultural differences: Germans
French and Americans. New York: Intercultural Press.
Hall, Richard H. and Patrick Hanna (2004), "The impact of web page text-background
colour combinations on readability, retention, aesthetics and behavioural intention,"
Behaviour & Information Technology, 23 (3), 183 - 95.
Hallowell, Roger (2002a), "Service on the Internet: The effect of physical service on
scalability," Harvard Business On-line, 1-22.
---- (2002b), "Virtuous cycles: Improving service and lowering costs in e-commerce,"
Harvard Business On-line, 1-28.
Hofstede, Geert (2001), Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions
and organizations across nations (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hong, Weiyin, Kar Yan Tam, and Chi Kin (Bennett) Yim (2002), "e-Service environment:
impacts of web interface characteristics on consumers' online shopping behavior," in
e-Service: New directions in theory and practice, Roland T. Rust and P.K. Kannan,
Eds. Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Iqbal, Zafar, Rohit Verma, and Roger Baran (2003), "Understanding consumer choices and
preferences in transaction-based e-services.," Journal of Service Research, 6 (1), 51-
65.
Jeandrain, Anne-Cecile (2001), "Consumer reactions in a realistic virtual shop: influence on
buying style," Journal of Interactive Advertising, 2 (1).
(http://www.jiad.org/vol2/no1/jeandrain/).
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 28
Jones, Michael Owen, Ed. (1996), Studying organizational symbolism: what, how, why?
California: Sage publication.
Kim, Jinwoo and Jungwon Lee (2002), "Critical design factors for successful e-commerce
systems," Behaviour & Information Technology, 21 (3), 185-99.
Lavie, Tali and Noam Tractinsky (2004), "Assessing dimensions of perceived visual
aesthetics of web sites," International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 60 (3),
269-98.
Mehrabian, Albert and James A. Russell (1974), An approach to environmental psychology.
Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Morrow, Paula C. and James C. McElroy (1981), "Interior office design and visitor
response: A constructive replication," Journal of Applied Psychology, 66 (5), 646-50.
Mummalaneni, Venkatapparao (2005), “An empirical investigation of web site
characteristics, consumer emotional states and on-line shopping behaviors.” Journal of
Business Research, 58(4), 526-532.
Nasar, Jack L., Ed. (1988), Environmental aesthetics: Theory, research and applications
(1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
---- (1994), "Urban design aesthetics: The evaluative qualities of building exteriors,"
Environment and Behavior, 26 (3), 377-401.
Nielsen, Jakob (2000), Designing web usability. Indianapolis, Indiana: New Riders
Publishing.
Novak, Thomas P., Donna L. Hoffman, and Yui-Fai Yung (2000), "Measuring the customer
experience in online environments: A structural modeling approach," Marketing
Science, 19 (1), 22-44.
Oldham, Greg R. (1988), "Effects of changes in workspace partitions and spatial density on
employee reactions: A quasi-experiment," Journal of Applied Psychology, 73 (2), 253-
58.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 29
Oldham, Greg R., Anne Cummings, and Jing Zhou (1995), "The spatial configuration of
organizations: A review of the litrature and some new research directions," Research
in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 13, 1-37.
Ornstein, Suzyn (1986), "Organizational symbols: A study of their meanings and influences
on perceived psychological climate," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes, 38, 207-29.
Pratt, Michael G. and Anat Rafaeli (2001), "Symbols as a language of organizational
relationships," Research in Organizational Behavior, 23, 93-133.
Rafaeli, Anat and Michael G. Pratt (2005). Artifacts and Organizations: Beyond Mere
Symbolism. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rafaeli, Anat and Iris Vilnai-Yavetz (2004a), "Emotion as a connection of physical artifacts
and organizations," Organization Science, 15 (6), 671-686.
---- (2004b), "Instrumentality, aesthetics, and symbolism of physical artifacts as triggers of
emotion," Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 5 (1), 91-112.
Rahul, Singh, Iyer Lakshmi, and A. F. Salam (2003), "Web service for knowledge
management in e-marketplaces.," e-Service Journal, 3 (1), 32-53.
Riegelsberger, Jens and M. Angela Sasse (2002), "Face it - photos don't make a web site
trustworthy," in Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA: ACM Press, 742 - 743.
Russell, James A. and Albert Mehrabian (1978), "Approach-Avoidance and affiliation as
functions of the emotion-eliciting quality of an environment," Environment and
Behavior, 10 (3), 355-87.
Russell, James A. and Geraldine Pratt (1980), "A description of the affective quality
attributed to environments," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38 (2),
311-22.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 30
Rust, Roland T. and P. K. Kannan (2002), e-Service: New directions in theory and practice.
Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Santos, Jessica (2003), "E-service quality: a model of virtual service quality dimensions,"
Managing Service Quality, 13 (3), 233-46.
Scholder-Ellen, Pam and Paula Fitzgerald-Bone (1998), "Does it matter if it smells?
Olfactory stimuli as advertising executional cues," Journal of Advertising, 27 (4).
Schwartz, Shalom, H. (1999), "A theory of cultural values and some implications for work,"
Applied Psychology An International Review, 48 (1), 23-47.
Serena, Chen, Annette Y. Lee-Chai, and John A. Bargh (2001), "Relationship orientation as
a moderator of the effects of social power," Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 80 (2), 173-87.
Sherman, Elaine, Anil Mathur, and Ruth Belk Smith (1997), "Store environment and
consumer purchase behavior: Mediating role of consumer emotions," Psychology &
Marketing, 14 (4), 361-78.
Smith, Craig A. and Phoebe C. Ellsworth (1985), "Patterns of cognitive appraisal in
emotions," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48 (4), 813-38.
Steinbruck, Ulrike, Heike Schaumburg, Sabrina Duda, and Thomas Kruger (2002), "A
picture says more than a thousand words: photographs as trust builders in e-commerce
websites," in Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA: ACM Press, 748-749.
Stone, Nancy J. and Anthony J. English (1998), "Task type, posters, and workspace color on
mood, satisfaction, and performance," Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18, 175-
85.
Strati, Antonio (1992), "Aesthetic understanding of organizational life," Academy of
Management Review, 17 (3), 568-81.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 31
---- (1999), Organization and aesthetics (first edition). London: Sage Publications.
Thompson, S. H. Teo (2002), "Attitudes toward online shopping and the Internet,"
Behaviour & Information Technology, 21 (4), 259-71.
Tractinsky, Noam and Dror Zmiri (in press), "Exploring attributes of skins as potential
antecedents of emotion in HCI," in Aesthetic computing, P. Fishwick, Ed. Boston,
MA: MIT Press.
Vilnai-Yavetz, Iris, Anat Rafaeli, and Caryn Schneider-Yaacov (2005), "Instrumentality,
Aesthetics and Symbolism of office design," Environment and Behavior, 37 (4), 533-
551.
Vilnai-Yavetz, Iris, Anat Rafaeli, and Techiya Ramati (2004), " The Influence of Service
Providers' Appearance on Customers" (manuscript under review).
Wirtz, Jochen and John E.G. Bateson, (1999), "Consumer satisfaction with services:
Integrating the environment perspective in services marketing into the traditional
disconfirmation paradigm," Journal of Business Research, 44, 55-66.
Yun, Myung Hwan, H. Sung Han, Kwang-Jae Kim, Jiyoung Kwahk, W. Sang Hong, and
Seo Jong Kim (June 2001), "Incorporating user satisfaction into the look-and-feel of
wireless phones," in The International Conference on Affective Human Factors Design
(CAHD 2001), Martin G. Helander, Halimahtun Khalid M., and Ming Po Tham, Eds.
Singapore: ASEAN Academic press.
Zeithaml, Valerie A., Leonard L. Berry., and A. Parasuraman (1993), "The nature and
determinants of customer expectations of service," Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science, 21 (1), 1-12.
---- (1996), "The behavioral consequences of service quality," Journal of Marketing, 60, 31-
46.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 32
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Iris Vilnai-Yavetz received her PhD in management from the Technion, Israel’s
Institute of Technology in Haifa, and her BA in Psychology and her MBA from the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Before her graduate studies Iris worked as a marketing
consultant and is now an adjunct lecturer at the Technion Graduate School of Business and
at the Haifa University Graduate School of Business. Her current studies examine the
impact of physical environments on emotions and behaviors of customers and service
providers, and on their social and business interactions. She also studies various aspects of
the design of E-services.
Anat Rafaeli received her PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the
Ohio State University. She is currently a Professor of Organizational Behavior and the
Academic Director of the MBA program of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and
Management of the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology. Anat has conducted and
published research on felt and displayed emotion in organizations, various aspects of
interactions between customers and employees and organizational artifacts, including
employee dress, organizational servicescapes, waiting queues, and employment ads. Her
new book, co-edited with Mike Pratt is entitled "Artifacts and Organizations" and
published by Lawrence Erlbaum. She is on the Editorial Board of Organization Science,
the Journal of Service Research, and the International Journal of Service Industry
Management. She has published in outlets such as Academy of Management Journal and
Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology and Research in
Organizational Behavior.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 33
Figure 1
Predicted relationships between aesthetics and professionalism of a virtual
servicescape, customer feelings of pleasantness, customer satisfaction, and customer
approach toward a service interaction.1
1 The lines that show the relationships between aesthetics and the mediator and DVs are complete
(non-broken) lines; the lines that show the relationships between professionalism and the mediator and DVs
are broken lines.
E-Service Display Customer emotion Customer reactions
Customer Satisfaction
Customer Approach
toward a Service
Interaction
Feelings of
Pleasantness
Aesthetics of a
virtual servicescape
Professionalism
(symbolism) of a
virtual servicescape
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 34
Figure 2
Still images of one point in time in the four experimental conditions of the interactive
program 2
2 Images on the top row are high aesthetics and on the bottom row are low aesthetics. Moving from left
to right images move from informal to formal conditions.
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 35
Table 1
EFA and CFA results for the perceptions of virtual service environment
(Independent variables)
EFA loadings3,4 CFA loadings
Survey items
1Professionalism
2Aesthetics Loadings
t-value5
This office is very beautiful 0.600 0.783 0.93 8.30 This office is ugly (Reverse coded)
0.186 0.890 0.52 5.82
The offices of employees in this firm show the high professionalism of the firm.
0.742 0.652 0.57 5.76
This office shows that there is a strict policy in this company regarding employees
0.864 0.483 0.91 14.32
This office shows that the company in which he works is very professional
0.823 0.190 0.61 6.79
Judging from this office it is reasonable that there are clear and well defined policies in this firm
0.897 0.339 0.80 12.99
Goodness of Fit statistics: Chi-Square= 15.15;DF=6; p<.05 CFI=.97 GFI=.92 SRMR=.04 RMSEA=.09
Note: EFA: Exploratory Factor Analysis; CFA: Confirmatory Factor Analysis; CFI: Comparative Fit Index; GFI: Goodness of Fit Index; SRMR: Standardized Root Mean Residual; RMSEA: Root Mean Square Error of Approximation. 3 EFA: Marked cells indicate items with high loading on factor. 4 EFA: Total variance extracted by the two factors=75.1%. . Rotation method: Promax ; Eigenvalues > 1.0
5 CFA: Based on one-tailed tests all t-values are significant at p<.05
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 36
Table 2
EFA and CFA results for the participants’ responses (Dependent variables)
EFA loadings6,7 CFA loadings
Survey items
1Satisfaction
2Feelings of pleasantness
3Approach toward a service interaction
Loadings
t-value8
I would like this employee to deal with all my e-service business
0.542 0.744 0.821 0.88 12.54
I would enjoy interacting online with this employee
0.579 0.756 0.797 0.91 13.25
I prefer that this employee will not deal with my e-service business in the future" (reverse coded)
0.360 0.325 0.887 0.55 6.62
Do you think there is a need for such an e-service method?
0.915 0.332 0.385 0.86 12.36
How satisfied are you with the way this method was applied?"
0.765 0.581 0.517 0.71 9.37
Would you use this e-service method when it becomes available?
0.939 0.529 0.520 0.96 14.72
Would you recommend this e-service method to any of your friends or family members?
0.892 0.455 0.427 0.83 11.71
I feel pleasant while looking at this office
0.449 0.882 0.444 0.86 12.10
The office gives me a pleasant feeling
0.375 0.879 0.373 0.84 11.50
The office gives me a comfortable feeling
0.430 0.866 0.492 0.81 10.91
Goodness of Fit statistics: Chi-Square=62.63;DF=32; p<.001 CFI=.97 GFI=.92 SRMR=.06 RMSEA=.08
Note: EFA: Exploratory Factor Analysis; CFA: Confirmatory Factor Analysis; CFI: Comparative Fit Index; GFI: Goodness of Fit Index; SRMR: Standardized Root Mean Residual; RMSEA: Root Mean Square Error of Approximation. 6 EFA: Marked cells indicate items with high loading on factor. 7 EFA: Total variance extracted by the three factors=79.4%. . Rotation method: Promax; Eigenvalues > 1.0
8 CFA: Based on one-tailed tests all t-values are significant at p<.01
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 37
Table 3
Means, standard deviations and intercorrelations of study dependent variables
(n=137)
Variables Mean
(1-5)
SD 1 2
1. Customer feelings of pleasantness 2.7 1.06
2. Approach toward service interaction 3.2 1.04 0.62**
3. Satisfaction with virtual service 3.1 0.90 0.48** 0.58**
** p<0.01
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 38
Table 4
GLM results of aesthetics and professionalism of a virtual servicescape as predictors
of customers’ satisfaction, approach toward a service interaction, and feelings of
pleasantness (n=137)
Satisfaction with
virtual service (1-5)
Approach toward a
service interaction (1-5)
Customer feelings of
pleasantness (1-5)
Means F Means F Means F
Aesthetics High 3.4 3.4 3.1
Low 2.8
13.04***
2.9
7.41**
2.4
14.43***
Professionalism High 3.3 3.2 2.8
Low 2.9
6.72*
3.1
0.80
2.7
1.20
Aesthetics*Professionalism 0.26 0.11 0.01
R² 0.13 0.06 0.11
Adjusted R² 0.12 0.04 0.09
* p<0.05
** p<0.01
*** p<0.001
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 39
Table 5
Regression analyses of Feelings of pleasantness as mediator of relationship between
aesthetics and professionalism of virtual servicescape and customer satisfaction
(n=137)
Beta
Variables
entered
Stage 1:
DV =
Pleasantness
Stage 2:
DV =
Satisfaction
Stage 3:
DV =
Satisfaction
Aesthetics
Professionalism
Pleasantness
0.31***
0.09
R2 = .11
Adjusted R2 = .09
0.29***
0.21**
R2 = .13
Adjusted R2 = .12
0.16*
0.17*
0.42***
R2 = .29
Adjusted R2 = .27
*p ≤ 0.05
**p ≤ 0.01
***p<0.001
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 40
Table 6
Regression analyses of feelings of pleasantness as a mediator of the relationship
between aesthetics and professionalism of the virtual servicescape and customer
approach toward a service interaction (n=137)
Beta
Variables
entered
Stage 1:
DV =
Pleasantness
Stage 2:
DV = Approach
toward a service
interaction
Stage 3:
DV = Approach
toward a service
interaction
Aesthetics
Professionalism
Pleasantness
0.31***
0.09
R2 = .11
Adjusted R2 = .09
0.23**
0.08
R2 = .06
Adjusted R2 = .05
0.04
0.02
0.60***
R2 = .38
Adjusted R2 = .37
**p ≤ 0.01
***p<0.001
Virtual Servicescapes – Page 41
Table 7
Regression analyses of perceived aesthetics and perceived professionalism of the
virtual servicescape as predictors of customers’ satisfaction, feelings of pleasantness
and approach toward a virtual interaction (n=137)
Beta
Independent variables Satisfaction Approach toward a
service interaction
Pleasantness
Perceived aesthetics
Perceived professionalism
0.31***
0.27**
R2 = .25
Adjusted R2 = .24
0.34***
0.29**
R2 = .29
Adjusted R2 = .28
0.58***
0.28**
R2 = .57
Adjusted R2 = .56
**p ≤ 0.01
***p<0.001