Aesthetics and Professionalism of Virtual Servicescapes

The authors 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 this 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.