Modeling service encounters and customer experiential value in retailing

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the impacts of service encounters on customer experiential value and subsequently on customer behavioral intentions in a shopping mall context in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered using mall intercepts at three large shopping malls in northern Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the proposed research model empirically. Findings The empirical results revealed that: personal interaction encounters positively influenced perceptions of efficiency and excellence value; physical environment encounters positively affected perceptions of playfulness and aesthetics; and all dimensions of customer experiential value (i.e. efficiency, service excellence, playfulness, and aesthetics) positively affected customer behavioral intentions. Originality/value Following Bitner's suggestion in 1990, the present study classified service encounters into two dimensions – personal interaction encounters and physical environment encounters. Further, the empirical findings revealed that customer experiential value mediated the relationship between service encounters and consumer behavioral intentions.