Beyond the price tag: building spa image and satisfaction through service quality

Responding to the growing emphasis on well-being in modern society, this study investigates the influence of perceived price and perceived service quality dimensions on spa image and customer satisfaction. A total of 408 Vietnamese spa customers participated in the survey. The results reveal that spa image functions as a central mechanism linking perceptual antecedents to affective outcomes, with customer satisfaction being primarily driven by spa image and perceived service quality dimensions. Specifically, spa image is significantly shaped by perceived price and the tangible, reliability, and empathy dimensions of service quality. While perceived price does not directly influence customer satisfaction, it indirectly enhances satisfaction through its positive effect on spa image, underscoring the pivotal mediating role of image formation in the evaluation process. This finding offers novel empirical evidence on the indirect role of perceived price, demonstrating that its impact is mediated through image formation rather than direct satisfaction effects. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, suggesting that perceived price and perceived service quality dimensions play complementary roles in shaping spa image and customer satisfaction.