Shopping well-being: the role of congruity and shoppers’ characteristics

Purpose Although shopping well-being has become a focal construct in retail shopping studies, little is known about the key drivers of this construct. This study aims to further discern some of the key antecedents of shopping well-being by particularly focusing on the role of congruity. Furthermore, the study explores whether shoppers’ demographic characteristics moderate the effects of congruity on shopping well-being. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a survey of actual shoppers in two urban Canadian shopping malls via a mall intercept. Structural equation modeling using SmartPLS was conducted to validate the study’s model. Findings Functional congruity has a stronger effect than self-congruity on shopping well-being. Shoppers’ demographic variables do not generally act as moderators in the investigated linkages. Practical implications This study can help mall managers formulate better marketing programs that would ultimately enhance shopping well-being. Originality/value The study advances the retailing literature by putting forward a conceptual model that remedies identified shortcomings related to functional and self-congruity and establishes new linkages between functional congruity, self-congruity and shopping well-being. Furthermore, the study explores whether shoppers’ demographic variables moderate the effects of functional and self-congruity on shopping well-being.

Service experience on skin care’s customer attitude: the mediating role of self-congruity and functional congruity

This paper aimed to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between service experience, self-congruity, functional congruity, and consumer attitude. The hypothesis in this study showed that service experience affected self-congruity and functional congruity which in turn will have an impact on consumer attitude. Data were collected through online surveys, on skin care consumer in East Java Indonesia. Hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modelling technique by WARP PLS. This paper validated the role of service experience as a mechanism facilitating the development of customer's self-congruity and functional congruity toward a skin care clinic. It also found that service experience affected in self-congruity and functional congruity, self-congruity, and functional congruity mediated the relationship between service experience and consumer attitude.

Developing a customer loyalty model for guest houses in China: a congruity-based perspective

Purpose Although the number of guest houses in China is increasing rapidly, many of them are not performing well in developing customer loyalty. Self-congruity and functional congruity represent two cost-effective but inadequately researched ways for guest houses to maintain customers. In view of the lack of empirical research explaining the post-purchase behavior of guest house customers, the purpose of this study is to develop a congruity-based customer loyalty model for this specialized type of accommodation. Design/methodology/approach Based on a review of relevant literature, a robust conceptual framework of customer loyalty comprising satisfaction, self-congruity, functional congruity, perceived value and attractiveness of alternates was constructed. By means of an online panel survey, 828 valid questionnaires were obtained from customers who had stayed in a Chinese guest house within the previous year. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the conceptual model and the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. Findings Significant relationships were found between the two congruity constructs in guest houses, which both led to positive customer post-purchase behaviors. The authors found that self-congruity, functional congruity and the attractiveness of alternates did not affect customer loyalty directly; rather, they influenced loyalty indirectly through customer satisfaction. Originality/value This study developed a unique, congruity-based model of customer loyalty in the context of guest houses. It enhances the body of knowledge regarding congruity in the field of tourism and hospitality, and it discusses relevant implications of the findings for tourism marketing researchers and for owner-managers of guest houses.