SERVICES CAPE AND CUSTOMER PATRONAGE OF FUEL STATIONS IN PORT HARCOURT
Keywords:
Servicescape, Spatial layout. Ambient conditions. Customer Patronage, Fuel Stations. Port Harcourt
Abstract
The research explored the impact of the servicescape on customer loyalty at fuel stations in Port Harcourt. Specifically, it assessed how ambient conditions affect customer loyalty and how spatial layout and functionality influence consumer loyalty at fuel stations in Port Harcourt. The study utilized a descriptive survey research design. The population included fifty-five (55) registered fuel stations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, along with an indefinite number of customers over 18 years of age residing in the area. Using Topman's formula, the sample size was determined to be 246, but 233 questionnaires were recovered. Judgmental and convenient sampling methods were employed. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, including frequency and percentage distributions, and the hypotheses were tested using multiple regression models. The findings indicated that ambient conditions (such as lighting) significantly influence customer loyalty at fuel stations in Port Harcourt. Additionally, spatial layout and functionality (including equipment arrangement, ease of entry and exit, equipment functionality, and space availability) also have a significant impact on customer loyalty. The study concluded that employing servicescape dimensions as strategies to enhance customer loyalty at fuel stations is essential, given that both theoretical and empirical evidence demonstrate a positive correlation between servicescape dimensions and customer loyalty. It was recommended that fuel stations should continuously enhance their spatial layout to improve customer comfort, ensuring that their equipment functions properly as a key factor for customer loyalty.
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References
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Awasthi, K. & Shrivastava, A. (2014). Servicescape elements in leisure service settings. International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism System, 69-73.
Baker, J, Parasuraman, A. Grewal, D. And Voss G.B. (2002). The influence of multiple store environment cues on perceived merchandise value and patronage intentions. Journal of Marketing, 66,120-141.
Baker, J. (1987). The role of environment in marketing services: the consumer perspective. In Czpeil, J. A., Congram, C., &Shanaham, J. (Eds). The services marketing challenge: integrated for competitive advantage. Chicago: American Marketing Association; 79-84.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. International Journal of Management. 17(1), 99-120.
Berman, B., & Evans, R. (1995). 6th Ed. Retail management: A strategic approach. Englewood Cliffs, Nj: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Bitner, M. (1992). Service scapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56, 57-71.
Booms, B. & Bitner, M. (1982). Marketing services by managing the environment. Cornell hotel and restaurant administration. Quarterly, 23, 35-39.
Broekemier, G., Marquardt, R. & Gentry, J. (2018). An exploration of happy/sad and liked/disliked music effects on shopping intentions in women’s clothing store service setting. Journal of Services Marketing, 22 (1): 50-67.
Caudill, E. & Murphy, P. (2000). Consumer online privacy: Legal and ethical issues. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 19, 7-19.
Chebat, J. C., Chebat, C., & Vaillant, D. (2011). Environmental background music and in-store selling. Journal of Business Research, 54 (2), 115 – 123.
Ching, F. (2016). Architecture: Form, space, and order. New York: Van Nostrand Publishers.
Churchill Jr, G. & Surprenant, C. (1998). An investigation into the determinants of customer satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Research, 19(4), 491-504.
Dicksen, P. (1996). The static and dynamic mechanics of competitive theory. Journal of Marketing, 60, 102-106.
Durvasula, S., Lysonski, S., Mehta, S. & Tang, B. (2004). Forging relationships with services: Tthe antecedents that have an impact on behavioural outcomes in the life insurance industry. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 8(4), 314-26.
Gerpoh, T., Rams, W. & Schindler, A. (2001). Customer retention, loyalty and satisfaction in the German mobile cellular telecommunication. Marketing Telecommunication Policy, 25, 249-269.
Gounaris S., Dimitriadis S. &Stathakopoulos, V. (2010). An examination of the effects of service quality and satisfaction on customers’ behavioural intentions in e-shopping. Journal of Service Marketing, 24(2), 142-156.
Grant, R. (1991). The resource based theory of competitive advantage: implication of strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33, (3), 6-19.
Grayson, R. & McNeill, L. (2019). Using atmospheric elements in service retailing: understanding the bar environment. Journal of Services Marketing, 23 (7), 517-527.
Gremler, D. & Brown, S. (1996). Service loyalty: Its nature, importance, and implications. In: B. Edvardsson, S.W. Brown and R.E. Johnston, Editors, Advancing service quality: A Global Perspective, International Service Quality 19 (16), 171–180
Guo, L., Xiao, J. & Tang, C. (2009). Understanding the psychology process underlying customer satisfaction and retention in a relational service. Journal of Business Research, 5 (2), 193-211.
Gustafsson, A., Nisson, L. & Johnson, M. (2003). The role of quality practice in service organizations. International journal of service industry management. 14(2), 232-244
Harris P., Mcbride G., Ross C., & Curtis L. (2012). A place to heal: Environmental sources of satisfaction among hospital patients, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 1276–1299.
Hasemark, O. & Albison, M. (2004). Customer satisfaction and retention: The experience of individual with employees. Managing Service Quality.14 (1)
Hauser, J. R., Simester, D. & Wernerfelt, B. (1994). Customer satisfaction incentives. Marketing Science, 13(4).
Haynes, P. (2020). Hating to wait: Managing the final service encounter. Journal of Services Marketing, 4, 20 – 26.
Hellier, P., Geursen G., Carr R. & Rickard J. (2003). Customer repurchase in tension: A general structural equation model. European Journal of Marketing, 37, 1762-1800
Hui, M. & Bateson, J. (2011). Perceived control and consumer choice on the service experience. Journal of Consumer Research, 18, 174-85.
Hui, M., Dube, L. &Chebat, J. (2017). The impact of music and consumers’ reactions to waiting for services. Journal of Retailing, 73, 87-104.
Kaplan, S. (2012). Aesthetics, affect, and cognition. Environment and Behaviour, 19, 3-32.
Kenneth A. & Bright, O. (2014). Physical architecture and customer patronage of banks in Nigeria: An Empirical Study. African Journal of Marketing Management, 6(8), 110-116
Khan, I. (2012). Impact of customer satisfaction and customer retention on customers loyalty. International Journal of Scientific and Technology Research, 7 (1).
Kniesner, T. & Leeth, J. (2010). Hedonic wage equilibrium: Theory, evidence and policy. Now Publishers Inc.
Kotler, P. (2007). Atmospherics as a marketing tool. Journal of Retailing, 49 (4), 48-64.
Kumar, P. (2002). The impact of performance, cost, and competitive considerations on the relationship between satisfaction and repurchase intent in business markets. Journal of Service Research, 5(1), 55-68.
Kwabena, N., Mabel, S., Inusah, A. & Kwesi, A. (2011). Servicescape and customer patronage of Three-Star Hotels in Ghana’s Metropolitan City of Accra. European Journal of Business and Management, 3(4), 119-131.
Levy, M. & Weitz, B. (2017). Retail Management, 7th Ed. New York: Mcgraw-Hill.
Lin, J. & Wu, C. (2011). The role of expected future use in relationship-based service retention. Managing Service Quality, 4(5).
Lovelock, C. & Wirtz, J. (2017). Service marketing: People technology, strategy. Pearson International
Lucas, A. (2003). The determinants and effects of slot service scape satisfaction in Las Vegas Hotel casino. Unlv Gaming Research & Review Journal, 7 (1), 1-17.
Mcdougall, G., & Snetsinger, D. (1990). The intangibility of services: Measurement and competitive perspectives. The Journal of Services Marketing, 4(4), 27-40.
Namasivyam, K. & Lin, I. (2008). The servicescape. In Jones, P. (Ed). The handbook of hospitality operation and it. New York: Elsevier Publishers.
Nwulu, C. &Asiegbu, I. (2015). Advancement inclination behaviors and University academic staff patronage of deposit money banks in Port Harcourt. International Journal, 94
Ogbuji, C. N., Onuoha A. & Usman A. (2016). Spatial layout and customer patronage of cinema firms in Port Harcourt. Nigeria International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management, 3(6), 44-50
Ogwo, O., & Igwe, S. (2012). Some key factors influencing attitudes to patronage of GSM services: The Nigerian experience. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(18), 82.
Oktay, E. (2016). A study of the relationship between service atmosphere and customer loyalty with specific reference to structural equation modelling. Economic Research-EkonomskaIstraživanja, 29(1), 706-720
Oliver R. (2011). Whence consumer loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 63, 33-44.
Onuoha A., &Nnenanya D. (2017). Impact of servicescape on customer patronage of fuel stations in Abia State, Nigeria. International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research, 5(3), 14-19
Paswan, A.K., Spears, N., Hasty, R., and Ganesh, G. (2010). Search quality in the financial services industry: a contingency perspective. Journal of Services Marketing, 18(5), 324-338.
Porter, M. (2011). The competitive advantage of nations: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Rosenbaum, M. & Detra M. (2007). Exploring the role of ethnicity in place avoidance and approach decisions. Journal of Business Research, 60(3), 206-214.
Rosenbaum, M. (2005). Meet the cyberscape. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 23 (7), 636-647.
Ryu, K. & Jang S. (2007). The effect of environmental perceptions on behavioral intentions through emotions: The Case of Upscale Restaurants. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism research, 31, 56-72.
Shostacke, G. (2002). Breaking free from product marketing. Journal of Marketing, 41, 73-80.
Singh, R., & Khan, I.A (2012). An approach to increase customer retention and loyalty in B2C world. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2 (6), 1-5.
Siti D., Nur I. & Salim N. (2012). Measuring physical evidences and customers’ satisfactions at hotels & resorts in Lumut. Elixir Marketing Mgmt, 50, 10253-10256
Sulek, J. & Lind, M. (2015). The impact of a customer service intervention and facility design on firm performance. Management Science, 41(11), 1763-1774.
Theodorakis, N. D., Kambitsis, C., Laios, A., &Koustelios, A. (2001). Relationship between measures of service quality and satisfaction of spectators in professional sports. Managing Service Quality, 11(6), 431-438.
Varley, R. (2016). Retail product management: buying and merchandising, 2nd Ed. New York: Routledge.
Wakefield, K. & Blodgett, J. (2014). The Importance of the servicescapes in leisure service settings. Journal of Service Marketing, 8, 66-76.
Westbrook, R. (1981). Sources of consumer satisfaction with retail outlets. Journal of Retailing, 57(3), 68-85.
Wineman, J. D. (2016). Behavioral issues in office design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
Wohlfarth, H. (2014). The effect of color-psychodynamic environmental modification on disciplinary incidents in elementary schools over one school year: A Controlled Study. International Journal of Biosocial Research, 6, 44–53.
Yang, Q. & Webb, G. (2008). PRICAI 2006: Trends in artificial intelligence: 9th Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Guilin, China, August 7-11, 2006, Proceedings, 4099, p.769.
Yang, Y. & Konrad, A. (2011). Understanding diversity management practice: Implications for institutional theory and resource-based. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 11(5), 205-222.
Zeithaml, V. & Bitner, M. (2003). The behavioural consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing. 60(2), 31-46.
Adiele, K. & Okpara, B. (2014). Physical architecture and customer patronage of banks in Nigeria: An Empirical Study. African Journal of Marketing Management, 6(8), 110-116
Amue, G., Kenneth A. & Friday N. (2013). Physical settings and patronage of three star hotels in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Abuja. International Journal of Business and Management Economic Research, 4(3), 738-744
Asiegbu N., Akekue A., Ikechukwu F. & Igwe, P. (2012). Physical evidence and marketing performance of commercial airlines in Nigeria. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 2(12), 136-142
Awasthi, K. & Shrivastava, A. (2014). Servicescape elements in leisure service settings. International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism System, 69-73.
Baker, J, Parasuraman, A. Grewal, D. And Voss G.B. (2002). The influence of multiple store environment cues on perceived merchandise value and patronage intentions. Journal of Marketing, 66,120-141.
Baker, J. (1987). The role of environment in marketing services: the consumer perspective. In Czpeil, J. A., Congram, C., &Shanaham, J. (Eds). The services marketing challenge: integrated for competitive advantage. Chicago: American Marketing Association; 79-84.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. International Journal of Management. 17(1), 99-120.
Berman, B., & Evans, R. (1995). 6th Ed. Retail management: A strategic approach. Englewood Cliffs, Nj: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Bitner, M. (1992). Service scapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56, 57-71.
Booms, B. & Bitner, M. (1982). Marketing services by managing the environment. Cornell hotel and restaurant administration. Quarterly, 23, 35-39.
Broekemier, G., Marquardt, R. & Gentry, J. (2018). An exploration of happy/sad and liked/disliked music effects on shopping intentions in women’s clothing store service setting. Journal of Services Marketing, 22 (1): 50-67.
Caudill, E. & Murphy, P. (2000). Consumer online privacy: Legal and ethical issues. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 19, 7-19.
Chebat, J. C., Chebat, C., & Vaillant, D. (2011). Environmental background music and in-store selling. Journal of Business Research, 54 (2), 115 – 123.
Ching, F. (2016). Architecture: Form, space, and order. New York: Van Nostrand Publishers.
Churchill Jr, G. & Surprenant, C. (1998). An investigation into the determinants of customer satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Research, 19(4), 491-504.
Dicksen, P. (1996). The static and dynamic mechanics of competitive theory. Journal of Marketing, 60, 102-106.
Durvasula, S., Lysonski, S., Mehta, S. & Tang, B. (2004). Forging relationships with services: Tthe antecedents that have an impact on behavioural outcomes in the life insurance industry. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 8(4), 314-26.
Gerpoh, T., Rams, W. & Schindler, A. (2001). Customer retention, loyalty and satisfaction in the German mobile cellular telecommunication. Marketing Telecommunication Policy, 25, 249-269.
Gounaris S., Dimitriadis S. &Stathakopoulos, V. (2010). An examination of the effects of service quality and satisfaction on customers’ behavioural intentions in e-shopping. Journal of Service Marketing, 24(2), 142-156.
Grant, R. (1991). The resource based theory of competitive advantage: implication of strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33, (3), 6-19.
Grayson, R. & McNeill, L. (2019). Using atmospheric elements in service retailing: understanding the bar environment. Journal of Services Marketing, 23 (7), 517-527.
Gremler, D. & Brown, S. (1996). Service loyalty: Its nature, importance, and implications. In: B. Edvardsson, S.W. Brown and R.E. Johnston, Editors, Advancing service quality: A Global Perspective, International Service Quality 19 (16), 171–180
Guo, L., Xiao, J. & Tang, C. (2009). Understanding the psychology process underlying customer satisfaction and retention in a relational service. Journal of Business Research, 5 (2), 193-211.
Gustafsson, A., Nisson, L. & Johnson, M. (2003). The role of quality practice in service organizations. International journal of service industry management. 14(2), 232-244
Harris P., Mcbride G., Ross C., & Curtis L. (2012). A place to heal: Environmental sources of satisfaction among hospital patients, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 1276–1299.
Hasemark, O. & Albison, M. (2004). Customer satisfaction and retention: The experience of individual with employees. Managing Service Quality.14 (1)
Hauser, J. R., Simester, D. & Wernerfelt, B. (1994). Customer satisfaction incentives. Marketing Science, 13(4).
Haynes, P. (2020). Hating to wait: Managing the final service encounter. Journal of Services Marketing, 4, 20 – 26.
Hellier, P., Geursen G., Carr R. & Rickard J. (2003). Customer repurchase in tension: A general structural equation model. European Journal of Marketing, 37, 1762-1800
Hui, M. & Bateson, J. (2011). Perceived control and consumer choice on the service experience. Journal of Consumer Research, 18, 174-85.
Hui, M., Dube, L. &Chebat, J. (2017). The impact of music and consumers’ reactions to waiting for services. Journal of Retailing, 73, 87-104.
Kaplan, S. (2012). Aesthetics, affect, and cognition. Environment and Behaviour, 19, 3-32.
Kenneth A. & Bright, O. (2014). Physical architecture and customer patronage of banks in Nigeria: An Empirical Study. African Journal of Marketing Management, 6(8), 110-116
Khan, I. (2012). Impact of customer satisfaction and customer retention on customers loyalty. International Journal of Scientific and Technology Research, 7 (1).
Kniesner, T. & Leeth, J. (2010). Hedonic wage equilibrium: Theory, evidence and policy. Now Publishers Inc.
Kotler, P. (2007). Atmospherics as a marketing tool. Journal of Retailing, 49 (4), 48-64.
Kumar, P. (2002). The impact of performance, cost, and competitive considerations on the relationship between satisfaction and repurchase intent in business markets. Journal of Service Research, 5(1), 55-68.
Kwabena, N., Mabel, S., Inusah, A. & Kwesi, A. (2011). Servicescape and customer patronage of Three-Star Hotels in Ghana’s Metropolitan City of Accra. European Journal of Business and Management, 3(4), 119-131.
Levy, M. & Weitz, B. (2017). Retail Management, 7th Ed. New York: Mcgraw-Hill.
Lin, J. & Wu, C. (2011). The role of expected future use in relationship-based service retention. Managing Service Quality, 4(5).
Lovelock, C. & Wirtz, J. (2017). Service marketing: People technology, strategy. Pearson International
Lucas, A. (2003). The determinants and effects of slot service scape satisfaction in Las Vegas Hotel casino. Unlv Gaming Research & Review Journal, 7 (1), 1-17.
Mcdougall, G., & Snetsinger, D. (1990). The intangibility of services: Measurement and competitive perspectives. The Journal of Services Marketing, 4(4), 27-40.
Namasivyam, K. & Lin, I. (2008). The servicescape. In Jones, P. (Ed). The handbook of hospitality operation and it. New York: Elsevier Publishers.
Nwulu, C. &Asiegbu, I. (2015). Advancement inclination behaviors and University academic staff patronage of deposit money banks in Port Harcourt. International Journal, 94
Ogbuji, C. N., Onuoha A. & Usman A. (2016). Spatial layout and customer patronage of cinema firms in Port Harcourt. Nigeria International Journal of Research in Business Studies and Management, 3(6), 44-50
Ogwo, O., & Igwe, S. (2012). Some key factors influencing attitudes to patronage of GSM services: The Nigerian experience. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(18), 82.
Oktay, E. (2016). A study of the relationship between service atmosphere and customer loyalty with specific reference to structural equation modelling. Economic Research-EkonomskaIstraživanja, 29(1), 706-720
Oliver R. (2011). Whence consumer loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 63, 33-44.
Onuoha A., &Nnenanya D. (2017). Impact of servicescape on customer patronage of fuel stations in Abia State, Nigeria. International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research, 5(3), 14-19
Paswan, A.K., Spears, N., Hasty, R., and Ganesh, G. (2010). Search quality in the financial services industry: a contingency perspective. Journal of Services Marketing, 18(5), 324-338.
Porter, M. (2011). The competitive advantage of nations: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Rosenbaum, M. & Detra M. (2007). Exploring the role of ethnicity in place avoidance and approach decisions. Journal of Business Research, 60(3), 206-214.
Rosenbaum, M. (2005). Meet the cyberscape. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 23 (7), 636-647.
Ryu, K. & Jang S. (2007). The effect of environmental perceptions on behavioral intentions through emotions: The Case of Upscale Restaurants. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism research, 31, 56-72.
Shostacke, G. (2002). Breaking free from product marketing. Journal of Marketing, 41, 73-80.
Singh, R., & Khan, I.A (2012). An approach to increase customer retention and loyalty in B2C world. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2 (6), 1-5.
Siti D., Nur I. & Salim N. (2012). Measuring physical evidences and customers’ satisfactions at hotels & resorts in Lumut. Elixir Marketing Mgmt, 50, 10253-10256
Sulek, J. & Lind, M. (2015). The impact of a customer service intervention and facility design on firm performance. Management Science, 41(11), 1763-1774.
Theodorakis, N. D., Kambitsis, C., Laios, A., &Koustelios, A. (2001). Relationship between measures of service quality and satisfaction of spectators in professional sports. Managing Service Quality, 11(6), 431-438.
Varley, R. (2016). Retail product management: buying and merchandising, 2nd Ed. New York: Routledge.
Wakefield, K. & Blodgett, J. (2014). The Importance of the servicescapes in leisure service settings. Journal of Service Marketing, 8, 66-76.
Westbrook, R. (1981). Sources of consumer satisfaction with retail outlets. Journal of Retailing, 57(3), 68-85.
Wineman, J. D. (2016). Behavioral issues in office design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
Wohlfarth, H. (2014). The effect of color-psychodynamic environmental modification on disciplinary incidents in elementary schools over one school year: A Controlled Study. International Journal of Biosocial Research, 6, 44–53.
Yang, Q. & Webb, G. (2008). PRICAI 2006: Trends in artificial intelligence: 9th Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Guilin, China, August 7-11, 2006, Proceedings, 4099, p.769.
Yang, Y. & Konrad, A. (2011). Understanding diversity management practice: Implications for institutional theory and resource-based. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 11(5), 205-222.
Zeithaml, V. & Bitner, M. (2003). The behavioural consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing. 60(2), 31-46.
Published
2024-07-02
How to Cite
Samuel, I., Oyeyemi, B., & Doris, A.-G. (2024). SERVICES CAPE AND CUSTOMER PATRONAGE OF FUEL STATIONS IN PORT HARCOURT. GPH-International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, 6(12), 58-84. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12625881
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