How sex differences in perceptions influence customer satisfaction: a study of theatre audiences

Abstract

We explore the effects of sex-related, value-expressive and functional image perceptions on satisfaction through a study of audience members at two theatres. Results suggest that satisfaction is higher for men when they perceive an elevated level of functional service quality and for women when they perceive that the theatre possesses pro-social values. Satisfaction overlap exists when either men or women perceive market or artistic values. Existing literature has suggested that women begin elaboration of message cues at a lower threshold than men; however, it appears that a zone exists where both sexes elaborate on some image attributes, while women further elaborate on communal attributes and men focus on agentic attributes. Contrary to prevailing evidence in the services management literature, no direct link surfaced between perceived quality of the core service and customer satisfaction. Post hoc tests for mediation indicate that tangible quality of the core service is important to both men and women, driving their engagement in elaboration of image attributes, but it is not important enough to directly stimulate satisfaction when other factors of the consumption experience are taken into account in complex encounters.

The impact of primary service and servicescape on customer satisfaction in a leisure service setting: an empirical investigation among theatregoers

“…Boerner, Moser, & Jobst, ; Jobst & Boerner, ). The same is true for aspects of the primary service that turned out to be significant in some studies (Garbarino & Johnson, ), while insignificant in others (Voss & Cova, ). In addition, the relative impact of primary service and servicescape on customer satisfaction has shown to be contingent on visitors' personal attributes, such as their motives for going to the theatre (Garbarino & Johnson, ), gender (Voss & Cova, ), and income (Song & Cheung, ).…”

Impact of Customer Orientation, Inducements and Ethics on Loyalty to the Firm: Customers’ Perspective

“…Research has also shown that value and loyalty perceptions are associated with length of the relationship with the supplier (e.g, Liu et al, 2005), and other demographic factors like customer's age and gender (e.g., Hu et al, 2009;Voss and Cova, 2006). In view of this, hypotheses are tested once the impacts of trust in the service provider, length of the relationship, customer's age, and customer's gender are controlled for (see Figure 1).…”

Research in Arts Marketing: Evolution and Future Directions

“…The emotion generated by the core service and by the venue with respect to overall satisfaction can be measured and its role evaluated in recommending the company to others (Palmer & Koenig-Lewis, 2010). Voss and Cova (2006) explore the effect of genre on satisfaction related to the core product or the servicescape in two theaters, with a view to examining possible differences between men and women relative to assessing the core product and the servicescape. They conclude that for women satisfaction is greater when one perceives that the organization has prosocial values, while for men satisfaction derives from an elevated level of functional service quality.…”