서비스 환경에서 자아일치가 점포충성도에 미치는 영향: 관계몰입의 인과적 역할

In the service environment, the customer frequently interacts with the front-line employees of the service company at the service encounter, and in this process, it is compared with the self-image to determine whether it is consistent. In addition, customers improve the quality of their relationship with each other by comparing them with their self-image for physical environment such as design and facilities and store atmosphere such as lighting and background music. Therefore, when providing services to customers, the service level of front-line employees and the various physical environments and atmospheres of the store can affect the customer's self-image, thereby strengthening relationship commitment and ultimately affecting store loyalty. According to a recent study, it is reported that shoppers consider self-image suitability as important when making purchase decisions. Despite the importance of environmental cues and self-congruent in the service exchange process, most existing studies focus on the relationship between service environment and loyalty. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify which environmental cues influence self-con gruity in the service environment of retail stores. In addition, this study intend to examine the causal role of relationship commitment in the relationship between self-congruity and store loyalty. The data is collected through face-to-face interview with 330 customers who experienced shopping in department stores. For empirical analysis, a total of 332 copies(97.5%) were analyzed excluding 8 copies of the questionnaire that responded insincerely or inappropriately. The SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 20.0 statistical package were used to verify the validity and reliability of the data and to test the research hypothesis. Frequency analysis was used to identify the demographic characteristic of respondents. Structural Equation Model Analysis(SEM) confirmed the suitability of the research and the research hypothesis. As a result of the analysis of this study, physical environment such as design and facilities had a positive effect on self-congruity, while social cues such as customer service and store atmosphere such as lighting and music did not significant affect self-congruity. In addition, self-congruity had a significant effect on relationship commitment and store loyalty, and relationship commitment also had a significant effect on store loyalty. Since shoppers want to congruence their self-image with respect to various design elements and facilities inside the store, it is important to consider the visual and spatial factors such as the design and facilities inside the store. It is necessary to improve the service environment inside a new type of store that can be a space for relaxation and entertainment, not just a space for shopping. In addition, when the physical cues of the store and the shoppers’s self-image congruence, instead of direct enticing them to store loyalty, they should do their best to manage customers so that they can immerce themselves in the relationship and strengthen the relationship quality.