The effects of servicescape and service process quality on employee and customer satisfaction:an empirical investigation of the golf course business in Korea

In a service process, the customer typically experiences two types of interactions; one is interaction with the physical ambiance (servicescape) and the other is with employees who may be responsible for the service process quality. The literature in general supports that process quality is a critical determinant for overall service quality and customer satisfaction. In this paper, we primarily examine how the servicescape intervenes the association between process quality and employee/customer satisfaction. The proposed models are tested, using the data collected from the major golf courses in Korea. The results suggest that improving process quality and servicescape have a positive influence on employee/customer satisfaction directly and/or indirectly, but the effect of servicescape may be stronger in the case of golf course businesses. Servicescape also contributes to improving process quality by enhancing employee satisfaction. These results collectively indicate that management emphasis on improving service quality without renovating physical surroundings may results in unsatisfactory outcome.