The effect of social and physical servicescape on behavioral intentions in local restaurants: the mediating role of emotions and lifestyle congruency

The factors of the social and physical service servicescape of restaurants are one of the important determinants of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The fact that the restaurant type is local and the customers are foreign tourists makes this relationship more remarkable. Because the importance that tourists from a different culture attribute to the restaurant environment and social relations in the destinations they visit may vary. However, a research gap has been identified regarding the effect of emotions and lifestyle congruence on this process. Therefore, the research was designed in the study to understand the relationships between the perceptions of the social and physical service environment of local restaurants, behavioral intentions, emotions and lifestyle congruence. The population of the study consists of foreign tourists visiting local restaurants in the Core Cappadocia region. In order to reach the foreign tourists in the study population, convenience sampling method was preferred. The data were collected between 10.03.2024-30.03.2024 by face-to-face application through polsster. 411 questionnaires were collected. The SPSS 29 package program was used for the analysis of frequency, percentage analyses and skewness kurtosis values. SmartPLS 4.0 software program was used for measurement and structural model analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (KEKK-YEM) method was used to test the hypotheses formed in line with the study objectives. As a result of the study, it was determined that tourists' perceptions of ambiance, restaurant design, capacity and layout of local restaurants triggered positive emotions, and tourists' lifestyle congruence, positive and negative emotions had an effect on their behavioral intentions. When the mediation effects were examined, positive and negative emotions partially mediate the effect of ambiance on behavioral intentions. The effects of restaurant design, capacity and layout on behavioral intentions were partially mediated only by positive emotions. It was determined that positive emotions and lifestyle congruence fully mediated the effect of perceptions of restaurant staff on behavioral intentions.