IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/zbw/fubjbm/149033.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The scentscape: An integrative framework describing scents in servicescapes

Author

Listed:
  • Girard, Marc
  • Girard, Anna
  • Suppin, Anna-Caroline
  • Bartsch, Silke

Abstract

The systematic use of ambient scents is a trend in service companies that is accompanied by increasing research attention. However, we lack a theoretical framework that ad-dresses ambient scents' specific role in physical surroundings of services. Thus, this article develops the 'scentscape', a model that describes the process of olfactory stimulation and its impacts on customers and employees in service environments. The paper extends Bitner's servicescape model (1992) and combines it with Gulas and Bloch's (1995) model of the influence of ambient scent, while integrating further results from a literature review in scent-related sciences. The paper consolidates existing theory into a holistic framework and discusses present inconsistent findings. The scentscape illustrates different scent sources, provides an overview of the process of scent perception and evoked internal and behavioral reactions in a servicescape. We derive 11 key findings, which need to be considered by managers and scientists when using / investigating scents in service environments. We identify key determinants and independencies to be considered by service academics and provide a wide range of future research directions. We provide crucial facts to guide practitioners in integrating ambient scents in service settings. The scentscape illustrates that the olfactory situation in an environment will influence individuals through their perceived air quality even if no ambient scents are introduced into the servicescape. Therefore, an active indoor air quality management should be generally a key task for managers, in order to avoid the potential negative impact of an unpleasant olfactory experience - and focus of further research.

Suggested Citation

  • Girard, Marc & Girard, Anna & Suppin, Anna-Caroline & Bartsch, Silke, 2016. "The scentscape: An integrative framework describing scents in servicescapes," jbm - Journal of Business Market Management, Free University Berlin, Marketing Department, vol. 9(1), pages 597-622.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:fubjbm:149033
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/149033/1/866569928.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mitchell, Deborah J & Kahn, Barbara E & Knasko, Susan C, 1995. "There's Something in the Air: Effects of Congruent or Incongruent Ambient Odor on Consumer Decision Making," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 22(2), pages 229-238, September.
    2. Kevin Bradford & Debra Desrochers, 2009. "The Use of Scents to Influence Consumers: The Sense of Using Scents to Make Cents," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(2), pages 141-153, November.
    3. Nicolas Guéguen & Christine Petr, 2006. "Odors and consumer behavior in arestaurant," Post-Print halshs-00094108, HAL.
    4. Herrmann, Andreas & Zidansek, Manja & Sprott, David E. & Spangenberg, Eric R., 2013. "The Power of Simplicity: Processing Fluency and the Effects of Olfactory Cues on Retail Sales," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 30-43.
    5. Lunardo, Renaud & Mbengue, Ababacar, 2013. "When atmospherics lead to inferences of manipulative intent: Its effects on trust and attitude," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(7), pages 823-830.
    6. Michon, Richard & Chebat, Jean-Charles & Turley, L. W., 2005. "Mall atmospherics: the interaction effects of the mall environment on shopping behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(5), pages 576-583, May.
    7. Morrison, Michael & Gan, Sarah & Dubelaar, Chris & Oppewal, Harmen, 2011. "In-store music and aroma influences on shopper behavior and satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(6), pages 558-564, June.
    8. Orth, Ulrich R. & Bourrain, Aurelie, 2008. "The influence of nostalgic memories on consumer exploratory tendencies: Echoes from scents past," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 277-287.
    9. Spangenberg, Eric R. & Sprott, David E. & Grohmann, Bianca & Tracy, Daniel L., 2006. "Gender-congruent ambient scent influences on approach and avoidance behaviors in a retail store," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(12), pages 1281-1287, November.
    10. Spangenberg, Eric R. & Grohmann, Bianca & Sprott, David E., 2005. "It's beginning to smell (and sound) a lot like Christmas: the interactive effects of ambient scent and music in a retail setting," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(11), pages 1583-1589, November.
    11. Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E M & Baumgartner, Hans, 1992. "The Role of Optimum Stimulation Level in Exploratory Consumer Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 19(3), pages 434-448, December.
    12. C. Caldara & Aradhna Krishna & Ryan S. Elder, 2010. "Feminine to smell but masculine to touch ? Multisensory congruence and its effect on the aesthetic experience," Post-Print halshs-00528786, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wołangiewicz Michał, 2018. "How, if at All, should the Law of Trademarks Adapt to the Rise of Sensory Marketing?," Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics, Sciendo, vol. 7(2), pages 40-57, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Errajaa, Karim & Legohérel, Patrick & Daucé, Bruno, 2018. "Immersion and emotional reactions to the ambiance of a multiservice space: The role of perceived congruence between odor and brand image," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 100-108.
    2. Ramona Luca & Delane Botelho, 2021. "The unconscious perception of smells as a driver of consumer responses: a framework integrating the emotion-cognition approach to scent marketing," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 11(1), pages 145-161, June.
    3. Helmefalk, Miralem & Hultén, Bertil, 2017. "Multi-sensory congruent cues in designing retail store atmosphere: Effects on shoppers’ emotions and purchase behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-11.
    4. José Verissimo & Rui Alves Pereira, 2013. "The Effect Of Ambient Scent On Moviegoers’ Behavior," Portuguese Journal of Management Studies, ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, vol. 0(2), pages 67-80.
    5. Lunardo, Renaud & Roux, Dominique & Chaney, Damien, 2016. "The evoking power of servicescapes: Consumers' inferences of manipulative intent following service environment-driven evocations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 6097-6105.
    6. Andreas C. Drichoutis & Varvara Kechagia, 2016. "The effect of olfactory sensory cues on economic decision making," Working Papers 2016-4, Agricultural University of Athens, Department Of Agricultural Economics.
    7. Leenders, Mark A.A.M. & Smidts, Ale & Haji, Anouar El, 2019. "Ambient scent as a mood inducer in supermarkets: The role of scent intensity and time-pressure of shoppers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 270-280.
    8. Errajaa, Karim & Daucé, Bruno & Legohérel, Patrick, 2020. "Consumer reactions to olfactory congruence with brand image," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    9. Eliane Schreuder & Jan van Erp & Alexander Toet & Victor L. Kallen, 2016. "Emotional Responses to Multisensory Environmental Stimuli," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(1), pages 21582440166, February.
    10. Kechagia, Varvara & Drichoutis, Andreas C., 2017. "The effect of olfactory sensory cues on willingness to pay and choice under risk," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 33-46.
    11. OLAHUT Meda Roxana & PLAIAS Ioan, 2013. "The Effects Of Ambient Scent On Consumer Behavior: A Review Of The Literature," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 1797-1806, July.
    12. Carnevale, Marina & Hadi, Rhonda & Luna, David & Pogacar, Ruth, 2023. "Follow your nose when it sounds right: How brand names influence consumer responses to product scents," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    13. Herrmann, Andreas & Zidansek, Manja & Sprott, David E. & Spangenberg, Eric R., 2013. "The Power of Simplicity: Processing Fluency and the Effects of Olfactory Cues on Retail Sales," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 30-43.
    14. Roschk, Holger & Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia & Breitsohl, Jan, 2017. "Calibrating 30 Years of Experimental Research: A Meta-Analysis of the Atmospheric Effects of Music, Scent, and Color," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 228-240.
    15. Lieve Doucé, 2022. "The Effect of High, Partial, and Low Multisensory Congruity between Light and Scent on Consumer Evaluations and Approach Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-25, May.
    16. Doucé, Lieve & Adams, Carmen, 2020. "Sensory overload in a shopping environment: Not every sensory modality leads to too much stimulation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    17. Flavián, Carlos & Ibáñez-Sánchez, Sergio & Orús, Carlos, 2021. "The influence of scent on virtual reality experiences: The role of aroma-content congruence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 289-301.
    18. Chaney, Damien & Lunardo, Renaud & Saintives, Camille, 2015. "In-store quality (in)congruency as a driver of perceived legitimacy and shopping behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 51-59.
    19. Jha, Subhash & Balaji, M.S. & Peck, Joann & Oakley, Jared & Deitz, George D., 2020. "The Effects of Environmental Haptic Cues on Consumer Perceptions of Retailer Warmth and Competence," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(4), pages 590-605.
    20. Francisco I. Vega-Gómez & Francisco J. Miranda-Gonzalez & Jesús Pérez Mayo & Óscar Rodrigo González-López & Laura Pascual-Nebreda, 2020. "The Scent of Art. Perception, Evaluation, and Behaviour in a Museum in Response to Olfactory Marketing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:fubjbm:149033. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://jbm-online.net/index.php/jbm/index .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.