The Effects of the Service Environment on Perceived Waiting Time and Emotions

The Effects of the Service Environment on Perceived Waiting Time and Emotions Shih-Yi Chien 1 and Ying-Tung Lin 2 1 Department of Marketing and Distribution Management, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Taiwan (R.O.C.) 2 Department of Marketing, Louis Vuitton, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.) Abstract Because customers experience of waiting for service may negatively affect their behavioral approach toward the service organization, improving the service environment may also improve their waiting experience. This study examined the different effects of environmental elements on the perceived waiting time route and the emotional route. We surveyed 326 customers of a leading fast-food chain restaurant in Taiwan during rush hour. We found that the emotional route is a stronger predictor of customer approach behavior than the perceived waiting time route. Moreover, the explained wait and perceived crowding directly affect both the perceived waiting time route and the emotional route. The effect of the design factor on the customer behavior approach is significant in the emotional route, but it is not significant in the perceived waiting route. In addition, perceived crowding has the strongest effect on the perceived waiting time route, and the explained wait has the strongest effect on the emotional route. C 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: Service environment; Perceived waiting time; Emotions; Fast-food restaurant; Customer approach behavior 1. INTRODUCTION Having to wait for service is often an unavoidable experience for customers, and researchers note that this experience may negatively affect a customer s perception of the company (Butcher & Kayani, 2008; Pruyn & Smidts, 1998; Taylor, 1994). A customer s waiting experience is composed of a perceived waiting time and his or her emotional response to the wait. By improving these subjective experiences (i.e., by making a customer feel that time passed quickly or by improving Correspondence to: Shih-Yi Chien, No. 1, University Road, Yuanchau, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (R.O.C.). Phone: +886-7-6011000; ext: 4225; e-mail: shihyi@nkfust.edu.tw Received: 27 April 2012; revised 17 December 2012; accepted 19 December 2012 View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hfm DOI: 10.1002/hfm.20542 the customer s emotional state during the wait), it may be possible to minimize the negative perceptions when a wait is unavoidable. Improving the management of the operation by speeding up the service and shortening the waiting line is one method (Baker & Cameron, 1996; Taylor, 1994). However, completely eliminating a wait is not always feasible, and achieving what Taylor terms zero defects in a service operation can be difficult (Taylor, 1994). Nevertheless, the waiting experience can be enhanced, and one method service managers can use is to improve the waiting environment (Baker & Cameron, 1996). Environmental elements may affect both one s emotions and perceived waiting time and in turn influence one s behavior (Hui, Dube, & Chebat, 1997; Maister, 1985; Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). The two different routes that affect the approach behavior of the customers are the perceived waiting time route and the emotional route. In the perceived waiting Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries 25 (3) 319 328 (2015) c 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 319

Effects of the Service Environment on Waiting Time and Emotions Chien and Lin time route, the perceived waiting time is considered a mediator of the relationship between the emotional response to the wait and the customer s approach behavior. In the emotional route, the emotional response to the wait is viewed as a mediator of the relationship between the perceived waiting time and the customer s approach behavior. Although environmental elements affect a customer s waiting experience, either through the perceived waiting time route or the emotional route, service managers should know which route is the most effective for affecting the customer s approach behavior. Prior research has suggested that perceived waiting time influences emotion (Hui, Thakor, & Gill, 1998; Voorhees, Baker, Bourdeau, Brocato, & Cronin, 2009), that emotion has an effect on perceived waiting time (Hornik, 1993), and that perceived waiting time and emotion are treated as key mediators between environmental elements and customer behavior (Baker & Cameron, 1996; Cameron, Baker, Peterson, & Braunsberger, 2003; Hui et al., 1997; Pruyn & Smidts, 1998). However, there is scant literature available that has explored whether the process of environmental elements affecting customer behavior differs between the perceived waiting time route and the emotional route. The setting for our study is the fast-food chain restaurant. Increasingly, the process of cooking food after the customer orders (e.g., what McDonald s terms Made for You ) is a trend in such establishments. Although fast-food chain restaurants focus on offering customers speedy meals and convenient service, strict attention is paid to product quality as well. To offer customers the freshest food possible, many fastfood chain restaurants advocate the just-in-time meal, which means the food is prepared after ordering. However, too much concern for the quality of the food can increase the customer s waiting time, and the customer may react negatively and complain about the longer wait. Therefore, finding the appropriate balance between food quality and customer waiting time becomes all-important for the management of fast-food chain restaurants. This article attempts to examine the customers state of mind and determine which environmental element may provide the most help in minimizing the perceived waiting time and the emotional response. Our goal is to help managers understand how to increase control over their service environment and promote positive customer approach behaviors toward the fast-food chain restaurant. We provide new insight into how service managers can better manage the customer-waiting environment by offering different environmental elements and ways managers can use them effectively. In the following section, we develop the theoretical foundation for our hypotheses. We then describe the study method and results, followed by a discussion of our findings. 2. CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND 2.1. Emotional Response to the Wait and the Perceived Waiting Time Mehrabian and Russell (1974) stated that people s behavior is the result of their emotional state and their individual experience influenced by the environment. Environmental elements may cause customers to feel different emotions, which can result in particular customer behavior and which may result in their decision to be willing to buy something and return to the shop in the future. Past studies extended the Mehrabian-Russell model by adding the perceived waiting time to complete the model. Perceived waiting time is defined as how individuals perceive and feel about the duration they have to wait and how it affects their approach behavior (Baker & Cameron, 1996). Prior research found that perceived waiting time affects one s emotion (Voorhees et al., 2009), and is influenced by one s emotion (Baker & Cameron, 1996), and that it mediates the relationship between the environmental element and a customer s approach behavior (Grewal, Baker, Levy, & Voss, 2003). Although numerous studies examined the relationship between perceived waiting time and a customer s emotional response to the wait, few analyzed both the perceived waiting time route and the emotional route. For example, Hornik (1984) indicated that perceived waiting time may negatively affect a customer s emotions and vice versa. In addition, Pruyn and Smidts (1998) found that there is a reciprocal effect between how long the wait is judged to be and the resulting emotional reaction. 2.2. Environmental Element Baker, Parasuraman, Grewal, and Voss (2002) stated that environmental elements include the ambience, the 320 Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries DOI: 10.1002/hfm

Chien and Lin Effects of the Service Environment on Waiting Time and Emotions design, and the social elements. We placed much emphasis on the social portion of a service encounter because the fast-food industry is a service industry, and the social element is a necessary factor for success. We viewed ambience and design elements as physical elements and the restaurant s employees and perceived crowding as social elements. 2.2.1. The Physical Element Ambient elements are intangible and aural or sensual, such as the effects of lighting, temperature, and music (Baker, Grewal, & Parasuraman, 1994; Baker et al., 2002). Design elements are tangible and visual, such as the effects of color, furnishings, and spatial layout (Baker et al., 1994; Baker et al., 2002). When waiting for service, the physical environment can be an important factor in managing the time perception and emotional response to the wait of the customers. It has been proposed that physical elements may reduce the perceived waiting time (Kellaris & Kent, 1991) and positively affect the customers emotional reactions during the wait (Baker & Cameron, 1996; Cameron et al., 2003). Hui et al. (1997) indicated that physical elements affect both the perceived waiting time and the emotional response to the wait. Pruyn and Smidts (1998) noted that the perceived waiting time and the emotional response to the wait have a reciprocal effect. Thus, in our attempt to extend the work of these earlier studies, we will discuss how physical elements affect the perceived waiting time and the emotional response to the wait, followed by the consumers behavioral outcomes. Accordingly, we propose the following four hypotheses: H1: In the perceived waiting time route, the physical element has a negative impact on the perceived waiting time and, consequently, on the emotional response to the wait, which then affects the H2: In the perceived waiting time route, the physical element also has a negative impact on the perceived waiting time, which directly affects the H3: In the emotional route, the physical element has a positive impact on the emotional response to the wait and on the perceived waiting time, which in turn affects the approach behavior of the customer. H4: In the emotional route, the physical element also has a positive impact on the emotional response to the wait, which directly affects the 2.2.2. The Employee Element Goodwin, Smith, and Verhage (1991) used the justice theory to classify a customer s social interaction with employees as interactional justice and procedural justice. Interactional justice during the wait includes employee visibility, whereas procedural justice includes fairness and an explanation for the wait. In this study, we view employee elements as employee visibility, fairness, and an explanation for the wait. When the number of employees is fewer than required for the number of customers, then we have a case of understaffing (Baker et al., 2002). Understaffing may influence the customers perception of the restaurant and their responses (Wicker, 1973). Not enough employees in a store may cause customers to become frustrated and annoyed (Baker et al., 2002). In contrast, sufficient employees in a store will help to shorten customers perceived waiting time if they can see an adequate number of employees (Baker et al., 2002). Past studies addressed the fact that fairness can critically influence a customer s perception of waiting (Larson, 1987; Taylor, 1995). Maister (1985) proposed that waits believed to be unfair tend to make a person perceive the waiting time to be longer than waits believed to be fair. The belief that the waiting time is unfair also affects the customer s emotions, causing anger about the unfairness of the situation. Nevertheless, fair waiting is not enough to determine the needs of the customers. The service provider must offer an explanation for the need to wait. When customers protest about waiting, they may apply procedural justice techniques to evaluate the responsiveness of the employees with the explanation provided (Goodwin et al., 1991). Maister (1985) addressed the fact that waits that go unexplained seem to last longer compared to those that are explained. Furthermore, waiting in ignorance results in strong, visible irritation and rudeness by customers (Maister, 1985). As mentioned above, in the social environment the employee factor will negatively affect the customer s perception of the waiting time and will affect their Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries DOI: 10.1002/hfm 321

Effects of the Service Environment on Waiting Time and Emotions Chien and Lin emotions positively. Accordingly, we propose the following four hypotheses: H5: In the perceived waiting route, the employee element has a negative impact on the perceived waiting time as well as on the emotional response to the wait, which in turn affects the H6: In the perceived waiting route, the employee element has a negative impact on the perceived waiting time, which directly affects the H7: In the emotional route, the employee element has a positive impact on the emotional response to the wait as well as on the perceived waiting time, which in turn, affects the approach behavior of the customer. H8: In the emotional route, the employee element also has a positive impact on the emotional response to the wait and then directly affects the 2.2.3. Perceived Crowding Customers are part of the service environment. Environmental elements that expose customers to unwanted or uncontrolled intrusions will cause a negative emotion (Baum & Paulus, 1987). Perceived crowding is viewed as a social intrusion within the elements of the environment. Thus, customers may feel their privacy or personal space intruded on when they perceive the setting is crowded (Hui & Bateson, 1991). Perceived crowding is an individual s perception of psychological stress when space is limited (Stokols, 1972). Some prior studies found that perceived crowding negatively affects emotional reactions, then perceived waiting time, followed by approach behavior (Hui & Bateson, 1991; Li, Kim, & Lee, 2009). Other studies found that perceived crowding positively influences perceived waiting time and then approach behavior (Grewal et al., 2003; McGuire, Kimes, Lynn, Pullman, & Lloyd, 2009). Accordingly, we offer the following four hypotheses: H9 : In the perceived waiting route, perceived crowding has a positive impact on the perceived waiting time and then on the emotional response to the wait, which in turn affects the H10 : In the perceived waiting route, perceived crowding also has a positive impact on the perceived waiting time and then directly affects the H11: In the emotional route, perceived crowding has a negative impact on the emotional response to the wait and then on the perceived waiting time, which in turn affects the approach behavior of the customer. H12 : In the emotional route, perceived crowding also has a negative impact on the emotional response to the wait, which directly affects the 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1. Procedure and Subjects The purpose of this article was to study customers feelings and reactions in an actual restaurant when they were subjected to an unpleasant waiting experience. This survey was conducted in an actual setting of a MOS BURGER fast-food restaurant in Taiwan. McDonald s, the leading fast-food chain, developed a system of Made for You, which was introduced in Taiwan in 2006. However, MOS BURGER already had a similar process in place since November 1990 predating that of McDonald s by several years. In addition, the market share of MOS BURGER has climbed rapidly to second place in the fast-food chain industry in recent years in Taiwan (Ubiquitous Business, 2010). According to information obtained from the headquarters of MOS, the rush hour runs from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., especially on weekends. Accordingly, we conducted our survey between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Subjects, who were MOS BURGER customers, were observed in actual scenarios, surrounded by the environmental stimuli. The subjects in this study were 410 customers who patronized MOS BURGER restaurants during rush hour and who were waiting for their meal or were in the process of receiving their meal. Of the 410 subjects, 326 questionnaires were considered complete, resulting in a 79.5% response rate. From the total number of subjects, 35.1% were male and 64.9% were female, 40.3% were 20 years old or younger, 32.3% were 21 30 years old, 15.4% were 31 40 years old, 11.4% were 41 50 years old, and 0.6% were 51 60 years old, 78.2% of the total were single and 21.8% were married, and 50.2% of them were students. 322 Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries DOI: 10.1002/hfm

Chien and Lin Effects of the Service Environment on Waiting Time and Emotions The subjects educational level was as follows: 46.6% had a college degree, and the remaining 53.4% had a high school education. 3.2. Measures All items were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale, except the item of emotional response to the wait, which was measured on a 7-point scale. The ambience of the physical environment included music and lighting (Reimer & Kuehn, 2005; Wakefield & Baker, 1998). The design factor of the physical environment included interior design and physical facilities (Baker et al., 1994; Reimer & Kuehn, 2005; Wakefield & Baker, 1998). In the employee factor of the social environment, employee visibility was measured by whether there was a sufficient number of employees in the restaurant to serve the number of customers present (Baker et al., 1994). Fairness was measured by the order-andwait method (Greenberg, 1993; Schneider, 1973; Sulek & Hensley, 2004). The explained wait was measured by the explanation for waiting and how long the wait would take (Houston, Bettencourt, & Wenger, 1998; Reimer & Kuehn, 2005). For the customer factor of social environment, perceived crowding was measured by whether the subjects believed there were too many customers making them feel crowded (Hui & Bateson, 1991). Two items were measured for the perceived waiting time. The first item measured whether the customer felt that the wait was shorter, longer, or as they expected (Tom & Lucey, 1997). The second item measured whether the customer felt that the wait was too long for them (Schneider, 1973). For the emotional response to the wait, the subjects were asked to rate their response using scales listing emotions ranging from annoyed to pleased, from being bored to varied, from being irritated to feeling relaxed, from feeling sleepy to feeling energetic, and from being disappointed to feeling excited during the wait (Antonides, Verhoef, & van Aalst, 2002). The customers approach behavior was measured by the answer to the questions: Do you like eating in this restaurant? Do you like to spend time browsing in this restaurant? and Do you like this restaurant environment? (Donovan & Rossiter, 1982). 3.3. Construct Validity This study used confirmatory factor analysis to assess the measurement model. Consequently, to assess reliability, five items (music, lighting, employee visibility, ordering method, and waiting method) were dropped from further analysis, since their factor loading was below 0.40. Thus, the physical element was only measured by the design factors, and the employee element was only measured by the explained wait. After deleting these five items, the refined model demonstrated an acceptable fit with the data (χ 2 = 135.189, df = 78, p <.001; goodness-of-fit [GFI] = 0.952, comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.973, normed fit index [NFI] = 0.939, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.047). All factor loadings were significant (p <.001). The composite reliability of all constructs exceeded the 0.60 threshold. The average variance extracted scores from this analysis ranged from 0.451 to 0.751. Overall, these results show that the measures possess adequate reliability and validity (see the Appendix). 4. RESULTS Table 1 provides a detailed description of the means, standard deviations, and correlations. TABLE 1. Descriptive statistics and correlations Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Physical element (design factor) 1.000 2. Employee element (explained wait) 0.141 1.000 3. Perceived crowding 0.146 0.058 1.000 4. Perceived waiting time 0.080 0.216 0.283 1.000 5. Emotional response to the wait 0.206 0.274 0.201 0.352 1.000 6. Approach behavior 0.487 0.186 0.154 0.193 0.276 1.000 Mean 3.437 3.339 2.954 2.736 4.388 3.724 SD 0.634 0.917 0.701 0.703 0.861 0.516 Note: p <0.05, p <0.01. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries DOI: 10.1002/hfm 323

Effects of the Service Environment on Waiting Time and Emotions Chien and Lin Figure 1 Estimates of the perceived waiting time route. Figure 2 Estimates of the emotional route. Thehypothesizedmodelsweretestedviaastructural equation model using AMOS 7.0. The results are presented in Figures 1 and 2. H1, H5, and H9 state that the elements of the service environment affect the perceived waiting time and then the emotional response to the wait, which in turn affect thecustomers approachbehavior.asshowninfigure 1, the employee element was negatively related to the perceived waiting time (β = 0.200, p <.05), and the perceived crowding was positively related to the perceived waiting time (β = 0.263, p <.001). Moreover, the perceived waiting time negatively affected the emotional response to the wait (β = 0.372, p <.001), and then the effect of the emotional response to the wait on the approach behavior toward the restaurant was significant (β = 0.218, p <.01). Thus, H5 and H9 were supported. However, the physical element was not negatively associated with the perceived waiting time (β = 0.013), thereby failing to support H1. Furthermore, H2, H6, and H10 state that the environmental elements of the service impact the perceived waiting time and directly affect the behavior of the customer. As shown in Figure 1, perceived waiting time was not negatively associated with the approach behavior (β = 0.147), and thus fails to support H2, H6, and H10. The conceptual model demonstrates an acceptable fit with the data (χ 2 = 112.383, df = 71, p =.001; GFI = 0.961, CFI = 0.980, NFI = 0.949, RMSEA = 0.042). H3, H7, and H11 state that the environmental elements of the service impact the emotional response to the wait and then the perceived waiting time, which in turn affect the customers approach behavior. As shown in Figure 2, the physical element (β = 0.184, 324 Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries DOI: 10.1002/hfm

Chien and Lin Effects of the Service Environment on Waiting Time and Emotions p <.01) and employee element (β = 0.331, p <.001) were positively associated with the emotional response to the wait, and perceived crowding was negatively related to the emotional response to the wait (β = 0.100, p <.05). Moreover, the emotional response to the wait negatively affected the perceived waiting time (β = 0.378, p <.001), resulting in a significant effect of the perceived waiting time on the approach behavior toward the service organization (β = 0.155, p<.05), thereby supporting H3, H7, and H11. In addition,h4, H8, and H12 state that the environmental elements of the service affect the emotional response to the wait and directly affect the As shown in Figure 2, the emotional response to the wait was positively associated with the approach behavior (β = 0.271, p <.001), thus supporting H4, H8, and H12. The conceptual model demonstrates an acceptable fit with the data (χ 2 = 137.333, df = 78, p =.001; GFI = 0.952, CFI = 0.972, NFI = 0.938, RMSEA = 0.048). 5. DISCUSSION This study focused on the service environment affecting the consumers approach behavior through both the perceived waiting time route and the emotional route. Empirically, we established the relative importance of the physical element, the employee element, and the perceived crowding on the perceived waiting time, emotional response to the wait, and approach behavior of the customer within the context of a fastfood chain restaurant. The following are some findings from this study. First, this study found that the emotional route is a stronger predictor of customer approach behavior than the perceived waiting time route. The direct effect of the emotional response to the wait on the approach behavior of the customer in the perceived waiting time route (β = 0.218) is smaller than in the emotional route (β = 0.271). In the emotional route, the emotional response to the wait indirectly affects the approach behavior of the customer through the perceived waiting time. In addition, because the perceived waiting time has no significant direct effect on the approach behavior of the customer, the emotional response to the wait fully mediates the effect of the perceived waiting time on the approach behavior of the customer in the perceived waiting time route. These findings support the study of Mehrabian and Russell (1974), who found that the emotional state of the customers created by a pleasant environment improves their approach behavior. Second, the design factor has a direct effect on the emotional route but has no significant direct effect on the perceived waiting time route. The design factor appears to influence the emotional response to the wait. This effect supports Baker and Cameron (1996) in their argument that the design factor affects emotion and then the perceived waiting time and is consistent with previous research. However, we did not find that the design factor had a significant effect on the perceived waiting time. The reason for this could be a specific trait of the fast-food industry, where the design of the service environment is standardized by the chain s headquarters. Therefore, it doesn t matter which chain store a customer enters during rush hour. If they have to wait, then they will feel no sense of novelty because the design is similar. Third, the explained wait has a direct effect on both the perceived waiting time route (e.g., Baker et al., 2002; Hui et al., 1997; Pruyn & Smidts, 1998) and the emotional route (e.g., Cameron et al., 2003; Hui et al., 1997). When a customer is in hurry, she or he is concerned about how long the wait will take, and would like an explanation for the wait. Under this circumstance, the employee element could strongly affect a customer s approach behavior based on the perceived waiting time and the emotional response to the wait. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, employee visibility and the order-wait method were dropped from the analysis due to the characteristics of fast-food chain restaurants. For example, in the context of a luxury goods store, which requires intensive service, the employee element is measured by the number of visible employees (Grewal et al., 2003). On the other hand, in fast-food chain restaurants, a limited number of employees provide standardized services. Fourth, perceived crowding has a direct effect on both the perceived waiting time route and the emotional route. Past studies have demonstrated that perceived crowding affects both perceived waiting time (e.g., Grewal et al., 2003; McGuire et al., 2009) and emotional response to the wait (e.g., Hui & Bateson, 1991). Customers that have the perception that they are crowded tend to feel that they have to wait longer, and they express anxiety about that perceived longer wait. This tends to affect their approach behavior. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries DOI: 10.1002/hfm 325

Effects of the Service Environment on Waiting Time and Emotions Chien and Lin 6. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS This study offers insights that are both important and practical for service managers who intend to improve the experience of the waiting customer. Our findings showed that in the context of waiting the emotional response to the wait is a more important mediator between environmental elements and the approach behavior of the customer than the perceived waiting time. For service managers, using emotion-enhancing strategies to make the wait more pleasant may be more effective than addressing the perceived waiting time. It is also important for service managers to consider improving the experience of the waiting customer by highlighting the design feature in their fast-food chain restaurant context. The expected time for having to wait in a fast-food chain restaurant is very short (the waiting time customers find acceptable is no more than 3 to 5 min at McDonald s [Grewal et al., 2003]). Therefore, considering the short time the customer expects to wait, the design factor is more effective than the ambient factor. The result of this study tells service managers that upgrading the design factors may improve the approach behavior of the consumer by improving their emotional response to the wait. Although remodeling a fast-food restaurant is expensive, the use of modern technology (e.g., computer-aided design) may decrease the design expense (Baker et al., 1994). The effect of the employee element on the emotional route appears to be stronger than on the perceived waiting time route. The employee element is the most effective environmental factor in the emotional route. The results suggest that service managers should train staff to acknowledge the waiting customers emotional response to the wait. Finally, the effect of perceived crowding on the perceived waiting time route appears to be stronger than the emotional route. Perceived crowding is the most effective environmental factor concerning the perceived waiting time route. Thus, the strategy to reduce the perception of crowding is to make customers feel that their perceived waiting time is reduced. It is an important strategy for service managers to apply. 7. LIMITATIONS Like all research, this article has some limitations as well that need to be acknowledged. First, the physical element had no influence during the wait. The reason for this limitation might be due to the business model of fast-food chain restaurants. The degree of centralization in the fast-food chain restaurant business model is a possibility, as they tend to be more standardized than decentralized chain restaurants where store managers have more authority to manage the physical environment that affects their customers perceived waiting time. Therefore, future studies could investigate the degree of authority and compare chain store and non chain store business models. Second, there are other elements in the service environment and in the concept of waiting that this study did not examine. Thus, future studies could add more elements of the service environment that are related to waiting time to this model, such as the acceptance of the wait length and the wait expectation to make this model more comprehensive. Third, music, lighting, employee visibility, and the order-wait method were dropped from the analysis because their factor loading was low. This resulted in a number of 2-item scales and decreased the credibility of our findings. Future research is needed to refine the measurement of the dimensions, as discussed in the propositions. Finally, this study was undertaken entirely in Taiwan, which may lead to a biased perspective toward the local culture. Future research should determine whether differences in national cultures could moderate the relationship between environmental elements, perceived waiting time, and emotional response to the wait. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Science Council of Taiwan, R.O.C. (Grant Number NSC96 2416-H-327 021). We also would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. 326 Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries DOI: 10.1002/hfm

Chien and Lin Effects of the Service Environment on Waiting Time and Emotions 1. APPENDIX 1.1. Measures of Variables Construct and Source Scale Factor Loadings Physical element CR = 0.760 The interior design of the store attracts me. 0.762 AVE = 0.613 The physical facilities in the store attract me. 0.803 Employee element CR = 0.760 The employee will tell me how long it will take to get my 0.762 AVE = 0.613 meals ready. The employee will give me an explanation why I need to wait. Perceived crowding CR = 0.851 I feel there are too many customers in the store. 1.000 AVE = 0.747 I feel the store is crowded. 0.703 Perceived waiting time CR = 0.856 The waiting time is longer than I expected. 0.837 AVE = 0.751 I feel the waiting time is too long. 0.895 Emotional response to the wait CR = 0.853 Please describe your feelings concerning the waiting time you have experienced in the store. AVE = 0.540 Annoying Pleasant 0.772 Boring Varied 0.819 Irritating Not irritating 0.741 Dull Energetic 0.683 Disappointing Exciting 0.645 Approach behavior CR = 0.710 I enjoy eating in that restaurant. 0.738 AVE = 0.451 I would like to spend time browsing in that restaurant. 0.667 I like the environment in the restaurant. 0.602 Note: CR = composite reliability; AVE = average variance extracted. 0.803 References Antonides, G., Verhoef, P. C., & van Aalst, M. (2002). Consumer perception and evaluation of waiting time: A field experiment. Journal Consumer Psychology, 12, 193 202. Baker, J., & Cameron, M. (1996). The effects of the service environment on affect and consumer perception of waiting time: An integrative review and research propositions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24, 338 349. Baker, J., Grewal, D., & Parasuraman, A. (1994). The influence of store environmenton quality inferences and store image. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22, 328 339. Baker, J., Parasuraman, A., Grewal, D., & Voss, G. B. (2002). The influence of multiple store environment cues on perceived merchandise value and patronage intentions. Journal of Marketing, 66(2), 120 141. Baum, A., & Paulus, P. B. (1987). Crowding. In D. Strokois & I. Altman (Eds.), Handbook of Environmental Psychology (pp. 533 570). New York, NY: Wiley. Butcher, K., & Kayani, A. (2008). Waiting for service: Modelling the effectiveness of service interventions. Service Business, 2(2), 153 165. Cameron, M. A., Baker, J., Peterson, M., & Braunsberger, K. (2003). The effects of music, wait-length evaluation, and mood on a low-cost wait experience. Journal of Business Research, 56(6), 421 430. Donovan, R. J., & Rossiter, J. R. (1982). Store atmosphere: An environmental psychology approach. Journal of Retailing, 58(1), 34 57. Goodwin, C., Smith, K. L., & Verhage, B. J. (1991). An equity model of consumer responses to waiting time. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction Dissatisfaction Complaining Behavior, 4, 129 138. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries DOI: 10.1002/hfm 327

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