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Perceived Similarity Of Other Customers On Service Experience, Lisa Wan, Shing Chung, Patrick Poon, Maggie Chu

Hong Kong Institute of Business Studies Working Paper Series

This study aims to examine how a mere appearance of other similar customers will influence the perceived service quality of a potential customer. This research involves two experimental studies. Findings shows that if potential customers perceive other customers to be similar (vs. dissimilar) in a hospitality setting with regard to age, they will have more favorable perceptions toward the service quality and have a higher purchase intention. However, the positive impact of the similarity in age cohort can override the negative impact of dissimilarity in ethnicity on one's perceived service quality and purchase intentions. The results provide implications for hospitality …