This study empirically analyzed the structural impact of customer experience using the food rotating conveyor system on customer satisfaction, customer trust, and revisit intention, and empirically verified the moderating effect of innovation in this ...
This study empirically analyzed the structural impact of customer experience using the food rotating conveyor system on customer satisfaction, customer trust, and revisit intention, and empirically verified the moderating effect of innovation in this relationship. With the recent advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, new demands for food technology are emerging as we face rapidly changing environmental changes in technological development, and food technology is emerging as a key factor in maximizing customer value through non-face-to-face and automation technology. In particular, this study analyzed the structural impact of customer experience on revisit intention by providing visual, stable, and convenient experiences to customers through the provision of non-face-to-face and automated services.
As an independent variable of this study, sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational experiences were used as sub-factors of customer experience based on Schmitt's (1999, 2003) strategic experience module (SEMs) theory, and a survey was conducted on 447 people who had experience using the food rotating conveyor system as the subject of the study. Additionally, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation model (SEM), and multi-group analysis (MGA) were performed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 for empirical analysis.
The research results verified 17 detailed hypotheses consisting of a total of 7 hypotheses, and as a result, a number of hypotheses showed statistically significant results. These results were divided into research objectives and hypothesis verification results. First, in the results according to the research objectives, first, in order to identify the main factors of the food rotating conveyor customer experience, the five sub-factors of customer experience (sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational experiences) were systematically established through prior research and theoretical considerations. As a result of the analysis, it was found that sensory, emotional, and cognitive experiences had a significant positive (+) effect on customer satisfaction, and emotional and relational experiences had a significant effect on trust. On the other hand, behavioral and relational experiences do not directly affect customer satisfaction, suggesting that emotional and sensory-oriented experience design is more important in an automated and non-face-to-face service environment.
Second, it was intended to investigate the degree of influence of the five sub-factors of customer experience, and the emotional experience presented by Schmitt (1999) means emotional response, change in mood, and satisfaction and enjoyment. As a result of examining this survey composition based on it, the emotional experience factor showed the highest influence among the sub-factors. This means that the food rotating conveyor system does not provide simple convenience to customers, but also provides psychological stability, trust, and pleasure. However, the behavioral experience was rejected in customer satisfaction and trust.
Third, customer experience verified the structural relationship between customer satisfaction, customer trust, and revisit intention, and it was confirmed that customer satisfaction had a significant positive (+) effect on trust, and both customer satisfaction and customer trust had a significant effect on revisit intention.
Fourth, based on the research results, it was suggested that the following marketing strategies are needed when operating food technology-based restaurant services. First, a food technology design strategy for customer experience that reinforces sensory and emotional experiences is needed. In addition, it was confirmed that trust-based management should be conducted by consistent quality management and securing a hygienic and safe system, and that the intention to revisit should be continuously improved through storytelling for services that can induce customer emotions and consistent operation of brands rather than technical automation.
Finally, it was confirmed that personal innovation has a significant moderating effect between customer satisfaction and revisit intention, and customer trust and revisit intention. This means that the more innovative customers are, the more receptive they are to food technology-based restaurant services, respond positively to technological changes, and there is a strong tendency to convert customer satisfaction and customer trust to revisit intention, so it is necessary to subdivide customized service strategies according to the level of customer innovation. Next, as the main result of hypothesis verification, first, sensory experience, emotional experience, and cognitive experience all had a significant positive (+) effect on customer satisfaction in the effect of customer experience on customer satisfaction.
Second, among the sub-factors of customer experience, sensory experience, emotional experience, and relational experience were found to have a significant positive (+) effect on trust, which means that customers can feel stable in the visual cleanliness, hygiene management, and consistent cooking system inside the store, thereby building trust in the system and brand. In addition, emotional experience can act on customers with emotional confidence that the technical system protects me, and relational experience can build trust through familiarity and consistent service provision in a brand or specific store.
Third, in the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer trust, customer satisfaction was found to have a significant positive (+) effect on customer trust, which means that the more customers are satisfied with the brand in terms of hygiene, visual, and emotional aspects while using these systems. Fourth, customer satisfaction experienced by customers using the food rotating conveyor system is formed by service quality, speed, convenience, and hygiene management, and as a result, customer trust is strengthened through consistent experience and service provision.
Finally, as a result of analyzing the moderating effect of innovation in the relationship between customer satisfaction, customer trust, and revisit intention, it was verified that the revisit intention varies according to the level of innovation. In other words, the higher the innovation, the higher the satisfaction and trust, the stronger the tendency to lead to revisiting.
The theoretical implications of this study were to present a food technology research model based on customer experience for the first time by integrating technology and emotional factors in the food service sector, demonstrating that sub-factors of customer experience (sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational experiences) have a significant impact on customer satisfaction and trust, and confirming that emotional and sensory experiences are key factors in the food service industry, the development direction of customer experience theory in non-face-to-face service and automation technology environments was presented, and innovation was set as a control variable to verify that customer satisfaction and trust were controlled by the degree to which customers accept technology.
In addition, behavioral and relational experiences were found to be insignificant among customer experiences, which confirmed that technical stability and emotional trust are more important factors than behavioral and relational experiences in non-face-to-face systems, and by empirically verifying the influence between sub-factors of customer experience, emotional experiences have stronger explanatory power than cognitive and behavioral experiences.
Finally, by integrating the variables of customer experience in food technology-based operation management research, it is necessary to overcome technology-oriented limitations and supplement emotional experiences, which is meaningful in that a new approach model called emotion-based service operationology was presented.
In terms of marketing, those who provide the service of the food rotating conveyor system should first strengthen the factors that can stimulate customers' five senses, and create an environment in which customers can enjoy the system with confidence to strengthen their emotional experience. In addition, a customized service strategy is needed based on customer data accumulated in the process of providing food technology-based technology services, and a strategic approach is needed to provide services centered on convenience and stability to customers with high innovation by classifying groups according to the degree of innovation (high innovation, low innovation).
Finally, in order for a food technology-based technical system to eventually lead to customer trust, a strategy that can combine technology and emotional experience is very important.
Next, in terms of customer experience, customized customer experience services should be provided based on customer data using the food rotating conveyor system. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the customer's contact point so that they can emotionally interact with customers through a design that can stimulate the customer's emotions. And in the rapidly changing technological environment, customer participatory interactive CX should provide an opportunity for customers to participate.
These practical implications suggested that customer satisfaction and trust are strengthened when connecting the food rotating conveyor system with the customer experience that can stimulate the five senses and combining it with sensory, emotional, and cognitive experience factors among the sub-factors of customer experience, which can improve the reliability of the five senses by stimulating the emotional experience while providing technical stability when the customer uses the food rotating conveyor system, and as a result, it is a key factor that can strengthen the intention to revisit.
As a limitation of this study and the direction of future research, it is necessary to investigate and compare the environment of various regions, and to analyze the moderating effect, the customer experience was explained using only innovation, but it is also necessary to expand it to psychological and environmental factors. In addition, the cross-sectional survey was reflected in the study according to time constraints, and in the future, it is necessary to track the relationship change according to the time series through panel or longitudinal design. Finally, consideration of cultural factors was also insufficient, and analysis of cultural differences to overcome these cultural limitations is also required.