This study examined the effect of the experiential quality of foodservice establishments in shopping complexes on behavioral intention toward shopping complexes, focusing on the mediating role of consumption value. In recent years, shopping complexes ...
This study examined the effect of the experiential quality of foodservice establishments in shopping complexes on behavioral intention toward shopping complexes, focusing on the mediating role of consumption value. In recent years, shopping complexes have developed beyond conventional retail facilities into integrated consumption spaces where dining, shopping, leisure, cultural activities, and experiential consumption take place together. Within this context, foodservice establishments function as important experiential touchpoints that influence not only consumers’ evaluations of individual stores but also their responses to the shopping complex as a whole.
Although previous studies have examined customer experience, satisfaction, value perception, and behavioral intention in foodservice and shopping mall contexts, relatively limited attention has been given to how the experience of using foodservice establishments within a shopping complex leads to behavioral intention toward the entire shopping complex. To address this gap, this study conceptualized experiential quality in terms of sensory, affective, cognitive, and relational experiences. Consumption value was composed of emotional, social, and convenience values, while behavioral intention toward shopping complexes was measured through favorable attitudes toward the shopping complex, intention to use other stores within the shopping complex, and intention to revisit the shopping complex.
The data were collected from 523 adult consumers who had visited foodservice establishments in shopping complexes within the previous six months. The empirical analysis was conducted using SPSS 30.0 and PROCESS Macro version 5.0. Frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and mediation analysis were performed.
The results showed that the experiential quality of foodservice establishments had significant effects on both consumption value and behavioral intention toward shopping complexes. Specifically, sensory, affective, cognitive, and relational experiences significantly influenced emotional value. Affective, cognitive, and relational experiences had significant positive effects on social value, while sensory, cognitive, and relational experiences significantly influenced convenience value. In addition, all four dimensions of experiential quality had significant positive effects on behavioral intention toward shopping complexes. Emotional value, social value, and convenience value also had significant positive effects on behavioral intention toward shopping complexes.
Furthermore, the mediation analysis showed that consumption value played a significant mediating role in the relationship between experiential quality and behavioral intention toward shopping complexes. In particular, emotional value, social value, and convenience value served as important evaluative mechanisms through which consumers’ experiences with foodservice establishments were connected to favorable responses toward the shopping complex. These findings indicate that the experience of using foodservice establishments in shopping complexes can extend beyond the individual store level and contribute to favorable attitudes, cross-use intention, and continued visitation intention toward the shopping complex.
This study contributes to the literature by explaining how foodservice experiences within shopping complexes are connected to consumers’ value perceptions and subsequent behavioral intentions toward the shopping complex. It also highlights the importance of managing foodservice establishments as strategic experiential spaces rather than merely as dining facilities. From a practical perspective, shopping complex operators need to manage the sensory, affective, cognitive, and relational aspects of foodservice experiences in a more integrated manner, while also enhancing emotional, social, and convenience values for consumers.