Does warm care matter? Exploring the effects of service characteristics on organizational impression in smart retail stores

Abstract

Given its context orientation, service quality is a core issue in the study of smart retail. This paper examines service quality in smart retail through the lens of the cues–images–impressions model. The objective is to analyze the influence of service characteristics of smart retail stores (SRSs) on customers' perceived service quality and organizational impressions. Using a mixed-methods design and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach, the study highlights customer orientation, SRS employee characteristics, and the SRS servicescape as mechanisms driving service quality and enabling positive organizational impression. The findings have both theoretical and practical implications for future research.