See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/271631149

Creating consumer attachment to retail service firms through sense of place

Article  in  Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · March 2014

DOI: 10.1007/s11747-014-0381-x

CITATIONS READS

32 839

3 authors, including:

Julie Baker Clay Voorhees

Texas Christian University Michigan State University
36 PUBLICATIONS   7,686 CITATIONS    41 PUBLICATIONS   1,723 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Julie Baker on 09 May 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
DOI 10.1007/s11747-014-0381-x
ORIGINAL EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Creating consumer attachment to retail service firms
through sense of place
E. Deanne Brocato & Julie Baker & Clay M. Voorhees
Received: 30 April 2013 / Accepted: 24 February 2014
# Academy of Marketing Science 2014
Abstract Fostering attachment between consumers and orga-
nizations is developing into a cornerstone of relationship
marketing strategy. However, little is known about how an
organization can develop strong emotional ties with con-
sumers. Our research addresses one aspect of this gap by
showing that in atmosphere dominant service firms, sense of
place leads to place attachment, which in turn plays a critical
role in driving desirable customer behaviors. In Study 1 we
demonstrate that sense of place influences the strength of
consumers’ attachment to a service location, which ultimately
has positive effects on consumers’ behaviors. In Study 2, we
identify characteristics that influence the sense of place di-
mensions and extend the model to better account for the
dynamics of social relationships that develop within a service
firm. This research provides an initial investigation into how
organizations can better manage the service place and pro-
vides a rich framework for future research on managing
attachment with service consumers.
Keywords Place attachment; Retail services; Sense of place
Fostering attachment between consumers and organizations is
developing into a cornerstone of relationship marketing
E. D. Brocato
Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University, Logan, UT,
USA
e-mail: deanne.brocato@usu.edu
J. Baker (*)
Department of Marketing, Neeley School of Business, Texas
Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA
e-mail: j.baker@tcu.edu
C. M. Voorhees
Department of Marketing, Michigan State University, East Lansing,
MI 48824, USA
e-mail: voorhees@bus.msu.edu
strategy. However, relatively little is known about how an
organization can develop strong emotional ties with con-
sumers that can prevent them from switching providers.
How can a firm become the “favorite,” the one for which
customers would not substitute a competitor? Our research
addresses one aspect of this issue by examining whether and
how atmosphere-dominant service firms can create a sense of
place and thus foster customers’ attachment to a specific
setting, which in turn may play a critical role in driving
relationship-based customer behaviors.
Consider the following examples. Kincaid’s Hamburgers’
original location in an old grocery store in Fort Worth, Texas,
was a local treasure for 62 years. An announcement that the
owners planned to close that location and send cus-
tomers to a newly opened store caused a strong back-
lash. Adjacent business owners regarded Kincaid’s as a
meaningful neighborhood symbol, and long-time cus-
tomers from all over the city were upset about having
“their” store replaced (Kennedy 2008). Similarly, the closing
of many Bennigan’s Restaurants evoked feelings so strong in
one customer that she wrote a poem about it and sent it to
ABCNews.com. This customer had formed an emotional
attachment with a particular Bennigan’s location because of
its atmosphere and the relationships she had built with the staff
(Gomstyn 2009). These exemplars demonstrate that people
can bestow meaning on the physical facilities of service com-
panies and the interpersonal relationships developed therein
that can lead to strong attachment to those places. This phe-
nomenon is particularly relevant in service firms where the
physical setting is a critical component of the customer expe-
rience, or “atmosphere-dominant” service firms (Turley and
Fugate 1992). Attachment is a critical concept because it
should influence behaviors that facilitate profitability and
customer lifetime value (Thomson et al. 2005).
The marketing literature has established that brand attach-
ment can have a strong impact on customer purchase behavior

(e.g., Park et al. 2010). However, most of these studies focus
on examining attachment to physical branded goods rather
than retail service firms. As a result, less is known about how
attachment functions in atmosphere-dominant services and
what the relevant objects of attachment are in this context.
The literature also fails to consider whether and how location/
place-specific factors may influence consumers’ decisions to
stay with a particular provider.
Research streams have emerged in sociology and environ-
mental psychology that attempt to explain the meanings asso-
ciated with non-commercial places such as homes, cities, and
natural landscapes, and the resulting attachment that develops
between individuals and those places (e.g., Kyle et al. 2004a).
However, an explicit and encompassing understanding of
whether place meanings (what we refer to as “sense of place”)
and place attachment can be created in a commercial service
context, and whether there are benefits to an organization of
cultivating these bonds, has not been addressed in the market-
ing literature.
Extending prior work on attachment to human brands
(Thomson 2006) and physical goods (Park et al. 2010), the
objective of our research is to investigate in detail the concepts
of sense of place and place attachment in the context of service
organizations. Study 1 focuses on the conceptual development
and testing of three proposed dimensions of sense of place that
influence the strength of place attachment. In order to explore
the question of “does place attachment matter?” we also
compare the strength of the influence of place attachment
and service quality evaluations (a key element found in past
research in influencing customer behaviors) on switching
intentions and positive word of mouth. These behavioral
outcome variables parallel traditional assessments of approach
and avoidance in environmental psychology, and reflect out-
comes suggested in the attachment literature: willingness to
invest in a relationship (Park and MacInnis 2006) and the
desire to remain close to an attachment object (Bowlby 1979).
Study 2 was designed to embed our model in a more
comprehensive, but complex framework to see if the theory
holds. Based on the literature and a qualitative study, we
develop and test hypotheses about sense of place drivers. We
also expand the focus of the social bonds construct and
examine how the sense of place dimensions influence strength
of physical- and social-based attachments to place. Finally, we
explore the moderating effects of involvement. Drawing on
our findings, we offer implications for marketing researchers
and practitioners, and we suggest avenues for future research.
Key place concepts
Before presenting our conceptual model, we define key con-
structs related to the notion of place. In this study, consistent
with the place attachment literature, the term place is defined
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
as a specific environment (location) consisting of the physical
properties of the place and the social and psychological pro-
cesses that occur within its boundaries (Brandenburg and
Carroll 1995; Relph 1976; 1985). Places are given meaning
by individuals through personal, group, or cultural processes
(Low and Altman 1992). Importantly for marketers, research
has found that through shared experiences, places can
evoke meanings that are common among their inhabitants
(Pretty et al. 2003). This meaning, or human interpretation of a
physical setting, is referred to as sense of place. The
accumulation of experiences that people have with places over
time creates sense of place (Manzo 2001). Finally, place
attachment is a strong emotional bond people have with
places (Hummon 1992; Low and Altman 1992). It is charac-
terized by a positive, target-specific connection between an
individual and a specific environmental setting (both physical
and social elements), the main characteristic of which is the
tendency of the individual to maintain closeness to that envi-
ronment (Hidalgo and Hernandez 2001), and experience some
levels of distress when they are kept from it (Manzo 2008).
Sense of place and place attachment
In the first study, we propose that three sense of place dimen-
sions lead to strength of place attachment. Moreover, we argue
that place attachment matters because it explains relational
outcomes better than service quality alone. Figure 1 presents
the conceptual model tested in the first study.
Place attachment
The basic notion that drives Study 1 is that as the strength of a
consumers attachment to a service retailer’s place increases,
two relational outcomes also increase. Specifically, as the
strength of their attachment increases, consumers become
more engaged in spreading positive word of mouth and more
resistant to switching behaviors.
Bowlby (1979, 1980) introduced attachment theory within
the domain of parent–infant relationships, defining it as the
emotion-laden, target-specific bond that develops between a
person and another person or object. The importance and
relevance of attachment theory over time has moved beyond
the domain of the parent–infant relationship to include other
contexts. Studies have examined attachment in terms of adult
relationships (Hazan and Shaver 1994), social friendships
(Weiss 1988), possessions (Belk 1988), recreational/natural
settings (Kyle et al. 2004a), third places and social supportive
environments (Rosenbaum et al. 2007), and homes/
neighborhoods (Easthope 2004). The place attachment con-
cept provides a theoretical basis to evaluate critical aspects of
place because it is based on individuals’ cumulative experi-
ences with both physical and social aspects of an environment
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Fig. 1 Study 1: conceptual SENSE OF PLACE
model. Notes: * p<0.05; **
p<0.01. Completely standardized
gamma and beta estimates are Place Identity
provided
Place
Dependence
Social Bonds
with
Employees
Service Quality
that lead to strong emotional bonding with that place
(Low and Altman 1992; Relph 1985; Tuan 1974, 1977).
However, place attachment theory has not been adapted and
examined in a comprehensive way in the context of commer-
cial organizations.
Consistent with theory, we conceptualize place attachment
to be location specific. Therefore, in the case of a multi-
location organization, consumers tend to develop attachment
and loyalty to a specific location and its personnel that is
distinct from any bond that they form with the organization
in general. For example, an individual might have a strong
attachment to one location of a restaurant, but not necessarily
to all restaurants within a brand franchise.
Differences between place attachment and other marketing
constructs
Prior to establishing the conceptual foundations of place at-
tachment, we first pause to reconcile recent research on brand
attachment, satisfaction, loyalty, and third places in an effort to
demonstrate the conceptual distinctions between place attach-
ment and these constructs.
Marketing studies have previously investigated the effects
of consumer attachment in the context of goods that are
possessed and human brand relationships (e.g., Fournier
1998; Thomson 2006; Thomson et al. 2005). Brand attach-
ment scholars argue that it is a unique and important construct
in marketing, and is different than brand attitude, satisfaction
and involvement (see Park et al. 2010; Park et al. 2006;
Thomson et al. 2005 for detailed discussions). The character-
istic that distinguishes attachment from similar constructs is
the strong cognitive and affective bond that connects a brand
with a consumer in a way that the attached object becomes an
OUTCOMES
Positive Word
of Mouth
Strength of
Place
Attachment
Switching
Intentions
extension of the self (Park et al. 2007). Thus, while emotional
attachment entails evaluative properties like attitudes, it also
includes “hot affect” that characterizes the motivational and
emotional properties associated with strong relationship bond-
ing (Park and MacInnis 2006).
The process by which consumers feel as if they are attached
so that objects become extensions of themselves also separates
the concept of attachment from both attitudinal and behavioral
loyalty. Attachment, because of its strong emotional compo-
nent and its object (e.g., place) becoming an extension of the
self, represents more than a positive predisposition (e.g., atti-
tudinal loyalty, Chaudhuri and Holbrook 2001; Dick and Basu
1994) toward a brand. Attachment is also more than behav-
ioral loyalty, which could reflect inertia or convenience
(Reinartz and Kumar 2002).
While extant brand attachment research provides a clear
look at the powerful effects of attachment, it does not move
beyond the brand level in order to consider the role of attach-
ment to service places. Kleinc and Baker (2004) argue that
place attachment forms with specific places, not with catego-
ries of places. Thus, place attachment is different from brand
attachment because, as we noted earlier, consumers may es-
tablish attachment to a specific physical location without
necessarily having an emotional bond to the service brand.
To illustrate, a focus group participant who belonged to a
branded gym organization told us that he bypassed the gym
location closest to his house and drove farther to another
location of the same gym “brand” that he liked better.
Moreover, unlike tangible goods, consumers do not possess
the place in which they consume a service. Instead, place
offers important tangible aspects to their service experience.
Finally, place attachment is different in nature from attach-
ments to tangible goods brands because it encompasses social

relationships that can form within a place. Previous studies on
“third places,” which uses home as a metaphor, have focused
on social relationships formed within service places
(Rosenbaum 2006; Rosenbaum et al. 2007). However using
home as a metaphor does not reflect the complexity of place
attachment (Manzo 2001). Besides social attachment, place
attachment includes the feeling of connection to the physical
dimensions of places (Hidalgo and Hernandez 2002).
In sum, place attachment is a unique construct that holds
promise for marketing theory and practice, and it extends
extant research on attachment and services marketing.
Without a deeper understanding of how place attachment
might influence consumer behavior, current models of service
decision making and relationship development may be
incomplete.
Sense of place
Scholars suggest that the emotional bond characterizing hu-
man–place attachment is formed due to the personal meanings
endowed to a place (Kleinc and Baker 2004; Kyle et al. 2004a,
b; Sherry 1998). Recall that “meanings endowed to a place” is
consistent with our definition of sense of place. Sense of place
is derived from an individual’s interactions with a setting and
evolves over time through memories strengthened by frequent
exposure to an environment and the complex associations
which result from this process (Relph 1985; Tuan 1974,
1977). However, managers and academics have struggled to
understand the qualities that define sense of place.
Environmental psychology scholars investigating places
such as homes, cities, and natural landscapes have, in a
number of separate studies, suggested three major dimensions
that provide a basis for understanding sense of place. Drawing
on this literature, we propose that in a retail service context
these dimensions—place identity, place dependence and so-
cial bonding—foster a sense of place, which drives the for-
mation of place attachment. Theories of social identity, self-
image/store image congruence, and social interaction provide
support for the specific links between each sense of place
dimension and strength of place attachment.
Place identity Place identity is defined as the congruency
between a person’s self-image and the physical and social
aspects of a place (Proshansky 1978). The concept of place
identity is based on work by Proshansky, Fabian, and
Kaminoff (1983) that extends traditional identity theories
from a focus on social contact between a child and an adult
to include objects and places which have importance in the
formation of an individual’s identity. The object—in the con-
text of this study, a specific place—becomes part of the
individual’s self-concept or is tightly linked to the self-
concept. At its core, social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner
1986) suggests individuals maintain multiple identities by
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
self-categorizing themselves into groups that can be tied to
any characteristic conducive for establishing in- and out-
group differences.
Leveraging these principles in a marketing context,
Bhattacharya and Sen (2003), demonstrate that congruence
between a person’s identity and that of relevant companies can
be a source of self-identification. Extending these principles of
self-identity to physical retail places, it is possible for individ-
uals to rely on specific locations to support their social iden-
tities, thus creating a sense of place identity. Once an individ-
ual self-categorizes as being a member of a place or environ-
mental setting, he or she is able to use it as a means of
reference, a form of personal expression, and a communica-
tion tool (Sirgy, Grewal, and Mangleburg 2000). Ultimately,
when there is congruence between the self-image of the
individual and the image of the service place, feelings
of attachment are increased. Place identity is similar in
nature to Park et al.’s (2010) brand–self connection. We
hypothesize that:
H1: Place identity has a direct, positive effect on the strength
of customer place attachment.
Place dependence Place dependence is an individual’s evalu-
ation of the environment in terms of its functionality in satis-
fying unfulfilled needs (Backlund and Williams 2003).
Jorgensen and Stedman (2001) define place dependence as a
concern for “how well a setting serves goal obtainment given
an existing range of alternatives (i.e., how does this setting
compare to others for what I like to do?)” (p. 234).
Furthermore, an individual’s choice of a specific place de-
creases the perceived substitutability of other places (Milligan
1998). Place dependence has been found to influence
attitudes towards fees and spending preferences (Kyle,
Absher, and Graefe 2003), visitation within a recreational
setting (Backlund and Williams 2004), and place attachment
(Jorgensen and Stedman 2001; Kyle et al. 2005).
The link between place dependence and strength of place
attachment is based on principles from environmental psy-
chology that suggest that functional evaluations reflect the
importance of a place in providing features that support de-
sired goals and activities (Williams and Vaske 2003). Stokols
and Shumaker (1981) argue that the greater the number and
range of needs met by a place, the more positive individuals’
feelings will be toward that place. Therefore, how well a
service retailer enhances consumers’ task completion re-
peatedly over time should intensify these positive emo-
tions and be an important driver of strength of place attach-
ment. Formally:
H2: Place dependence has a direct, positive effect on the
strength of customer place attachment.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Social bonding Social bonding encompasses the meanings
that are derived from the bonds that form between people
within a specific place. The need to consider social factors in
addition to reactions to a physical space is consistent with Low
and Altman (1992), who note that physical places are settings
within which interpersonal, community, and cultural relation-
ships occur, and that this social bonding provides meaning that
results in individuals forming strong emotional bonds with a
place. Similarly, marketing scholars argue that social bonds are
an important way to enhance the core offering of a product or
service retailer (Berry 1995; Price and Arnould 1999).
Moreover, social interaction research has provided evi-
dence that social bonding with others is one of the most
consistent and significant sources of emotional attachment to
a place (Guest and Lee 1983; Pretty, Chipuer, and Bramston
2003). For example, when comparing social and physical
bonds in a neighborhood, Hidalgo and Hernandez (2001)
found that social bonding of family, friends, and community
were equally if not more important than physical place alone
in forming place attachment. A qualitative study conducted in
a recreational context found informants’ connections to place
were due to interactive processes involving individuals, their
social worlds and the physical setting (Kyle and Chick 2007).
In Study 1 we chose to focus on contact employees to
represent the social aspects of the service experience.
Previous research in marketing has found support for the
idea that social bonding exists between service employees
and customers. For example, service environments pro-
duced social friendships between customers and employees
which were shown to benefit the provider (Price and
Arnould 1999). Similarly, the socially supportive role of
other people in a service environment enhanced attachment
among those seeking emotional support (Rosenbaum et al.
2007). Based on these findings, we focus on the social
bonds formed between customers and service employees,
and hypothesize:
H3: Social bonding with employees has a direct, positive
effect on the strength of customer place attachment.
The behavioral outcomes of place attachment
The goal of creating place attachment is to build lasting
relationships with customers such that they are strongly com-
mitted to, and become advocates for, the retailer (Park and
MacInnis 2006). This reflects a desire to remain close to a
place and mirrors Bowlby’s (1979) concept of proximity
maintenance, where individuals desire to remain close to
attachment objects. Consumers exhibit attachment to stores,
brands, products, and services through their intentions and
behaviors (Garbarino and Johnson 1999). Park and
MacInnis (2006) note that as attachments strengthen
consumers tend to be more resistant to competing alternatives,
forgiving of mishaps, and willing to invest in the relationship.
Social exchange theory posits that the benefits consumers
receive from an exchange relationship consist of acquisition
utility and exchange utility. Acquisition utility refers to the
direct benefits provided by the core product or service, while
exchange utility consists of the added benefits provided by the
close relationship with the organization (Frenzen and Davis
1990). In a service context, perceptions of the core offering
(products/services) can be viewed as a form of acquisition
utility and place attachment as a type of exchange utility. Both
forms of utility provide a consumer with unique benefits, but
in order to develop an enduring relationship exchange utility
becomes critical. For these relationships to develop, providers
must offer exchange utility based on relational ties in addition
to the acquisition utility associated with the core offering. By
doing so, customers experience additional commitment due to
the continuation and enhancement of the relationship, which
includes the development of social bonding, dependence,
identity, and ultimately attachment (Frenzen and Davis 1990).
We chose to examine two behavioral outcomes that
operationalize the strengthening of a relationship between a
consumer and service place. The first of these is switching
intentions, which reflects the likelihood that a customer is going
to abandon their relationship with a current provider and switch
to a competitor (Bansal et al. 2005; Keaveney 1995). The
reduction of switching intentions is consistent with the notion
that as attachments strengthen consumers tend to be resistant to
competing alternatives (Park and MacInnis 2006) as these
bonds may act as a barrier to switching (Lam et al. 2004).
The second outcome we examine is positive word of
mouth. Word of mouth has been called the “ultimate test of
the customer’s relationship” with a company (Bendapudi and
Berry 1997, p. 30). Kumar, Petersen and Leone (2007) argue
that what a company’s customers tell others about it can
influence revenues and profits just as much as what those
customers buy themselves. Based on tenets of action loyalty,
consumers that feel an emotional attachment to a place will be
much more likely to advocate the company to others and
spread positive word of mouth (Oliver 1999). Based on the
aforementioned evidence, we hypothesize:
H4a: The strength of place attachment has a direct, negative
effect on customer switching intentions.
H4b: The strength of place attachment has a direct, positive
effect on positive word of mouth.
Service quality, sense of place and place attachment
In an effort to better understand how sense of place and place
attachment relate to other classic assessments of service, we
include service quality as a driver of sense of place and place

attachment and also model its direct effects on the behavioral
outcomes to better benchmark the impact that place attachment
has relative to established measures of service. Service quality
has been shown to be an important component of how cus-
tomers evaluate and decide to patronize an organization
(Cronin, Brady, and Hult 2000). It has been considered a
largely cognitive appraisal (Bitner 1990) and often emerges
as a primary antecedent of more affective appraisals like those
captured by the sense of place dimensions and place attachment
More specifically, in line with Lazarus (1991), we contend that
perceptions of service quality serve as the primary cognitive
appraisal that drives emotional responses in the form of sense
of place and place attachment assessments, and ultimately
behavior manifested as word of mouth and switching inten-
tions. Therefore, as service quality increases, so should cus-
tomers’ sense of place and attachment to a service place.
H5a: Service quality has a direct, positive effect on place
identity.
H5b: Service quality has a direct, positive effect on place
dependence.
H5c: Service quality has a direct, positive effect on social
bonds with employees.
H6: Service quality has a direct, positive effect on strength
of place attachment.
In addition to affecting place attachment, service quality
has been demonstrated as a cognitive antecedent to be-
havioral outcomes (Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman 1996).
However, many consumers’ decisions are based heavily on
emotion (Holbrook and Hirschman 1982; McDonald 1998),
and relationship building depends on emotional bonding with
an organization (Oliver 1999). Therefore, we propose that
place attachment should have a stronger effect on our rela-
tionship based outcomes than does service quality. Formally:
H7a: Service quality has direct, negative effects on switching
intentions.
H7b: Place attachment will have a stronger negative influ-
ence on customer switching intentions than service
quality.
H8a: Service quality has direct, positive effects on word of
mouth.
H8b: Place attachment will have a stronger positive influ-
ence on word of mouth than service quality.
Study 1
Methods
Study 1 examines the relationship between the sense of place
dimensions and strength of place attachment, and in turn the
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
link between attachment and desirable behavioral outcomes.
In the first study, we selected local bars and clubs as the
context for the research to explore sense of place and place
attachment, as these service organizations are “atmosphere
dominant” (Turley and Fugate 1992). To test the research
model directly (H1–H7), a survey was conducted that asked
respondents to reflect on a local bar or club that they had
frequented. In the following sections, we detail the procedures
used to collect the data and test the conceptual model in the
first study.
Measurement
Multi-item scales were used to measure all constructs in the
conceptual model. Respondents were asked to indicate their
agreement with a series of questions about a bar or club
(“XYZ”) on a seven-point Likert-type scale anchored by
“strongly disagree” (1) and “strongly agree” (7). Measures
for the sense of place dimensions (place identity, place
dependence, and social bonding) were developed for
this study using conventional scale development tech-
niques. Specifically, the domain of each scale was clear-
ly specified based on the marketing, leisure, environ-
mental psychology, and sociology literatures. Following
this, items were generated by conducting focus groups,
through discussions with experts, and by adapting mea-
sures from related scales (e.g., Jorgensen and Stedman
2001; Kyle et al. 2005; Price and Arnould 1999; Thomson
2006). This list of items was then evaluated and purified
through a series of steps including the gathering and testing
of both development and validation samples to test the mea-
surement properties of the sense of place dimensions. Our
scale development process resulted in the generation of reli-
able and valid multi-item scales for each construct that are
consistent with previous work (see Appendix).
Established scales were used to measure strength of attach-
ment, service quality, and behavioral outcomes. Strength of
attachment has been previously measured through a demon-
stration of separation distress from the attachment object
(Hazan and Shaver 1994; Thomson 2006). These measures
were adapted and extended with a focus on place as the object
of attachment. Overall perceptions of service quality were
measured using four items based on the work of Brady and
Cronin (2001) and Teas (1993). In this study, word of mouth is
a behavioral measure based on items introduced by Zeithaml,
Berry, and Parasuraman (1996). It assesses the extent to
which consumers feel that they actually spread positive
word of mouth rather than their intentions to do so.
Finally, switching intentions were measured using three
items based on the scale introduced by Bansal et al.
(2005). A complete listing of items is presented in the
Appendix.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Sample
Respondents were undergraduate students at a large public
university who received extra credit for their participation.
Because our goal in Study 1 was to explore the dimensions
of sense of place and to establish the role of place attachment
in behavioral responses to service firms, we needed data that
reflected relatively high attachment. Thus, respondents were
asked to identify a bar or club to which they felt attached, and
then complete a series of open and closed ended questions
about their experiences with this establishment. The data
collection process resulted in a final sample of 196 consumers.
The average age of the respondents was 22.14 years, and
55.7% of the respondents were male. With respect to ethnicity,
87.5% of the respondents were White/Caucasian, 3.1% were
African-American, 1.6% were Hispanic, 6.3% were Asian
American, and 1.0% did not identify themselves in one of
these categories.
Model testing
Measurement model testing We began the analyses by first
confirming the measurement properties of the constructs using
confirmatory factor analysis. As part of this assessment, we
evaluated the overall model fit using a series of recommended
fit indices (Hu and Bentler 1999) and assessed both reliability
and validity of the constructs. The results of the confirmatory
factor analysis (see Table 1) revealed that the model offered
good fit to the data. Moreover, all items loaded highly and
significantly on their respective factors. During the data col-
lection, we also gathered measures of brand attachment.
Additional measurement and structural models were devel-
oped and tested that revealed a modest correlation between
place and brand attachment (r=0.41). The results of these
models also supported discriminant validity between the con-
structs, and in the structural model, brand attachment did not
significantly affect either outcome variable when place attach-
ment was present.
Table 1 Study 1: common method variance adjusted correlations and scale statistics
Construct Attenuated reliability Attenuated AVE
1. Place identity 0.89 0.59
2. Place dependence 0.85 0.53
3. Social bonds with employees 0.94 0.74
4. Place attachment 0.79 0.50
5. Service quality 0.67 0.89
6. Positive word of mouth 0.94 0.84
7. Switching intentions 0.86 0.67
* p<0.05
Convergent and discriminant validity were tested based on
Fornell and Larcker’s (1981) criteria. The results indicated
convergent and discriminant validity for all latent variables in
each sample. The average variance extracted exceeded 0.50,
and they were greater than the shared variance between each
construct and all other variables.
Assessment of common method variance and bias The con-
structs of interest passed the tests of reliability and validity, yet
when dependent and independent variables are gathered using
the same instrument, common method variance can potential-
ly bias the findings. Given this possibility, we proactively
conceptualized and measured two marker variables, value
consciousness and need for social approval, based on recom-
mendations by Lindell and Whitney (2001) and Richardson,
Simmering, and Sturman (2009), that could be used to identify
the potential presence of common method variance in the data.
These variables were selected because they are theoretically
unrelated to the research variables. In our study, each marker
variable empirically demonstrated to be unrelated to our mod-
el variables, as the smallest bivariate correlation between the
marker variables and the model variables were 0.01 for value
consciousness and 0.0001 for need for social approval. Given
these correlations, we adopted the marker variable with a
higher overall relationship with the model variables as the
focal marker variable for our analyses.
Because common method variance is likely to differ across
varied response formats (Podsakoff et al. 2003), we used the
unrestricted method variance or congeneric model perspective
to assess the extent to which common method variance may
exist in the data. Consistent with this perspective, we adopted
the CFA marker variable technique advocated by Richardson,
Simmering, and Sturman (2009) by fitting a measurement
model where paths were estimated from the latent marker
construct (value consciousness) to each of its manifest indi-
cators, as well as to the indicators of all other constructs in the
research model. The fit of this model was then compared to a
measurement model where the loadings between the latent
marker construct and its items were allowed to freely estimate,
1 2 3 4 5 6
0.50*
0.42* 0.38*
0.62* 0.58* 0.51*
0.31* 0.40* 0.27* 0.32*
0.45* 0.49* 0.16* 0.44* 0.31*
−0.32* −0.44* −0.32* −0.46* −0.27* −0.24*

but the paths from latent market construct and all items for all
other substantive constructs were constrained to zero. If the
inclusion of the freely estimated paths improves overall model
fit based on a chi-square difference test, then common method
variance is present in the data. The comparison of these two
models revealed that the latent marker construct model did not
offer improved fit to the data (p>0.15; Δχ2 =41.91, df=35).
This result suggests that congeneric common method variance
is not present in the data (Richardson, Simmering, and
Sturman 2009).
While the result of the preceding test suggests that common
method variance is not present in the data at the overall model
level, we conservatively opted to partial out measurement
variance in the measurement model to develop adjusted esti-
mates of reliability, average variance extracted, and inter-
construct correlations. To do this, we adopted an approach
based on Carson (2007), where we maintained our marker
variable in the measurement and allowed paths from it to all
indicators for the substantive items. After adjusting the scale
statistics based on potential method variance in the data, they
continued to exhibit acceptable levels of reliability (i.e., esti-
mates exceeding 0.70), convergent validity (i.e., estimates
exceeding 0.50), and discriminant validity (average variance
extracted for each construct exceeds its squared correlation
with every other construct in the research model) based on the
criteria set forth in Fornell and Larcker (1981). Moreover, the
signs and significance of the correlations did not change,
providing further evidence that any method variance present
in the data is not biasing the relationships in the model
(Lindell and Whitney 2001; Malhotra, Kim, and Patil 2006).
Taken together, the results of this testing suggest that
common method variance was not present in the data at the
global level, and even after controlling for its effects at the
individual item-level, the measures for the constructs are
reliable and valid and the relationships between the constructs
are not significantly changed.
Structural equation model tests Once the measurement char-
acteristics of the scales were confirmed, the hypotheses were
tested using structural equation modeling. The results of the
structural equation analysis suggested that the research model
provided good fit to the data (χ2 = 1090.42, df= 423;
CFI=0.93, IFI=0.93; SRMR=0.13). Moreover, the three
sense of place dimensions had significant effects on strength
of place attachment, providing support for H1, H2, and H3,
but service quality did not significantly drive place attach-
ment, failing to support H6. Together, the model explained
56% of the variance in place attachment. In addition, service
quality significantly affected all three sense of place dimen-
sions (place identity β=0.35, place dependence β=0.43, and
social bonds β=0.30), providing support for H5a–H5c. With
respect to the effects of service quality on the outcome vari-
ables, it had a significant effect on word of mouth (β=0.19),
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
but it did not significantly impact switching intentions
(β=−0.12). Thus, these results support H8a but not H7a.
Finally, place attachment had strong and significant effects
on both positive word of mouth (β=0.38) and switching
intentions (β=−0.40), supporting H4a and H4b. Overall, the
model explained 24% of the variance in positive word of
mouth and 21% of the variance in switching intentions.
Summary results are presented in Table 2.
In the final step of hypothesis testing, we estimated nested
models to assess the relative effect of place attachment on the
behavioral outcome variables in comparison to the effect of
service quality. Specifically, we estimated two models where
we first constrained the paths from place attachment and
service quality to positive word of mouth to be equal and then
compared the fit of this model to the original results. The
results of this test revealed that the constrained model provid-
ed a significantly worse fit to the data (Δχ2 >6.63, Δdf=1;
p<0.01) than the research model, which suggests that in the
context of our study, place attachment was a significantly
stronger driver of positive word of mouth than service quality.
The results of the constrained models for switching intentions
provided similar results (Δχ2 >6.63, Δdf=1; p<0.01), sug-
gesting that place attachment is also a significantly stronger
driver of switching intentions. Thus, we find support for both
H7b and H8b. Moreover, post hoc assessments of the total
effects of service quality compared to place attachment on the
outcome variables confirms that place attachment is indeed a
stronger influencer of both outcome variables. Specifically,
the total effects of place attachment on positive word of mouth
and switching intentions were 0.38 and -0.40, respectively,
and 0.34 and -0.27 for service quality.
Discussion
The results of the first study indicate that the sense of place
dimensions successfully predict strength of place attachment.
More specifically, place identity had the strongest influence on
place attachment, closely followed by place dependence. A
social bond with employees, while significant, was the least
important driver of place attachment. Moreover, service
quality was a significant driver of all three sense of place
dimensions.
Place attachment had strong and significant effects on both
behavioral outcomes even in the presence of service quality’s
effects. In fact, the results reveal that place attachment
emerged as the only significant driver of switching intentions
and post hoc tests demonstrated that place attachment’s effects
on both positive word of mouth and switching intentions were
significantly stronger than the effects of service quality. The
consistent and dominant effects of place attachment across
both outcomes provide support for the important role that
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

Table 2 Study 1: results of the

structural equation modeling Hypothesized paths Hypothesis testing SC R2
analysis
H1: Place identity → strength of place attachment Supported 0.43** 0.47
H2: Place dependence → strength of place attachment Supported 0.35**
H3: Social bonds with employees → strength of place attachment Supported 0.28**
H4a: Strength of place attachment → switching intentions Supported −0.40** 0.21
H4b: Strength of place attachment → positive word of mouth Supported 0.38** 0.24
H5a: Service quality → place identity Supported 0.35** 0.12
H5b: Service quality → place dependence Supported 0.43** 0.19
H5c: Service quality → social bonds with employees Supported 0.30** 0.09
H6: Service quality → strength of place attachment Not Supported 0.00**
SC completely standardized path H7a: Service quality → switching intentions Not Supported −0.12**
coefficients
H8a: Service quality → positive word of mouth Supported 0.19**
* p<0.05; ** p<0.01

place attachment plays in the formation of consumers’ behav-
ioral outcomes.
While our results provide initial evidence for the need to
consider the effects of sense of place and place attachment in
consumer decision-making models, they do not address the
question of how managers might create a sense of place in
customers that would encourage place attachment, other than
simply providing quality service. To provide more explicit
guidance into the drivers of sense of place, we conducted a
post hoc review of the respondents’ open-ended comments
collected on the survey to better understand how consumers
became attached to a particular location. Specifically, two
independent coders reviewed the responses and established
categories of drivers of attachment. Both coders provided
similar coding schemes, and the coder reliability estimate
was 92%. When discrepancies existed across the two coders,
the differences were discussed until a consensus classification
was reached.
Based on a review of the qualitative responses, two key
issues consistently emerged. First, many respondents refer-
enced the formation of social bonds to employees (33.33 %;
confirming the results of Study 1), but they also cited that
relationships with other customers (67.19 % of respondents)
were critical factors in their decision to visit a provider. For
example, one respondent said:
also were attached to the social aspects of the location
(76.56 % of respondents). These comments built upon refer-
ences to social bonds with both employees and customers to
suggest that the attachments that the respondents experienced
had two referent objects: the physical place and the social
place. For example, one respondent noted that the physical
location of the bar was the primary reason for his attraction to
the bar and that attachment grew based on the people that also
visited this location:
The main reason I really like this place is because of its
location next to the Knoxville Raceway…this is the
watering hole where I go after the races. The atmosphere
is very exciting. There are usually people who have
traveled from all over at the bar and it is fun to meet
and get to know them. I have a lot of good memories
inside this place from the people I come into contact with.
Taken together, the review of the qualitative findings pro-
vides strong support for all the relationships identified in the
Study 1 model, but it also suggests that the sense of place →
attachment → behavioral outcomes relationships may be
more complex. In order to address these issues, we developed
and executed a second study that makes four primary exten-
sions to the first study:

I know not only the employees, but the “regulars” as
well. I like to go to places where people know me and I
can make conversation with others if my group of
friends disappears.
References like this were common throughout the sample
and suggest that the social bonds dimension of place meaning
should be expanded to account for both customer and em-
ployee bonds.
Second, many respondents noted that they not only felt
attached to the physical location (59.38 % of respondents), but
1. Identification and inclusion of antecedents of the sense of
place dimensions
2. Inclusion of two constructs to assess social bonds: social
bonds with employees and social bonds with other cus-
tomers (based on qualitative results)
3. Inclusion of two summary attachment assessments in-
stead of one: strength of physical attachment and strength
of social attachment (based on qualitative results)
4. Replication and extension of Study 1 using a larger, more
heterogeneous sample of consumers and a different
service context.

Antecedents to sense of place
In Study 1, we found that overall perceptions of service
quality can create a sense of place, but less is known about
the differential drivers that could be unique to each sense of
place dimension. As a result, in the second study, we attempt
to identify additional drivers of sense of place. There is a
paucity of research on how places become meaningful loca-
tions (Auburn and Barnes 2006). While there is no specific,
overarching theory that suggests sense of place antecedents,
researchers have proposed analytical frameworks that inform
the notion of how people develop a sense of place. The most
focused and testable of these is based in the findings of
qualitative work by Gustafson (2001), who suggests three
broad themes that are necessary for sense of place to develop:
self, others, and the environment. Based on these themes,
Gustafson (2001) identified three specific antecedents to sense
of place, which are particularly relevant to a marketing con-
text: (1) valuation, (2) distinction, and (3) continuity. This
framework supports earlier theoretical conceptualizations of
place that include identity theory (Breakwell 1986), relational
theory (places acquire meaning through their similarities and
differences with other places) (Agnew 1987), and facet theory
(meanings are interrelated with physical characteristics of the
environment and activities that occur within the environment)
(Canter 1977).
Valuation is a normative dimension and includes assess-
ments (ranging from positive to negative) of a place. It is
important in making places meaningful and in inducing an
individual’s engagement with a place. Distinction refers to an
identifiable, territorial unit. Distinction involves cognitive cat-
egorization, a judgment of what kind of place it is. This
dimension also includes a comparison of similarities with,
and differences between, other places. However, it stops short
of a valenced assessment of the goodness or badness of these
unique features, thus differentiating distinction from place
dependence. Continuity is a temporal construct that de-
scribes the process by which places become connected
to the “life path” of the individual, through important
events and rituals. In addition to support in the litera-
ture, evidence for the role of these three antecedents
was found in the qualitative comments from respondents
in Study 1. Excerpts supporting the proposition of these
antecedents are provided in Table 3.
Because of the lack of empirical study of valuation, dis-
tinction, and continuity in the context of sense of place, we
examined the literature for constructs that would capture the
essential nature of each. In doing so, we also focused on
keeping the model parsimonious. We found that we could
retain the distinctiveness construct. We also found representa-
tive constructs that captured the nature of the other two di-
mensions, around which we build our hypotheses: physical
environment quality represents valuation, and nostalgia
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Table 3 qualitative and literature support for the antecedents of place
meaning
Determinant Support from the qualitative study
Valuation
Physical -“I am attached to this bar, because the environment
environment is relaxing.”
quality -“Even though this place is kind of small, the main
dance floor and the extra balcony up on the roof
makes up for the lack of space. The decoration is
very nice and modern. In a way, the interior
design has a very classy look. I like the way the
decoration in the interior uses black, silver, and
mirrors. Also, the lighting is just sufficient
enough to navigate around.”
- “I like the bar because of the environment…..it’s
a large bar with a dance floor.”
Distinction
- “I feel attached to this bar because it is a smaller
bar with a lot more personality than most other
bars in the area…I loathe going to almost any
other bar now.”
- “There are five or six separate bars located inside
of this bar, making it a very unique atmosphere.”
- “It’s a different experience from other clubs, more
of a personal experience. Not the typical people
there and they play different music.”
Continuity
Nostalgia - “I feel attached to this bar because I performed
there as a solo artist and as part of a band. It was
where I really got my foot in the door for being a
musician and performer and is very special to me
because of that. I also met my fiancé there during
the night of my first performance.”
- I think I like this bar the most, because I have a
fond memory of watching a good friend of mine
doing standup comedy there.”
- “It just reminds me of happy times that I’ve had
there with my friends.”
represents continuity. Figure 2 shows the conceptual model
we propose and test in Study 2. Specific hypotheses are
developed next.
Physical environment quality
We argue that the quality of the physical environment is a
driver of place identity. Self-congruity theory suggests that
when there is a match between a consumer’s self-concept and
the image of the environment, he or she is more likely to form
favorable feelings toward that environment (Sirgy, Grewal
and Mangleburg 2000). Similarly, Korpela et al. (2001) sug-
gest that people actively use physical settings to regulate their
self-conceptualization. Research also shows that people use
meanings associated with the places they patronize to com-
municate aspects of their identities. Consistent with these
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Fig. 2 Study 2: research model
Valuation
(Physical Env.
Quality)
Distinction
Continuity
(Nostalgia)
findings, we propose that in order to maintain a strong self-
concept, consumers would be more likely to believe there is a
match between their identity and a service setting they
perceive to be high in physical environment quality than a
service setting they believe to be of low quality. Thus, we
hypothesize:
H9: Customer perceptions of physical environment quality
have a direct, positive effect on place identity.
Distinction
We propose that distinctiveness has a positive influence on
place dependence. The essence of place dependence is cap-
tured in how well a setting provides features that support
desired goals and activities, given a range of alternatives
(Jorgensen and Stedman 2001; Williams and Vaske 2003).
Gustafson (2001) noted that perceptions of distinction operate
through cognitive categorization and that individuals judge a
setting as distinct by comparing it to other places. Optimal
distinctiveness theory (Brewer 1991; 1999) asserts that indi-
viduals desire to attain an optimal balance between assimila-
tion and distinction within and between social groups and
situations. Brewer argues that individuals will define them-
selves in terms of appropriate social identities that are “opti-
mally distinctive” and will refuse identities that are either too
assimilated or too different. Additionally, Brewer (1991) sug-
gests that groups have to satisfy members’ needs for belong-
ing within the group, and they must also maintain boundaries
that differentiate them from other groups. One way individuals
and groups can satisfy their needs for distinction and
Place
Identity
Strength of
Physical
Attachment
Place
Dependence
Consumer
Involvement
Social
Bonds with
Employees
Strength of
Social
Attachment
Social
Bonds with
Customers
maintenance of boundaries is through the choices they make
as consumers.
Snyder and Fromkin’s (1977) theory of uniqueness main-
tains that expressions of uniqueness are sought in different
forms and outlets where the social penalties are not severe,
such as material possessions. Likewise, Tian et al. (2001)
suggest that being different from others often results from
signals conveyed by the material objects that consumers
choose to display. It follows that individuals would also
seek to be different based on the commercial places
they choose to patronize. Integrating the theoretical frame-
works discussed above, we expect that a distinctive place
(e.g., store or service setting) would provide features that,
compared to alternative places, are unique in supporting the
goals and activities that a consumer wants to accomplish.
These goals would include both the tasks a consumer wants
to complete, as well as his or her need to be distinctive
(Brewer 1991).
H10: There is a positive relationship between consumer
perceptions of place distinction and place dependence.
Nostalgia
We posit that nostalgia captures important aspects of continu-
ity. Nostalgia is defined as a subset of autobiographical mem-
ories with the reflection on past objects, persons, or experi-
ences that are positively valenced (Hirsch 1992). These mem-
ories connect an individual’s life path to the places in which
these experiences occur, and are concerned primarily with a
need for attachment (Braun-LaTour et al. 2007).

For example, the owner of a café observes this about his
place:
When I think of the café, my memory is flooded with the
many, many relationships that have been built as folks
walk through the door. The conversations that have
ensued from these experiences have become a meaning-
ful memory for each of us…. The food and service bring
us together … it’s pretty simple, but very real and
meaningful… (RestauranTour@texasagriculture.gov,
2009)
Conceptually there is evidence that nostalgia shapes the
image and summary assessments of a focal object in con-
sumers’ minds (Holbrook and Schindler 2003), and it influ-
ences the preference patterns of consumers (Holbrook 1993).
Specifically, past studies have found that nostalgic memories
can lead to emotional/motivational responses in consumers
(Baumgartner, Sujan, and Bettman 1992; Holak and Havlena
1998; Orth and Bourrain 2008). Hirsch (1992) argues that
evoked memories of childhood are usually associated with a
positive emotional state which may then be transferred to the
place where the evoked memories are experienced. More
recently, Chen et al. (2014) found that, in a restaurant context,
nostalgia both directly and indirectly affected consumption
intentions.
It has been shown that nostalgic memories contribute to a
person’s self-identity through shared heritage and group mem-
bership (Brown and Humphreys 2002). Richins (1994) found
that when self-identity is evoked during a transaction, it can
intensify the motivation and value perception of the product.
For example, a person may remember a special occasion spent
at a specific restaurant and when they reflect on that situation
it may increase their likelihood of attaching to that establish-
ment. The nostalgic memories created through experiences
can lead to identification with specific places by creating
feelings of membership and enhancing one’s self identity.
Thus we hypothesize:
H11a: Customer nostalgia has a direct, positive effect on
place identity.
Nostalgia can create shared traditions not only with objects
and places but with the people present during those encoun-
ters. Wildschut et al. (2006) maintain that nostalgia possesses
an important social element. Similarly, Zauberman et al.
(2008) found that the types of experiences people tend to look
back upon positively feature the self in interactions with
important others. These shared experiences with others inten-
sify the group membership and emotional bond with
those sharing the experience. Identification and responses to
social situations help to bolster a person’s sense of self, which
is enhanced through nostalgic memories of past situations
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
(Belk 1990). These social situations include the people in-
volved in the experience (e.g., employees and other customers
present). If the experience was memorable the bonds between
these people will be enhanced. We thus hypothesize:
H11b: Customer nostalgia has a direct, positive effect on
social bonds with employees.
H11c: Customer nostalgia has a direct, positive effect on
social bonds with other customers.
Validating the effects of sense of place and place attachment
Based on results of the first study, we include several valida-
tion hypotheses in an effort to confirm the relationships be-
tween sense of place and place attachment in the second study.
H12: Place identity has a direct, positive effect on strength of
physical attachment.
H13: Place dependence has a direct, positive effect on
strength of physical attachment.
H14: Social bonds with the employees have a direct, posi-
tive effect on strength of customer social attachment.
H15: Social bonds with other customers have a direct, pos-
itive effect on strength of customer social attachment.
Moderating effects of consumer involvement
Involvement is an important concept in marketing, hav-
ing been positively associated with desirable customer
outcomes such as commitment (e.g., Liang and Wang 2008),
loyalty (Dick and Basu 1994), and higher participation in a
company’s relationship marketing efforts (Gordon, Mckeage,
and Fox 1998). Zaichkowsky (1985) defined involvement as
an individual’s perceived relevance of a product, or a product
class, based on his or her needs, values, and interests. In past
research, involvement has been associated with attachment.
Specifically, Bloch (1981) notes that involvement is an indi-
vidual state that can influence emotional attachment and Liang
and Wang (2008) include emotional ties to the customer in
their involvement construct.
As a product, or product class, becomes more relevant to a
consumer, the impact of other diagnostic evaluations should
increase. Specifically, increases in involvement cause con-
sumers to pay more attention to informational cues and devel-
op more elaborate meanings and inferences from cues in the
environment (Swinyard 1993). As a result, involved con-
sumers should be more sensitive to changes in sense of place,
thus increasing the influence of the sense of place dimensions
on attachment. Based on the above arguments, we propose
that involvement may moderate the links between the sense of
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
place dimensions and strength of physical attachment and
social attachment such that:
H16: Customer involvement moderates the effects of the
sense of place dimensions on strength of attachment
to the extent that the effects noted in H11–H14 are
stronger when customer involvement is higher.
Study 2
Research design
Study 2 was developed to extend Study 1 through the identi-
fication and testing of antecedents of the sense of place di-
mensions and to further decompose the physical and social
sources of attachment strength. Moreover, in order to improve
on the generalizability of the results, a more heterogeneous
sample was recruited and asked to evaluate their relationships
with sit-down restaurants. More specifically, the sample was
split, and half of the respondents were asked to evaluate a sit-
down restaurant to which they were not attached and the
remaining respondents were asked to evaluate a restaurant to
which they felt a strong attachment. By priming respondents
on these two ranges of attachment, we were able to ensure
variance in attachment across the sample, and it allowed us to
test the model based on a broader group of consumers. Similar
approaches have been effectively used in prior studies on
attachment (e.g. Thomson 2006).
Finally, as in Study 1, we gathered measures of brand
attachment. This allows us to assess the effects of both phys-
ical and social attachment to a place above and beyond the
impact of brand attachment.
Measurement
Multiple item scales were used to measure all variables in the
research model, and items were assessed using a seven-point
Likert scale anchored by “strongly disagree” (1) and “strongly
agree” (7). The same measures for the sense of place dimen-
sions were used in both studies. Items to assess social bonds
with the customers were adapted based on the scale used to
measure social bonds with the employees. Similarly, using the
baseline place attachment scale from Study 1, independent
sets of items were developed to assess the strength of both
physical and social attachment. With respect to the anteced-
ents of sense of place, established scales were used to measure
two constructs. Physical environment quality was measured
using four items based on a scale introduced by Brady and
Cronin (2001). Nostalgia was measured based on four items
used by Dwayne Ball and Tasaki (1992). Distinction was
measured using four items developed for this study. A com-
plete listing of all items is provided in the Appendix.
Sample data were collected by interviewers who had been
trained in marketing research and data collection procedures.
Specifically, interviewers recruited participants from the com-
munity and asked them to participate in a research study being
conducted at two local universities. Once respondents agreed
to participate in the research study, the interviewers asked for
their email addresses and that evening the survey was
forwarded to each participant. In total, interviewers solicited
interest from 1845 individuals who provided contact informa-
tion for the study. Each of these individuals was contacted via
email and directed to an online survey that randomly asked
them to evaluate either a sit-down restaurant to which they felt
attached or did not feel attached. The survey instrument asked
respondents to name the focal restaurant and to elaborate on
their relationship with the service provider. Restaurants men-
tioned by respondents included both single-location local
restaurants as well as regional and national chain restaurants.
Following these open-ended questions, respondents complet-
ed a series of closed-ended items that evaluated the research
variables and demographic items.
This process resulted in the recruitment of 907 respondents
(49 % response rate within the recruited sample frame) and the
demographics of the sample closely resembled that of the
regional population. Specifically, the average age of the re-
spondents was 42.2 years and 60.2% of the respondents were
female. With respect to ethnicity, 94% of the population was
White/Caucasian, 1.3% were African American, 1.8% were
Hispanic, 1.8% were Asian-American, and 1.1% did not clas-
sify themselves into these preceding categories. Moreover,
57.1% of the population had at least a 4-year college degree.
Model testing
Measurement model testing We confirmed the measurement
properties of all scales through confirmatory factor analysis.
In addition to all the variables included in the Study 2 research
model, we once again measured consumer perceptions of
brand attachment and included these measures in the CFA to
assess the extent to which the place attachment dimensions
were distinct from it. The results of the analysis suggested that
the model offered good fit to the data and the measures were
reliable and valid (Fornell and Larcker 1981). More specifi-
cally, all constructs have average variances extracted that
exceed 0.50 and exceed the shared variance between any other
construct in the model, including the relationships between
brand attachment and social and physical attachment.
Complete details are presented in Table 4 and the Appendix
detailing the measures.1
1
Measures for place attachment, switching intentions, and positive word
of mouth intentions were also included in the second data collection and
used to re-estimate the Study 1 model across high and low attachment
levels. This validation setting provided confirmation of the hypothesized
effects identified in Study 1.
 J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

Table 4 Study 2: common method variance adjusted correlations and scale statistics

Construct Attenuated reliability Attenuated AVE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. Physical environment quality 0.89 0.66

2. Distinction 0.91 0.72 0.23
3. Nostalgia 0.95 0.82 0.21 0.41
4. Place identity 0.93 0.68 0.36 0.40 0.44
5. Place dependence 0.93 0.73 0.32 0.52 0.52 0.51
6. Social bonds with employees 0.96 0.82 0.09 0.32 0.41 0.42 0.45
7. Social bonds with customers 0.96 0.82 0.10 0.25 0.45 0.37 0.42 0.73
8. Strength of physical attachment 0.95 0.84 0.12 0.34 0.43 0.40 0.47 0.51 0.47
9. Strength of social attachment 0.98 0.92 0.08 0.27 0.38 0.37 0.37 0.68 0.63 0.70
10. Involvement 0.95 0.84 0.15 0.23 0.28 0.30 0.21 0.28 0.21 0.37 0.32

All correlations are significant (p<0.05)

Assessment of common method variance and bias In Study 2,
we followed the same procedures as outlined in the first study
to examine the extent that common method variance may be
present in the data. Specifically, we once again identified and
measured two marker variables at the outset of the data col-
lection. In this study, the construct with the second lowest
average bivariate correlation (r=0.05) was identified as the
focal marker variable for the analyses. The comparison of the
CFA marker variable model where all paths from the marker
variable to the substantive items were allowed to freely esti-
mate did not offer a significant improvement in model fit over
the baseline model where these paths were constrained to zero
(p>0.15; Δχ2 =55.17, df=47). Like Study 1, this result sug-
gests that congeneric common method variance is not present
in the data (Richardson, Simmering, and Sturman 2009).
Once again, we conservatively re-estimated estimates of
reliability, average variance extracted, and inter-construct cor-
relations based on the CFA marker variable model to better
assess the extent to which common method variance may be
affecting the data at the item level. After we adjusted the scale
statistics based on potential method variance in the data,
they exhibited acceptable levels of reliability and valid-
ity (Fornell and Larcker 1981). Similar to Study 1, the
signs and significance of the correlations did not change,
providing further evidence that any method variance present
in the data is not biasing the relationships in the model
(Lindell and Whitney 2001; Malhotra, Kim, and Patil 2006).
Ultimately, the results of these assessments suggest that com-
mon method variance was not present in the data and the
relationships between constructs are unlikely to be inflated
due to method bias.
Structural equation model tests The hypotheses for Study 2
were tested by estimating a moderated structural equation
model. Specifically, we adopted a single-item approach for
modeling latent variable interactions as introduced by Ping
(1995). This approach for MSEM has been shown to be stable
and experiences few convergence issues (Cortina et al. 2001).
The research model provided a good fit to the data
(χ2 = 7503.06, df = 1191, CFI = 0.96, IFI = 0.96; SRMR =
0.07). In addition to overall model fit, all but one of the
proposed relationships was supported by the data. Complete
results of the model testing are presented in Table 5.
Specifically, all the antecedents for the sense of place dimen-
sions had significant effects as proposed, providing support
for H9–H11. Moreover, all the sense of place dimensions
significantly affected their respective strength of attachment
measures; thus H12–H15 are supported. Finally, involvement
proved to positively moderate three of the four relationships
between the sense of place dimensions and strength of attach-
ment, providing partial support for H16. Specifically, the
interaction between place identity and involvement was not
significant. To better illustrate the nature of these interactions,
we conducted simple slopes analysis and plotted the interac-
tions based on guidelines put forth by Aiken and West (1991).
The results of the simple slopes analysis revealed that the
direct effects of all sense of place dimensions were positive
and significant at both high and low levels of customer in-
volvement. Moreover, in line with H15, the effects of all sense
of place dimensions except place identity were significantly
stronger at high levels of involvement. The plots of the simple
slopes are provided in Fig. 3.
Discussion
Given today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, compa-
nies are looking for new ways to foster strong customer–
company bonds (Homburg, Wieseke and Hoyer 2009). Our
results suggest that fostering an emotional attachment with a
specific location of a retail service organization is one avenue
for firms to develop customer–company bonds. We found that
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

Table 5 Study 2: results of the moderated structural equation modeling analysis

Hypothesized paths Hypothesis testing SC R2

H9: Physical environment quality → place identity Supported 0.29** 0.29

H10: distinction → place dependence Supported 0.54** 0.29
H11a: nostalgia → place identity Supported 0.40**
H11b: nostalgia → social bonds with the employees Supported 0.44** 0.19
H11c: nostalgia → social bonds with the customers Supported 0.48** 0.23
H12: place identity → strength of physical attachment Supported 0.16** 0.31
H13: place dependence → strength of physical attachment Supported 0.35**
H14: Social bonds with the employees → strength of social attachment Supported 0.45** 0.46
H15: Social bonds with the customers → strength of social attachment Supported 0.32**
H16a: Place identity*involvement → strength of physical attachment Not Supported −0.03**
H16b: Place dependence*involvement → strength of physical attachment Supported 0.18**
H16c: Social bonds with the employees*involvement → strength of social attachment Supported 0.12**
H16d: social bonds with the customers*involvement → strength of social attachment Supported 0.08**
C1: involvement → strength of physical attachment n/a 0.28**
C2: involvement → strength of social attachment n/a 0.19**

SC completely standardized path coefficients

* p<0.05; ** p<0.01
C1 and C2 represent paths from the hypothesized moderator that were estimated and controlled for in the model

a b
4.50 4.50
Strength of Physical Attachment
Strength of Physical Attachment

4.00 4.00

3.50 3.50

3.00 3.00

2.50 2.50

2.00 2.00
Low Place Identity High Low Dependence High

Low Involvement High Involvement Low Involvement High Involvement

c d
4.00 4.00
Strength of Social Attachment
Strength of Social Attachment

3.50 3.50
3.00 3.00
2.50 2.50
2.00 2.00
1.50 1.50
1.00 1.00
Low High Low Social Bonds with Customers High
Social Bonds with Employees

Low Involvement High Involvement Low Involvement High Involvement

Fig. 3 Study 2: Plots of simple slopes for the moderating effects of
customer involvement. Panel a Place Identity × Involvement Interaction.
Notes: Simple slopes test reveals that these slopes do not significantly
(p>0.05) differ at low and high levels of the moderator. Panel b Place
Dependence × Involvement Interaction. Notes: Simple slopes test reveals
the effects of Dependence are significantly (p<0.05) stronger at high
levels of customer involvement. Panel c Employee Bonds × Involvement
Interaction. Notes: Simple slopes test reveals the effects of Social Bonds
with Employees are significantly (p<0.05) stronger at high levels of
customer involvement. Panel d Customer Bonds × Involvement Interac-
tion. Notes: Simple slopes test reveals t effects of Social Bonds with
Customers are significantly (p<0.05) stronger at high levels of customer
involvement

sense of place and strength of place attachment appear
to play unique and critical roles in customers’ develop-
ing emotional attachment to specific service locations.
Moreover, the findings highlight that place attachment
requires a focus on both the physical and social aspects
of a place. The results of our two studies together provide
significant insights for both service marketing researchers and
practitioners.
Theoretical implications
As customer preferences evolve and competition in the service
sector becomes fiercer, academic paradigms for understanding
how customers develop relationships with service providers
must also evolve. We extend current paradigms for evaluating
atmosphere-dominant service providers by identifying and
integrating the sense of place and place attachment constructs
into marketing. These constructs provide a rich and comple-
mentary perspective to other evaluative models, such as ser-
vice quality, to explain how consumers form emotional at-
tachments to a service provider.
We created a theoretical framework that introduces sense of
place and place attachment to the marketing literature, as well
as developed reliable and valid measures for these constructs.
In two studies with different samples and different service
contexts, we found that three sense of place dimensions—
place identity, place dependence, and social bonding—all
have consistently strong positive effects on the strength of
consumers’ place attachment. In addition, our research clar-
ifies and extends the place attachment construct by treating
place identity, place dependence, and social bonding as a
meaning system that leads to emotional bonding with place.
By doing so, we demonstrate that place attachment may be
best conceptualized as a process, where the sense of place
dimensions influence consumers’ bonding to service places
over time.
Moreover, our work extends attachment theory in market-
ing from the context of brand attachment to place attachment.
Like attachment to brands, but separate from it, we find that
place attachment leads to positive customer behavioral out-
comes for specific service locations. Place attachment was
shown to be a different construct than brand attachment,
which supports its critical role in atmosphere-dominant ser-
vice firms, even when those firms are regionally or nationally
branded.
When compared to the effects of service quality in Study 1,
strength of place attachment emerged as a stronger driver of
switching intentions and word of mouth than did service
quality. These results suggest that in firms where a physical
place is an important component of the service offering,
service quality alone may not be enough to elicit the bond
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
that ties customers to a service location. Future research on
atmosphere-dominant service firms should include place
attachment as an important aspect of retaining customers
over time.
In Study 2, we provide an important contribution by iden-
tifying and creating measures to delineate three drivers of the
sense of place dimensions. Researchers have noted that there
was a gap in the literature regarding how places become
meaningful locations (Auburn and Barnes 2006). While sev-
eral authors in environmental psychology had proposed
frameworks that addressed how people develop a sense of
place, there has to our knowledge been no empirical studies
testing any of these frameworks.
Study 2 also highlights the moderating effects of involve-
ment on the relationships between the sense of place compo-
nents and strength of attachment to the physical and social
aspects of service places. This result is consistent with previ-
ous literature supporting the importance of involvement in
customer behaviors.
Managerial implications
Our results suggest that, in atmosphere-dominant service
firms, service quality or brand attachment alone may not be
enough to elicit a strong bond with customers. To have a
competitive advantage in specific locations, managers should
also focus on the physical environment and social aspects of
the customer experience.
In firms where a physical setting is an important compo-
nent of the service offering, brand attachment alone may not
be enough to elicit the bond that ties customers to a service
location, even for regionally or nationally branded providers.
Place attachment is an important concept for chains, such as
Bennigan’s, so that management understands how to encour-
age individual stores to create feelings of bonding in their
customers that go beyond attachment to the brand. It is argu-
ably even more important for small businesses, like the
Kincaid’s restaurant described at the beginning of this paper,
that compete with large chains. While they may not be able to
compete on price, small providers can instead compete by
encouraging bonds with customers based on the physical and
social aspects of their locations.
Our findings show that when managers want to create place
attachment, they cannot stop at making improvements to the
physical aspects of a location. They must consider the entire
“place,” which includes social elements that can enhance the
strength of attachment customers feel toward a firm. While
designing the physical environment may often be a focus for
service firms, intentionally designing the social experience
(including both employees and other customers) may repre-
sent a new perspective for many firms.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
In order to enhance customer attachment to place, man-
agers should understand how the sense of place dimensions
apply to their particular situations, and design the customer
experience accordingly. For example, in order to enhance
feelings of place identity, the quality of the physical environ-
ment should be taken into consideration. Note that this does
not necessarily mean that settings have to be luxurious, but
perceived to be quality settings from the perspective of cus-
tomers. In service organizations where place is a key compo-
nent of the service experience, managers should conduct
research so they can more effectively create an environment
where quality would be consistent with their customers self-
concept. For example, a McDonald’s in California employed a
feng shui design in one facility located near a Buddhist tem-
ple. The design changes were made in an attempt to target a
specific group of customers with unique décor and amenities
that might entice them to come in and stay (Macura 2007), and
perhaps over time to become attached to that location of the
McDonald’s chain.
We find that nostalgia is particularly important in creating
both a feeling of place identity and social bonds with both
employees and other customers. Therefore, managers should
actively create experiences and events that will produce in
consumers’ feelings of nostalgia, thereby strengthening the
connection between the service location and consumers’ life
paths. Some examples might be playing music that reminds
customers of a particularly good time in their lives (e.g., rock
and roll for baby boomers), offering family-based experiences
such as birthday or holiday-related celebrations (more com-
plex, memorable experiences than having the wait staff stand
on a table and sing, as some restaurants do), or creating
recurring events that encourage customers to interact with
employees and/or other customers (e.g., game night). An
upscale restaurant in the city where one of the coauthors lives
seems to understand that nostalgia is important to customers:
it gives those celebrating their birthdays a personal birthday
card signed by all of the employees, as well as a free dessert
and special attention.
Distinction had a particularly strong relationship with place
dependence. Thus, in order to bolster place dependence, ser-
vice providers need to continuously improve their understand-
ing of key benefits desired by customer segments and try to
design an offering, or parts of an offering, that is distinct
enough that customers cannot find a substitute. In other words,
managers should focus on becoming the favorite choice of
customers in a category. While this suggestion may seem
intuitive, many companies fail to create a distinct sense of
place. Our results underscore the importance of rethinking this
aspect of marketing strategy for atmosphere dependent service
firms, because through place dependence, distinction can lead
to bonding with a physical service location.
To improve social bonds, which are critical to the strength
of social attachment, a shift in service orientation may be
required. First, in atmosphere-dominant service firms, where
it is appropriate, managers should attempt to find a way to
encourage interaction between customers. One way to do this
may be to create events in which customers participate togeth-
er in activities. Because social bonds with employees are a
particularly strong influence on attachment, managers should
strive—again, in service contexts that are appropriate—to
identify employees that not only provide great core service,
but also those that make efforts to establish meaningful social
relationships with patrons. In support of these efforts, service
managers should foster a culture of relationship-building and
actively motivate and reward pro-social behaviors. They
should also strive to retain employees over time who are gifted
at developing bonds with customers. By creating these initia-
tives, managers may enjoy increases in place attachment,
which can provide sustainable loyalty and contribute to a
strong competitive advantage.
While we have offered several possible strategies within
each of the three components of sense of place to guide
management in creating strong place attachment, it is impor-
tant to emphasize that they should approach developing sense
of place as a multi-dimensional task. For example, it may not
be enough for managers to only design a quality physical
environment. Attention should simultaneously be paid to the
distinction and nostalgia aspects of their locations in order to
elicit the strongest possible social and physical attachment
from their customers.
Our results also have implications for how customer as-
sessments and firm performance are measured in services. In
order to succeed in an increasingly competitive market, ser-
vice providers need to ensure their customers intend to do
more than simply repurchase, but rather they need to develop
a base of “platinum” customers who are resistant to switching
and willing through word of mouth to serve as apostles
that bring new customers to the provider (Zeithaml et al.
2001). To do this, customer research efforts need to evolve in
measuring the customer experience. This suggests a transition
to not only instruments that assess core service attributes but
also value-added assessments including sense of place and
place attachment. In many service contexts, measures of sat-
isfaction and/or service quality may provide an incomplete
picture of how consumers form long term bonds to a service
provider.
Limitations and future research
Like all studies, our research has some limitations. We exam-
ined place attachment in only two service contexts, so our
results cannot be generalized to all service firms. Future

research is needed to explore the roles of sense of place and
place attachment in different types of service organizations. It
would be interesting to look at whether the importance of each
sense of place dimension varies with service type. For in-
stance, utilitarian services may not elicit as strong an attach-
ment component due to the task-oriented nature of those
services, which may hinder emotional bonding.
Our studies were survey based, and respondents completed
them outside of the focal service environment. While this
method is well established and accepted in both the marketing
and place attachment literatures, future studies could use
other data gathering methods. The sense of place and
attachment topics seem especially well-suited to qualita-
tive techniques. Moreover, a longitudinal investigation
into the formation and evolution of place attachment
over time could provide much needed insight into how
relationships between concepts like nostalgia and place
attachment develop over time.
The two samples we used in our studies serve to increase
the external validity and generalizability of the findings.
However, the results cannot necessarily be generalized to
all consumers. Future research could determine whether
consumer demographic or psychographic characteristics
influence the relationships in our model. For example,
Mende, Bolton and Bitner (2013) recently found that
consumers’ attachment styles and preferences for close-
ness influenced loyalty in the context of insurance ser-
vices. Might attachment styles also impact social and/or
physical attachment to service locations? Also, the dom-
inant effects of place attachment may have been ampli-
fied due to the nature of the measurement items when
compared to the service quality items that are arguably
much “dryer” and measured using a semantic differen-
tial scale. While we took a number of steps to ensure that bias
due to measurement was not present in the data, future re-
search could explore if the wording of the times may impact
these effects.
In conclusion, place attachment is a broad concept
that has potential to enrich our understanding of con-
sumer responses to service providers. This study pro-
vides a first look at its potential impact on service organi-
zations and the results suggest that sense or place and place
attachment are important ways for customer to bond with
service providers. Given these findings, these effects
should be of paramount interest to both practitioners
and academics.
Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Mary Jo Bitner, Mark
Houston, Charles Lamb, Deborah J. MacInnis, and Matt Thompson for
their helpful comments on previous drafts of this article. Julie Baker also
acknowledges support from the M. J. Neeley School of Business Summer
Grants.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Appendix
Measures
Physical environment quality
This place’s facilities are high quality.
This location’s facilities are easy to use.
The facilities at this location are among the best of its type.
This facility is exactly what I need for this service.
Distinction
This place is unique
This place has distinctive features that are not offered at anywhere else
This place offers something different than the norm
This place is the only one of its kind
Nostalgia
This place makes me feel sentimental or nostalgic.
This place reminds me of past accomplishments or other important
events in my life.
When I think about this place, I am reminded about good things that
have happened in my life.
When I am at this place, I reminisce about good events from my past.
Place identity
I identify strongly with this XYZ.
This XYZ is representative of who I am.
This XYZ is a reflection of me.
Visiting this XYZ says a lot about who I am.
I can relate to this XYZ.
I feel like I “fit in” at this XYZ.
Place dependence
I get more satisfaction out of going here than I do from going to any
other XYZ.
I enjoy going out here more than I do at any other XYZ.
I would not substitute any other XYZ for the type of experience I have
here.
For me, this is the best of all possible XYZs to patronize.
Going [Eating] out here is more important to me than going [eating] out
at any other place.
Social bonds with employees
The employee relationships I have in this XYZ are important to me.
The employees in this XYZ are like family.
I feel a social connection to the employees at this XYZ.
I have a bond with the employees in this XYZ.
I am not willing to go to another XYZ because of the relationships I
have with the employees here.
I have a special relationship to the people that work at this XYZ.
Social bonds with customers
The customer relationships I have in this place are important to me
The customers in this place are like family
I feel a social connection to the customers at this place
I have a bond with the customers at this place
I am not willing to go to another place because of the relationships I
have with the customers here
I have a special relationship to the customers that visit this place
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
(continued)
(continued)
Service quality
Please circle the number that best reflects the level of service you
receive at this XYZ:
Poor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Excellent
Inferior 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Superior
Low Quality 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High Quality
Low Standards 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High Standards
Place attachment
I really miss this XYZ when I am away too long.
This XYZ reminds me of memories and experiences.
I am very attached to this XYZ.
I can’t imagine living without this XYZ.
Strength of physical attachment
I can’t imagine living without this physical place
I feel better if am not away from this physical location for long periods
of time
If this physical place were permanently gone from my life, I’d be upset
Never being able to come here would be distressing to me
Strength of social attachment
I can’t imagine living without this the people that come to this place
I feel better if am not away from the people in this place for long
periods of time
If the people in this place were permanently gone from my life, I’d be
upset
Never being able to interact with the people here would be distressing
to me
Positive word of mouth
I recommend visiting this bar/club to friends.
I say good things about this bar/club to others.
I encourage friends to visit this bar/club.
Switching intentions
I am likely to switch and regularly visit another XYZ.
I might be convinced to regularly visit another service provider under
the right conditions.
There is no chance that I will switch and regularly visit a different
bar/club in the near future (Reverse Coded).
Involvement
In general, I have a strong interest in restaurants
Restaurants are very important to me
Restaurants matter a lot to me
Restaurants mean a lot to me
References
Agnew, J. A. (1987). Place and politics: The geographical mediation of
state and society. Boston: Allen & Unwin.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and
interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA/London: Sage
Publications Inc.
Auburn, T., & Barnes, R. (2006). Producing place: a neo-Schutzian
perspective on the ‘psychology of place’. Journal of Environmental
Psychology, 26(1), 38–50.
Backlund, E. A., & Williams, D. R. (2003). A quantitative synthesis of
place attachment research: Investigating past experience and place
attachment. In Proceedings of the 2003 Northeastern Recreation
Research Symposium.
Bansal, H. S., Taylor, S. F., & St James, Y. (2005). “Migrating” to new
service providers: toward a unifying framework of consumers’
switching behaviors. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 33(1), 96–115.
Baumgartner, H., Sujan, M., & Bettman, J. R. (1992). Autobiographical
memories, affect, and consumer information processing. Journal of
Consumer Psychology, 1(1), 53–82.
Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of
Consumer Research, 139–168.
Belk, R. W. (1990). The role of possessions in constructing and main-
taining a sense of past. Advances in consumer research, 17(1), 669–
676.
Bendapudi, N., & Berry, L. L. (1997). Customer receptivity to relation-
ship marketing. Journal of Retailing, 73(1), 15–37.
Berry, L. L. (1995). Relationship marketing of services—growing inter-
est, emerging perspectives. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 23(4), 236–245.
Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S. (2003). Consumer-company identifica-
tion: a framework for understanding consumers’ relationships with
companies. Journal of Marketing, 76–88.
Bitner, M. J. (1990). Evaluatin service encounters: The effects of physical
sorrounding and employee responses. Journal of Marketing, 54, 69–
81.
Bloch, P. H. (1981). An exploration into the scaling of consumers’
involvement with a product class. Advances in Consumer
Research, 8(1), 61–65.
Bowlby, J. (1979). The making and breaking of affectional bonds. New
York: Routledge.
Brady, M. K., & Cronin, J. J. (2001). Some new thoughts on conceptu-
alizing perceived service quality: a hierarchical approach. The
Journal of Marketing, 65(July), 34–49.
Brandenburg, A. M., & Carroll, M. S. (1995). Your place or mine?: the
effect of place creation on environmental values and landscape
meanings. Society & Natural Resources, 8(5), 381–398.
Braun-LaTour, K. A., LaTour, M. S., & Zinkhan, G. M. (2007). Using
childhood memories to gain insight into brand meaning. Journal of
Marketing, 71(2), 45–60.
Breakwell, G. M. (1986). Coping with threatened identities. London:
Methuen.
Brewer, M. B. (1991). The social self: on being the same and different at
the same time. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17(5),
475–482.
Brewer, M. B. (1999). The psychology of prejudice: Ingroup love or
outgroup hate. Journal of Social issues, 55, 429–444.
Brewer, M. B. (2002). The psychology of prejudice: ingroup love and
outgroup hate?.Journal of. Social Issues, 55(3), 429–444.
Brown, A. D., & Humphreys, M. (2002). Nostalgia and the
narrativization of identity: a Turkish case study. British Journal of
Management, 13(2), 141–159.
Canter, D. (1977). The psychology of place. London: Architectural Press.
Carson, S. J. (2007). When to give up control of outsourced new product
development. Journal of Marketing, 71(1), 49–66.
Chaudhuri, A., & Holbrook, M. B. (2001). The chain of effects from
brand trust and brand affect to brand performance: the role of brand
loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 65(2), 81–93.
Chen, H.-B., Yeh, S.-S., & Huan, T.-C. (2014). Nostalgic emotion,
experiential value, brand image and consumption intentions of
customers of nostalgic-themed restaurants. Journal of Business
Research, 67, 354–360.
Cortina, J. M., Chen, G., & Dunlap, W. P. (2001). Testing interaction
effects in LISREL: examination and illustration of available proce-
dures. Organizational Research Methods, 4(4), 324–360.
Cronin, J. J., Brady, M. K., & Hult, G. T. M. (2000). Assessing the effects
of quality, value, and customer satisfaction on consumer behavioral
intentions in service environments. Journal of Retailing, 76(2), 193–
218.
Dick, A. S., & Basu, K. (1994). Customer loyalty: toward an integrated
conceptual framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 22(2), 99–113.

Dwayne Ball, A., & Tasaki, L. H. (1992). The role and measurement of
attachment in consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology,
1(2), 155–172.
Easthope, H. (2004). A place called home. Housing, Theory and Society,
21(3), 128–138.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation
models with unobservable variables and measurement error.
Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.
Fournier, S. (1998). Consumers and their brands: developing relationship
theory in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4),
343–353.
Frenzen, J. K., & Davis, H. L. (1990). Purchasing behavior in embedded
markets. Journal of Consumer Research, 17(1), 1–12.
Garbarino, E., & Johnson, M. S. (1999). The different roles of satisfac-
tion, trust, and commitment in customer relationships. Journal of
Marketing, 63(2), 70–87.
Gomstyn, A. (2009). Goodbye buys: seven stores, brands you miss:
recession-weary americans mourn the demise of some beloved
brand names. ABC News, Money (The New Normal), May 4.
Gordon, M. E., McKeage, K., & Fox, M. A. (1998). Relationship mar-
keting effectiveness: the role of involvement. Psychology and
Marketing, 15(5), 443–459.
Guest, A. M., & Lee, B. A. (1983). Sentiment and evaluation as ecolog-
ical variables. Sociological Perspectives, 159–184.
Gustafson, P. (2001). Meanings of place: everyday experience and theo-
retical conceptualizations. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
21(1), 5–16.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1994). Attachment as an organizational
framework for research on close relationships. Psychological
Inquiry, 5(1), 1–22.
Hidalgo, M. C., & Hernandez, B. (2001). Place attachment: conceptual
and empirical questions. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
21(3), 273–281.
Hidalgo, M. C., & Hernandez, B. (2002). Attachment to the physical
dimension of places. Psychological Reports, 91(3f), 1177–1182.
Hirsch, A. R. (1992). Nostalgia: a neuropsychiatric understanding.
Advances in Consumer Research, 19(1), 390.
Holak, S. L., & Havlena, W. J. (1998). Feelings, fantasies, and memories:
an examination of the emotional components of nostalgia. Journal
of Business Research, 42(3), 217–226.
Holbrook, M. B. (1993). Nostalgia and consumption preferences: some
emerging patterns of consumer tastes. Journal of Consumer
Research, 20(September), 245–256.
Holbrook, M. B., & Hirschman, E. C. (1982). The experiential aspects of
consumption: consumer fantasies, feelings, and fun. Journal of
consumer research, 9(2), 132–140.
Holbrook, M. B., & Schindler, R. M. (2003). Nostalgic bonding: explor-
ing the role of nostalgia in the consumption experience. Journal of
Consumer Behavior, 3(2), 107–127.
Homburg, C., Wieseke, J., & Hoyer, W. D. (2009). Social identity and the
service-profit chain. Journal of Marketing, 73(2), 38–54.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in
covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new al-
ternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary
Journal, 6(1), 1–55.
Hummon, D. M. (1992). Community attachment: Local sentiment and
sense of place. Human behavior & environment: advances in theory
& research. Plenum Press: New York.
Jorgensen, B. S., & Stedman, R. C. (2001). Sense of place as an attitude:
Lakeshore owners attitudes toward their properties. Journal of
Environmental Psychology, 21(3), 233–248.
Keaveney, S. M. (1995). Customer switching behavior in service
industries: an exploratory study. The Journal of Marketing,
59(2), 71–82.
Kennedy, B (2008). Too bad old friends can’t always stick around. Fort-
Worth Star Telegram, Metro (B2), March 16.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Kleinc, S. S., & Baker, S. M. (2004). An integrative review of material
possession attachment. Academy or Marketing Science Review, 1, 1–
29.
Korpela, K. M., Hartig, T., Kaiser, F. G., & Fuhrer, U. (2001). Restorative
experience and self-regulation in favorite places. Environment and
Behavior, 33(4), 572–589.
Kumar, V., Petersen, J. A., & Leone, R. P. (2007). How valuable is word
of mouth? Harvard Business Review, 85(10), 139.
Kyle, G. T., & Chick, G. (2007). The social construction of a sense of
place. Leisure Sciences, 29(3), 209–225.
Kyle, G. T., Absher, J. D., & Graefe, A. R. (2003). The moderating role of
place attachment on the relationship between attitudes toward fees
and spending preferences. Leisure Sciences, 25(1), 33–50.
Kyle, G. T., Absher, J. D., Graefe, A. R., Mowen, A. J., & Tarrant,
M. (2004a). Linking place preferences with place meaning: an
examination of the relationship between place motivation and
place attachment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(4),
439–454.
Kyle, G. T., Absher, J. D., Graefe, A. R., Mowen, A. J., Tarrant, M.,
Graefe, A., et al. (2004b). Effect of activity involvement and place
attachment on recreationists’ perceptions of setting density. Journal
of Leisure Research, 36, 209–231.
Kyle, G. T., Graefe, A., & Manning, R. (2005). Testing the dimensional-
ity of place attachment in recreational settings. Environment and
Behavior, 37(2), 153–177.
Lam, S. Y., Shankar, V., Erramilli, M. K., & Murthy, B. (2004). Customer
value, satisfaction, loyalty, and switching costs: an illustration from
a business-to-business service context. Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science, 32(3), 293–311.
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Cognition and motivation in motion. American
Psychologist, 46(4), 352–367.
Liang, C. J., & Wang, W. H. (2008). Do loyal and more involved
customers reciprocate retailer’s relationship efforts. Journal of
Services Research, 8(1), 63–90.
Lindell, M. K., & Whitney, D. J. (2001). Accounting for common method
variance in cross-sectional research designs. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 86(1), 114.
Low, S. M., & Altman, I. (1992). Place attachment: a conceptual inquiry.
Human Behavior & Environment: Advances in Theory & Research,
12, 1–12.
Macura, R. (2007). Do you want fries with that Zen? (access February 25,
2007), [available at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23300489/from/
ET/].
Malhotra, N. K., Kim, S. S., & Patil, A. (2006). Common method
variance in IS research: a comparison of alternative approaches
and a reanalysis of past research. Management Science, 52(12),
1865–1883.
Manzo, L. C. (2001). The role of place attachment and sense of place in
community development and participation. in Old World/New Ideas:
Environmental and Cultural Change and Tradition in a Shrinking
World, M. Edge, ed. 224.
Manzo, L. C. (2008). The experience of displacement on sense of place
and well-being. In J. Eyles & A. Williams (Eds.), Sense of place,
health and quality of life, 87–104.
McDonald, W. J. (1998). Consumer decision making and altered states of
consciousness: a study of dualities. Journal of Business Research,
42(3), 287–294.
Mende, M., Bolton, R. N., & Bitner, M. J. (2013). Decoding customer–
firm relationships: how attachment styles help explain customers’
preferences for closeness, repurchase intentions, and changes in
relationship breadth. Journal of Marketing Research, 50(1), 125–
142.
Milligan, M. J. (1998). Interactional past and potential: the social con-
struction of place attachment. Symbolic Interaction, 21(1), 1–33.
Oliver, R. L. (1999). Whence consumer loyalty? Journal of Marketing,
63, 33–44.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Orth, U. R., & Bourrain, A. (2008). The influence of nostalgic memories
on consumer exploratory tendencies: echoes from scents past.
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 15(4), 277–287.
Park, C. W., & MacInnis, D. J. (2006). What’s in and what’s out:
questions on the boundaries of the attitude construct. Journal of
Consumer Research, 33(1), 16–18.
Park, C. W., MacInnis, D. J., & Priester, J. (2006). Beyond attitudes:
attachment and consumer behavior. Seoul National Journal, 12(2),
3–36.
Park, C. W., MacInnis, D. J., Priester, J., Eisingerich, A. B., & Iacobucci,
D. (2010). Brand attachment and brand attitude strength: conceptual
and empirical differentiation of two critical equity drivers. Journal
of Marketing, 74(6), 1–17.
Ping, R. A., Jr. (1995). A parsimonious estimating technique for interac-
tion and quadratic latent variables. Journal of Marketing Research,
32, 336–347.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003).
Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of
the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 88, 879–903.
Pretty, G. H., Chipuer, H. M., & Bramston, P. (2003). Sense of place
amongst adolescents and adults in two rural Australian towns: the
discriminating features of place attachment, sense of community and
place dependence in relation to place identity. Journal of
Environmental Psychology, 23(3), 273–287.
Price, L. L., & Arnould, E. J. (1999). Commercial friendships: service
provider-client relationships in context. Journal of Marketing,
63(October), 38–56.
Proshansky, H. M. (1978). The city and self-identity. Environment and
Behavior, 10(2), 147–169.
Proshansky, H. M., Fabian, A. K., & Kaminoff, R. (1983). Place-identity:
physical world socialization of the self. Journal of Environmental
Psychology, 3(1), 57–83.
Reinartz, W., & Kumar, V. (2002). The mismanagement of customer
loyalty. Harvard Business Review, 80(7), 86–95.
Relph, E. (1976). Place and placelessness. 67. London: Pion.
Relph, E. (1985). In S. David & M. Robert (Eds.), Geographical expe-
riences and being-in-the-world: The phenomenological origins of
geography. Dwelling, place and environment (pp. 15–31). New
York: Columbia University Press.
Richardson, H. A., Simmering, M. J., & Sturman, M. C. (2009). A tale of
three perspectives: examining post hoc statistical techniques for
detection and correction of common method variance.
Organizational Research Methods., 12(4), 762–800.
Richins, M. L. (1994). Valuing things: the public and private meanings of
possessions. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(3), 504–521.
Rosenbaum, M. S. (2006). Exploring the social supportive role of third
places in consumers’ lives. Journal of Service Research, 9(1), 59–
72.
Rosenbaum, M. S., Ward, J., Walker, B. A., & Ostrom, A. L. (2007). A
cup of coffee with a dash of love: an investigation of commercial
social support and third-place attachment. Journal of Service
Research, 10(1), 43–59.
Sherry, J. R. (1998). Servicescapes. Chicago: American Marketing
Association.
View publication stats
Sirgy, M. J., Grewal, D., & Mangleburg, T. (2000). Retail environment,
self-congruity, and retail patronage: an integrative model and a
research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 49(2), 127–138.
Snyder, C. R., & Fromkin, H. L. (1977). Abnormality as a positive
characteristic: the development and validation of a scale measuring
need for uniqueness. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86(5), 518.
Stokols, D., & Shumaker, S. A. (1981). In J. Harvey (Ed.), People in
places: A transactional view of settings. Cognition, social behavior,
and the environment (pp. 441–488). New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
Swinyard, W. R. (1993). The effects of mood, involvement, and quality of
store experience on shopping intentions. Journal of Consumer
Research, 20(2), 271–280.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of inter-group
behavior. In S. Worchel & L. W. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of
intergroup relations. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
Teas, R. K. (1993). Expectations, performance evaluation, and con-
sumers’ perceptions of quality. Journal of Marketing, 57(October),
18–34.
Thomson, M. (2006). Human brands: investigating antecedents to con-
sumers’ strong attachments to celebrities. Journal of Marketing,
70(July), 104–119.
Thomson, M., MacInnis D. J., & Whan Park, C. (2005). The ties that
bind: Measuring the strength of consumers’ emotional attachments
to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15(1), 77–91.
Tian, K. T., Bearden, W. O., & Hunter, G. L. (2001). Consumers’ need for
uniqueness: scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer
Research, 28(1), 50–66.
Tuan, Y. F. (1974). Topophilia: A study of environmental perception,
attitudes, and values. Columbia University Press. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Tuan, Y. F. (1997). Space and place: The perspective of experience.
University of Minnesota Press.
Turley, L. W., & Fugate, D. L. (1992). The multidimensional nature of
service facilities: viewpoints and recommendations. Journal of
Services Marketing, 6(3), 37–45.
Weiss, R. S. (1988). Loss and recovery. Journal of Social Issues, 44(3),
37–52.
Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Arndt, J., & Routledge, C. (2006).
Nostalgia: content, triggers, functions. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 91(5), 975–993.
Williams, D. R., & Vaske, J. J. (2003). The measurement of place
attachment: Validity and generalizability of a psychometric ap-
proach. Forest Science, 49(6), 830–840.
Zaichkowsky, J. L. (1985). Measuring the involvement construct. Journal
of Consumer Research, 12, 341–352.
Zauberman, G., Ratner, R. K., & Kyu Kim, B. (2008). Memories as
assets: strategic memory protection in choice over time. Journal of
Consumer Research, 35(February), 715–728.
Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral
consequences of service quality. The Journal of Marketing,
60(April), 31–46.
Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., Parasuraman, A., Rust, R. T., & Lemon, K.
N. (2001). The customer pyramid: creating and serving profitable
customers. California Management Review, 43(4), 118–142.