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Enhancing
Shaping and enhancing airport airport lounge
lounge experiences experiences

The application of brand personality and image

congruity theories 2901
Sanghyeop Lee
Received 1 December 2015
School of Hospitality, Berjaya University College of Hospitality, Revised 29 February 2016
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 8 May 2016
17 September 2016
29 November 2016
Bee-Lia Chua Accepted 4 March 2017
Department of Food Service and Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Serdang, Malaysia
Hyeon-Cheol Kim
Chung-Ang Business School, College of Business and Economics,
Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea, and
Heesup Han
College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University,
Seoul, South Korea

Abstract
Purpose – In consideration of the lack of research regarding airline lounge customers’ behavior, the purpose
of this study was to examine the relationships among brand personality, self-congruity, functional congruity,
positive emotion, customer satisfaction and revisit intentions in airline lounges.
Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of theoretical associations among study constructs, a
conceptual model was proposed and tested using the data collected from airline lounge patrons through an
online survey.
Findings – The empirical results showed that brand personality was positively related to self-congruity.
Self-congruity was significantly associated with positive emotions and functional congruity. In addition,
functional congruity was significantly associated with positive emotions. This result also indicated that
positive emotion significantly influenced customer satisfaction. The mediation tests showed that both self-
congruity and functional congruity significantly affected customer satisfaction through positive emotion.
Customer satisfaction was a significant predictor of revisit intentions within the context of airline lounges.
Practical implications – Overall, these results help airline lounge operators understand lounge
travelers who become more demanding with regard to brand personality, self-congruity and functional
congruity.
Originality/value – This research was the first to test the effectiveness of image congruity theory in the
domain of airline lounges. Our findings contribute to the body of knowledge on customer behaviors in airline
lounges and image congruity.
Keywords Brand personality, Airline lounge, Image congruity theory
International Journal of
Paper type Research paper Contemporary Hospitality
Management
Vol. 29 No. 11, 2017
pp. 2901-2920
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0959-6119
This work was supported by a 2017 research grant from Youngsan University, Republic of Korea. DOI 10.1108/IJCHM-12-2015-0672
IJCHM Introduction
29,11 It is generally accepted that the self-image a consumer has of himself or herself affects the
purchase decision of a brand (Parker, 2009). Consumers tend to communicate with others the
type of person they are or want to be seen as by using a brand with a particular image
association (Keller, 1993). The theory of image congruity elucidates this concept of consumer
behavior, suggesting that consumers make a mental comparison in regard to the similarity
2902 or dissimilarity between a brand image and their own self-image (Dolich, 1969). Consumers
generally behave favorably toward a brand if the brand image is perceived as similar to
their own self-image (Back, 2005; Sirgy, 1985), given that they tend to convey self-image
through brand consumption (Aaker, 1999). Image congruity consists of self-congruity and
functional congruity (Sirgy et al., 1991). While self-congruity is conceptualized as matching a
brand image with a consumer’s self-concept, functional congruity is defined as the
comparison between a consumer’s expectation of functional features and the actual
performance of the features (Sirgy et al., 1991).
This present study has further validated the image congruity theory in a highly
experiential service setting: the airline lounge. In hospitality services, consumers use
experiential consumption to make statements about themselves, create their identities and
develop a sense of belonging (Williams, 2006). This study argues that travelers patronize an
airline lounge not only because of its favorable image but also because it matches the
travelers’ self-image and enhances their emotions. To some air travelers, patronizing a
lounge is regarded as a form of self-expression. The congruence between self-image and
brand image leads to a preference for the brand and consequently, results in purchase
intention (Sirgy, 1985). Hence, travelers are likely to exhibit a positive attitude toward an
airline lounge if it is perceived as similar to their self-image. From an airline lounge
manager’s perspective, it is important to determine the effects of self-congruity on travelers’
psychological responses in order to develop effective marketing strategies. The intangibility
characteristics of an airline lounge may enhance the importance of image congruence in
decision-making because consumers tend to rely on tangible cues, such as price and brand
name, when making purchase decisions (Dodds et al., 1991).
The application of self-congruity in understanding traveler behavior in airline lounges
can also be supported by the theory of social identity. According to social identity theory,
people tend to be associated with a group that has similar image to their self-image to
maintain and enhance their self-identity (Hogg and Terry, 2000). Given that an airline
lounge is an important determinant for choosing a certain airline for full-service air travelers
or those who are not price sensitive (Fourie and Lubbe, 2006; Hwang and Hyun, 2017;
Mason, 2001), some travelers would pay for lounge access fee or membership fee. When
these travelers sense that the customers of an airline lounge have an image that is congruent
with their self-image, a more favorable attitude toward the lounge is most likely formed.
In addition to evaluating an airline lounge based on self-image, travelers would assess
the functionality of the airline lounge, such as amenities, services, food and beverages and
physical surroundings (Han et al., 2012). When travelers patronize an airline lounge, they go
through a de-compositional process in which they evaluate what they experience. The
evaluation of functional attributes is influenced by self-congruity, which is processed at a
less-conscious level (Sirgy et al., 1991). There have been attempts made to establish a
relationship between self-congruity and functional congruity. Previous studies on image
congruity suggested that self-congruity is a critical factor determining functional congruity
in various settings, such as destination choice (Ahn et al., 2013), coffee shop (Kang et al.,
2012), cruise vacation (Hung and Petrick, 2011) and housing choice 36(Sirgy et al., 2005).
Those studies demonstrated that a higher self-congruity induces a greater functional
congruity. Because air travelers are likely to pay lounge access fees not only for the image, Enhancing
but also for the functional attributes in the lounge, it is vital to investigate both self- airport lounge
congruity and functional congruity in the airline lounge experience. Successful marketing
strategy should involve satisfying consumers’ needs of core products and also their
experiences
emotional needs (Ekinci, 2003). Understanding self-congruity, functional congruity and
emotion helps to gain insight into the complex nature of travel behavior.
Taken together, this study was designed to explain how airline lounge image congruity
affects travelers’ behavior by considering their psychological needs. This study illustrates 2903
the formation of travelers’ consumption behavior involving congruence and emotions. More
specifically, a structural model that illustrates the hypothetical relationships between brand
personality, self-congruity, functional congruity, positive emotion, satisfaction and revisit
intention was empirically tested.

Literature review
Image congruity theory
This current study has used image congruity theory as the theoretical framework to
describe the function of self-congruence and functional congruence in airline lounges.
Recently, many researchers have posited that image congruity theory is one of the main
predictors of customers’ emotional responses and behavioral intentions in various service
settings (Kang et al., 2015; Kwun and Oh, 2007; Shih and Chang, 2007). More specifically,
image congruity theory explains the process of customers’ purchase decisions based on two
different psychological concepts: self-congruence and functional congruence (Sirgy et al.,
1991). More detailed information on self-congruence and functional congruence will be
explained in the following literature review. Customers experience self-congruence and
functional congruence when they purchase services or products in the hospitality industry.
Numerous scholars have found that a blend of self-congruence and functional congruence is
useful in explaining customers’ purchase decision-making process in service settings (Hung
and Petrick, 2011; Levy and Weitz, 2004; Sirgy et al., 2005). As an airline lounges is a highly
service-oriented hospitality setting where people seek high quality products and services,
this present study proposes that air travelers’ emotion and behavior are influenced by a
combination of psychological aspects: self-congruence and functional congruence.

Effect of brand personality on self-congruity

In the current competitive market, customers who are exposed to many brands and different
marketing strategies can choose brands among other competitors (Biel and Aaker, 1993;
Helgeson and Supphellen, 2004; Siguaw et al., 1999; Usakli and Baloglu, 2011). Thus, the
importance of brand personality has been greatly emphasized. Brand personality is defined
as “the set of human characteristics associated with a brand” (Aaker, 1997, p. 347).
According to Aaker (1997), customers tend to regard brands in terms of human
characteristics in which they use words to express popular brands. Customers often choose
brands with characteristics that are acceptable to them (Aaker, 1999). Customers are able to
have the emotion and meaning of a brand and differentiate brands due to brand personality
(Aaker and Fournier, 1995). Brand personality can offer a relationship with the brand’s
psychological and self-expressive benefits (Aaker, 1996). Brand equity is, therefore,
expressed when customers realize that the brand has a personality and they have a clear
thought of themselves who purchase the brand.
While Aaker’s (1997) brand personality has been viewed from a promotional perspective,
with an emphasis on developing a brand image that attracts a target market segment, Harris
and Fleming (2005) factored employee/customer interactions into the conceptualization of
IJCHM service personality. Following Harris and Fleming’s (2005) conceptualization of service
29,11 personality, this present study operationalized the brand personality of airline lounge as the
set of human characteristics associated with the service firm as a whole. Empirical studies
have been conducted regarding the relationship between self-image/congruity and brand
personality (Aaker, 1999; Chang et al., 2001; Park and Lee, 2005). According to Park and Lee
(2005), customers tend to purchase brands with personalities or images that reflect their own
2904 brand personality or self-image. Customers have more favorable attitudes toward a brand
when their self-image is congruent with the brand personality (Chang et al., 2001). Usakli
and Baloglu’s (2011) empirical study further proved that brand personality affected
individuals’ responses through self-congruity, suggesting that the greater the congruence
between brand personality and self-concept, the higher the probability of choosing the
brand. On the basis of empirical and theoretical backgrounds, the following hypothesis was
proposed:
H1. Brand personality of an airline lounge has a significant effect on air travelers’ self-
congruence.

Effect of self-congruity on functional congruity

The notion of self-congruity has been important in consumer behavior studies as
investigating self-congruity helps researchers understand customers’ decision-making
process and psychological buying. Explaining self-congruity is closely related to self-image.
In other words, customers can show and emphasize their own self-image by buying and
using products or services that reflect their self-image (Graeff, 1996; Kressmann et al., 2006).
Self-image is defined as “the totality of the individual’s thoughts and feelings having
reference to himself as an object” (Rosenberg, 1979, p. 7). For example, customers who
regard themselves as noble personages are more likely to dine out at fine dining restaurants
to show their self-image (Kwun and Oh, 2007).
Investigating the relationship between self-congruity and functional congruity is also
important for marketing research (Sirgy et al., 1991; Sirgy and Su, 2000; Xue, 2008).
Generally, self-congruity has a strong impact on functional congruity (Sirgy and Su, 2000).
That is, the greater congruence between self-image and product image people discover, the
more positive people assess product’s functional congruity. Kang et al. (2015) found that self-
congruity positively influenced functional congruity within a coffee shop setting in Korea.
Kumar and Nayak (2014) found that self-congruity was an important predictor of functional
congruity in tourism context. The following hypothesis was proposed by integrating the
above theoretical and empirical backgrounds:
H2. Self-congruence of an airline lounge has a significant and positive effect on air
travelers’ functional congruence.

Effect of self-congruity on positive emotion and satisfaction

Many scholars argued that cognitive processing leads to specific emotional responses
(Gracia, Bakker and Grau, 2011; Lin, 2004; Omdahl, 1995). More specifically, individuals
who hold a positive (negative) belief about the situation are likely to infer a similar positive
(negative) emotion toward the encounter (Lazarus, 1982). In line with the fact that cognitive
evaluations lead to emotional responses, this study asserted that perceived consistency of
behavior among airline lounge travelers influences travelers’ emotions. The effect of
perceived self-image on emotions has been demonstrated by Lee and Back’s (2009) study
that attendees who recognized self-image have a positive emotion toward attending a Enhancing
convention. airport lounge
In addition, the significant relationship between self-congruity and satisfaction
could be posited in that satisfaction could be established using the dual process of a
experiences
cognitive and affective model (Oliver, 1997). As previously discussed, self-congruity is
regarded as a cognitive matching process that influences individual’s affective
response (Han and Back, 2008). In this present study, it is conjectured that air travelers’
satisfaction is influenced by the perceived congruence of the airline lounge and the self-
2905
image. Integrating the above empirical backgrounds, the following hypotheses were
proposed:
H3. Self-congruence of an airline lounge has a significant and positive effect on air
travelers’ positive emotions.
H4. Self-congruence of an airline lounge has a significant and positive effect on air
traveler satisfaction.

Effect of functional congruity on positive emotion and satisfaction

Functional congruity has been of a great interest in explaining customers’ decision-making
process in consumer-behavior literature for a long time. The issue of functional congruity is
considered one of the most critical factors understanding customers’ psychological aspects
of purchasing services or products in service setting. Functional congruity is defined as “the
match between consumers’ ideal expectations of utilitarian brand features and their
perceptions of how the product is perceived along the same features” (Kressmann et al.,
2006, p. 955). Namely, customers buy products or services based on their estimation of costs
and profits of a deal. In a service setting, when customers think the products or services is
more worth than the costs, they are more likely to purchase the items in the future (Hung
and Petrick, 2011). Thus, it is summarized that functional congruity represents “a variation
of a multi-attribute attitude model with utilitarian evaluative criteria like product
performance or quality, reliability, durability and customer service” (El Hedhli et al., 2013,
p. 857).
The relationship between functional congruence and emotion has received much interest
in various consumer behavior settings. For example, customers who have greater the
functional congruity with a car brand tend to have more favorable emotion which positively
influences behavioral loyalty (Kressmann et al., 2006). It suggests that functional congruity
plays an important role in explaining customers’ purchasing decision, especially when
customers need to buy more high-cost items. Ryu et al. (2008) demonstrated that customers
have positive mood when they are satisfied with the attributes of restaurant services such as
food quality, atmosphere and employee service. It shows that functional congruence in a
restaurant setting significantly influences customers’ emotion. Eliwa (2006) concluded that
functional attributes of the restaurant are the main factors in influencing customers’
emotional responses. Furthermore, functional congruence has been found to affect
individual’s post-consumption, such as satisfaction (Chon and Olsen, 1991). In this present
study, it is postulated that air travelers evaluate the offerings of airline lounge and react
with affects. On the basis of theoretical and empirical backgrounds, the following
hypotheses can be made:
H5. Functional congruence of an airline lounge has a significant and positive effect on
air travelers’ positive emotion.
IJCHM H6. Functional congruence of an airline lounge has a significant and positive effect on
29,11 air traveler satisfaction.

Effect of positive emotion on customer satisfaction

Many researchers have demonstrated that emotions significantly influence customer
satisfaction and future behavioral intentions in various service settings (Jang and Namkung,
2906 2009; Ladhari, 2009; Namkung and Jang, 2010; Zins, 2002). Clark and Isen (1982) stated that
customers tend to seek for positive emotional states and avoid negative emotions. The study
also demonstrated that if customers have positive emotions in a restaurant setting, they are
more probable of experiencing a high level of satisfaction. In addition, Babin and Darden (1996)
mentioned that positive emotion directly influences customer satisfaction within a context of
retailer, just as negative emotion is negatively linked to customer satisfaction. Similarly, Lee
and Back (2009) found that positive emotion about a restaurant positively influenced customer
satisfaction, whereas negative emotions negatively affected satisfaction. On the basis of
theoretical and empirical backgrounds, it can be hypothesized that air travelers’ positive
emotion of an airline lounge plays an important role in satisfaction:
H7. Air travelers’ positive emotion of an airline lounge has a significant and positive
effect on satisfaction.

Effect of customer satisfaction on revisit intentions

The topic of customer satisfaction has been emphasized in the hospitality area for many years
because it is one of the most important factors affecting customers’ revisit intention and is
closely related to the success of any hospitality business. Thus, many researchers have paid
attention to the topic of customer satisfaction in the hospitality area because it has a critical
impact on revisit intentions (Getty and Thompson, 1995; Han and Ryu, 2009; Kim et al., 2009;
Ryu et al., 2012). Customer satisfaction is defined as “a judgement that a product, or service
feature, or the product of service itself, provides a pleasure level of consumption-related
fulfilment, including levels of under or over fulfilment” (Oliver, 1997, p. 13). According to Han
and Hyun (2015), when customers experience a product or service, they compare it with their
expectations. If the product or service exceeds customers’ expectations, they are satisfied.
Conversely, if the product or service does not meet expectations, they are not satisfied with the
product or service.
A great number of scholars have investigated the relationship between customer
satisfaction and revisit intentions in a variety of service settings (Getty and Thompson,
1995; Han and Ryu, 2009; Kim et al., 2009; Kivela et al., 1999; Namkung and Jang, 2007;
Oliver, 1999; Ryu and Han, 2011). For example, Getty and Thompson (1995) examined the
effect of satisfaction on revisit intentions in a lodging setting and found that customers who
have a high level of satisfaction are more likely to revisit the facility in the future. Kivela
et al. (1999) demonstrated that satisfied customer with dining tend to have return intention
in the future. Namkung and Jang (2007) indicated that customer satisfaction is a strong
predictor of revisit intention within the context of mid-to-upscale restaurants. It shows that
satisfied customers tend to visit the restaurants again. Han and Ryu (2009) pointed out that
customer satisfaction has a positive impact on future behavioral intentions such as positive
word-of-mouth recommendation and revisit intentions at full-service restaurants. Following
this logic, it can be hypothesized that there is a significant relationship between air travelers’
satisfaction of an airline lounge and revisit intentions:
H8. Air travelers’ satisfaction has a significant and positive effect on revisit intentions.
The mediating role of positive emotion Enhancing
The concept of emotions has often been explored in marketing literature. It has been airport lounge
considered one of the main factors affecting customer post-consumption (Laverie et al., 1993;
Lee and Back, 2009; Lee et al., 2008; White and Yu, 2005). Emotions are explained “a person’s
experiences
positive (“pleased”, “relaxed”, etc.) and negative (“nervous”, ‘annoyed”, etc.) feelings” (Lee
and Back, 2009, p. 307). Dubé and Menon (2000) also indicated that “consumption emotions
are the affective response to one’s perceptions of the series of attributes that compose a
product or service performance” (p. 288). 2907
Previous studies have highlighted the significant role of consumptions emotions in
eliciting outcomes. More specifically, the influential effect of consumption emotions
on customers’ responses has been confirmed, suggesting that customers’ consumption
emotion factors act powerful determinants of direct/indirect outcome variables, such as
satisfaction, trust, commitment and loyalty intentions (Han et al., 2009; Han and Jeong,
2013). In the service industry’s context, numerous researchers have examined the mediating
role of consumption emotions (positive or negative emotions) between service quality
perceptions and their subsequent behavioral outcomes (Chen et al., 2015; Han and Jeong,
2013; Gracia et al., 2011; Jang and Namkung, 2009; Namkung and Jang, 2010; Moon et al.,
2016; Su et al., 2014; Su et al., 2016). In particular, the empirical evidences in consumer
behavior literature have consistently supported the premise that positive emotions could
positively affect future behavioral intentions. A study by Gracia et al. (2011) on 120 Spanish
hotel and restaurant customers showed that positive affective responses partially mediated
the relationship between service quality perceptions and customer loyalty in hotels and
restaurants simultaneously. In addition, Jang and Namkung (2009) found that restaurant-
specific stimuli (i.e. atmospherics, product quality and service quality) significantly affected
customers’ positive and negative emotions; however, only positive emotions affected diners’
subsequent behavioral intention. In other words, only positive emotion appeared to mediate
the relationships between restaurant atmospherics/service and post-dining behavioral
intentions. Recently, Su et al. (2014) confirmed that perceived service fairness increased
positive emotions, and that these positive emotions mediated the relationships between
service farness and tourists’ loyalty, revisit and word-of-mouth referral intentions. On the
basis of empirical evidences, the following hypotheses were proposed:
H9. Positive emotion has a mediating effect on the relationship between self-congruity
and customer satisfaction.
H10. Positive emotion has a mediating effect on the relationship between functional
congruity and customer satisfaction.

Methodology
Instrument development
The instrument of this study was a self-administered questionnaire which consisted of
seven constructs: brand personality, self-congruity, functional congruity, positive emotion,
satisfaction and revisit intentions. Validated measures for these seven constructs were
adopted from the existing studies and modified to fit this study context. Brand personality
(Aaker, 1997) was measured on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all descriptive) to 7
(extremely descriptive). Self-congruity (Sirgy, 1982; Sirgy and Su, 2000) was measured on a
seven-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Functional
congruity (Sirgy, 1982; Sirgy and Su, 2000) was measured on a seven-point scale ranging
from 1 (much worse than I expected) to 7 (much better than I expected). Positive emotion
IJCHM (Richins, 1997) was measured on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all relevant) to 7
29,11 (extremely relevant). Satisfaction (Oliver, 1980) and revisit intentions (Zeithaml et al., 1996)
were measured on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).
The measurement items operationalized for this study are presented in Table I.

Data collection and sample

2908 The self-administered questionnaires were sent online by a US research company to its
panel members nationwide in May 2014. The panel members who visited an airline lounge
in any airport in the USA in the past six months before this survey were invited to involve in
this study by completing the survey questionnaire. A total of 510 panel members completed
the questionnaire. Next, data outliers were detected with Mahalanobis D2 measure. Eight
extreme responses, i.e. outliers, were removed [Mahalanobis D2 (35) > 135.981, p < 0.001],
and thus, 502 questionnaires were used in this study. Harmon’s one-factor test was
conducted to test the presence of common method variance (Podsakoff and Organ, 1986).
The unrotated principle component factor analysis revealed a single factor that accounted
for 43.54 per cent of the total variance, suggesting that common method variance is not of
great concern in this study.
The study’s respondents consisted of 50.8 and 49.2 per cent males and females
respectively. The mean age of the respondents was 47.39 years (S.D. = 14.58). About 64.1
per cent of the respondents were married. Approximately 42.0 per cent of respondents
reported earning an annual personal income of higher than US$79,999, followed by 25.7
per cent, who earned an income of between US$60,000 and US$79,999. With regard to
education attainment, 39.2 per cent of respondents held bachelor’s degree and 31.5 per cent
held some college or associate degree.

Usage of airline lounge

Approximately 62.7 per cent of respondents had frequented the airline lounge more than
once. About 80.7 per cent indicated that they visited the airline lounge for relaxation
purpose. While about 57.0 per cent of respondents visited the airline lounge before departing
from the airport, approximately 37.6 per cent of respondents visited the airline lounge when
connecting through the airport. Majority of respondents (72.2 per cent) had spent about one
to three hours in the lounge.

Results and discussion

Measurement model
A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to assess the overall fit of the
measurement model. Table I presents the results of measurement model. Convergent
validity was evaluated with standardized factor loadings for each measurement item and
average variance extract (AVE) values for each construct. Results indicated that the
standardized factor loadings were above the minimum criterion of 0.40 (Nunnally and
Bernstein, 1994), and all were significant (p < 0.001), except for the factor loading for
ruggedness which was slightly below the recommended cut-off value. The AVE values for
brand personality, self-congruity, functional congruity, positive emotion, satisfaction and
revisit intention ranged from 0.570 to 0.818, which exceeded the recommended value of 0.50
(Fornell and Larcker, 1981), demonstrating that the variance explained by the individual
construct was larger than the variance explained by measurement error. The results also
indicated that all composite reliability (CR) estimates of the constructs ranged from 0.862 to
0.956, which above the minimum criterion of 0.70 (Fornell and Larcker, 1981), suggesting
that the multiple measurement items were reliable for measuring the respective construct.
 Standardized factor
Enhancing
Measures (mean, SD) loadings AVE CR airport lounge
experiences
Brand personality (Aaker, 1997) 0.570 0.862
Sincerity (4.65, 1.10) 0.758
Excitement (4.65, 1.21) 0.820
Competence (5.28, 1.18) 0.867
Sophistication (5.02, 1.26) 0.849 2909
Ruggedness (3.12, 1.51) 0.364
Self-congruity (Sirgy, 1982; Sirgy and Su, 2000) 0.736 0.918
This airline lounge is consistent with how I see myself (5.37, 1.05) 0.855
This airline lounge is consistent with how I like to see myself (5.45,
1.12) 0.875
This airline lounge is consistent with how I believe others see me
(5.15, 1.18) 0.830
This airline lounge is consistent with how I would like others to see
me (5.33, 1.20) 0.870
Functional congruity (Sirgy, 1982; Sirgy and Su, 2000) 0.609 0.956
Ambience (5.13, 1.14) 0.786
Layout (5.14, 1.21) 0.783
Seating (5.18, 1.28) 0.781
Cleanliness (5.40, 1.17) 0.795
Employee’s politeness (5.37, 1.17) 0.718
Employee’s ability to deal with my request accurately (5.34, 1.21) 0.734
Food and beverages (5.06, 1.34) 0.802
Wi-Fi (5.25, 1.25) 0.785
TV (5.13, 1.24) 0.831
Computers with internet access (4.93, 1.43) 0.829
Reading materials (4.89, 1.37) 0.796
Mini-bar (4.96, 1.40) 0.749
Bathroom and restrooms (5.39, 1.21) 0.785
Quiet room for sleeping/relaxing (4.81, 1.39) 0.746
Positive emotion (Richins, 1997) 0.657 0.930
Joy (4.56, 1.48) 0.579
Pleasure (5.34, 1.21) 0.781
Relaxation (5.64, 1.06) 0.921
Refreshment (5.50, 1.12) 0.865
Rejuvenation (5.75, 1.04) 0.853
Peacefulness (5.40, 1.21) 0.816
Contentment (5.53, 1.09) 0.815
Customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1980) 0.818 0.931
Overall, I am satisfied with my experience at this airline lounge (6.02,
0.99) 0.895
I am pleased to use this airline lounge (6.08, 0.89) 0.905
I have really enjoyed the facilities and services at this airline lounge
(5.97, 1.05) 0.913
Revisit intention (Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman, 1996) 0.812 0.896
I would like to use this airline lounge in the future (6.28, 0.85) 0.932
I am willing to use this airline lounge when I come to this airport next Table I.
time (6.29, 0.82) 0.869 Results of the
Notes: 1. AVE = average variance extracted; CR = composite reliability; Goodness-of-fit statistics: x 2 = measurement model
1492.357, df = 538, x 2/df = 2.774, p < 0.001; NFI = 0.908, TLI = 0.933, CFI = 0.939, RMSEA = 0.060 (n = 502)
IJCHM Discriminant validity was measured by comparing the AVE with the squared correlations
29,11 between a pair of constructs of interest (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Table II displays that all
the squared correlations between two constructs were lower than the AVE for each
construct, indicating that the individual construct did not share information with other
constructs. The chi-square statistic of 1492.357 with 538 degrees of freedom was statistically
significant (p < 0.001). Several goodness-of-fit measures verified that the measurement
2910 model reasonably fits the data ( x 2/df = 2.774, p < 0.001; NFI = 0.908, TLI = 0.933, CFI =
0.939, RMSEA = 0.060).

Structural model
Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was subsequently performed to test the
hypothetical model. The goodness-of-fit statistics ( x 2 = 1707.737, df = 545, x 2/df = 3.133,
p < 0.001; NFI = 0.895, TLI = 0.919, CFI = 0.926, RMSEA = 0.065) substantiated that the
structural model reasonably fits the data (Hair et al., 2010). Table III and Figure 1 present the
results of hypotheses testing.

Measures BP SC FC PE CS RI

BP 0.570
SC 0.442 0.736
FC 0.514 0.220 0.609
PE 0.529 0.388 0.480 0.657
CS 0.506 0.332 0.473 0.632 0.818
RI 0.307 0.241 0.249 0.366 0.667 0.812
Table II. Notes: 1. AVE values (in italic) are along the diagonal. Squared correlations are below the diagonal; 2.
Discriminant validity BP = brand personality; SC = self-congruity; FC = functional congruity; PE = positive emotion; NE =
(n = 502) negative emotion; CS = customer satisfaction; RI = revisit intention

Hypothesized paths Standardized path coefficients t-values Results

H1: Brand personality ! Self-congruity 0.698 15.339 ***

Supported
H2: Self-congruity ! Functional congruity 0.508 10.525*** Supported
H3: Self-congruity ! Positive emotion 0.407 8.567*** Supported
H4: Self-congruity ! Customer satisfaction 0.142 3.366*** Supported
H5: Functional congruity ! Positive emotion 0.486 9.211*** Supported
H6: Functional congruity ! Customer satisfaction 0.240 5.389*** Supported
H7: Positive emotion ! Customer satisfaction 0.530 8.568*** Supported
H8: Customer satisfaction ! Revisit intentions 0.810 21.637*** Supported
R2 (self-congruity) = 0.487
R2 (functional congruity) = 0.259
R2 (positive emotion) = 0.603
R2 (customer satisfaction) = 0.668
Table III.
R2 (revisit intentions) = 0.656
Results of the
structural equation Notes: ***p < 0.001; Goodness-of-fit statistics: x 2 = 1707.737, df = 545, x 2/df = 3.133, p < 0.001; NFI =
modeling (n = 502) 0.895, TLI = 0.919, CFI = 0.926, RMSEA = 0.065
 R 2 = 0.487 Enhancing
BP SC airport lounge
experiences
H4 : 0.142***
H1 : 0.698*** H3 : 0.407*** R 2 = 0.668 R 2 = 0.656

PE CS RI
R 2 = 0.603
H7 : 0.530*** 2911
H2 : 0.508***
H8 : 0.810***
H5 : 0.486*** H6 : 0.240***

FC

R 2 = 0.259

Standardized coefficients are reported

Statistically significant
Not statistically significant

Notes: BP = brand personality, SC = self-congruity, FC = functional congruity,

PE = positive emotion, CS = customer satisfaction, RI = revisit intention; Figure 1.
Goodness-of-fit statistics: χ2 = 1707.737, df = 545, χ2/df = 3.133, p < 0.001; Results of the
NFI = 0.895, TLI = 0.919, CFI = 0.926, RMSEA = 0.065; structural equation
modeling
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001

H1, which hypothesized a positive relationship between brand personality and self-
congruity, was supported ( b SC!FC = 0.698, tSC!FC = 15.339, p < 0.001). The results
revealed that brand personality is an integral part of perceived self-congruity. The results
confirmed the notion that consumers are likely to communicate to others the type of person
they are or want to be seen as by using products or services with particular image
associations, in turn enhancing their perceived self-image (Parker, 2009). Descriptive
statistics results further demonstrated that competence ranked the highest mean score (x =
5.28, SD = 1.18), followed by sophistication (x = 5.02, SD = 1.26), sincerity (x = 4.65, SD =
1.10), excitement (x = 4.65, SD = 1.21) and ruggedness (x = 3.12, SD = 1.51). This suggests
that travelers characterized the brand personality of airline lounges as highly “reliable”,
“intelligent” and “successful”. This provides an important message to airline lounge
managers in positioning airline lounges in the minds of travelers.
H2, which presumed a positive relationship between self-congruity and functional
congruity, was supported ( b SC!FC = 0.508, tSC!FC = 10.525, p < 0.001). This finding
indicated that self-congruity was a significant determinant of functional congruity in airline
lounges. In line with Sirgy et al. (1991), this present study suggests that self-congruity,
which is formed before travelers’ visit to the airline lounge or during the consumption
affects functional congruity, which is the cognitive evaluations of functional attributes. The
greater the perceived congruity between travelers’ self-image and lounge image, the more
congruent the expectations of airline lounge’s functional attributes and the perceptions of
the functional attributes performance.
H3, which proposed a positive relationship between self-congruity and positive
emotion, was supported ( b SC!PE = 0.407, tSC!PE = 8.567, p < 0.001). The positive
relationship between self-congruity and positive emotion confirmed that customers are
IJCHM motivated to consume products or services with images congruent with their self-
29,11 image, which in turn affect their emotional responses (Watson and Clark, 1992). This
finding is consistent with Bagozzi’s (1992) argument that emotional response is a
positive function of cognitive evaluation. The significant relationship between self-
congruity and positive emotion can be explained in that image congruence is a
cognitive matching process (of comparing self-image with product image) that affects
2912 emotional response to a product or service (Sirgy, 1985). Moreover, it is generally
agreed upon that emotions are formed during consumption, or even before the
consumption (Richins, 1997). Previous studies have identified that self-image, which is
a confounding variable, can potentially influence customers’ emotional responses before
product or service consumption (Gilboa and Revelle, 1994; Mooradian and Olver, 1997;
Watson and Clark, 1992). More specifically, emotional response generated during
consumption may be influenced by self-image inherent in customers (Han and Back, 2008).
This finding strengthens the view that when a brand image is perceived as similar to an
individual’s self-image in terms of personality traits, he or she is likely to respond favorably
toward the brand (Sirgy, 1985). H4, which proposed a positive relationship between self-
congruity and customer satisfaction, was supported ( b SC!CS = 0.142, tSC!CS = 3.366, p <
0.001), indicating that air travelers’ satisfaction was a function of perceived congruence
between self-image and lounge image.
H5, which suggested that functional congruity was a positive and significant predictor of
positive emotion, was supported ( b FC!PE = 0.486, tFC!PE = 9.211, p < 0.001). This finding
supported the notion that the formation of consumption emotions is based on perceived
product or service performance (Lee et al., 2008; Mano and Oliver, 1993). When air travelers
perceive that the quality of functional attributes in an airline lounge meets or exceeds their
expectation, they experience positive emotions. H6, which conjectured a positive
relationship between functional congruity and customer satisfaction, was supported
( b FC!CS = 0.240, tFC!CS = 5.389, p < 0.001), suggesting that perceived congruence between
the expectation of functional features and the actual performance of the features would
influence air travelers’ satisfaction levels.
H7, which hypothesized a positive relationship between positive emotion and customer
satisfaction, was supported ( b PE!CS = 0.530, tPE!CS = 8.568, p < 0.001). Data analysis also
revealed that there was a positive association between customer satisfaction and revisit
intention ( b CS!RI = 0.810, tCS!RI = 21.637, p < 0.001), supporting H8. This reinforces the
fact that behavioral intentions are a function of customer satisfaction in service
consumption experiences (Cronin et al., 2000; Gallarza and Saura, 2006; Kandampully and
Suhartanto, 2000). Overall, these findings supported the significant role of positive emotion
in explaining satisfaction which in turn, drives revisit intentions.

Mediating role of positive emotion between congruity and customer satisfaction

The direct, indirect and total impact of research constructs was assessed (Table IV).
Findings showed that self-congruity indirectly and significantly affected customer
satisfaction through positive emotion ( b SC-PE-CS = 0.469, p < 0.01). The magnitude of the
indirect effect indicated a partial mediating role of positive emotion in the relationship
between self-congruity and customer satisfaction, supporting H9. In addition, the indirect
impact of the functional congruity on customer satisfaction ( b FC-PE-CS = 0.258, p < 0.01) was
identified to be positive and significant. That is, positive emotion acted as a significant
partial mediator in the functional congruity and customer satisfaction relationship,
supporting H10.
Conclusion Enhancing
Theoretical implications airport lounge
This study showed that the brand personality associated with an airline lounge was
competence (reliable, intelligent and successful). It is generally agreed upon that the greater
experiences
the perceived congruity between the human characteristics that describe a brand and those
that describe an individual’s self-image, the greater the preference for the brand (Aaker,
1997). This logic acts as a basis for the finding that brand personality, particularly
competence, serves as a key determinant of perceived self-congruity. In other words, it was
2913
found that travelers tend to associate airline lounges with competence, which in turn
enhances their perceived congruity of self-image.
This present study attempted to investigate the relationships between self-
congruity, functional congruity and behavior in a highly experiential consumption
setting. In the present study, while self-congruity is operationally defined as the
congruence between air travelers’ self-image (actual self-image, ideal self-image, social
self-image and ideal social self-image) and the airline lounge’s image, functional
congruity refers to the congruence between air travelers’ expectations of airline
lounge’s functional attributes and the perceived performance of the functional
attributes. The application of both self-congruity and functional congruity in airline
lounges sheds light on understanding travelers’ motivations for patronizing an airline
lounge. This study demonstrated that an airline lounge is patronized not only because
its image matches a traveler’s self-image but also because its functional attributes
match a traveler’s expectations. Consistent with previous studies pertaining to the
relationships between self-congruity, functional congruity and subsequent responses
(Ahn et al., 2013; Hung and Petrick, 2011), this study has confirmed that functional
congruity exerts a stronger influence on emotions than the self-congruity inherent in air
travelers. This could be explained by the biasing effect of self-congruity on functional
congruity (Sirgy et al., 1991). More specifically, an individual’s self-congruity
perception is likely to bias his/her cognitive evaluation of functional attributes when
he/she perceives a high level of self-congruity. A traveler who experiences self-
congruity with the airline lounge’s image is likely to form a favorable attitude toward
the lounge, which in turn positively biases his or her evaluation of the lounge’s
functional characteristics.
This study investigated the way in which self-congruity and functional congruity
influence air travelers’ satisfaction. Results of the mediating role of positive emotion
indicated that self-congruity and functional congruity, respectively, affected satisfaction
through positive emotion. The results empirically supported that self-congruity and

Hypothesized paths Direct effect Indirect effect Total effect

H1: Brand personality ! Self-congruity 0.698 0.000 0.698

H2: Self-congruity ! Functional congruity 0.508 0.000 0.508 Table IV.
H3: Self-congruity ! Positive emotion 0.407 0.247 0.654
Standardized direct,
H4: Self-congruity ! Customer satisfaction 0.142 0.469 0.610
H5: Functional congruity ! Positive emotion 0.486 0.000 0.486 indirect and total
H6: Functional congruity ! Customer satisfaction 0.240 0.258 0.498 effects of the
H7: Positive emotion ! Customer satisfaction 0.530 0.000 0.530 relationships
H8: Customer satisfaction ! Revisit intentions 0.810 0.000 0.810 (n = 502)
IJCHM functional congruity influenced air travelers’ satisfaction not only directly but also
29,11 indirectly through positive emotion, suggesting the significance of integrating emotion in
understanding the effects of self-congruity and functional congruity.

Practical implications
The results of this study proved that self-congruity and functional congruity are key factors
2914 that drive positive emotions, which, in turn, determine air travelers’ satisfaction and revisit
intentions. Airlines should strive to create a positive experience for travelers. The significant
relationship between brand personality and self-congruity provide evidence that the
symbolic benefits of a service firm are important in understanding the complex nature of
travelers’ behavior. Because the image of an airline lounge reflects the unique qualities
travelers associate with it, efforts should be made to help travelers augmenting their self-
image. Recently, Harrison et al. (2015) formed airport passengers into four segments,
namely, airport enthusiast (i.e. who engage in airport environment and are not
time sensitive), time filler (i.e. who do not engage in airport environment and are not time
sensitive), efficiency lover (i.e. who do not engage in airport environment and
are time sensitive) and efficient enthusiast (i.e. who engage in airport environment and are
time sensitive). As previously discussed, the airline lounge was described as competence.
Because competence is associated with the reliable, intelligent and successful (Aaker, 1997),
the planning and implementation of airline lounges should meet the needs of air travelers
who are sensitive to time as well as those who are likely to engage in the airport
environment. Airline lounges should focus on developing promotional strategies that
emphasize upon dependability, efficiency and responsibility in striving to meet travelers’
needs and wants. For example, airline lounge operators can create their image in the
direction of their target market by developing advertising campaigns featuring modernized
facilities.
Given that services are highly intangible in nature, lounge managers are recommended
to consider in hiring potential employees that best fit the desired personality of competence.
Airline lounge operators should recruit and train employees to possess competency skills
that will prepare them in managing and serving guests while providing the services. Every
service employee should deliver dependability, efficiency and responsibility at every
“moment of truth” during service provision.

Limitations and future research

Although this research has made significant contributions in examining the structural
relationships between self-congruity, functional congruity and behavior in a highly
experiential consumption setting by applying image congruity theory, it has certain
limitations that should be mentioned for further directions of exploration in future. First, the
proposed model in the study has been tested using data collected from passengers who have
patronized an airline lounge in airport in the USA. Therefore, extending the sample to
passengers from a diversity of international airport settings would help increase the
generalizability of the findings. More specifically, future research should test this model
with larger random samples and consider comparing different airport locations like Europe,
Asia or Middle East to generalize the findings in different cultural contexts. Second, as this
research was the first effort to understand the complex nature of travel behavior by
exploring the structural relationships of self-congruity, functional congruity and emotions,
further research would be greatly beneficial if it could use a multi-level approach to theorize
and analyze the systematic effects of the self-congruity in the field of experiential marketing.
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intentions: the experience of Chinese heritage tourists”, Journal of Travel and Tourism
Marketing, Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 786-805.

2920 Corresponding author

Heesup Han can be contacted at: heesup.han@gmail.com

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