جستجوی شغلی و شباهت درک شده: در نظر گرفتن هموفیلی در زمینه خدمات اجتماعی

It is not clear in the extant research whether all consumers respond to the social servicescape in the same way or whether there may be moderators and mediators of the proposed relationships. The purpose of this research is to establish the moderating effect of consumers’ need for status and the mediating effect of self-image congruence on the relationship between the perceived similarity to other customers and self-brand congruity in the proposed conceptual framework. Data collected from a sample of restaurant consumers in the United States suggests that perceptions of perceived similarity to other customers can significantly affect both self-image congruence and self-brand congruence. Further, the data indicate that the consumer’s need for status is a significant moderator and self-image congruence is a significant mediator of the proposed relationships. Theoretical implications, managerial relevance, and future research are discussed.