Physical Attractiveness and Social distance Perception in Service Encounters- Evidence from a Developing County

Abstract

Physical Attractiveness (PA) is an essential factor affecting consumer response (CR) in service encounters (SE). Using an experimental design, the purpose of the study is to demonstrate the physical attractiveness (PA) of a service representative's effects (CR) in the context of consumer satisfaction, service quality perception, and likability of the service representative. The study investigated the complex underlying mechanism between these two variables by analyzing the mediating role of social distance perceptions (SDP), and the moderating role of consumer’s physical attractiveness (CPA) and gender. The context of the study is the Airline Industry of Pakistan. The data of the study was collected through scenario based self-administered questionnaires from in-flight 385 passengers using non-probability sampling (voluntary response sampling) from. Analyzing the results of the study it is predicted that high PA has a positive effect on CR. Hence it is also important to take the consumer’s perspective into consideration, as this perspective gives rise to situations under which the beauty premium notion might not hold. The results of the study revealed that a consumer’s gender and his/her own level of PA is an important determinant of how he/she reacts to the attractiveness of the representative. Results can provide significant insights to Airline companies to strategize the recruitment and deployment of cabin crew members in accordance with the level of the customer’s gender and his/her own (PA).