Gyms’ indoor environmental quality and customer emotion: the mediating roles of perceived service quality and perceived psychological safety

ABSTRACT

Gym clubs not only play the role of a fitness place for physical exercise, but also serve as a social place that provides enjoyment. This study aims to investigate the relationship between gyms’ indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and customer emotion with the mediating roles of perceived service quality and perceived psychological safety. Using a large sample data of 888 gym customers in Vietnam, results of structural equation modelling reveal a positive relationship between gyms’ IEQ and customer emotion. Furthermore, perceived service quality and perceived psychological safety positively mediate this relationship. Perceived psychological safety also appears to have a mediating effect on the perceived service quality-customer emotion association. These findings provide insights for gyms’ administrators and managers to better understand different elements of IEQ and the role of service quality. Based on this understanding, they can improve their gyms’ IEQ to generate positive customer perception and emotion.

KEYWORDS:

• Gyms
• indoor environmental quality
• service quality
• perceived psychological safety
• customer emotion
• leisure activities
• Vietnam

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the respondents who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Van Thac Dang

Dr Van Thac Dang is Associate Professor in the Business School of Shantou University in China. He received MBA and PhD from National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. His research interests relate to marketing, consumer behavior, strategic management, and human resource management. He has published in a range of high-quality journals including Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Journal of Management & Organization, Personnel Review, Internet Research, and others.

Hoang Viet Nguyen

Associate Professor Hoang Viet Nguyen is Head of Department of Research Administration, at Thuongmai University, Vietnam. His research interests include green marketing, strategic management, and consumer behavior. He has published his work in internationally recognized journals including British Food Journal, Social Responsibility Journal, Publishing Research Quarterly, Strategic Direction, Foods, and others.

Thu Hang Hoang

Thu Hang Hoang is currently a PhD student at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), Vietnam, after earning her master´s degree in international marketing from King´s College London, United Kingdom. She is also Deputy Head of the Logistics & Supply Chain Management Department at the School of International Business & Marketing, UEH. Her research centers on the issues of (1) international trade, (2) consumer research, and (3) logistics & supply chain, with various papers published in international academic journals and conferences, as well as several public-funded applied research projects.

Tran Hung Nguyen

Dr Tran Hung Nguyen is Head, Faculty of Economic Information System and Electronic Commerce, at Thuongmai University Vietnam. His research focus is on digital payment, e-commerce, and strategic marketing.

Viet Thao Tran

Dr Viet Thao Tran is Deputy Head –Department of Research Administration, at Thuongmai University, Vietnam. His main research areas include green marketing, strategic management, and applied economics.

Quang Huy Nguyen

Quang Huy Nguyen is currently a PhD student at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. His research focus is on applied design, cultural values, and consumer behavior.

Ninh Nguyen

Dr Ninh Nguyen is a Senior Lecturer in the Asia Pacific College of Business and Law, Darwin, Australia. He also sits on the Advisory Board of the Business Sustainability Research Group at Thuongmai University, Vietnam. Ninh publishes in the areas of green marketing, environmentally friendly behavior, business sustainability, and tourism marketing. His work has appeared in many well-known marketing, management, and tourism journals. Ninh currently serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Consumer Behaviour and the Journal of Strategic Marketing.