Analyzing the effect of the expanded servicescape on visitor’s satisfaction and loyalty in museums.

The present doctoral thesis aims at studying the relationship between the expanded servicescape and post-purchase behaviors such as satisfaction and loyalty of cultural consumers. Sexual orientation has been tested as moderating variable for the relationship between the expanded servicescape and post-purchase behaviors. The expanded servicescape was modeled as a second-order factor reflective of four underlying dimensions: physical, social, socially symbolic, and natural environment. The model was applied to the context of art museums and exhibitions. The research has been conducted through the administration of an online survey (July 2021) to visitors of art museums and exhibitions in the past 24 months. A SEM model was built and data were analyzed using the statistical software R. The results confirm that it is possible to apply the expanded servicescape model to the context of arts museums and exhibitions, showing how the four dimensions have an impact on satisfaction and loyalty. However, no relevant differences have been found across sexual orientation and the impact of the moderating variable on satisfaction and loyalty has not been confirmed.