When the Room Rivals the Relationship: Servicescape and Relationship Management as Parallel Routes to Customer Retention in Café
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60036/c1wvdk59Keywords:
Customer Retention, Servicescape, Café Atmosphere, Customer Relationship Management, Relationship Marketing TheoryAbstract
Relationship marketing theory positions the managed interpersonal relationship as the primary engine of customer retention, implicitly casting the physical service environment as a supporting cue. This study confronts that hierarchy in a setting purpose-built to test it the Café, a “third place” where the environment is co-consumed with the product rather than serving as backdrop. Using PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4) on 115 repeat customers of an Indonesian Café, we model customer relationship management (CRM) and café atmosphere as competing antecedents of retention and test whether atmosphere amplifies the return on CRM. Both routes are strong and significant (CRM β = 0.460, f² = 0.248; atmosphere β = 0.507, f² = 0.339), jointly explaining 62.1% of retention variance but atmosphere reaches parity with, and descriptively surpasses, the relational route that theory privileges. Critically, the two do not combine: the CRM × atmosphere interaction is non-significant (β = 0.136, p = 0.061), and the evidence is consistent with two parallel, partially substitutable routes to retention rather than one reinforcing system. The study repositions the servicescape from a peripheral cue to a co-equal retention currency in low-commitment experiential retail, and shows that managers face a portfolio choice between independent bonds rather than a single lever to optimize.
References
Adnan, M., Yaseen, M., Khan, A. U., & Khan, E. A. (2021). Customer relationship management (CRM) and brand image encourage customer retention: A mediating role of customer engagement. Webology, 18(6), 4997–5012.
Ali, A., & Nika, F. A. (2025). Role of tech-based CRM in enhancing customer retention through loyalty: A study on the hotel industry in Kashmir. The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, 24(2), 23–49.
Arnett, D. B., & Madhavaram, S. (2012). Building relationship marketing theory: Shelby Hunt’s contributions to our understanding of marketing’s exchange relationships. Journal of Business Research, 65(7), 1073–1078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.08.018
Arora, L., Singh, P., Bhatt, V., & Sharma, B. K. (2021). Understanding and managing customer engagement through social customer relationship management. Journal of Decision Systems, 30(2–3), 215–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/12460125.2021.1881272
Elgarhy, S. D. (2023). Effects of service quality, loyalty programs, pricing strategies, and customer engagement on firms’ performance in Egyptian travel agencies: Mediating effects of customer retention. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 24(6), 753–781. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2022.2077889
Etim, G. S., Etuk, I. U., James, E. E., & Ekpe, S. (2020). Effect of customer relationship management on customer retention in the telecommunications industry. British Journal of Management and Marketing Studies, 4(4), 68–81.
Ghozali, I. (2018). Aplikasi analisis multivariate dengan program IBM SPSS 25. Badan Penerbit Universitas Diponegoro.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). Sage.
Herman, H., Hady, H., & Arafah, W. (2021). Determinants of customer retention during pandemic: The role of customer relationship management and customer trust. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(1), 975–983. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no1.975
Hoolbangpo, P., Chaiyasoonthorn, W., & Chaveesuk, S. (2023). Enhancing customer retention using customer relationship management approach in car loan business. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 44(1), 227–236. https://doi.org/10.34044/j.kjss.2023.44.1.24
Lamrhari, S., El Ghazi, H., Oubrich, M., & El Faker, A. (2022). A social CRM analytic framework for improving customer retention, acquisition, and conversion. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 174, 121275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121275
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299405800302
Moudud-Ul-Huq, S., Akter, R., Mahmud, M. S., & Hasan, N. (2021). Impact of customer relationship management on tourist satisfaction, loyalty, and retention: Saint Martin’s Island. International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management, 12(3), 20–37. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCRMM.2021070102
Mtamike, S., & Magasi, C. (2025). Impact of customer relationship management on customer retention in Tanzania airline industry. Journal of International Trade, Logistics and Law, 11(1), 24–35.
Opoku, R. K., Agyapong, G. K.-Q., & Alhassan, A. (2025). Nexus between customer relationship management dimensions, customer involvement and customer retention: A mediation analysis in Ghana’s hotel industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 8(3), 1010–1029. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-04-2024-0279
Qiao, S., & Wei, J. (2021). Research on the factors affecting customer engagement in social commerce from the perspective of two-factor theory: Platform comparison between e-commerce and social media. Frontiers in Business, Economics and Management, 1(3), 8–13.
Rancati, E., & Gordini, N. (2023). Customer experience in coffee stores: A multidisciplinary neuromarketing approach. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 23(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2148
Sartika, D., & Keni, K. (2023). Destination atmosphere and destination branding as determinants of visitor loyalty: The mediating role of visitor satisfaction. Jurnal Manajemen, 27(1), 1–20.
Setyono, V. I., Nugroho, M., & Sumiati. (2021). Customer engagement, customer pride, customer value as an impact through service quality and customer relationship management on customer loyalty in PT. BPR East Java. International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, 24(5), 122–134.
Tifliyah, S. Z., Rohman, F., & Noermijati, N. (2021). Effect of customer relationship management to customer retention mediated by customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Jurnal Aplikasi Manajemen, 19(4), 896–904. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.jam.2021.019.04.17
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ade Wahyudistira, E. R. Taufik, Liza Mumtazah Damarwulan (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
