Purpose - With the economic development in China, the lifestyle of Chinese customers has changed dramatically. Chinese customers are more likely to have coffee in a shop with the ability to make them happy than those with high quality coffee in a nice physical environment. Happiness becomes a critical driver of customers' intention to purchase a cup of coffee in a specific coffee shop again and again. As a result, happiness becomes an important factor for managers to make strategies for attracting customers. Although managers and scholars pay more attention to emphasize the importance of happiness in customers' consumption, little research has been conducted to investigate the relationship between happiness and coffee shop's continuous usage intention in the Chinese coffee industry. Research design, data, and methodology - A research model is made to explain the impact of happiness on customer's behavior. To understand the influence of happiness better, we consider two dimensions of happiness which are subjective well-being and psychological well-being. In order to confirm the relationships of the variables in the research model, the online survey is constructed in China. Customers who have experienced the services in a coffee shop are asked to do the questionnaire. With 453 reliable questionnaires, structural equation modeling is used to analyze the causal relationships of the coffee quality, physical environment, subjective well-being, psychological well-being, and continuous usage intention. Results - Results indicate that coffee quality and physical environment are not the direct factors that influence customers' continuous usage intention. However, good coffee quality and physical environment are the significant predictors of Chinese customers' happiness associated with subjective well-being and psychological well-being, which in turn affects customers' continuous usage intention. Conclusions - In this study, it is proposed that coffee quality and physical environment may be the key factors influencing customers' happiness. Happiness, including subjective well-being and psychological well-being matters in decision making process. More importantly, happiness increases the continuous usage intention when the coffee shop can serve customers with higher quality coffee at a good atmospheric place. Managers should consider happiness as an important factor in making marketing strategies to compete in this industry.
Ahuvia, A. C. (2002). Individualism/collectivism and cultures of happiness: A theoretical conjecture on the relationship between consumption, culture and subjective well-being, culture and subjective well-being at the national level. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 23-36.
Arnot, C., Boxall, P. C., & Cash, S. B. (2006). Do ethical consumers care about price? A revealed preference analysis of fair trade coffee purchases. Canadian Journal of Agricultural economics, 54, 555-565.
Belk, R. W. (1975). Situational variables and consumer behaviour. Journal of Consumer Research, 2(December), 157-164.
Biel, A., Johansson-Stenman, O., & Nilsson, A. (2011). The willingness to pay-willingness to accept gap revisited: The role of emotions and moral satisfaction. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32, 908-917.
Bradburn, N. M. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Aldine.
Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1976). The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations, and satisfactions. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
China Forward Industry Research Institution. (2018). The analysis of coffee shop development and the future, great increasing per person. Retrieved January 2, 2018from http://mini.eastday.com/mobile/180126140555251.html.
CHYXX. (2016). The analysis of 2016 coffee industry in China. Retrieved April 25, 2016 from http://www.chyxx.com/industry/201604/409796.html.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542-575.
Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34-43.
Easterlin, R. A. (1973). Does money buy happiness? The Public Interest, 30, 3-10.
Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. Nations and Household in Economic Growth, 89-125.
Easterlin, R. A. (1995). Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all? Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 27, 35-47.
Engel, J. F., Blackwell, R. D., & Minard, P. W. (1995). Consumer behavior. New York: The Dreden Press.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (2010). Predicting and Changing Behavior: The Reasoned Action Approach. New York:Psychology Press.
Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature, 40(2), 402-435.
Goldsmith, R. (2016). The big five, happiness, and shopping. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 31, 52-61.
Guven, C. (2012). Reversing the question: Does happiness affect consumption and savings behavior? Journal of Economic Psychology, 33, 701-717.
Han, J., Joo, S., & Jung, J. (2016). Study on the effect of selective attributes of coffee shops on customer satisfaction and loyalty: Focus on low-cost coffee shops. Korean Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 25(6), 199-215.
He, L., & Hong, D-P. (2013). A study on the activation devices of coffee market in China. Journal of Cultural Industry, 13(2), 105-113.
Hsee, C. K., Yang, Y., Li, N., & Shen, L. (2009). Wealth, warmth, and well-being: Whether happiness is relative or absolute depends on whether it is about money, acquisition, or consumption. Journal of Marketing Research, XLVI(June), 396-409.
Jeon, M. S., & Jo, M. N. (2011). A study on coffee shop use and the influence of physical environment of coffee shop on customer behavioral intention: Focus on college students in Seoul, Gyeonggi province. Korean Journal of Food Cookery Science, 27(6), 825-838.
Jeon, S., Park, C., & Yi, Y. (2016). Co-creation of background music: A key to innovating coffee shop management. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 58, 56-65.
Kang, G-W., Chung, Y-H., & Ko, J-Y. (2018). Influence of coffee shop’s selection attributes on choice of coffee shop’s store: A comparison of brand consciousness. Journal of Tourism and Leisure Research, 30(4), 289-308.
Keyes, C. L. M., Shmotkin, D., & Ryff, C. D. (2002). Optimizing well-being: The empirical encounter of two traditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 1007-1022.
Kim, H. (2014). Are physical environments, service quality, and menu in coffee shop influencing overall satisfaction of college students? Journal of Culinary Research, 20(5), 124-129.
Kim, J-E. (2012). Effect of coffee shop’s desert menu quality on shop choice and revisit frequency. Korean Journal of Food Culture, 27(2), 95-104.
Kim, J-S. (2015). A study on colors for coffee shops:Focusing on a franchise coffee shop. Journal of the Table & Food Coordinate, 10(2), 85-105.
Kim, M-S., & Choi, J-A. (2012). The effect of subjective well-being on th consumer’s pricing of alternatives. Journal of Distribution Science, 10(4), 29-36.
Kotler, P. (1973). Atmospherics as a marketing tool. Journal of Retailing, 49(4), 48-64.
Kwon, K-T. (2015). The physical environment of the coffee shops on influencing brand loyalty and customer’s behavior intention. Northeast Asia Tourism Research, 11(2), 105-126.
Lee, H-Y. (2012). Marketing Research by Professor Hoon-Young Lee. Korea: Cheoungram Press.
Lee, Y-K., Park, S-Y., & Hwang, I-Y. (2014). A comparative analysis of customer choice and satisfaction factors among three types of coffee shops. Journal of Distribution Science, 12(2), 49-57.
Lee, H-J., & Suh, J-Y. (2012). A comparison of local and global coffee shop brands and the effect of their physical environment on customer satisfaction and revisit intention: Based on University students in Seoul. Korean Journal of Hospitality & Tourism, 21(2), 131-147.
Lee, H-J., & Suh, J-Y. (2016). The effect of Chinese customer coffee benefit sought on Korean coffee shop satisfaction, attachment, and loyalty: Based on mediating effect of Korean Wave attitude. Culinary Science & Hospitality Research, 22(5), 151-166.
Mogilner, C., Aaker, J., & Kamvar, S. D. (2012). How happiness affects choice. Journal of Consumer Research, 39, 429-443.
Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6(1), 10-19.
Oishi, S., Graham, J., Kesebir, S., & Galinha, I. C. (2013). Concepts of happiness across time and culture. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(5), 559-577.
Oliver, R. L. (1999). Whence consumer loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 63, 33-44.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49(Fall), 41-50.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perception of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12-40.
Pongsiri, K. (2013). Market feasibility for new brand coffee house: The case study of Thailand. International Journal of Social, Management, Economics and Business Engineering, 7(8), 2414-2417.
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069-1081.
Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719-727.
Suh, J-Y., & Lee, H-J. (2015). An effects of Chinese customer’s coffee sought benefits on satisfaction and using intention of Korean coffee shop: Based on mediation role of positive feeling to Korea. Journal of Tourism & Leisure Research, 27(9), 431-450.
Sung, Y. S., Lee, J., Yoo, C., Park, E., Shin, E., & Baek, I. (2013). Will consumption activities contribute to happiness in Life? The relationships among consumption activity, consumption happiness, and subjective well-being in 9 consumption types. Korean Marketing Association, 28, 185-217.
Susanty, A., & Kenny, E. (2015). The relationship between brand equity, customer satisfaction, and brand loyalty on coffee shop: Study of Excelso and Starbucks. Journal of Asean Marketing, VII(1), 14-27.
van Winden, F., Krawczyk, M., & Hopfensitz, A. (2011). Investment, resolution of risk, and the role of affect. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32, 918-939.
Wakefield, K. L., & Blodgett, J. G. (1999). Customer response to intangible and tangible service factors. Psychology & Marketing, 16(1), 51-68.
Yu, H., & Fang, W. (2009). Relative impacts from product quality, service quality, and experience quality on customer perceived value and intention to shop for the coffee shop market. Total Quality Management, 20(11), 1273-1285.
Yun, S. (2017). Effect of coffee quality of branded coffee shops on brand attitude, brand image, and brand loyalty. International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 31(12), 237-258.
Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60(April), 31-46.
Zhang, J., & Lee, H-Y. (2016). The word-of-mouth effects on the Chinese customers’ choice intention of medical tourism destination. Journal of Distribution Science, 14(7), 21-31.