Effect of Music on Consumer Emotions – An Analysis of Pakistani Restaurant Industry


Hamdard University, Karachi, Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari, Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Music is used for emotional control purposes and has been helpful in stress management and enhancing general well-being. Music could favourably affect consumers' perceptions. The subject of this research is to see the connection between the music in Pakistani restaurants, as well as to analyse its impact on customer behaviour, and whether the music in the restaurant makes the customer pay more attention and make them spend more time in a restaurant. This study involved data collection and analysis from 395 Customers in a Pakistan restaurant industry. SmartPLS software was used to analyse the outcomes after data collection, and the conceptual framework was validated using structural equation modelling (SEM) and factor analysis. Based on our findings, background music and customers' emotions are positively related. Further, results indicate that music is favourably connected to spending more time and money in the restaurant of Pakistan, with the mediation from consumers' emotions. Background Music may aid in the growth of the Pakistan Restaurant industry since the findings of this study imply that customers will spend more money and time there due to the music. This study also suggests future research subjects on the evolution of the restaurant industry as a result of consumer emotions.

Keywords

music, consumer's emotions, mediation effect, restaurant industry.

INTRODUCTION

The effect of music on the consumer has been an exciting area of research for the last many decades. Still, this kind of research has been conducted in a very diminutive amount in Pakistan. So, the subject of this research is to see the connection between the music in Pakistani restaurants, as well as to analyse its impact on customer behaviour, and whether the music in the restaurant makes the customer pay more attention and make them spend more time in a restaurant. Different studies on this topic have confirmed their effects. Researchers have used various music tempos as background music to study consumer behaviour, which shows the customers connect types of music with definite products, choose a product over one another, and determine the costs on the identical. The study of Saarikallio and Baltazar (2018) on preference and motivations for music listening also emphasises feelings of kinship and social connectedness.

Additionally, a song can increase in brand's trustworthiness and identification. The world-famous brands like Coca-cola, Clarion Hotels, Mitsubishi, Heineken, Starbucks, SAS airlines, Oriflame and Nike, etc., use audio branding strategies on a considerable range (Fulberg, 2003; Lusensky, 2011; Wynn & Yetis-Bayraktar, 2016). While no competent record exists for knowing the whole revenue earned by the music industry, its volume is very substantial. As per unverified record, it is considered that approximately around two billion dollars income established by the whole music industry from this business, the payment executed for the use of song/melody in advertisements, different movies and TV shows (Sankoh, Naito, Nonaka, Sabirin, & Chen, 2018). Various research studies on this topic have confirmed positive effects on customer behaviour, increased brand identity, and increased affected customer–product relations (Bolton et al., 2014). Music can generally change the mood of its listeners, e.g., on consumer's brand extension evaluation (Anghelcev & Sar, 2011). Torrico et al. (2020) had researched where people liked to buy German wine when they heard German music, whereas French wine was preferred when French music was played. The study of (Biswas, Lund, & Szocs, 2018) , argued that Customers have unique tastes, and their assessment of the musical soundscape they experience influences their overall happiness with a restaurant visit. Slow music has made guests stay longer in hotels and superstores since music lyrics could affect human behaviour. However, its rhythm did not have a vital role in influencing the duration clients spend in bookstores (Soh, Jayaraman, Choo, & Kiumarsi, 2015).

The decoration, meals, and service of any restaurant make it popular among the customers. Still, it is also a fact that the background music playing in a restaurant creates a relaxed atmosphere in which consumers spend most of their time there like to gossip and are willing to spend more money (Milliman, 1986).

Several researchers have expressed interest in the impact of background music in restaurants in different countries. (Marković, Dorčić, Rašan, Bucić, & Blažić, 2021; Meng, Zhang, & Kang, 2017; Wen, Leung, & Pongtornphurt, 2020). Still, this study is novel to explore the role of the music-consumer relationship in Pakistan's restaurant industry. In recent years, the Pakistan restaurant business has grown relatively slowly. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impacts of background music on customer emotions in the Pakistan restaurants industry and determine whether music causes consumers to spend more money and time in restaurants. The scope of this study is to provide ways that what kind of music Pakistani people like in restaurants and the effect of audio branding/music on their mood, and music/audio branding, makes them pay more money or spend more time in a restaurant. In addition, this study will provide us with a framework on the impact of background music on consumer behaviour for future researchers in Pakistan.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Background Music and Customer's Emotion

Music is used for emotional control purposes and has been helpful in stress management and enhancing general well-being. It is used as a mood change tool related to the propensity to use optimism. It boosts the customer experience by triggering emotion management mechanisms to have more favourable assessments of different service environment elements. Background Music in the Restaurants engages the customer; it develops the customer's interest and helps to enjoy the food; the customer tends to eat more if he sounds the Music good. The effect music had on assisting in the process of emotion control. It projected that individuals would be more likely to boost mood in the music state (Areni & Kim, 1993).

The state of music will view service quality more favourably than those in the form of control. In the sense of reliability, participants in the music condition perceived service efficiency better than those in the control condition. Similarly, in the music state, the show of empathy from service providers was rated far higher than participants in the control state. Music helps to promote the establishment's potential patronage. Results indicate that those in the musical condition demonstrated higher intentions than those in the control condition to continue to patronize the institution (Auerbach & Silverstein, 2003).

Music may be artful in a healthy way. Music could favourably affect consumers' perceptions with service-based firms, where consumer assessments of the handoff process could be crucial in creating and retaining strategic dominance. Around the service industry, entertainment is being exploited because of its purposes. For instance, sound may be necessary to create an ideal atmosphere for cuisine and maximise multiple sensory interactions. A few iconic traditional dishes via an iPod featuring sea effects are served at a family restaurant in England. Clinics have seen live music as an instrument of health promotion and regeneration (Bailey & Areni, 2006).

Music usage has led to much more comfortable medical settings whereby sufferers are less stressed, and decreased tension level is self-reported by guests. Investigators had also utilised various musical styles, cadences, and rhythms as sound effects to investigate market trends. Such experiments demonstrate that buyers align soundtrack groups for specific ingredients and choose one item to another or with particular expenditure patterns and determine expenditure on about the same sort of device.Baker, Grewal, and Parasuraman (1994) discovered that rapid cadence background music in eateries strongly impacts customer emotions.

But in some cases, it also annoys the customer as the customer feels sleepy, which distracts the customer from enjoying the food. Emotions vary from person to person, mainly depending upon the mood and the type of music that will either create your interest or distract you.

H1: Background music in the restaurant has an impact on customer Emotion.

Customer's emotions and Spend money

Customer's emotion directly links with the spending money; if the customer is emotionally attached to ambiance & services, they will spend more & vice versa. The study found that things like Ambiance and Service have more impact on a consumer's willingness to pay than the quality of your food. In the context of background music, if the customer loves the restaurant's environment and background music is also engaging him to enjoy the food, he will pay more even with a handsome tip (Kemp, Williams, Min, & Chen, 2019).

The customer spends money as a reaction or antidote to whatever feelings he has at a given moment, making it hard to save money at a healthy rate. The customer doesn't need to treat himself to a costly reward every time you're happy or sad. The ambiance was one of the most critical factors that affected clients' emotions (pleasure). It is important to note that management can regulate the physical elements of the atmosphere, such as sound, scent, and temperature, to a large degree. It is possibly one of the least costly ways of enhancing consumer perceptions of the physical environment. The customer spends not only on food but also on the emotions, surroundings, and probably the feelings. If the customer gets emotionally attached to the restaurant's environment, he will spend more money (Min & Kim, 2019).

H2: Customer's emotions effect on the spend money.

Customer's Emotion and Spend Time

Environmental elements may cause customers to feel different emotions, resulting in particular customer behaviour and their decision to spend more time and return to the restaurant in the future. Studies show that the amount of time spent sitting by the customer depends on the intensity of the music's speed. Because music intensity can influence real-time consumption, primarily in dining, people having a meal in the dining area would consume additional time in the slow build upstate than people eating in the high-frequency environment (Bitner, 1992). Because while numerous surveys have explored the impacts of music on real-time being spent in shops (Turley & Milliman, 2000). Few studies have compared the effects of music on customer time impressions. Caldwell and Hibbert (2002) found that people perceived the length of high paced music to be greater than sluggish pace music. Likewise, the same x and y have demonstrated that noisy music is more significant than ambient noises, with identical stimulation effects to quick music.

This research delivers a few other proofs because time appears to be well over when individuals react to tunes with better connect characteristics. Most of such research has been carried out in the test circumstances, including issues about the results' exterior authenticity. When individuals are unconsciously instead of consciously listening to music, it's unclear if the same results will be detected by examining musical speed in the restaurant's conceptual environment.

H3: Customer's emotions effect on the spend time.

Background Music and Pay More Money

Background Music can be a more highly controllable physical element than other physical elements without much expense. Based on customer tastes, restaurateurs can easily adjust background music, changing their pace, genre, and tempo to make them feel happy, excited, or comfortable. Restaurateurs should also take physical attributes linked to ambience seriously as an organisational tool. The customer pays for his food and tips to the waiter, but sometimes the customer demands the music of his own choice to also engage with the environment, create more interest in his food, and add more charm. Many other experiments have demonstrated how restaurants see consumer behaviour shift due to the performed background music (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2007).

For instance, though it moved from Hit 40 to classical music, one wine business improved sales. What's surprising is that consumers ordered a certain amount of wine bottles anyway yet chose quite expensive alternatives. This shows that all classical music administrative overhead music playlists generated a distinct feeling in clients that altered their actions.

In comparison, clients probably listening to traditional holiday songs in a shop ordered far more seasonal merchandise than anyone that could never. The soundtrack worked on the sentimental, emotional core and the holiday atmosphere afterwards, culminating in further sales that resulted in a high volume, not only a cognitive reaction. It is also an interpersonal one. Generating an extreme attachment could be significant for retailers willing to advance the seasonal products or raise the typical prices. Customers' money and time invested were also affected by their choice of background music. Mostly in outdoor business with soundtracks with either the shops attempting to make higher sales, especially no music, customers who visit gadgets and postcard booths remain lengthier. Purchasers invest considerably extra relative to pop music or background music because deep tracks and erotic music are performed in the florist. On the other hand, mostly, but at the same time, many researchers discovered that buying purpose for hedonic value can not be affected by artistic match up (Chebat, Vaillant, & Gélinas-Chebat, 2000).

H4: Customer's emotions mediate the relationship between background music and spending money in a restaurant.

Background Music and Spend Time

Likewise, spending money and time is also influenced by emotions; the customer also spends more time in a restaurant if he likes the background music. In contrast, If the music is not as relaxing as possible, the customer may leave the restaurant.

Another perspective is that customers eat faster, as their eating speed increases naturally per track. Simultaneously, the customer tends to eat less if the background music's rhythm slows (Bradt, Dileo, Magill, & Teague, 2016). Since numerous studies show that it has such a strong psychological impact on people and can affect customer behaviour, the restaurant owner must be cautious when selecting background music for their restaurant. A study also shows that customers take faster drinks when listening to fast rhythm background music. While soft romantic music engages the customer to take drinks slowly, this customer spends more time in restaurants.

All the above discussion concludes that if the customers are emotionally attached to the background music, he loves to stay here and spend more time and consumes on food & beverages more. He pays for his food and tips the waiter. Sometimes the customer demands the music of his own choice to engage with the environment, create more interest in his food, and add more charm (Garlin & Owen, 2006).

H5: Customer's emotions mediate the relationship between background music and spending time.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Based on previous research, we provide a path analytic model, represented in Figure 1, where restaurant music influences customers' emotions. This style is then related to two perceptual outcome variables: spent money and spent time in restaurant.

https://typeset-prod-media-server.s3.amazonaws.com/article_uploads/82a672f0-74e6-4bcc-ad94-bd6dcd91a55d/image/54d7e269-4d58-441c-91f4-d2644ab2a624-uimage.png
Figure 1: Theoretical Framework of the study

METHODOLOGY

The primary data was obtained from the five-point Likert scale survey questionnaire in this deductive study. Through the purposive sampling technique, 395 valid responses were collected from customers of Pakistani restaurants, while due to inadequate data, five surveys were considered unusable. The minimal sample size criteria were met based on previous studies, with a respondent to item ratio of 5:1 (Adam, 2020). The quantitative research's nature is explanatory. The data gathering instrument of the study was adopted from the studies of Meng et al. (2017), and Wen et al. (2020). Variables of the study consumer's emotions, music, spending more money, and spending more time were measured from three items in the questionnaire (Milliman, 1986).

Smart PLS was used to analyse this cross-sectional data. SmartPLS allows simultaneous construction relationships to be tested with various factors compared to other software (Shoukat, Baig, Hussain, Rehman, & Shakir, 2021). The reliability test was used to examine the Cronbach-alpha values for each item using structural equation (SEM) modelling using variance-based modelling for the results using a somewhat small path modelling approach.

ANALYSIS

The model fit, validity and reliability of the items evaluated in the first section included three sections of the results and discussion segment. The second section addressed the structural model. Finally, the direct, indirect, mediating and total effects studied on Background music in the restaurant impact customer Emotion are examined. Researchers used the structural equation model (SEM); the testing was carried on using smartPLS. Also, the analysis was carried out to evaluate both the constructs' indirect and direct results. The primary technique used in various regression methods and approaches has been identified as the (SEM) structural equation model (Baron & Kenny, 1986). The systemic relationship between exogenous and endogenous interactions is used to define it.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Confirmatory factor analysis is a fundamental factor analysis method, and findings in social science are most commonly analysed (Edwards, 2008). It is used to evaluate how well a construct's measures are compatible with the comprehension of an author's essence of that concept. The discriminating validity empirically shows the variations in construction. In the collection of specifications, convergent validity measures must be greater than other loads of other constructs. The minimum loading value of the variable is more significant than for the other 0.70 objects (Jr, Sarstedt, Matthews, & Ringle, 2016). Four indicators are higher than 0.50 things relevant to consumer emotion loadings, making them accurate, and no values are excluded. Besides, the tables found that the three music loading indicators' value is above 0.50, indicating the measurements' reliability. Besides, the tables present three SMT metrics showing the consistency of values greater than 0.5. Besides, the four ST meaning indices are higher than 0.5, which means the measurements are reliable.

Convergent Validity

Table 2 illustrates that all measurements of the CR and AVE are higher than 0.50, which is implied by (Kline & Rosenberg, 2009). In addition, the construct's AVE loadings over the minimum value of 0.50 indicate the construct's convergent validity (Hair, Ortinau, & Harrison, 2010). The AVE values are higher than 0.5 in the above table, by which convergence validity is verified as per the values. Internal consistency means the levels of interaction in at least two measures of a similar construct (Carmines & Zeller, 1979). According to (Hair et al., 2010), the results of CR are appropriate relative to the predefined threshold of 0.70. The composite reliability of an element is 0.85 to 0.94. The table indicates the reliability of the internal stability of the building calculation. The table even indicates the average variance of results obtained above 0.5, suggesting convergent validity (Hair et al., 2010).

Discriminant Validity

The goal of the discriminant validity evaluation is to establish whether a reflective measurement item has the closest association with its markers inside the PLS path model (e.g., in comparison to all other measurement items) (Jr et al., 2016). According to Fornell and Larcker (1981), the Average variance extracted square root might be utilised to establish discriminant validity in each observed variable. In this study, the value necessary for discriminant validity is more significant than 0.50, and the values greater than 0.50 are shown in all indicators. If the discrimination value is smaller than 0.50, it indicates a high level of discrimination among the variables.

R Square

The predictability of independent factors on the dependent variable is shown by R square. According to table 4, consumer emotion accounts for 0.71 percent of the explanation of independent variables. Meanwhile, the SMM defines the dependent variable intention to use as having a variance of 0.53 per cent. The R square of SMT also explains 0.74 per cent of the reliance.

Hypothesis Validation

The study hypotheses are tested during this step using bootstrapping methods in PLS-SEM. At 97.5 per cent confidence level, all route coefficients had t-values larger than 1.96 (p < 0.005), indicating that relationships are significant.

Table 1: Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Consumer's Emotion

SMM

SMT

Music

C_M_1

0.929

C_M_2

C_M_3

0.933

M_1

0.957

M_2

0.937

M_3

0.945

S_M_1

0.929

S_M_2

0.909

S_M_3

0.915

S_T_1

0.922

S_T_2

0.918

S_T_3

0.889

Table 2: Convergent Validity Test Results

Cronbach's Alpha

Composite Reliability

Average Variance Extracted (AVE)

Consumer's Emotion

0.922

0.950

0.864

SMM

0.906

0.941

0.842

SMT

0.895

0.935

0.827

Music

0.942

0.963

0.896

Table 3: Discriminant Validity Test Results

Consumer's Emotion

SMM

SMT

Music

Consumer's Emotion

0.930

SMM

0.711

0.917

SMT

0.833

0.693

0.909

Music

0.845

0.689

0.830

0.946

Table 4: R- Square Values

R Square

R Square Adjusted

Consumer's Emotion

0.714

0.713

SMM

0.533

0.530

SMT

0.749

0.748

Table 5: Hypothesis Summary

Estimate

S.E

T Statistics

P Values

Results

Music -> Consumer's Emotions

0.150

0.014

10.729

0.000

Supported

Consumer's Emotions -> Spend More Money

0.446

0.093

4.796

0.000

Supported

Consumer's Emotions -> Spend More Time

0.264

0.061

4.327

0.000

Supported

Music -> Consumer's Emotions -> Spend More Money

0.359

0.079

4.544

0.000

Supported

Music -> Consumer's Emotions -> Spend More Time

0.188

0.052

3.610

0.000

Supported

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/typeset-prod-media-server/a111ba55-96aa-4020-b146-d29667a4b8c5image1.png
Figure 2: Assessment of Measurement Model

DISCUSSION

It has been confirmed byChin and Rickard (2013) that music is used for the intent of emotional control, and it has been effective in controlling stress and improving general well-being. It is used as an instrument for mood improvement associated with the tendency to use optimism. Activating emotion management mechanisms to provide more favourable evaluations of various service environment components improves the customer experience. Moreover, it has been examined by Stanczyk (2011) that the customer is engaged by Background Music in the Hotels, which enhances the interest of the customer. It encourages to enjoy the food; the consumer likes to eat more when the music feels appealing. The effect of music was to assist in the emotions management process. It predicted that the attitude in the music state would be much more able to intensify for people. Music helps encourage the future patronage of the establishment. Results show that those in the musical situation had higher desires to continue patronising the organisation than those from the control condition.

Kemper and Danhauer (2005) found that music has contributed to more relaxed hospital environments where depressives are less stressed and visitors self-report a reduced degree of tension. Investigators have often used different musical styles, inflexions, and rhythms as sound effects to examine industry patterns. But in some situations, when the customer feels tired, it also disturbs the customer, which diverts the customer's attention from loving the food. It has been confirmed byCroom (2014) that emotions differ depending on mood and the genre of music which either creates the attention or distracts them, mostly from individual to individual.

Perceived ambience and service have a more significant effect than the value of the food on the likelihood of a customer to pay. If the customer enjoys the atmosphere of a restaurant and background music also engages him to admire the food in the form of background music, even with a handsome tip, they will spend more. As a reaction or response to whatever emotions they have at a particular time, the client spends money, making it impossible to save money at a healthy pace. Consumers do not have to treat themselves with an expensive reward, whether they are happy or sad. One of the essential variables that shaped customers' emotions (pleasure) was the environment (Frank, Reibel, Broderick, Cantrell, & Metz, 2013). The findings of Stueck and Gloeckner (2005) demonstrate that environmental elements might allow customers to experience various emotions, leading to customer behaviour in particular, which can contribute to their idea of spending more time and contribute to the restaurant in the potential. Studies show that the number of days consumed by the client seated depends on the frequency of the music's volume.

It has been found byHahn, Binnewies, Sonnentag, and Mojza (2011) that customer often spends more time in a restaurant if they like background music; spending on cash and spending time is also affected by emotions. In addition, the client can leave the restaurant if the music is not as calming as practicable. Another view is that consumers eat it faster, as their eating frequency naturally raises as per track. At the same time, the customer appears to eat less if the pace of the background music is slow since numerous studies have demonstrated that it has such a powerful psychological effect on individuals and can influence customers' actions. Laukka (2007) has found background music, without too much cost, could be a more highly controllable physical aspect than other individual structures. Restaurateurs can easily change background music based on consumer preferences, adjusting their rhythm, genre, and tempo to increase customer satisfaction, excitement, or relaxation. Other researchers revealed that as an operational method, restaurateurs should also seriously consider physical characteristics linked to aesthetics (Hirokawa & Ohira, 2003) The consumer pays the waiter for his food and tips, but the customer often needs the same choice of music to interact with the atmosphere, generate more excitement in his food, and add more charm. Many other studies have shown how restaurants see a difference in customer behaviour attributed to the performed background music.The findings of Hays and Minichiello (2005) confirm that the soundtrack performed on the nostalgic, emotional heart and the holiday atmosphere, resulting in additional sales leading to a high number. This is also an emotional one and is not just a cognitive response. For retailers willing to advertise seasonal goods or increase typical costs, it may be necessary to generate a severe connection. Their choice of background music also influenced the money and time spent by clients. Customers who visit gadget and postcard booths stay longer, often in outdoor businesses with soundtracks with either store trying to make higher sales, particularly with no music.

CONCLUSION

It has been concluded in the study that for the last several decades, the influence of music on the customer has been an important research field. Still, this form of research has been implemented in a minimal amount in Pakistan. Numerous studies on this subject have confirmed their effects. Researchers have used different music crescendos as background music to research customer behaviour that shows clients associate music styles with particular items, select a product over each other and decide the cost. Slow music has made visitors stay in hotels and supermarkets longer because music lyrics may influence human behaviour. Its rhythm did not play a critical role in affecting customers' time spent in book stores. Music will generally alter the mood of its consumers, e.g. on the assessment of the consumer's promotional strategy. Several researchers have expressed interest in the subject of this study. Still, this study is innovative in exploring the relationship between music and consumers in the restaurant industry in Pakistan. Therefore, the primary purpose of this research is to investigate how music relates to consumer behaviour. And to investigate whether music is focused on clients spending more and more time in a restaurant and paying extra. In addition, it was concluded that it is necessary to remember that management can control to a large degree the physical elements of the environment, such as sound, smell, and temperature. It is also one of the least expensive ways to enhance customer views of the physical world. Not only does the consumer spend on food, but also on thoughts, surroundings, and potentially feelings. If the consumer is emotionally attached to the experience of the restaurant, they will spend more on the money.