Index of Paper Presentations for the Parallel Sessions - Academy of ...

That servicescape can be utilized strategically in order to convey the right brand and corporateimage to the service customers, and harnessed as a source of competitive advantage, is an issuethat is equally recognized in developed as well as developing economies. The degree ofinvestments and thoughts that went in servicescape design of retail banking is a testament to that.Our study reveals that there appears to be a directional difference in the way servicescape designis evolving in developing countries in contrast to the developed countries. Our cross nationalcomparative study of servicescape design of retail banking in Bangladesh and Singapore clearlydelineates that.While in developed countries well designed servicescape and well planned service atmosphericsare standard essentials for the retail banks, this is not so for the developing country. Considerablevalue addition in terms of customer loyalty, attention and inspiration as well as experiential valuecan still be generated through well designed servicescapes. In this case global design andinternational design is clearly connoted to high quality and advanced service qualities by the retailbanking consumers (as evinced in the Bangladesh case). In Singapore there is an attempt to makethe servicescape different by ―localization‖ or bringing in elements from other strands ofconsumer interest and activities (such as retail and café). Whilst in Bangladesh sharpening theglobal image in terms of designing and arranging all the elements of the servicescape (such asatmospherics, employees and their uniforms, décor and branding) seems to contribute to thepower, prestige and ability of the bank.The cultural issue and traditional history of the service sector in question (that is how evolved theparticular sector is in a given country) is certainly areas that contribute to the servicescapeperception of customers. In future further research on culture, semiosis and historical dimensionof the service sector in question may result in valuable insights on servicescape literature asservicescape studies gain more and more credence in the canon of Services Marketing discipline.ReferencesAhmed, A. (2011). Potential for Progress Opportunities for Economic Growth in BangladeshHarvard International Review Fall 28-31.Anon (2011). Bangladesh Country Report. New York Political Risk Services 52.