Quality, value, satisfaction, trust, a

management of space (Martin and Partner 1997) has also been suggested to
reduce the negative impacts of incompatibility. No empirical study, however, is
available that tests the impact of expectation management, enforcement of the
behavioral code of conduct and physical space management (which is expected
to improve customers’ perception of control) on reaction to incompatible
situations.
Literature review establishes two basic gaps. First, the impact of personal
psychological variables on reaction towards incompatibility has not been
considered. Second, no empirical testing has been done on neither the impact of
uncontrollable factors such as mood, values or involvement and/or the impact of
controllable factors such as expectation communication and physical
management of the space on reaction to incompatibility; neither the interactions
between these factors.
In this study, we attempt to fill both of these gaps. We start by developing
hypotheses about the impact of both controllable and uncontrollable factors on
customers’ reaction to incompatible situations. We proceed further by testing
these hypotheses using an experimental design setting.
Hypotheses
Mood can be conceptualized as mild, transient feeling states that are
subjectively perceived by individuals. Mood states may affect cognitive
processes such as evaluation, memory and decision making (Gardner 1985). It
has often been conceptualized as constituting of two independent bipolar positive
and negative feeling states (Isen 1984). A positive mood seems to make one
kinder, generous, more resistant to temptations and more willing to delay self
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