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EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Retail crowding has been shown to influence several aspects of the retail outcome. With only few exceptions (e.g., Van Rompay et ah, 2008; Li, Kim, & Lee, 2009) the majority of previous studies have highlighted the negative consequences of crowded store environments from both a consumer perspective as well as a managerial standpoint. For instance, prior research has demonstrated that perceived crowding generates negative emotions and reduces positive emotions (Byun & Mann, 2011) leading consumers to adapt to this decreased level of comfort by reducing their shopping time, engaging less in exploratory shopping behavior or postponing their purchase decisions entirely (e.g., Harrel et al., 1980; Eroglu, Harrell, 1986; Michon, Chebat, & Turley, 2005).
Given the extensive literature on the negative outcomes of retail crowding and the apparent demand for adequate crowd management strategies, it is surprising that one important factor, which is an essential part of the shopping environment has largely been neglected in prior research: the role of store employees. In the present research we address this gap and investigate how store employees influence consumer choice in crowded compared to less crowded store environments.
Previous literature allows for two contrasting predictions on the importance of store employees for consumers' choice outcome under retail crowding: Stimulus overload theory assumes that experienced social crowding increases environmental stimulation and the degree of complexity and difficulty of the choice situation (Desor, 1972; Milgram, 1970). Consequently, people are forced to adapt their information processing strategies to be able to process incoming information more effectively (Langer & Saegert, 1977). As a consequence, store employees should influence consumer choice more strongly when retail density is high, because they are expected to simplify the decision-making process. This assumption is in line with a recent study by Maeng et al.(2013) showing that crowding induces a preference for safety-related choice options, one of which could be relying on store employee recommendations (cf. Florack, Palcu, & Friese, 2013).
Behavioral constraint theory (Stokols, 1972), on the other hand, posits that consumers experience retail crowding as an intrusion into their personal space...