Toward Multisensory Customer Experiences: A Cross-Disciplinary Bibliometric Review and Future Research Directions

Journal of Service Research, vol. 25, pp. 440–459

Abstract

An in-depth understanding of multisensory customer experiences could inform and transform service experiences across the touchpoints of customer journeys. Sensory research in service and marketing disciplines mostly refers to individual senses in isolation. However, relevant insights could be gleaned from other disciplines to explore the multisensory nature of customer experiences. Noting the fragmented state of research surrounding such topics, the current article presents a systematic, objective overview of the content and theoretical foundations underlying the notion of multisensory customer experiences. Seeking a holistic understanding and research agenda for service research, the authors adopt both text mining and co-citation analyses overlaying findings from the cross-disciplinary foundation to uncover relevant theoretical, conceptual, and methodological developments. The resulting research agenda encourages scholars to employ diverse theories and methods to investigate multisensory stimuli, their integration, and perception, as well as the link between multisensory customer experiences and emotions. These insights then can inform the design of multisensory omnichannel service experiences.

Authors 5

1. Susan Stead corresponding Aachen Institute for Technology and Innovation Management

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Technology and Innovation Management (TIM), RWTH Aachen University, School of Business and Economics, Aachen, Germany

2. Ruud W.H. Wetzels

   Radboud University Nijmegen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Business Administration (Marketing Group), Radboud University (Nijmegen School of Management), Nijmegen, The Netherlands

3. Martin G. M. Wetzels

   Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Marketing, EDHEC Business School, Roubaix Cedex 1, France

4. Gaby Odekerken‐Schröder

   Maastricht University

   Affiliation as printed

   (School of Business and Economics) Marketing & Supply Chain Management, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

5. Dominik Mahr

   Maastricht University · Hanken School of Economics

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland AND Chair of Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands