Abstract

The marketing research on crowding presents conclusive but limited results about the, mainly negative, consequences triggered by crowded situations for the individual or the consumer (Eroglu and Machleit, 1990; Machleit et al, 1994; 2000). On the other hand, the growth of experiential and hedonist products and services (amusement parks, concerts...), in which the crowd may play a positive role on the consumer's experience and the lack of managerial direction to deal with crowding issues in service settings (Stewart and Cole, 2001; Eastman and Land, 1997) call for a more in-depth analysis of crowding issues. Therefore, through findings from other research streams (environmental psychology or sociology) and empirical data, this research aims at filling these existing gaps in the business literature about crowding. The first contribution of this study deals with the repositioning of human density (also called concentration) as a key concept in crowd assessment and appreciation. A valid and reliable multidimensional measure of human concentration is developed. It gives researchers and managers the opportunity to better understand crowd mechanisms and to control them. In particular, four facets of human concentration, namely privacy, personal space, freedom of movement and perceived density are uncovered and give a more complete definition of what human concentration is. In a second study, the developed scale is used to study the human concentration-satisfaction relationship and key moderating variables are identified (service situation, confirmation/disconfirmation and scarcity of the service experience). Several direct and interaction effects are described. The main contribution of this part of the research refers to the demonstration that this relationship is complex and context-dependent. Crowd can also have a positive influence on satisfaction in specific conditions.