Prior research indicates that phubbing – ignoring others and focusing on one’s smartphone – in romance-, work- and education-related situations can seriously damage interpersonal relationships. Despite the fact that phubbing during dining occurs often, prior research has not focused on this behavior. In a situation of hedonic consumption such as restaurant dining, affects such as emotion and mood play an important role in determining consumption satisfaction and consumer behavior. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the impact of phubbing during dining on consumer satisfaction with their dining experience. It also identifies the psychological mechanisms underlying this effect, highlighting the mediating role of affect.
Survey data were collected from 740 Japanese consumers and structural equation modeling was performed to test the hypotheses.
The results show that phubbing during dining negatively impacts consumers’ dining experiences; the effect is mediated by social exclusion and mood, and mood in particular is a strong mediator.
This study contributes to better understanding of consumer behavior by indicating the harmful effect of phubbing on service outcomes and clarifying the psychological mechanisms underlying phubbing during dining.
