The differential effects of separated vs. unseparated services The roles of performance risk and regulatory focus

摘要

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of service separation on perceived value and intention to enroll in the higher education context, as mediated by perceived performance risk and moderated by an individual's regulatory focus. Design/methodology/approach Four experimental studies were conducted, a pilot study and three main studies. Participants evaluated higher education courses offered in either the unseparated (on-campus) or separated (online) mode. Findings Results show that: service separation influences perceived value; this effect is mediated by performance risk; and moderated by regulatory focus. Specifically, participants perceive higher education courses offered in the separated mode to have greater performance risk, which lowers their perceived value. This effect is enhanced for prevention-focused participants and mitigated for promotion-focused participants. Finally, service separation is found to influence intention to enroll in a course via performance risk and perceived value.