Social Crowding, Territoriality and Consumer Behavior: Brand Value's Moderating Role

This study investigates the impact of social crowding in casual dining restaurants on consumers' perceived territoriality and behavior intentions.A survey of 462 consumers reveals that crowding negatively affects territorial perceptions and behaviors.However, these effects are mitigated for brands with higher equity.The results imply that enhancing brand value can help offset the adverse psychological and behavioral consequences of crowding.For practitioners, this highlights the need for holistic strategies encompassing store environment, service quality and brand building to manage the customer experience.The findings contribute to literature on services capes and consumer psychology by elucidating crowding's effects and identifying brand value as a key buffer.