When service environments signal ideology: Customer responses to ideological cues

Service environments increasingly contain visible cues that communicate political engagement, religious identities, LGBTQ + affiliation, environmental advocacy, and other collective values. Although servicescape research has traditionally emphasized atmospheric, aesthetic, and functional cues, less is known about how customers interpret ideological cues embedded within routine service encounters. Drawing on servicescape research and social identity theory, this research examines how ideological servicescape cues are associated with customer discomfort, avoidance intentions, and stated store-choice decisions. Three preregistered, scenario-based experiments in a coffee shop context examine ideological cues displayed through employees and the physical service environment. Study 1 shows that political cues generate greater discomfort than environmental and lifestyle cues, although they do not differ significantly from religious or LGBTQ + cues. Study 2 shows that matching political cues displayed across employee and environmental touchpoints generate greater discomfort than political cues displayed through a single source, while perceived authenticity does not account for this association. Study 3 shows that political cues are associated with lower stated store choice than environmental cues, particularly when matching political cues appear across employee and environmental touchpoints. Across studies, customer discomfort statistically accounts for part of the association between ideological cue conditions and avoidance intentions or stated store-choice decisions. The findings extend servicescape scholarship by showing that politically charged symbolism may shape customer responses through both cue content and cue-source configuration. Because the studies rely on scenario-based experiments and stated responses, the findings should not be interpreted as evidence of observed marketplace behavior or realized financial outcomes.