Understanding the Impact of Situational Components in Hospitality Retailing: The Case of Irish Theme Pubs

Abstract

The impact of situational components on consumer choice has long been recognized as an important aspect of retail marketing. The theoretical foundation of situational influences dates back to Lewin’s field theory (Lewin 1935, 1936, 1938, 1951), which concluded that human motivations, intentions, and behavior are a function of the interaction between consumers and situations. In Lewin’s view, situation was a dual construct comprised of the “objective” world outside of the individual, which could be described in terms of physical and social variables, and the “subjective” world or psychological environment, which referred to the individual’s perception and constructions of the physical environment described in terms of psychological variables.