Let it flow: the role of seamlessness and the optimal experience on consumer word of mouth in omnichannel marketing

1 “This is an Accep ed Manusc ip o an a icle published by Eme ald Publishing Limi ed in Jou nal o Resea ch in In e ac i e Ma ke ing, a ailable online: h ps://www.eme ald.com/insigh /con en /doi/10.1108/JRIM-06-2021- 0154/ ull/h ml?u m_sou ce= ss&u m_medium= eed&u m_campaign= ss_jou nalLa es ” Le i low: he ole o seamlessness and he op imal expe ience on consume wo d-o - mou h in omnichannel ma ke ing. Paula Rod íguez-To ico, Depa men o Economics and Business Adminis a ion; Uni e sidad de Bu gos; Bu gos; Spain. Rebeca San José Cabezudo, Depa men o Business Adminis a ion and Ma ke ing; Uni e sidad de Valladolid; Valladolid; Spain. Sonia San-Ma ín, Depa men o Economics and Business Adminis a ion; Uni e sidad de Bu gos; Bu gos; Spain. Lau en T abold Apadula, Ma ke ing and Managemen Depa men ; Manha an College; New Yo k; New Yo k; Uni ed S a es. Co esponding au ho : Paula Rod íguez-To ico ([email p o ec ed]) Abs ac Pu pose: Omnichannel consume s a e mo e p oac i e, engage in longe shopping jou neys, and sha e hei expe iences. Howe e , hei pos -pu chase beha io al esponses emain unde s udied. This pape aims o examine how a seamless omnichannel en i onmen can con ibu e o a mo e op imal shopping expe ience ( low s a e) and he subsequen impac on he likelihood o gene a ing mixed (posi i e and nega i e) wo d-o -mou h (WOM). Design/me hodology/app oach: A con olled expe imen was conduc ed wi h 220 pa icipan s o es he p oposed model based on he S-O-R Model and Flow Theo y. We conduc ed an analysis o a iance, wo eg ession analyses, and wo media ion analyses o es he hypo heses. 2 Findings: The esul s con i m a posi i e di ec e ec o a seamless en i onmen on consume s’ low s a e and a posi i e (nega i e) di ec impac o low on he likelihood o gene a ing posi i e (nega i e) WOM. Addi ionally, he esul s sugges ha low media es he e ec o a seamless en i onmen on WOM. O iginali y/ alue: This s udy con ibu es o omnichannel and WOM li e a u e by explo ing he c i ical ole o seamlessness in consume s’ subjec i e expe ience ( low s a e) and pos -pu chase beha io s (mixed WOM). In conjunc ion wi h he ele an heo e ical con ibu ions, hese indings also o e guidelines o p ac i ione s o manage he seamless en i onmen and mixed WOM in he omnichannel con ex . Keywo ds Omnichannel ma ke ing; Seamless; Flow s a e; Wo d-o -mou h; Consume ; En i onmen In oduc ion The cu en omnichannel business ecosys em is mo e complex since consume s in e ac wi h b ands ac oss a ious pla o ms in he digi al and physical wo lds (Wang, 2021). Consequen ly, he omnichannel shopping episode is longe han a shopping expe ience using a single channel and does no end when consume s pu chase (Hall e al., 2017). Howe e , li le is known abou how consume s engage in pos -pu chase beha io s in he omnichannel con ex . Fi ms mus unde s and how o engage omnichannel cus ome s (Cummins e al., 2016, Lemon and Ve hoe , 2016, Lopes e al., in p ess). Lemon and Ve hoe (2016) called o esea ch explo ing he impac o omnichannel ma ke ing ac ions on cus ome beha io s, such as WOM. Recen ly, Lopes e al. (in p ess) ecommended examining WOM in u u e omnichannel ma ke ing in es iga ions. 3 Li e a u e has es ablished he impo ance o posi i e and nega i e in o ma ion sha ed by consume s on i ms’ success, pe o mance, o g ow h (Nam and Kannan, 2020). Thus, in he omnichannel con ex , whe e consume s use a wide ange o pla o ms o in e ac wi h i ms and a e mo e ac i e, he pos -pu chase s age also needs o be explo ed o esea ch o ho oughly examine he omnichannel beha io . WOM schola s ha e ela ed he likelihood o sha ing posi i e and nega i e WOM wi h he con i ma ion o consume expec a ions, such ha a e an in e ac ion expe ience, consume s a e mo e likely o sha e posi i e WOM (nega i e WOM) i i is (no ) in line wi h hei expec ancies (e.g., Nam and Kannan, 2020). In he omnichannel con ex , consume s ha e become mo e demanding, and hey expec an expe ience in which a i m’s e ail channels a e in eg a ed wi h one ano he (Bijmol e al., 2021), and synch onize he physical and digi al wo lds (Wang, 2021). The en i onmen mus be seamless, such ha i p o ides an imp o ed consume expe ience du ing all he s ages o he decision-making p ocess (Ve hoe e al., 2015, Gao e al., 2021). Consequen ly, consume s equi e a seamlessly in eg a ed en i onmen o achie e such supe io expe ience (Hu é e al., 2017). Pas esea ch simila ly sugges s ha consume s ha e a posi i e expe ience when hey en e a low s a e (D engne e al., 2018, O'Cass and Ca lson, 2010), which occu s when hey a e ully imme sed in he shopping p ocess (T ian a illidou e al., 2017). Mo eo e , a supe io omnichannel expe ience is ela ed o low s a e (Hilken e al., 2018, Quach e al., in p ess). Thus, a seamless en i onmen ac oss mul iple ouchpoin s may acili a e consume s o en e in o he low s a e and achie e an op imal expe ience. Howe e , while ex ensi e esea ch has heo ized and o e ed e idence abou he impo ance o seamlessness (Hilken e al., 2018, Shen e al., 2018), he e is a lack o li e a u e examining how 4 a seamless omnichannel en i onmen a ec s consume engagemen in all s ages o he pu chase p ocess. In addi ion, pos -pu chase beha io s, such as posi i e and nega i e WOM, a e necessa y o explo e since hey a e a c i ical ou come o he expe ience (Lopes e al., in p ess, Manse Payne e al., 2017). To ill his gap, his wo k aims o unde s and how a seamless en i onmen con ibu es o he consume ’s op imal expe ience, o low s a e, and he impac ha his may ha e on posi i e and nega i e WOM (PWOM and NWOM). To explain hese ela ionships, we use an in eg a ing heo e ical amewo k based on wo adi ional heo ies: The S imulus-O ganism-Response (S-O-R) Model (Meh abian and Russell, 1974) and The Flow Theo y (Csikszen mihalyi, 1975). This pape ocuses on he in e ac i e expe ience in omnichannel ma ke ing (Wang, 2021), and consequen ly, he esul s o his wo k will allow us o ad ance he knowledge o omnichannel ma ke ing in his ield. The analyses also show in e es ing esul s and expose he posi i e ou comes o he i ms and he da k side o an unde de eloped seamless en i onmen . Theo e ical backg ound: The S imulus-O ganism-Response Model The S-O-R Model was de eloped in en i onmen al psychology by Meh abian and Russell (1974) o o e a heo e ical basis o s udying he e ec s o con ex ual s imuli on people’s beha io . The S-O-R model sugges s ha ce ain en i onmen al cues ac as s imuli ha may in luence an indi idual’s in e nal s a es, which, in u n, a ec beha io al in en ions o esponses (Meh abian and Russell, 1974). S imuli (S) is de ined as “an in luence ha a ouses he indi idual” (E oglu e al., 2001, p. 179). They a e ex e nal o he pe son and could consis o ma ke ing mix a iables and o he 5 en i onmen al inpu s (Bagozzi, 1986), such as a mosphe ic cues, websi e design, o endo in o ma ion (Roschk e al., 2017). O ganism (O) consis s o in e nal p ocesses and s uc u es in e ening be ween con ex ual s imuli on he pe son and he ac ions o esponses emi ed. These in e ening o media ing p ocesses comp ise pe cep ual, physiological, eeling and hinking ac i i ies (Bagozzi, 1986), such as emo ions o low s a e (Huang, 2012, E oglu e al., 2001). Finally, he esponse (R) is p esen ed as an app oach-a oidance beha io , “whe e app oach beha io s e e o he posi i e ac ions ha a e di ec ed owa d a pa icula se ing, while a oidance conce ns he opposi e” (E oglu e al., 2001, p. 182). Gene ally, p io s udies ha e conside ed pu chase- ela ed beha io s (Roschk e al., 2017) and ela ionship beha io s, such as loyal y o WOM in en ion (e.g., Islam and Rahman, 2017, Wu e al., 2017) as ou come a iables wi hin he S-O-R Model. The S-O-R model has domina ed ma ke ing li e a u e and consume beha io s udies ha seek o unde s and he impac o he en i onmen on indi idual eac ions and esponses (e.g., E is, 2017). Mo eo e , he li e a u e has amply p o en S-O-R applicabili y in o line and online con ex s (E oglu e al., 2001, Roschk e al., 2017). In addi ion, he S-O-R model has o e ed p omising esul s in show ooming and mul ichannel con ex s (A o a e al., 2020, Pan ano and Viassone, 2015), as well as o s udy he e ec o channel in eg a ion quali y on omnichannel cus ome expe iences (Le and Nguyen-Le, 2021). Thus, S-O-R is use ul o explo ing he omnichannel en i onmen and unde s anding he in e connec ions among o line and online channels. Mo eo e , he S-O-R model is sui able o examine he indi iduals’ in e nal eac ions and hei subsequen pa icipa ion as a esul o he omnichannel ma ke ing ac ions made by e aile s, hus also conside ing he ma ke ing managemen pe spec i e (Ga cía-de-F u os and Es ella-Ramón, 2021). 6 As a esul , his pape p oposes ha he seamless omnichannel en i onmen is a s imulus, low s a e is he in e nal p ocess o o ganism, and posi i e and nega i e WOM a e he app oach- a oidance beha io al esponses, espec i ely. Figu e 1 ep esen s he applica ion o he S-O-R Model o he cu en wo k. [INSERT FIGURE 1 ABOUT HERE] S imuli: The seamless omnichannel en i onmen In he omnichannel con ex , consume s swi ch be ween o simul aneously use mul iple channels when shopping, and hey expec a uni ied expe ience in which hey can easily ansi ion be ween channels. Thus, he ba ie s be ween channels a e blu ed o p o ide a seamless en i onmen (Shen e al., 2018, Ve hoe e al., 2015). P io esea ch has con i med ha , speci ically, he seamlessness o he expe ience cha ac e izes he omnichannel en i onmen (e.g. Shen e al., 2018, Ve hoe e al., 2015). A key aspec o c ea ing seamlessness is channel in eg a ion (Hossain e al., 2020, Shen e al., 2018). The en i onmen mus allow consume s o consis en ly and eely mo e be ween pa allel channels (Shen e al., 2018) by coo dina ing p ocesses and echnologies (Saghi i e al., 2017). Fi ms need o p o ide he esou ces o consume s o swi ch ac oss channels and de ices seamlessly (Ve hoe e al., 2015). Speci ically, a seamless omnichannel en i onmen should p o ide consis en in o ma ion ac oss channels, allow consume s o eely choose among all pa allel channels a each s age o he shopping expe ience, and o e synch oniza ion be ween channels, such ha he e is no up u e when mo ing om one ouchpoin o ano he (Rod íguez-To ico e al., 2020). O ganism: Flow s a e 7 The Flow Theo y, also called he op imal expe ience heo y, was de eloped o in es iga e he na u e and condi ions o he subjec i e phenomenon o in insically mo i a ed ac i i y (i.e. low) (Nakamu a and Csikszen mihalyi, 2002). Flow is de ined as he “holis ic sensa ion ha people eel when hey ac wi h o al in ol emen ” (Csikszen mihalyi, 1975, p. 36), and i desc ibes an op imal s a e du ing which an indi idual is in ensely engaged in an ac i i y, wi h no a en ion le o e o engage in i ele an hough s (Csikszen mihalyi, 1990). As a esul , unde low condi ions, an “expe ience seamlessly un olds om momen o momen , and people en e a subjec i e s a e” (Nakamu a and Csikszen mihalyi, 2002, p. 90). Mo eo e , Flow Theo y posi s ha an op imal expe ience (i.e., low s a e) will be achie ed when a pe son pe cei es ha he en i onmen con ains g ea enough oppo uni ies o ac ion, which a e ma ched wi h he pe son’s capaci ies o ac (Csikszen mihalyi, 1990). The e o e, o analyze low, i is necessa y o conside he pe son-en i onmen in e ac ions (Nakamu a and Csikszen mihalyi, 2002). Response: Posi i e and Nega i e Wo d o Mou h WOM communica ion en ails “any in o ma ion abou a a ge objec (e.g., company, b and) ans e ed om one indi idual o ano he ei he in pe son o ia some communica ion medium” (B own e al., 2005, p. 125). Inc easingly schola s a e acknowledging he exis ence o mixed WOM, which includes bo h PWOM and NWOM. This a iable is c i ical o i ms because consume s iew WOM as one o he mos us ed and eliable in o ma ion sou ces (Bu nham and Lea y, 2018) sha ed by unbiased pee s (Nam and Kannan, 2020). Impo an ly, depending on i s alence, i migh ha e a di e en impac on i ms. PWOM may be aluable o i ms since i p edic s consume pu chase in en ions (Yusu e al., 2018). This could con ibu e o an inc ease in a i m’s inancial pe o mance (Keiningham e al., 2018). On he 8 con a y, NWOM may dissuade such pu chase in en ions (Balaji e al., 2016), nega i ely a ec p oduc a i ude, i m us , o b and equi y (Balaji e al., 2016), o inc ease swi ching beha io s (Azemi e al., 2020). WOM beha io has been analyzed as an ac i i y ha e lec s cus ome engagemen , which is p oposed as a ehicle o c ea ing and main aining cus ome - i m ela ionships (B odie e al., 2013). Thus, engagemen is ma e ialized in he in e ac ions be ween he consume wi h a b and ha go beyond he pu chase o ansac ion (Jaakkola and Alexande , 2014) and a ec a i m’s pe o mance (Kuma e al., 2010). Howe e , his occu s as long as WOM is posi i e. P io li e a u e has shown ha NWOM can occu when i ms do no mee consume expec a ions o when consume s expe ience us a ion o nega i e emo ions, which p oduces dissa is ac ion (Nam and Kannan, 2020). Resea ch hypo heses Seamlessness and low s a e (S-O ela ionship) The omnichannel en i onmen o e s a seamless in e ac ion i consume s ha e he oppo uni y o eely and e o lessly swi ch be ween channels and ouchpoin s du ing he di e en phases o he cus ome jou ney, wi hou any in o ma ion loss o ei e a ion (Rod íguez-To ico e al., 2020, p. 1732). A seamless omnichannel en i onmen educes ba ie s be ween channels and enables cus ome s o selec hei p e e ed channel wi h less e o (Gao e al., 2021). The e o e, i ms’ decisions ega ding seamless channel in eg a ion impac he consume s’ omnichannel expe ience (Le and Nguyen-Le, 2021), and i ms mus op imize all ouchpoin s o c ea e a uni ied expe ience o omnichannel consume s (Ve hoe e al., 2015). In his sense, i ms a e c i ical acili a o s o he s a e o low, since an op imal shopping en i onmen can imme se he consume in he expe ience (D engne e al., 2018, O'Cass and Ca lson, 2010) and allow hem o become in ensely engaged in an ac i i y, wi h no a en ion 9 le o e o engage in i ele an hough s (Csikszen mihalyi, 1990). Flow s a e is a aluable indica o o indi iduals’ supe io expe iences when na iga ing in he online en i onmen (Huang e al., 2012). In he omnichannel con ex , when he consume - i m in e ac ions a e seamless and in eg a ed, he en i onmen acili a es a high deg ee o low (Pa ise e al., 2016), which leads o an op imal use expe ience (D engne e al., 2018). When he se ice is in eg a ed –consis en and anspa en – ac oss channels, consume s achie e a supe io omnichannel expe ience, ha is, hey en e in o low s a e (Quach e al., in p ess). Consequen ly, H1: A seamless omnichannel en i onmen will ha e a di ec and posi i e e ec on low s a e. Flow s a e and WOM (O-R ela ionship) The pos -pu chase s age is a c i ical pa o ully unde s anding he omnichannel expe ience. Resea ch has called o explo a ion in o his s age, including a iables such as WOM (Lemon and Ve hoe , 2016). Since WOM is a highly us ed sou ce o in o ma ion (Bu nham and Lea y, 2018), i ms should iden i y aspec s o he omnichannel expe ience ha can subsequen ly encou age consume s o gene a e PWOM and a oid sha ing NWOM. P e ious li e a u e on WOM has ound ha consume s engage in posi i e and nega i e WOM a e hei expe iences wi h b ands (Nam and Kannan, 2020). In o he wo ds, li e a u e has con i med he impo ance o he cus ome expe ience in enhancing WOM (Zhang e al., 2017). Conside ing ha low s a e ( he op imal expe ience) is pa o he consume expe ience in omnichannel con ex s (Hilken e al., 2018, Quach e al., in p ess), i appea s o be a po en ial an eceden o WOM. When consume s a e in low, hey a e mo e likely o sha e hei expe iences and gi e ecommenda ions o o he s (He ando e al., 2018). Mo eo e , consume s expe ience low when hey a e sa is ied wi h he ask being pe o med (Lloyd e al., 2014). 16 Due o he e ec o omnichannel equency in he ANOVA and eg ession analysis abo e, omnichannel equency was included in Model 4 as a co a ia e o con ol i s e ec on he main ela ionships. This a iable has posi i e and signi ican impac on low s a e (E ec = .2637) and PWOM (E ec = .2426), bu he indi ec e ec o seamlessness on PWOM h ough low s a e is s ill signi ican , as illus a ed by he 95% con idence in e al (.5241, .9232). This sugges s ha while he e ec o seamlessness on PWOM and NWOM h ough low s a e occu s as p edic ed in H3, he equency wi h which a consume engages in omnichannel shopping beha io also has a posi i e impac on bo h PWOM and he expe ience o low s a e in an omnichannel con ex . On he con a y, omnichannel equency is no ele an in he case o engaging in NWOM. Discussion and implica ions This esea ch aims o empi ically examine how ma ke ing ac ions ega ding seamlessness can a ec consume s’ in e nal eac ions and pos -pu chase beha io al beha io s, ep esen ed by posi i e and nega i e WOM. The esul s o his expe imen p o ide suppo o he hypo hesized heo e ical ela ionships. The indings con i m ha a mo e seamless omnichannel en i onmen posi i ely in luences consume s’ likelihood o en e ing a low s a e, empi ically con i ming p e ious li e a u e ha sugges ed he impo ance o a seamless and in eg a ed en i onmen o c ea e an op imal expe ience (Pa ise e al., 2016). We pionee he manipula ion o a hypo he ical omnichannel encoun e using h ee di e en ouchpoin s and analyze how speci ic omnichannel ma ke ing decisions ega ding seamlessness in luence he op imal expe ience. This ad ances li e a u e ha p oposed some in eg a ion ac i i ies as de e minan s o he cus ome expe ience in his con ex (Quach e al., in p ess). Flow s a e is also con i med as an an eceden o WOM. This inding ex ends p e ious li e a u e ha con i med posi i e WOM as a esul o low (O'Cass and Ca lson, 2010) o he domain o 17 omnichannel ma ke ing, con i ming he posi i e impac o low on he likelihood o sha ing PWOM (He ando e al., 2018). I also in oduces NWOM as pa o his beha io al ou come and highligh s he abili y o he omnichannel en i onmen o s imula e NWOM when low is lacking. In addi ion, ou esul s show ha low s a e has a g ea e in luence on PWOM han lack o low does on NWOM. This could indica e cu en consume expe iences ega ding seamless omnichannel in eg a ion and could sugges ha i ms widely ha e unde de eloped he seamlessness ac oss channels. A seamless expe ience is uniquely posi i e and c ea es a la ge desi e amongs consume s o sp ead PWOM. Howe e , as a seamless expe ience becomes he no m, he impac o low in NWOM may change. In addi ion o hese di ec ela ionships, ou esul s con i m a media ion, so when consume s in e ac wi h a seamless (non-seamless) en i onmen , hey a e mo e (less) likely o en e a low s a e, and subsequen ly, hei likelihood o sha ing PWOM (NWOM) inc eases. This esul con i ms p e ious s a emen s ha sugges ed ha o e ing a seamless expe ience will inc ease consume s’ engagemen (Mosque a e al., 2017). Mo eo e , hese esul s suppo p e ious esea ch ha ound ha consume s engage in posi i e and nega i e WOM a e bo h sa is ied and dissa is ied expe iences, espec i ely (Nam and Kannan, 2020). Rela edly, in he omnichannel con ex , consume s’ expec a ions a e con i med when he en i onmen is consis en and allows hem o eely choose hei p e e ed channel and mo e luen ly ac oss ouchpoin s, which esul s in PWOM. This esul o e s a esponse o he open ques ion p oposed by Cummins e al. (2016) and Lemon and Ve hoe (2016) ega ding how omnichannel ma ke ing ac ions in luence WOM. Addi ionally, i suppo s p io li e a u e ha has s a ed ha consume s may be mo e p oac i e in sha ing PWOM i he con ex o e s hem seamless and posi i e expe iences (Mosque a e 18 al., 2017), and ex ends hese indings by illus a ing ha seamlessness is also c ucial in he case o NWOM. Mo eo e , a e addi ional analysis, an unexpec ed ela ionship was also ound ega ding omnichannel equency. As a consume ’s omnichannel equency inc eases, hei likelihood o en e ing a low s a e du ing he omnichannel in e ac ion and hei PWOM in en ions a e enhanced. Mo e esea ch is needed o explo e he in luence o omnichannel equency; howe e , his inding suppo s he Flow Theo y p oposi ions: he low s a e occu s when bo h he en i onmen al oppo uni ies and he indi idual capaci ies a e in balance (Csikszen mihalyi, 1975). In p io li e a u e, li le is known abou he in luence o expe ience in he con ex on he likelihood o sha ing PWOM, al hough i has been b ie ly men ioned (de Ma os and Va gas Rossi, 2008). In he case o low, Quach e al. (in p ess) es ed he mode a ing ole o show ooming beha io s on se ice in eg a ion and cus ome expe ience ela ionship. Thus, ou esul s show a po en ial line o esea ch wi hin low s a e and WOM beha io s. Theo e ical implica ions This wo k con ibu es o omnichannel ma ke ing esea ch by explo ing how a seamless en i onmen may c ea e an op imal expe ience and how bo h impac engagemen beha io s. This esea ch also adds o WOM li e a u e by examining an eceden s o WOM and also con ibu es gene ally o he heo y by b oadening he scope o he S-O-R Model and Flow Theo y. Fi s , omnichannel li e a u e has emphasized ha he key di e en ia ing componen o omnichannel is he seamlessness o he ansi ion be ween e ail channels (Hu é e al., 2017, Ve hoe e al., 2015). Howe e , esea ch ha explo es he e ec s o a seamless en i onmen is s ill limi ed. Some excep ions include he ecen wo k o Quach e al. (in p ess) ha examines 19 se ice in eg a ion ac ions, he wo k o Gao e al. (2021) ha in oduces cus ome expe ience incong uence, o he wo k o Ameen e al. (2021) ha sepa a ely analyzes he elemen s o he physical and digi al en i onmen s. The cu en esea ch i s examines he seamless en i onmen ’s in luence on bo h an op imal expe ience ( low s a e) and consume b and- ela ed beha io ( ep esen ed by posi i e and nega i e WOM). We ad ance he li e a u e by illing a gap in unde s anding he impac o seamlessness and in oducing a way o con ol he unde lying elemen s o wha makes he omnichannel en i onmen seamless. Conc e ely, he expe imen al design c ea ed a ealis ic shopping encoun e (Elle , 2018) while allowing he e ec o seamlessness o be isola ed. Second, his wo k also con ibu es o omnichannel ma ke ing and WOM li e a u e by esponding o calls by schola s o deepen he knowledge o he pos -pu chase s age wi hin he omnichannel con ex (Cummins e al., 2016, Lemon and Ve hoe , 2016, Lopes e al., in p ess). Speci ically, his esea ch add esses a gap in he li e a u e ega ding he impac o omnichannel ma ke ing e o s on WOM. E en hough his a iable has been c i ical o unde s anding consume beha io in o line and online con ex s, i s ole in omnichannel e ailing is cu en ly unde s udied (Manse Payne e al., 2017, Rod íguez-To ico e al., 2020). Some excep ions ha e s udied he e ec o channel in eg a ion quali y on engaging in posi i e WOM (Lee e al., 2019). We ex end his line o esea ch on sha ing WOM beha io s by conside ing bo h PWOM and NWOM. The e o e, ou esea ch goes a s ep o wa d in his domain, suppo ing he ela ionship be ween ma ke ing e o s o seamlessness on pos -pu chase beha io s like posi i e and nega i e WOM, as well as highligh ing he media ing ole o consume in e nal s a es. Conc e ely, ou esul s con i m ha seamlessness con ibu es o WOM di ec ly and indi ec ly h ough low s a e. 20 Thi d, his pape con ibu es o heo y by deepening he unde s anding o he S-O-R Model and Flow Theo y in he omnichannel domain. Rega ding he S-O-R Model, his wo k builds on en i onmen al psychology li e a u e and con i ms he sui abili y o his heo y in he omnichannel ma ke ing domain (Le and Nguyen-Le, 2021). In he omnichannel con ex , he e is a con luence o se e al en i onmen s ela ed o each channel, and hese channels a e used in combina ion wi h one ano he . Thus, he s imuli a e he esul o he in eg a ion o he en i onmen s ac oss di e en channels. In p e ious esea ch, s imuli we e cap u ed by asking abou pe cep ions o channels sepa a ely (A o a e al., 2020, Pan ano and Viassone, 2015). In his esea ch, we b oaden he scope o en i onmen al s imuli by p esen ing channels as in e ela ed and in eg a ed o o e a mo e ealis ic pic u e o he omnichannel en i onmen . Finally, his pape ad ances esea ch on low s a e by ex ending he s udy o low in o he omnichannel con ex . P io omnichannel li e a u e has explo ed low wi hou conside ing a shopping encoun e whe e a consume expec s o in e ac wi h di e en channels seamlessly (Ameen e al., in p ess, Quach e al., in p ess). Howe e , as he numbe o channels inc eases, he in e ac ions become mo e complex. Thus, c ea ing an op imal en i onmen ha acili a es en e ing a low s a e becomes mo e di icul because, by na u e, each cus ome may luc ua e be ween channels a hei disc e ion. Consequen ly, he challenge is o acili a e low s a e on each a ailable channel and cohesi ely as consume s mo e be ween channels. Flow Theo y p oposes ha low depends on achie ing a pe ec balance be ween pe cei ed ac ion capaci ies and pe cei ed ac ion oppo uni ies (Nakamu a and Csikszen mihalyi, 2002). Ou esul s e eal ha his equilib ium is achie ed in he omnichannel con ex when i ms o e a seamless en i onmen ( he oppo uni y o ac ion) and consume s p esen high omnichannel equency ( he indi idual capaci ies o ac ). Manage ial implica ions 21 This s udy p esen s ele an manage ial implica ions o de eloping inno a i e omnichannel s a egies. Fi s , omnichannel ma ke ing p ac i ione s should concei e all channels as uni ied o ully in eg a e all consume ouchpoin s so ha consume s pe cei e a single seamless channel. To ha end, ma ke e s should assess he le el o seamlessness ha hey p o ide ac oss channels. Then, ma ke ing ac ions should ensu e consis ency, eedom o selec channels, and synch oniza ion ac oss he a ailable channels (Rod íguez-To ico e al., 2020). Acco ding o ou indings, hese elemen s make he omnichannel en i onmen seamless, allowing consume s o be ully imme sed in he shopping p ocess and en e a low s a e. To achie e such an en i onmen , i is necessa y o de elop cohesi e b and image, p ices, p omo ions, p oduc s, and se ices ac oss all ouchpoin s, and he ouchpoin s mus also be synch onized, c ea ing a uni ied way o in e ac ing wi h cus ome s in all channels. I he e a e inconsis encies ac oss channels, he expe ience will no low, and hus he cus ome is mo e p one o sha e he nega i e expe ience as a esul . Second, i ms should ocus on p omo ing he omnichannel shopping p ocesses among hose consume s who a e p one o combine channels. Ou esul s show ha he likelihood o en e ing low and sha ing posi i e WOM ises o hose consume s who a e equen omnichannel shoppe s. Thus, i is ecommended o i ms o design ac i i ies ha enhance consume use o he a ailable channels in e changeably and, in his way, hey will encou age he omni- consume s o inc ease hei omnichannel equency. Fo example, i ms could o e p omo ions o cus ome s o buy a p oduc in he physical s o e and ecei e a digi al icke ha could be s o ed in he app. To do so, i ms need o ensu e ha each channel is designed o allow consume s o con inue hei pu chase p ocess a any s age so ha consume s can use hem in e changeably, while main aining low as hey swi ch be ween hem. This may also be applied in o he con ex s, such as public policy since omnichannel beha io is ypical o C2A 22 (Consume o Adminis a ion) comme ce. Such i ms could in es in inc easing he a ailabili y o di e en channels, manage hem o a oid epe i i e in o ma ion, ain employees and use s how o na iga e ac oss se e al channels o c ea e guides explaining how o do he p ocedu es h ough di e en channels. Thi d, a i m should pay special a en ion o he op imal consume expe ience. The p esen esea ch esul s sugges ha low s a e acili a es PWOM, which is c i ical o a i m’s pe o mance and a ee me hod o eliable communica ion ha can educe communica ion expenses. Howe e , ou indings also emphasize he impo ance o a low deg ee o low in s imula ing NWOM. So, acili a ing he op imal expe ience could p e en cos ly ac ions o add ess he po en ial damages p oduced by NWOM communica ions. The e o e, in addi ion o ocusing on he objec i e and con ollable aspec s (i.e., he en i onmen ), i ms should s i e o c ea e a subjec i e and enjoyable expe ience (i.e., low s a e), which, join ly, will imp o e consume esponses (i.e., WOM). Consequen ly, companies should c ea e a seamless en i onmen ha is bo h appealing o consume s and allows hem app op ia e oppo uni ies o ac and, as a esul , en e a low s a e. Manage s should unde s and he channel p e e ences o hei cus ome s and ensu e ha he i m’s channels enable cus ome s o ac ollowing hei p e e ences. Limi a ions and Fu u e Resea ch The e a e some limi a ions o he cu en esea ch. A hypo he ical shopping scena io was p o ided o pa icipan s, so he p oduc being pu chased and channels used du ing he shopping expe ience we e es ic ed o wha was p o ided in he expe imen al s imuli. An expe imen allows o he sys ema ic manipula ion o he s imuli, bu , on he con a y, i has limi a ions ega ding he ealism o he pu chase p ocess. Fu u e esea ch may assess he ealism sco e o 23 he s imuli used o examine his phenomenon using mo e dynamic s imuli ha allow consume s o o ganically na iga e he channels as hey would in a eal shopping si ua ion. O he ex e nal ac o s ha could a ec he expe ience (e.g., in e ne speed; ype o de ice) may be conside ed. Addi ionally, as in p io esea ch (e.g., O'Cass and Ca lson, 2010), low s a e was measu ed h ough a scale, which is a decla a i e echnique. As his echnique can in luence he esul s, u u e esea ch could apply some neu oma ke ing ools, such as elec oencephalog aphic (EEG), which may allow he obse a ion o in e nal p ocesses and be e add ess his a iable o complemen i s measu emen . Finally, conce ning WOM, a scale measu ing he likelihood o engaging in WOM was used o assess his ou come ins ead o measu ing he na u al beha io . This pape has only conside ed mixed WOM as beha io al ou comes; u he s udies may include o he beha io al esponses such as epu chase in en ion, b and lo e, and consume empowe men . 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