Biophilia in servicescapes – review, reconciliation and reflections

Purpose Increased urbanization has resulted in physical environments, including servicescapes, dominated by functional designs, with nature’s presence becoming scarcer. While “biophilia” designs have received attention in fields like environmental psychology and architecture, studies on biophilia in servicescapes remain scant, fragmented and often contextual. The purpose of this study is to do a semi-systematic review of studies on biophilia in physical servicescape designs (interior and exterior), identify prevailing critical gaps and develop a comprehensive framework for theory advancements in biophilic servicescapes. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from a critical review of 56 servicescape studies over 33 years and incorporating theoretical frameworks from environmental psychology, this paper introduces a typology of biophilia in physical servicescapes that includes direct, indirect and human–nature relationships. Furthermore, this study develops a conceptual framework using the Stimulus-Organism-Response model to systematically synthesize biophilia’s overall applicability in servicescapes for consumers and service employees, incorporating moderating factors related to service, servicescape and user types. Findings This review investigates the emergence and definition of biophilia in servicescapes, examines the benefits of biophilic design for consumers and service employees and highlights key design strategies. In the absence of robust frameworks to assess biophilia’s impact on consumer and employee responses, this paper presents a comprehensive framework and offers guidelines for future research in retail environments and servicescapes. Originality/value Drawing from the synthesis of research on biophilia in servicescapes, this study introduces a framework that demonstrates how antecedent variables, including both direct and indirect biophilic elements, foster human–nature relationships that lead to affective, cognitive and behavioral responses. These effects are moderated by situational factors (e.g. service and servicescape types) and individual differences (e.g. personality, values and nature-relatedness). Ultimately, these responses influence approach or avoidance behaviors in consumers and employees, with a taxonomy detailing responses aligned with biophilia.