Influence of residential physical environments on occupant experience: considering the moderating effects of indoor plants and climate zones
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 16 July 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Home is a place/system/product that becomes increasingly occupied with various tasks used to be performed in workplaces. However, the knowledge of the relationship between residential physical environments and occupant experience is limited, especially when considering the effect of indoor plants (IPs) and climate zones. To address the gap, this study conducted a questionnaire survey in three cities across different regions in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on User Experience and Customer Satisfaction Index theory, following the research paradigm, a total of 627 valid samples were collected and analyzed in a stepwise statistical analysis, including descriptive statistics, reliability and validity test, correlation test and region comparison, then the model of PROCESS was adopted to examine the hypotheses that are given based on the former studies.
Findings
The results showed that residential physical environments have a significant effect on occupant satisfaction (OS) in all regions, as well as OS on occupant performance. However, regional differences were found that OS is a complete mediator in the Middle region, while a partial mediator in the North and South. A slight moderating effect of IPs was also found in the region of South. Nevertheless, both the number of plants and plant types have a significant moderating effect on the mechanism.
Originality/value
Besides combining two theories and confirming the mechanism in the residential physical environment, it is also the first study to consider the moderating effects of IPs and climate zones, providing potential empirical support for not only design and management stages but also facing global challenges of working at home and climate changes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank Professor Yingchun Li, Professor Zheng Tan, Mr.&Mrs. Zhou and Fengqiang Tang for their inspirations. We are also very grateful to all the respondents for their support and cooperation. We sincerely appreciate the constructive and valuable comments from referees in the manuscript review process.
Citation
Xu, L. and Zhang, Z. (2024), "Influence of residential physical environments on occupant experience: considering the moderating effects of indoor plants and climate zones", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-06-2023-0595
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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