*** Influence of need for affiliation on small business customer loyalty***
Authors: A. Joyal, C.Bartlo
Faculty of Business Administration and Accounting, Alfiero School of Business, Daemen University

Corresponding author: A. Joyal

Contact Information: ajoyal@daemen.edu 

Daemen University - Alfiero School of Business
4380 Main Street 
Amherst, New York 14226
United States

***General introduction***
This dataset contains data collected to investigate the influence of a small business customer’s level of need for affiliation on their actions regarding the design and layout of the small business they patronize and consequently their level of loyalty to those small businesses. The dataset was used in a manuscript that will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication consideration.

It is being made public both as the targeted journal requests that datasets be made public prior to manuscript submission and so that other researchers may use this data in their own work.

The data in this data set was collected from small business owners in the Western New York region between February and October 2023.

 This research project did not receive any funding.

***Purpose of the data collection***
The purpose of this research was to isolate the construct of need for affiliation (nAff) when investigating the linkage of affiliation inclination of small business customers to their perceived value of retail servicescapes, filling a gap in the literature on nAff.

***Data collection procedure***
Data was collected from 265 small business customers via online questionnaires administered using Qualtrics.

***Description of the data in this data set***
The data included in this data set has been ordered based on the date the small business customer completed the survey. The data set includes the following variables:

SPSS variable name: Description of variable

StartDate: Start Date
EndDate: End Date
Status: Response Type 
IPAddress: IP Address
Progress: Progress
Duration__in_seconds_: Duration (in seconds)
Finished: Finished
RecordedDate: Recorded Date
ResponseId: Response ID
RecipientLastName: Recipient Last Name (removed to anonymize dataset)
RecipientFirstName: Recipient First Name (removed to anonymize dataset)
RecipientEmail: Recipient Email (removed to anonymize dataset)
ExternalReference: External Data Reference (removed to anonymize dataset)
LocationLatitude: Location Latitude
LocationLongitude: Location Longitude
DistributionChannel: Distribution Channel
UserLanguage: User Language
Consent: Do you consent to participate in the survey described above?
Q1: When I have a choice, I try to work in a group instead of by myself.
Q2: I pay a good deal of attention to the feelings of others at work.
Q3: I prefer to do my own work and let others do theirs.
Q4: I express my disagreements with others openly.
Q5: I find myself talking to those around me about non-business related matters.
Q6: The paintings/pictures in the small business(es) I frequently patronize are attractive.
Q7: The wall décor in the small business(es) I frequently patronize is visually appealing.
Q8: The plants/flowers in the small business(es) I frequently patronize make me feel happy.
Q9: The colors used in the small business(es) I frequently patronize create a warm atmosphere.
Q10: The furnishings of the small business(es) I frequently patronize is of high quality.
Q11: The background music in the small business(es) I frequently patronize relaxes me.
Q12: The background music in the small business(es) I frequently patronize is pleasing to me.
Q13: The temperature of the retail location(s) of the small business(es) I frequently patronize is comfortable for me.
Q14: The aroma of the retail location(s) of the small business(es) I frequently patronize is enticing to me.
Q15: The lighting in the small business(es) I frequently patronize creates a warm atmosphere.
Q16: The lighting in the small business(es) I frequently patronize makes me feel welcome.
Q17: The lighting in the small business(es) I frequently patronize creates a comfortable atmosphere.
Q18: The arrangement of furnishings in the retail location(s) of the small business(es) I frequently patronize  gives me enough space.
Q19: The arrangement of furnishings in the retail location(s) of the small business(es) I frequently patronize makes me feel crowded.
Q20: The layout in the retail location(s) of the small business(es) I frequently patronize makes it easy for me to move around.
Q21: The employees of the small business(es) I frequently patronize make me feel good.
Q22: The retail location(s) of the small business(es) I frequently patronize has an adequate number of employees to make customers feel cared for.
Q23: The employees of the small business(es) I frequently patronize are neat and well dressed.
Q24: I buy from the small business(es) I patronize because I really like the business(es).
Q25: I am pleased to buy from the small business(es) I patronize instead of other firms.
Q26: I like the small business(es) I patronize more than other firms.
Q27: I feel more attached to the small business(es) I patronize than to other firms.
Q28: I am more interested in the small business(es) I patronize than other firms.
Q29: What is your age?
Q30: With which gender identity do you most identify?
Q31: How would you describe yourself?
Q32: What is your marital status?
Drawing_Q1: Would you like to be entered into the drawing?
Drawing_Q2: You have been entered into the drawing. Winners will be selected when data collection is complete. Please enter your email address so that you can be notified if you win.
