Determinants of dining satisfaction and post-dining behavioral intentions

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International Journal of Hospitality Management 27 (2008) 563–573 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

Determinants of dining satisfaction and post-dining behavioral intentions Riadh Ladharia,, Isabelle Bruna, Miguel Moralesb a

Department of Business Administration, University of Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada E1A 3E9 Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 3C3

b

Abstract The purpose of this research is to empirically investigate the determinants and consequences of dining satisfaction with restaurant services. A total of 338 undergraduate business students participated in this research. Results reveal that there exist three sources of customers’ satisfaction with restaurant services: positive emotions, perceived service quality and negative emotions. Positive emotions have more impact on customers’ satisfaction than negative emotions. In addition, emotions mediate the impact of perceived service quality on dining satisfaction. Finally, satisfaction has a significant impact on recommendation, customer loyalty and willingness to pay more. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Service quality; Emotions; Satisfaction; Recommendation; Loyalty; Restaurant services

1. Introduction Growing competition in the restaurant industry and the increasing importance of consumer patronage impose the need to provide better services and satisfy consumers. Soriano (2002, p. 1065) noticed, ‘‘Restaurant failures are partly a result of management’s lack of strategic orientation in measuring and focusing on customer satisfaction’’. Customer satisfaction can directly affect customer loyalty, organizational profits, return patronage, complaint behaviors and word of mouth communications (Dube´ et al., 1994; Stevens et al., 1995; Soriano, 2002). Therefore, understanding the antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction is of utmost importance, which is the main concern of this study. This study proposes that satisfaction is influenced directly by emotional responses and indirectly by perceived service quality. Also, this study posits that satisfaction influences behavioral intentions such as recommendation, customer loyalty and willingness to pay Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 506 858 4401; fax: +1 506 858 4093.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (R. Ladhari), [email protected] (I. Brun), [email protected] (M. Morales). 0278-4319/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2007.07.025

more. The most important contribution of this study is the introduction of emotional responses as an intervening variable between perceived service quality and satisfaction with restaurant services. This study posits the emotional side of the consumption experience as a fundamental determinant of satisfaction (Westbrook, 1987; Oliver, 1997; Bigne´ et al., 2005). Understanding emotions is crucial for service firms because the way consumers feel about a product or service will affect their purchase decision (Barsky and Nash, 2002). Emotions have been viewed as an important determinant of satisfaction. For example, the atmosphere of the restaurant (e.g., cleanliness, crowdedness, music, noise, and lighting) can affect a consumer’s emotions, which in turn influences his or her overall satisfaction with the service delivery process and outcome. Our literature review reveals that there is still a need to empirically study the role of the emotional component in satisfaction formation. For example, what is the role of positive and negative emotions in satisfaction formation? How do affective reactions, positive or negative, influence satisfaction? How does the evaluation of the multiple elements of restaurant services determine both positive and negative affects?

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This paper is organized as follows. First, relevant previous research on restaurant satisfaction and service quality is reviewed. Then, the conceptual model relating the constructs studied in this research is presented and discussed. The research methodology and main results are examined in the third and fourth sections. Concluding remarks, implications, and future research directions are presented in the last section. 2. Literature review and conceptual model Several topics have been studied in the restaurant satisfaction and service quality domains. Among the main topics studied are the determinants of restaurant evaluation (Dube´-Rioux, 1990; Yu¨ksel and Yu¨ksel, 2002; Iglesias and Guille´n, 2004; Sulek and Hensley, 2004) and repeat patronage (Dube´ et al., 1994; Oh, 2000; Soriano, 2002; Sulek and Hensley, 2004). The most important studies that examined restaurant service quality and satisfaction are described in Table 1. These studies reveal that consumer satisfaction with restaurant services, and subsequently return patronage, are determined by the quality of food (physically consumable service element or the functional outcome), the cost/value of the meal, and the manner in which the service is delivered (e.g., reliability, responsiveness and empathy of restaurant personnel, and ambience). These studies show that perceived service quality is a factor of vital importance in the formation of satisfaction with restaurant services. For example, Dube´ et al. (1994) found that food attribute accounts for only 34% of the final decision to repeat a purchase in the case of business lunches and 39% in the case of pleasure lunch. In the same study, service quality accounted for 35.3% of the final decision to repeat a purchase in the case of business dinners and 31.8% in the case of pleasure dinners. Chow et al. (2007) found that a high level of service quality is associated with customer satisfaction and frequent patronage. The same study reported a non-significant link between satisfaction and repeat patronage. Yu¨ksel and Yu¨ksel (2002) identified five segments placing importance on different factors when making restaurant selection decisions: value seekers, adventurous food seekers, atmosphere seekers, healthy food seekers and service seekers. Value seekers attach a great deal of importance to food quality and hygiene when making a restaurant choice; adventurous food seekers attach more importance to availability of local, new and interesting food; atmosphere seekers are more concerned with convivial dining atmosphere when selecting a restaurant; healthy food seekers search for restaurants which offer healthy food choices; service seekers attach the highest importance to the availability of quality service. Yu¨ksel and Yu¨ksel (2002) reported that drivers of dining satisfaction differ across segments. In the case of service seekers, the most significant determinant of dining satisfaction was service quality, followed by product quality, menu diversity and speed of service. Also, it is worth to note that at an aggregate

market level, service quality had the most significant effect on dining satisfaction followed by product quality, hygiene, menu diversity, price-value, and convenience. Although prior studies help in improving our knowledge about the determinants of satisfaction and behavioral intentions, their perspective is exclusively cognitive. Only one study (Dube´-Rioux, 1990) explores the effect of emotional responses on satisfaction and this in a restaurant service setting. It appears reasonable to include emotional responses along with cognitive evaluation as determinants of satisfaction with restaurant services. Restaurants are not just providing food but a complete service experience (Yu¨ksel and Yu¨ksel, 2002). Consumers not only evaluate the functional outcome of the service (something to eat) but also every aspect of their dinning experience. Consequently, the evaluation of the consumption experience is based not only on what the customer tastes, but also on his/her interactions with the different elements of the service and what these elements elicit on the customer. As such, this evaluation has two components: cognitive and affective. According to Hirschman and Holbrook’s (1982) framework, going to a restaurant is regarded as a hedonic consumption experience, which involves emotional arousal. Hedonic services (such as movies, concerts and restaurants) educe fun, excitement, pleasure, and, in general, an emotional outcome (Dhar and Wertenbroch, 2000). On the contrary, repair and maintenance services, gas stations, bank machines, are functional instrumental services providing a utilitarian outcome. Numerous researchers claim that emotion is a central element in service quality and satisfaction management (Oliver, 1997; Liljander and Strandvik, 1997; Wirtz and Bateson, 1999; Wong, 2004; Edvardsson, 2005). They argue that customer satisfaction includes both cognitive and emotional components. Since restaurant services respond to cognitive and affective needs, it is relevant to include emotional responses as an important predictor of satisfaction. Taking these findings into consideration a conceptual model is developed where cognitive assessment (service quality) and emotional responses are the determinants of satisfaction. Recommendation, customer loyalty and willingness to pay more are the behavioral consequences of satisfaction. The conceptual model portraying the network of relationships between satisfaction, its antecedents and its behavioral consequences is presented in Fig. 1. The proposed relationships will be examined in Sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3. 2.1. Effect of perceived service quality on consumption emotions Consumption emotions refer to the set of emotional responses elicited during consumption experiences (Westbrook and Oliver, 1991). These emotional responses can be conceptualized as distinctive categories of emotional experiences, such as joy, anger, disgust, and contempt

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Table 1 Major studies on restaurant satisfaction and behavioral intentions Study

Dube´-Rioux (1990)

Dube´ et al. (1994)

Kivela et al. (1999a, b, 2000)

Focus of the study Determinants

Determinants of satisfaction

Determinants of restaurant return patronage

Affective reports and cognitive evaluations

Food tastiness, consistent food, menu variety, waiting time, attentive server, helpful server, and atmosphere

Type of restaurants Survey mode

Casual restaurant–mid-priced restaurant

Country Sample Analysis

NA 52 participants Reliability; regression; correlations

Small, independently owned, upscale restaurant Preaddressed questionnaires given to customers before leaving the restaurant NA 57 participants Conjoint; regression

Determinants of dining satisfaction and return patronage Dining out frequency, dining out occasions, age, gender, occupation, income, situational constraints, and satisfaction with dining experience Theme/atmosphere restaurant

Main results

Affective responses are highly predictive of satisfaction level

Food tastiness, consistent food, menu variety, waiting time, attentive server, helpful server, and atmosphere have all a significant impact on return patronage

Study

Oh (2000)

Soriano (2002)

Yu¨ksel and Yu¨ksel (2002)

Focus of the study Determinants

Determinants of behavioral intentions

Determinants of restaurant return patronage

Determinants of dining satisfaction

Perceived product and service quality, perceived value, perceived satisfaction, past experience, and reputation Independent fine dining restaurant

Quality of food, service, cost/value, and place/ ambience concerns

42 attributes

Up-scale restaurant

Independent non fast-food restaurant

Phone survey

Survey at the end of the meal

Country Sample Analysis

USA 107 participants Regression

Main results

Perceived value, perceived satisfaction, past experience, and restaurant reputation were significant predictors of the future return and referral intentions

Spain 3872 participants Mean standard deviations; multiple range tests Quality of food was rated as the most important attribute, followed by quality of service, cost/value of the meal, and ambience/ place of the restaurant

Departing tourists interviewed at airport in Turkey UK (64%), other countries (36%), 449 participants Factor analysis; hierarchical cluster analysis; regression analysis Service quality had the most significant effect on dining satisfaction

Study

Sulek and Hensley (2004)

Iglesias and Guille´n (2004)

Chow et al. (2007)

Focus of the study Determinants

Determinants of overall dining experience and repeat patronage Waiting time, seating-order fairness, waitarea comfort, wait-area crowding, hoststaff politeness, server attentiveness, dining atmosphere, dining seating comfort, and food quality Full service restaurant

Determinants of frequency of patronage Perceived quality and satisfaction

Relationships of service quality, customer satisfaction, and frequency of patronage Perceived quality and satisfaction

NA

Two large full-service restaurants

Survey at the end of the meal USA 239 participants Regression analysis Food quality was the only factor that has a significant effect on return patronage

NA Spain 156 participants Structural equation modeling Perceived quality has a positive impact on the level of customer satisfaction. However, total perceived price has no effect on satisfaction

Self-administered survey China 284 participants Structural equation modeling There exist significant links between service quality and customer satisfaction, service quality and repeat patronage, but not customer satisfaction and repeat patronage

Type of restaurants Survey mode

Type of restaurants Survey mode Country Sample Analysis Main results

Survey at the end of the meal

(Izard, 1977); or as different dimensions underlying emotional categories, such as pleasantness/unpleasantness or calmness/excitement (Plutchik, 1980). Perceived service quality is defined as the customer’s assessment of the overall superiority or excellence of the service

Self administered questionnaire before and after meal Hong Kong 1028 participants Reliability analysis; descriptive statistics; t-tests; cross-tabulation; factor analysis; logistic regression analysis Satisfied customers are not necessarily loyal customers. Return patronage is the result of the interplay between several factors

(Zeithaml, 1988). It is the judgment, resulting from an evaluation process where customers compare perceived service and expected service. The result of this process will be the perceived quality of a service (Gro¨nroos, 1984).

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H1a

Positive emotions

Perceived service quality

Satisfaction

H1b

Negative emotions

H3a

Recommendation

H3b

Loyalty

H3c

Willingness to pay more

H2a

H2b

Fig. 1. Conceptual model.

Research on service quality has been very cognitive in nature (Liljander and Strandvik, 1997). In the service literature, few studies evaluated the relationship between perceived service quality and consumption emotions (Muller et al., 1991; Price et al., 1995; Wirtz and Bateson, 1999; Wong, 2004). Muller et al. (1991) found that positive emotions experienced by tourists were affected by preconsumption expectations, norms from previous experiences, perceived performance and perceived disconfirmation, whereas negative emotions were affected by preconsumption expectations and perceived performance. In a study including a great variety of service providers (i.e., massage therapist, gas station, and movie theatre), Price et al. (1995) found that service encounters explain 38% of the variance in positive emotional responses and 21% of the variance in negative emotional responses. Wirtz and Bateson (1999) found that the levels of pleasure and arousal experienced in a service encounter are an increasing function of the perceived disconfirmation-of-expectations. Wong (2004) also found that service quality is positively associated with emotional satisfaction. Accordingly, a relationship between perceived service quality and consumption emotions is posited. H1a. Perceptions of high service quality are positively related to positive emotions. H1b. Perceptions of low service quality are positively related to negative emotions. 2.2. Effect of emotions on satisfaction The impact of emotional responses on satisfaction has been highlighted in several studies (Westbrook, 1987; Dube´-Rioux, 1990; Liljander and Strandvik, 1997; Wirtz and Bateson, 1999; Wong, 2004; Bigne´ et al., 2005). Westbrook (1987) found that negative affect was negatively and positive affect was positively related to consumer satisfaction judgments with cable television service subscribers and automobile owners. Dube´-Rioux (1990) found that consumers’ positive and negative emotional responses were highly predictive of their satisfaction levels with restaurant services. Dube´-Rioux (1990) further reports that affective responses to a restaurant experience influence satisfaction more than restaurant performance. Her research also examines the effect of the intensity of emotions on satisfaction judgments. Oliver (1993) found

that overall satisfaction was influenced by attribute satisfaction, attribute dissatisfaction, disconfirmation of expectations, positive emotions, and negative emotions. Liljander and Strandvik (1997) found that both, positive and negative emotions were correlated to satisfaction in the context of public services. However, they also found that the effect of negative emotions is stronger than the effect of positive emotions. Wirtz and Bateson (1999) found a positive effect of pleasure on satisfaction levels. Recently, Bigne´ et al. (2005) reported that pleasure is strongly linked to consumer satisfaction with theme park experiences. Accordingly, this study posits that consumption emotion influences satisfaction in valence congruent direction, i.e. negative emotions diminish satisfaction and positive emotions increase satisfaction. H2a. Positive emotions are positively related to satisfaction levels. H2b. Negative emotions are negatively related to satisfaction levels. 2.3. Effect of satisfaction on behavioral intentions The satisfaction and service quality literature supports the role of satisfaction in predicting behavioral intentions (Parasuraman et al., 1991; Zeithaml et al., 1996; Athanassopoulos et al., 2001; Yu and Dean, 2001; Bigne´ et al., 2005). For the purpose of this research, behavioral intentions will be addressed in the form of recommendation (positive word of mouth communications), customer loyalty, and willingness to pay more. As for recommendation, interesting results from previous studies include the fact that 44% of first-time restaurant consumers were driven by positive word of mouth and that 10% of those consumers were accompanied by someone who had previously visited the restaurant (Stevens et al., 1995). Also mentioned is that 90% of restaurants’ dissatisfied customers will complain and never return. On average, dissatisfied customers tell about their poor service quality experience from eight or ten other consumers (Stevens et al., 1995). Several studies found a significant relationship between satisfaction and word of mouth communications (Parasuraman et al., 1991; Oh, 1999; Athanassopoulos et al., 2001). Accordingly, this study proposes that recommendation is positively related to satisfaction.

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H3a. Recommendation is positively related to satisfaction levels. As for customer loyalty, the length of time of the relationship with customers can significantly increase profits as these can double when the return patronage of customers increases from 76% to 81% (Stevens et al., 1995). This increase in profits is based on the assumption that it is more expensive to attract new customers than to retain existing ones (Zeithaml et al., 1996; Yu and Dean, 2001). Several studies found a significant relationship between satisfaction and loyalty (Oh, 1999; Athanassopoulos et al., 2001; Yu and Dean, 2001; Bigne´ et al., 2005; Yu et al., 2006). Accordingly, it is proposed that customer loyalty is positively related to satisfaction. H3b. Customer loyalty is positively related to satisfaction levels. Finally, it is interesting to note that few studies have shown that satisfied consumers will be willing to pay more for a service. The study of Barsky and Nash (2002), in the hotel service sector, indicated that guests would have been willing to pay $13 more if they experienced key emotions compared to those who did not experience these emotions and would only have paid an average of $3.43 more for their stay. H3c. Willingness to pay more is positively related to satisfaction levels. 3. Method 3.1. Participants A total of 338 undergraduate business students agreed to participate in the survey. A convenience sample of students was deemed appropriate for the purposes of this study. Students represent an interesting market for restaurant owners. As per the National Restaurant Association (2001), ‘‘Households headed by persons under age 25 spent 45.5% of their total food dollar on food away from home—more than any other age group’’. As adults grow older, their spending and patronage to the restaurant industry decreases. Because students have very busy schedules and because, for many, it is their first time living by themselves, they often chose to go eat out instead of preparing food at home. 3.2. Procedure A self-administered survey was distributed in class to students in the first half of 2005. The respondents were given questionnaires containing measures of service quality, satisfaction, emotional responses to consumption experiences and behavioral intentions. Respondents were requested to evaluate their last dining experience and fill in the survey. 3.3. Measures Perceived service quality was measured using DINESERV, a 29-item instrument developed in 1995 by Stevens

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et al. The 29 statements represent five dimensions: tangibles (10 items), reliability (5 items), responsiveness (3 items), assurance (6 items) and empathy (5 items). All items were anchored at ‘‘strongly disagree’’ (1) and ‘‘strongly agree’’ (7). Satisfaction was measured using three unipolar items. These items are: (1) Globally, how satisfied are you with your last visit to the XYZ restaurant? (from ‘‘very dissatisfied’’ to ‘‘very satisfied’’); (2) I believe I did the right thing when I used the XYZ restaurant services (from ‘‘strongly disagree’’ to ‘‘strongly agree’’); (3) I am happy about my decision to use XYZ restaurant services (from ‘‘strongly disagree’’ to ‘‘strongly agree’’). Emotions were measured using twelve descriptors: five positive emotions (happiness, pleasure, excitement, contentment, and enjoyment) and seven negative emotions (anger, frustration, contempt, boredom, disgust, embarrassment, and sadness). These descriptors were selected from those most frequently cited in the literature (see, for example, Oliver, 1997; Liljander and Strandvik, 1997). Three behavioral intentions were retained in this study: recommendation, customer loyalty and willingness to pay more. Each behavioral intention was measured using one item: ‘‘I will certainly recommend the XYZ restaurant to friends and acquaintances’’ (recommendation); ‘‘This restaurant will be my first choice if I stay in the area again’’ (loyalty); ‘‘I would pay a higher price than the competitors charge for the benefits that I received from the XYZ restaurant’’ (willingness to pay more). All three items are anchored at ‘‘strongly disagree’’ (1) and ‘‘strongly agree’’ (7).

4. Results The final sample included 52.1% women and 46.4% men (1.5% of the respondents chose not to answer the gender question). The 97% of respondents are under 30 years of age. Table 2 reports means and standard deviations for the 29 items of DINESERV. Table 3 reports Cronbach alpha coefficients for service quality, satisfaction, positive emotions and negative emotions. Structural equation modeling using EQS 6.1 was performed in order to test the model proposed in Fig. 1. All variables described in the last section were included in the model. A maximum likelihood estimation procedure using the robust method was considered to be the most appropriate due to the lack of normality in the data (Byrne, 1994). The overall evaluation of the model fit is based on multiple indicators (Byrne, 1994). These indicators include the Satorra–Bentler scale statistic S2Bw2 , the non-normed fit index (NNFI), the comparative fit index (RCFI), and the root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA). The S2Bw2 represents a robust chi-square statistic that incorporates a scaling correction for the w2 when distributional assumptions are violated (Byrne, 1994). Results are presented in Table 4.

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Table 2 Descriptive statistics Constructs and items

Dimension 1. Tangibles XYZ restaurant has a visually attractive parking area and building exterior XYZ restaurant has a visually attractive dining area XYZ restaurant has staff members who are clean, neat, and appropriately dressed XYZ restaurant has a decor in keeping with its image and price range XYZ restaurant has a menu that is easily readable XYZ restaurant has a visually attractive menu that reflects the restaurant’s image XYZ restaurant has a dining area that is comfortable and easy to move around in XYZ restaurant has rest rooms that are thoroughly clean XYZ restaurant has dining areas that are thoroughly clean XYZ restaurant has comfortable seats in the dining room Dimension 2. Reliability XYZ restaurant serves you in the time promised XYZ restaurant quickly corrects anything that is wrong XYZ restaurant is dependable and consistent XYZ restaurant provides an accurate guest check XYZ restaurant serves your food exactly as you ordered it Dimension 3. Responsiveness XYZ restaurant during busy times has employees shift to help each other maintain speed and quality of service XYZ restaurant provides prompt and quick service XYZ restaurant gives extra effort to handle your special requests Dimension 4. Assurance XYZ restaurant has employees who can answer your questions completely XYZ restaurant makes you feel comfortable and confident in your dealings with them XYZ restaurant has personnel who are both able and willing to give you information about menu items, their ingredients, and methods of preparation XYZ restaurant makes you feel personally safe XYZ restaurant has personnel who seem well trained, competent, and experienced XYZ restaurant seems to give employees support so that they can do their jobs well Dimension 5. Empathy XYZ restaurant has employees who are sensitive to your individual needs and wants, rather than always relying on policies and procedures XYZ restaurant makes you feel special XYZ restaurant anticipates your individual needs and wants XYZ restaurant has employees who are sympathetic and reassuring if something goes wrong XYZ restaurant seems to have the customer’s best interests at heart

Table 3 Reliability of constructs Mean

Standard deviation

4.62

1.561

5.49

1.418

5.64

1.323

5.75

1.192

5.70

1.276

5.68

1.233

5.43

1.400

5.52

1.419

5.75

1.344

5.28

1.342

5.54 5.61

1.296 1.272

5.70 4.61

1.165 1.826

5.83

1.218

5.36

1.385

5.52

1.304

5.40

1.294

5.57

1.286

5.61

1.292

5.59

1.363

5.79 5.54

1.320 1.275

5.33

1.231

5.20

1.399

4.65 4.98

1.600 1.523

5.33

1.317

5.48

1.324

Construct

Cronbach alpha

Tangibles Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy Positive emotions Negative emotions Satisfaction

0.886 0.756 0.770 0.899 0.899 0.885 0.937 0.937

Table 4 Summary statistics of model fit Satorra–Bentler scale statistic S2Bw2 (df) Degrees of freedom (DF) S2Bw2 /DF Non-normed fit index (NNFI)a Comparative fit Index (CFI)a Root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA)b

1572.959 1016 1.548 0.901 0.907 0.048

Notes: aNNFI, and CFI close de 1 indicate a good fit. Values of 0.90 and above suggest adequate fit. b Values below 0.1 suggest adequate fit.

The assessment of these indicators reveal a significant S2Bw2 ðS2Bw2 ¼ 1572:959; dl ¼ 1016; po0:001Þ. However, the S2Bw2 jdf ¼ 1:548 is at an acceptable range. The NNFI and CFI are, respectively, 0.901 and 0.907. The RMSEA was at 0.048. These results suggest an acceptable fit of the data to the model. Before examining the structural model estimates, an evaluation of the items proposed for measurement of the latent variables is done. The construct reliability rc is calculated for each construct. The rc values are all above 0.60 (see Table 5), supporting the reliability of the three scales (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988). All factor loadings are significant at po0:05. Finally, the average variance extracted for each construct is above 0.50. These results show evidence of convergent validity for all scales used in this study. Perceived service quality has a significant positive impact on positive consumption emotions ð0:879; t ¼ 6:869Þ and a negative impact on negative consumption emotions ð0:416; t ¼ 3:926Þ, which support hypotheses 1a and 1b, respectively. The results show a significant positive relationship between positive consumption emotions and satisfaction ð0:778; t ¼ 4:904Þ and a significant negative relationship between negative consumption emotions and satisfaction ð0:090; t ¼ 2:055Þ supporting hypotheses 2a and 2b, respectively. The variance of satisfaction explained by the model is 66.5%. Satisfaction has a significant effect on the three behavioral intentions included in this study: recommendation ð0:804; t ¼ 6:241Þ, customer loyalty ð0:664; t ¼ 5:891Þ, and willingness to pay more ð0:209; t ¼ 2:663Þ. These results support hypotheses 3a–c.

ARTICLE IN PRESS R. Ladhari et al. / International Journal of Hospitality Management 27 (2008) 563–573 Table 5 Construct measurement summary: standardized loading and robust-t values Construct and item

Standardized loading

Construct 1—Perceived service quality (DINESERV) Dimension 1. Tangibles ðrc ¼ 0:886Þ XYZ restaurant has a visually 0.329 attractive parking area and building exterior XYZ restaurant has a visually 0.741 attractive dining area XYZ restaurant has staff members 0.767 who are clean, neat, and appropriately dressed XYZ restaurant has a decor in 0.617 keeping with its image and price range XYZ restaurant has a menu that is 0.465 easily readable XYZ restaurant has a visually 0.644 attractive menu that reflects the restaurant’s image XYZ restaurant has a dining area that 0.716 is comfortable and easy to move around in XYZ restaurant has rest rooms that 0.759 are thoroughly clean XYZ restaurant has dining areas that 0.786 are thoroughly clean XYZ restaurant has comfortable seats 0.721 in the dining room Dimension 2. Reliability ðrc ¼ 0:792Þ XYZ restaurant serves you in the time promised XYZ restaurant quickly corrects anything that is wrong XYZ restaurant is dependable and consistent XYZ restaurant provides an accurate guest check XYZ restaurant serves your food exactly as you ordered it Dimension 3. Responsiveness ðrc ¼ 0:787Þ XYZ restaurant during busy times has employees shift to help each other maintain speed and quality of service XYZ restaurant provides prompt and quick service XYZ restaurant gives extra effort to handle your special requests Dimension 4. Assurance ðrc ¼ 0:901Þ XYZ restaurant has employees who can answer your questions completely XYZ restaurant makes you feel comfortable and confident in your dealings with them XYZ restaurant has personnel who are both able and willing to give you information about menu items, their ingredients, and methods of preparation XYZ restaurant makes you feel personally safe

Robust-t value

5.330

16.154 17.828

12.225 6.028 11.885

11.936

18.115 18.217 13.482

0.631

6.702

0.705

6.888

0.788

7.222

0.406

34.634

0.726

7.365

0.715

11.593

0.698

12.665

0.814

11.784

0.798

18.543

0.764

17.973

0.725

15.627

0.693

11.268

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Table 5 (continued ) Construct and item

Standardized loading

Robust-t value

XYZ restaurant has personnel who seem well trained, competent, and experienced XYZ restaurant seems to give employees support so that they can do their jobs well

0.860

25.197

0.814

18.283

0.767

16.120

0.807

20.513

0.758

16.284

0.852

23.172

0.863

27.623

Construct 2—Positive emotions ðrc ¼ 0:889Þ Happiness 0.874 Pleasure 0.859 Excitement 0.683 Contentment 0.768 Enjoyment 0.730

28.791 21.164 14.382 13.063 13.585

Construct 3—Negative emotions ðrc ¼ 0:932Þ Anger 0.888 Frustration 0.859 Contempt 0.629 Boredom 0.751 Disgust 0.843 Embarrassment 0.849 Sadness 0.852

9.628 9.487 7.821 7.796 8.755 7.294 5.885

Dimension 5. Empathy ðrc ¼ 0:905Þ XYZ restaurant has employees who are sensitive to your individual needs and wants, rather than always relying on policies and procedures XYZ restaurant makes you feel special XYZ restaurant anticipates your individual needs and wants XYZ restaurant has employees who are sympathetic and reassuring if something goes wrong XYZ restaurant seems to have the customer’s best interests at heart

Construct 4—Satisfaction ðrc ¼ 0:943Þ Globally, how satisfied are you with your last visit to the XYZ restaurant? I believe I did the right thing when I used the XYZ restaurant services I am happy about my decision to use XYZ restaurant services

0.848

5.096

0.953

4.926

0.954

4.599

In order to further examine if the effect of perceived service quality on satisfaction is mediated by emotions, other analyses are pursued. The model proposed in this study is compared to two alternative models referred to as models 2 and 3. In model 2, a direct path from service quality to satisfaction is added. In model 3, the two paths from service quality to positive emotions and negative emotions are removed, but replaced by a direct path from service quality to satisfaction. This model 3 suggests that the impacts of perceived quality and emotional responses on satisfaction are independent. These two alternative models are tested using structural equation modeling (Table 6). The overall evaluation of the two models’ fit is again based on multiple indices. For model 2, the fit indices

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are all at an acceptable range, but the effect of service quality on satisfaction is non-significant. As shown in Table 7, the fit indices of model 3 are at a non-acceptable range. Model 3 is then rejected. These results suggest that the effect of perceived quality on satisfaction is mediated by emotional responses. 5. Discussion The results of this study show that positive emotions, negative emotions, and perceived service quality are three main sources of customer satisfaction with restaurant services. Positive and negative emotions mediate the effect of perceived service quality on satisfaction. Statistically speaking, the standardized coefficients reveal that positive emotions have more impact on customers’ satisfaction than negative emotions. This result contradicts Liljander’s and Strandvik’s (1997) findings, which revealed that the effect of negative emotions is stronger than the effect of positive emotions. This difference could stem from the fact that our research involved the restaurant sector (e.g., experiential service) whereas their study involved a labor force bureau (e.g., utilitarian service). It would therefore be of great interest to retest this model in different service industries. On a strategic level, the results highlight the key role of service quality as a mean to ensuring competitive advantage of restaurant services, and as an effective tool to influence the satisfaction of restaurant patrons. Restaurants should monitor customers’ perceived service quality and make sure that it conveys positive emotions and reduces negative emotions in order to maximize customers’

Table 6 Results (structural model) Standardized solution

R-squared

PEMOT ¼ 0:879  SQUALITY þ 0:477 D NEMOT ¼ 0:416  SQUALITY þ 0:910 D SAT ¼ 0:778  PEMOT  0:090  NEMOT þ 0:579 D9 REC ¼ 0:804  SAT þ 0:594 E LOY ¼ 0:664  SAT þ 0:748 E PRICE ¼ 0:209  SAT þ 0:978 E

0.772 0.173 0.665 0.647 0.440 0.044

PEMOT: positive emotions; NEMOT: negative emotions; SAT: satisfaction; REC: recommendation; LOY: customer loyalty; PRICE: willingness to pay more.

satisfaction. Also, restaurant managers must understand that food quality is only one determinant of satisfaction. For example, the ambience of the restaurant has a significant impact on the valence of the emotions experienced by customers and subsequently on satisfaction levels. A pleasant restaurant environment will more likely inspire customers to spend more time and money than a restaurant atmosphere that creates feelings of unpleasantness. The significant relationship between the emotional component and satisfaction makes it important for service providers to monitor the emotions felt by their consumers during the service delivery process. Bitner et al. (2000) and Wong (2004) suggest that contact employees should be attentive to emotional cues from their customers and should actively adapt the service provided in order to meet their needs in a personalized and customized manner. The five dimensions of DINESERV must be analyzed in order to enhance quality and then improve satisfaction. In order to know which of the five DINESERV dimensions have a strong influence on positive and negative emotions, we calculated the correlations between the five DINESERV dimensions and the 12 distinct emotions (see Table 8). Assurance is the most significant DINESERV dimension, which correlates highly with positive and negative emotions. The description of assurance in the DINESERV instrument is ‘‘knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence’’. In light of this result, restaurant managers must make sure that their personnel are well trained and can provide the comfort needed by its clientele. It is essential to realize the big impact employees cause on consumers. It is to be noted that disgust represents the negative emotion that is most strongly correlated with the assurance dimension. Therefore, restaurant managers must make sure that their customers do not feel this particular emotion. Another service quality dimension that correlates highly with positive and negative emotions is tangibles. The tangibles dimension is described by DINESERV as ‘‘the physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel’’. It is therefore very important for operators to make sure that the tangible and visible aspects of the restaurant are attractive, clean and comfortable. Empathy, characterized as offering caring, individualized attention is also shown to be of great importance and must therefore not be of ignored.

Table 7 Comparison of alternative models Fit indices

Model 1

Model 2

Model 3

Satorra–Bentler scale statistic ðS2Bw2 Þ Degrees of freedom (df) S2Bw2 /df Non-normed fit index (NNFI) Comparative fit index (CFI) Root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) 90% confidence interval of RMSEA

1572.959 1016 1.548 0.901 0.907 0.048 ½0:043; 0:052

1584.683 1015 1.561 0.899 0.905 0.048 ½0:044; 0:053

1817.035 1017 1.787 0.858 0.867 0.057 ½0:053; 0:061

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571

Table 8 Correlations between specific emotions and service quality dimensions

Happiness Pleasure Excitement Contentment Joy Anger Frustration Contempt Boredom Disgust Embarrassment Sadness

Tangibles

Reliability

Responsiveness

Assurance

Empathy

0.635** 0.657** 0.387** 0.575** 0.511** 0.273** 0.281** 0.209** 0.305** 0.376** 0.239** 0.229**

0.538** 0.584** 0.419** 0.467** 0.426** 0.216** 0.196** 0.082 0.209** 0.191** 0.114 0.138*

0.560** 0.621** 0.373** 0.519** 0.446** 0.295** 0.325** 0.200** 0.316** 0.303** 0.207** 0.234**

0.723** 0.700** 0.473** 0.659** 0.609** 0.365** 0.389** 0.266** 0.402** 0.410** 0.317** 0.342**

0.635** 0.638** 0.468** 0.581** 0.542** 0.277** 0.308** 0.174** 0.294** 0.265** 0.179** 0.168**

** *

Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level.

Iglesias and Guille´n (2004), who studied the restaurant industry, stated that in order for firms to succeed as well as survive in today’s highly competitive markets, they have to analyze the factors that affect customer satisfaction in order to understand subsequent post-purchase behaviors. First, this study found a positive and significant relationship between satisfaction and recommendation. In service industries such as restaurant services, positive word of mouth communications is considered as a critical factor of success. The importance of recommendation in the service sector is essentially due to the uncertainty associated with the purchase and the difficulty related to the assessment of the service. Cheng (2006) found that relatives and friends were major sources of information for restaurant consumers. Second, a positive relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty was also found. Customer loyalty proves to be of great importance to the success of businesses. Firms must strive to increase customer loyalty as: the longer the relationship with the customers, the more likely they will buy additional services, they will recommend the services to others and they will be willing to pay more as they value their affiliation (Zeithaml et al., 1996). While many restaurants will try to increase return patronage by offering interesting programs such as loyalty cards and exclusive discounts, it has been found that loyalty stems from a greater rooted attitudinal, behavioral and emotional commitment (Mattila, 2001). A research by Mattila (2001) has not only studied the impact of the emotions felt by consumers during a consumption experience but also, the influence of an emotional commitment (or emotional bonding) felt by the consumer towards the restaurant itself. She states that when a consumer has an emotional commitment to a product or brand, this bonding is positively linked to future purchase intentions, discouraging switching to another service provider. Also, an occasional failure in the service encounter might be better accepted by an emotionally involved consumer. Third, this leads to the significant relationship of satisfaction with

consumers’ willingness to pay more for the rendered services. By increasing their customers’ satisfaction, service providers can therefore ask higher prices and generate higher profits. An organization that stands in the top 20% of relative service quality in its industry can surpass its competitors’ prices by 8% (Gale, 1992; Zeithaml et al., 1996). Finally, in order to monitor the different elements discussed in this study as well as to obtain pertinent managerial information, organizations can conduct customer satisfaction surveys. Furthermore, this kind of research and communication can help create a sense of recognition by demonstrating to customers an interest as well as their importance to the firm (Yu¨ksel and Yu¨ksel, 2002). Oh (2000, p. 58) noticed, ‘‘when customers note that a restaurant measures its perceived quality, value, and satisfaction those customers gain an impression that the restaurant is trying hard to improve the customer experience’’. 6. Limitations and future research directions This research contributed to a deeper understanding of the effect of perceived service quality and emotional components on satisfaction and thereafter, its effect on behavioral intentions. However, results of this study cannot be applied conclusively to the whole restaurant sector and all types of services because of the different nature and characteristics of the numerous restaurant and service types. This study does not distinguish between the diverse types of restaurants. Therefore, it is not possible to generalize and state to which sectors of the restaurant industry the results of this study apply. Consequently, diverse types of services should be analyzed using the model suggested in this study in order to offer a broader perspective of the relationships. Authors interested with this perspective could refer to the four distinct restaurant groups identified in the Kivela (1997) study: fine dining/

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