Documenti di Didattica
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4, 2009
291
satisfaction;
fast
food;
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Qin, H., Prybutok, V.R.
and Peak, D.A. (2009) Service quality in the USA and mainland Chinas
fast-food restaurants, Int. J. Services and Standards, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp.291315.
Biographical notes: Hong Qin is an Assistant Professor in the College of
Business Administration at the University of Texas-Pan American. She has
published in Quality Management Journal and the Decision Sciences Institute
conference proceedings, and has presented her research at the INFORMS
Annual Meeting and the DSI Annual Meeting. Her research interests include
service operations, quality control, supply chain management.
Victor R. Prybutok is a Regents Professor of Decision Sciences in the College
of Business at the University of North Texas. He is an ASQ certified quality
engineer, certified quality auditor, certified quality manager, and served as a
292
Introduction
Although the fast-food industry has existed since the ancient Romans, the modern
fast-food industry is only a century old. Ever growing in popularity, worldwide fast-food
consumption has accelerated over the past several decades, having achieved a global total
of 80.3 billion transactions in 2006 with forecasts reaching 86.4 billion by 2011
(Datamonitor, 2007). The US and Chinese economies account for the vast majority of
those fast-food transactions.
The USA, which possesses a 14.6 trillion-dollar economy the largest in the world
also contains the worlds largest fast-food market, having generated 63.1% of the global
fast-food market revenues (Datamonitor, 2007; CIA World Factbook, 2009). China,
which possesses a 7.8 trillion-dollar economy and a 1.3 billion population the largest
population in the world and four times larger than the USA population (CIA World
Factbook, 2009) contains the worlds largest potential fast-food market. This potential
is supported by Chinas prodigious two-decade average of double-digit economic growth.
Its gross domestic product and national industrial output have advanced at 11% and
10.3%, respectively (Datamonitor, 2007). As their standard of living continues to
improve, the Chinese people are demonstrating a complementary affinity for fast food.
With Chinese citizens preparing fewer and fewer home-cooked meals (Cullen
et al., 2008), Fast-Food Restaurant Revenue (FFRR) has increased in recent years having
reached nearly 35 billion dollars in 2006 an increase of 27.2% over 2005 (Asia Market
Information & Development Company, 2007). Still, Chinese fast food represents only
9.8% of the outside meals, compared with 84.5% in the USA (Datamonitor, 2007).
The relatively lower market share of Chinese fast food suggests a significant business
opportunity for fast-food restaurants (FFRs) that operate globally, such as McDonalds
that opened 125 new Chinese restaurants this year and plans 150 more in 2009 (China
Economic Review, 2008), as well as for domestic FFRs, such as Chinese fast-food
teahouses that provide tea, snacks and traditional fast food (Access Asia, 2007).
The concept of service quality plays a central role in understanding customer
satisfaction and behavioural intentions (Parasuraman et al., 1985), demonstrating that
companies that provide superior service quality are able to maintain a more satisfied
customer base and consequently experience higher economic returns (Gilbert et al., 2004;
Malhotra et al., 2005; Gilbert and Veloutsou, 2006). For instance, Hofstedes (1980)
cultural dimensions indicate that the USA is ranked higher in individualism, masculinity
and short-term orientation than China; while China ranks higher on collectivism, power
293
distance, long-term orientation and uncertainty avoidance. This study helps fill the gaps
in understanding between the China and US FFR markets which can be achieved
by examining the differences in culture and influences of cultural factors to improve
transference of the US fast-food service quality model to China. As a result, we believe
studies that examine how customers from different cultures evaluate service quality can
provide insight into foreign consumer markets, such as the emerging Chinese fast-food
market. As researchers have noted, understanding core competencies and how they
are culturally relevant is vital, because transference of the US fast-food model is not
necessarily appropriate to a global environment (Leong and Kim, 2002).
We believe this study adds to service quality research via its contributions to the
understanding of service quality differences between the US and Chinese fast-food markets
for the following reasons. First, US fast-food franchises increasingly seek Chinas emerging
fast-food market; the number of FFRs of all kinds in China is growing rapidly (Witkowski
and Wolfinbarger, 2002). China is a major global player in this market due to its rapid
consumption growth rate and enormous population, particularly since its accession to the
World Trade Organization (Zhao et al., 2007).
Second, because US consumer requirements do not necessarily transfer to those of
Chinese consumers, we and others believe it is important to conduct research comparing
the perceptions of service quality across different cultures (Zhao et al., 2007). This work
adds to that of Qin and Prybutok (2008), who investigated the dimensions of perceived
service quality and its relationship to customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions.
That work did not examine the influences of cultural factors in fast-food settings. It is also
relevant to this research that numerous studies have substantiated the major differences
between Chinese and US consumers (e.g. Friedman et al., 2006; Friedman et al., 2007;
Chan and Wan, 2008).
Third, Chinese consumers possess a profoundly different cultural heritage and different
food flavour preferences from Americans (Jie, 2006). Traditional Chinese fast food,
including street-side wontons, pulled noodles, dumplings, steamed stuffed buns, soybean
milk drinks and tea-eggs dominated the local China market in early 1990s; large western
fast-food companies failed to seriously challenge traditional Chinese fast-food chains
until the mid-1990s. However, over the next ten years, Chinese FFRs experienced a
powerful marketing assault from these western-style FFR chains, such as McDonalds,
KFC and Pizza Hut (Jie, 2006). Moreover, customer satisfaction evaluations are
susceptible to cultural variation (Heskett et al., 1990; Trompenaars, 1994; Mattila, 1999;
Furrer et al., 2000); business sensitivity to cultural differences is vital to business strategy.
Finally, there is a paucity of work examining the differences between Chinese and
US customer perceptions of FFR service quality. Although some studies have addressed
service quality and customer satisfaction in FFRs (Lee and Ulgodo, 1997; Brady et al., 2001;
Gilbert et al., 2004; Qin and Prybutok, 2008), most of the prior research associated with
quality management in China is characterised by descriptive statistics and lacks reliability
and validity assessments. Therefore, contextualised research focusing on theoretical
relationships within specific industries is worthy of investigation (Zhao et al., 2007).
294
In this paper, we first develop a FFR success model by examining the primary dimensions
of service quality in FFRs in the USA and China. Specifically, along with the five dimensions
of the SERVPERF instrument, contextualised recoverability is incorporated into our FFR
survey instrument. We empirically test and refine the modified SERVPERF instrument
with recoverability. Finally, we examine and compare the relationships among perceived
service quality, customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions between the US and
Chinese samples.
The research model presents the hypotheses posited in this study. The research model
is followed by the methodology and results for both the US and Chinese samples. The
paper concludes with a discussion and conclusion, limitations and future research.
Research model
Our foundation rests on the proposition of customer loyalty as a result of the quality of
the service received. To provide the necessary background we next discuss the research
model and hypotheses posited in this study. The construct relationships are presented
in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Service
Quality (SQ)
H2, 8
H5, 6
Food
(FQ)
Quality
Perceived
Value
(PV)
H3, 7
Customer
Satisfaction
(CS)
H1
Behavioural
Intentions
(BI)
H4
295
296
differences in perceived service quality among the customers in four countries: Jamaica,
Scotland, USA and Wales. However, none of these studies examine the relationship
between customer satisfaction and behavioural intention or investigate the service quality
in FFRs in China.
Brady et al. (2001) conducted a cross-cultural assessment of the effects of service
quality, service value and satisfaction on behavioural intentions for US and Ecuadorian
consumers. Keillor et al. (2004) examined the influences of technical and functional
elements on customers behavioural intentions across eight countries in both the fast food
and grocery industry. With US fast-food consumers, both food quality and service quality
are positively related to behavioural intention; with Chinese consumers, only food quality
is significant. However, Keillor et al.s (2004) study used neither the five dimensions of
SERVQUAL nor the customer satisfaction construct.
To help fill this void, our next two hypotheses examine the differences between
Chinese and US consumers, using the most widely validated cultural factor: individualism
versus collectivism (Hofstede, 1980; Hofstede, 1991). According to this cultural factor,
China has a highly collectivist culture, which indicates strong and cohesive ties between
group members; whereas the USA has an individualist culture characterised by loose ties
(Laroche et al., 2004). In collectivist cultures, people are striving to obtain a favourable
public self-image or face (Goffman, 1967); the relationship between service providers
and consumers is more intimate and more loyal. In collectivist cultures, trust and
commitment and a favourable network of personal interactions are considered prerequisites
of a successful business relationship, which is particularly true in China (Park and
Luo, 2001; Laroche et al., 2004). Therefore, we propose reliability, empathy and trust as
the most important dimensions of service quality for Chinese consumers.
H5: Reliability, empathy, and trust are more important than the other dimensions to
Chinese customers.
In contrast to collectivist cultures, consumers within individualist cultures focus on
personal welfare, personal freedom and self-responsibility instead of defining themselves
in relation to others; hence, individualistic consumers are more sensitive to service delays
and failures (Furrer et al., 2000). As a rule, consumers that live in developed countries
characterise time as a limited and scarce resource, and they place a relatively higher
value on time (Lane and DiStefano, 1988) than consumers in developing countries.
Meanwhile, individualist consumers exhibit higher expectations of service quality and
a narrower zone of tolerance for service failures (Malhotra et al., 2005). Consequently,
recoverability and responsiveness are hypothesised as two of the most important
dimensions for US customers.
H6: Recoverability and responsiveness are more important than the other dimensions to
US customers.
An individuals culture influences his/her perceived performance through personal
beliefs, attitudes and values (Ball and McCulloch, 1999). Material and social culture
issues are related to food (Renaud, 1931) because food fulfils not only a nutritional
function, but also serves social and symbolic functions (Soemardjan, 1985); customers
from different cultures can attach different importance to food quality. For instance,
nearly every Chinese province has its own culinary tradition, and every small town has
297
its own specialty dishes (Dunlop, 2008). Food diversity leaves Chinese customers more
options when they make decisions about which FFR to frequent. For US customers,
available fast foods are more standardised and limited.
Customers in developing countries such as China exhibit lower expectations of
service quality compared with those in developed countries such as USA and Canada
(Malhotra and Ulgado, 1994). According to Malhotra et al. (2005), customers in developing
countries place more weight on the core benefits of FFRs (i.e. the food quality), while
customers in developed countries exhibit greater satisfaction from extended FFR benefits
(i.e. lifestyle and sensory experiences). Recognising this dichotomous cultural relationship
between food quality and service quality, we posit our final hypotheses:
H7: Food quality is more important than service quality for Chinese customers.
H8: Service quality is more important than food quality for US customers.
Methodology
298
foundation for this study but the current research made new contributions to this area of
service quality measurement because this research examined a modified model that
included new dimensions and examined the transfer of the model to Chinas growing
market.
Recognising this need, we have augmented SERVPERF to measure fast-food service
recoverability. For instance, research indicates that customers may be willing to tolerate
service mistakes if they believe that the restaurant is concerned about the resolution of
the failure (Heskett et al., 1994; Bitner et al., 1990; McColl et al., 2005). These findings
suggest that service failures alone do not necessarily lead to customer dissatisfaction
because such failures are often minor, as opposed to the major failures that get reported
in financial service industries (Koong et al., 2008). Rather, it is the businesss failure to
recover effectively that can lead to lost patronage and unfavourable publicity (Heskett
et al., 1994; McColl et al., 2005). Furthermore, a business successful recovery from
a service failure can have positive effects providing future repeat patronage and
favourable word-of-mouth endorsements (Leong and Kim, 2002).
Constructs
Items (Questions)
Variables
Sources
Tangibles
Tangibles1
Well-dressed employees
Tangibles2
Tangibles3
Reliability
Assurance
Seating availability
Tangibles4
Parking availability
Tangibles5
Reliability1
Reliability2
Dependable
Reliability3
On-schedule service
Reliability4
Accurate charge
Reliability5
Trust employees
Trust1
Trust2
Friendly employees
Trust3
Knowledgeable employees
Trust4
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Constructs
Items (Questions)
Empathy
Sources
Responsive1
Employees available
to requests
Responsive2
Prompt service
Responsive3
Responsive4
Availability of
sauces, etc.
Empathy1
Empathy2
Convenient locations
Empathy3
Empathy4
Food Quality
Variables
Recoverability2
Recoverability3
Employees empowered to
provide compensation
Recoverability4
Fresh
Food1
Presentation
Food2
Well-cooked
Food3
Behavioural
Intentions
PerceivedValue3
CSatisfaction1
Wise choice
CSatisfaction2
Right thing
CSatisfaction3
Enjoyable experience
CSatisfaction4
Recommendation
BIntentions1
BIntentions2
BIntentions3
Lee and Ulgado (1997) compare FFRs service quality in the USA and Korea, and find
that empathy in the SERVPERF instrument is not a significant dimension of service
quality for US customers; US customers are more concerned with the convenience of
locations. Also, Andaleeb and Conway (2006) suggest that several of the original empathy
items such as individual attention, personal intention and having best interest at heart
300
are not appropriate for the restaurant industry. Therefore, we used the following four
items to measure empathy: convenient location, convenient service time, availability of
utensils and correctly packaged orders (see Table 1). Another reason for modifying the
empathy items is that services provided by most FFRs, regardless of whether dining-in or
driving-through, involves a quick encounter between employees and customers. The
shortness of FFR encounters makes it difficult for employees to convey that they are
offering personalised attention or to demonstrate that they are knowledgeable about a
specific customers needs and interests. Considering these issues, research indicates that
the original empathy items are more appropriate and valuable in other industries where
relationship marketing is critical, such as hospitals and banks, rather than FFRs where
transaction marketing is a more appropriate paradigm (Andaleeb and Conway, 2006).
All items were rated by respondents on a seven-point Likert scale. Each item was
scaled from number 1 with the verbal statement Strongly Disagree to 7 with the verbal
statement Strongly Agree. The questionnaire was first reviewed by several knowledgeable
faculty in a large southwestern university and experts in the field of service quality
management. Subsequently a pilot test was conducted with 30 doctoral students who are
familiar with the research topic and research methodology of this study. Based on their
feedback, some modifications were made to better fit the FFR context. And then this FFR
success instrument, consisting of 40 conceptual items, was administered to college
students that were mostly juniors in a large southwestern university in the USA.
The US sample was used for model development and subsequent testing of the
US model was conducted using a similar sample that was obtained in China. The model
was first developed in the USA and then tested in China rather than developed and tested
as a single multi-country model to enable cross cultural testing of a western FFR model.
Results
We distributed the survey and received a total of 453 usable responses from the Chinese
and US universities. All respondents had dined at a FFR in the previous month, and about
40% of the respondents had dined in a FFR more than five times within the month
301
in which they were surveyed. The demographics of the US and Chinese samples were
comparable in this study. Detailed demographic information is provided in Table 2,
including gender, age and dining frequency.
Table 2
Demographics of sample
Characteristic
Gender
Age
Dining Frequency
Total Respondents
USA
China
Male
45.7%
46.2%
Female
54.3%
53.8%
1820
26.6%
18.7%
2125
55.7%
72.5%
2630
10.7%
4.7%
3135
3.5%
2.9%
Over 35
3.5%
1.2%
05 times
41.0%
92.3%
610 times
31.6%
5.2%
1115 times
13.8%
1.7%
13.6%
0.8%
282
171
302
Table 3
Recoverability1
Recoverability2
Recoverability3
Recoverability4
Empathy3
Empathy4
Empathy5
Trust1
F1 Recoverability
.727
.840
.812
.710
.304
F3 Trust
F4 Reliability
.572
.834
.836
.468
Trust2
.716
.357
Trust3
Reliability1
.468
.344
Reliability3
Reliability4
Mean
Standard Dev.
Cronbachs Alpha
.418
Notes:
F2 Empathy
.302
4.690
1.451
.929
.708
.608
.337
.669
.302
.310
4.731
1.400
.888
.643
.608
5.138
1.276
.892
.333
.448
5.649
1.323
.852
Recoverability
Empathy
Trust
Reliability
Notes:
Recoverability
.929a
.526b
.727b
.692b
Empathy
Trust
Reliability
.852a
.519b
.652b
.888a
.714b
.892a
/df
181.63/61
Path
Recoverability Construct
Recoverability1
Recoverability2
Recoverability3
Recoverability4
Empathy Construct
Empathy3
Empathy4
Empathy5
Trust Construct
Trust1
Trust2
Trust3
Reliability Construct
Reliability1
Reliability3
Reliability4
Overall Service Quality
Recoverability
Empathy
Trust
Reliability
Notes:
303
p-value
0
RMSEA
SRMR
NFI
.090
.049
.97
Standardised Loading
NNFI
CFI
.98
.98
t-valuea
.88
.92
.92
.80
22.53
_b
25.21
18.61
.80
.75
.73
_b
11.91
11.70
.85
.83
.88
_b
16.75
18.11
.86
.87
.84
18.51
_b
18.02
.85
.77
.89
.91
15.18
11.16
14.50
15.54
304
perceived value and customer satisfaction, is not supported for the US sample. The nearly
zero negative path coefficient and its insignificance in the US model is potentially due to
a high degree of multicollinearity among latent variables (Carr, 2002).
Figure 2
.78
Empathy
.76
Trust
.87
Reliability
.84
Food1
.84
Food2
.83
Food3
.86
Food4
.68
PV1
.93
SQ
.51*
CS1
.93
.42*
PV2
.95
FQ
CS
.93
.91
.86
.04
PV
.86
.92
BI
.80
Goodness-of-fit Indices:
2/df
p-value RMSEA
581.45/128
0
.099
CS3
CS4
.79*
SRMR
.097
NFI
.96
NNFI
.97
BI1
BI2
.96
PV3
CS2
BI3
CFI
.97
Legend:
SQ = Service Quality
FQ = Food Quality
PV = Perceived Value
CS = Customer Satisfaction
BI = Behavioural Intention
305
reliability and validity of the China study. Table 7 shows that 12 items remained
and loaded into four factors: reliability, recoverability, tangibles and responsiveness
for the China sample. The Cronbachs alpha values in Table 7 support the reliability of
the measure (Nunnaly and Bernstein, 1994). The primary output of the first-order
measurement model shows that most of the standardised loadings are higher than 0.80,
and all the t-values are higher than 1.96, which supports the convergent validity of the
item measures (Olorunniwo et al., 2006). The Goodness-of-Fit indices also indicate that
this measurement model is acceptable.
Table 6
Hypothesis
p-value
H1
Supported
Result
.79
.00
H2
Supported
.51
.00
H3
Supported
.42
.00
H4
Not Supported
.04
.24
H5
N/A
H6
Not Supported
H7
N/A
H8
Not Supported
_a
.51 and .42
.26
Notes: Hypothesis 6 states that recoverability and responsiveness are more important
than reliability, empathy and trust to US customers. This pre EFA hypothesis is
not testable because responsiveness was removed from the model based on the
EFA results.
Table 7
China sample: factor loadings for service quality in FFR success model
F1 Recoverability
Recoverability1
.697
Recoverability2
.882
Recoverability3
.681
Tangibles1
F2 Tangibles
F3 Reliability
.300
.781
Tangibles2
.849
Reliability5
.509
Reliability2
.422
.520
Reliability3
.823
Reliability4
.317
Responsiveness1
.574
.306
Responsiveness2
Responsiveness3
F4 Responsiveness
.615
.778
.328
.606
Mean
5.004
5.700
5.012
5.049
Standard Dev
1.242
1.096
1.183
1.210
.885
.817
.755
.769
Cronbachs Alpha
Notes:
306
Reliability
Recoverability
Tangibles
Responsiveness
Notes:
Reliability
.755a
.532b
.528b
.459b
Recoverability
Tangibles
Responsiveness
.885a
.489b
.541b
.817a
.413b
.769a
The second-order CFA shown in Table 9 for the China sample indicates that all of the
dimensions have a significant and positive relationship with service quality. The fit
indices presented in Table 9 indicate the acceptability of this measurement model.
Table 9
2/df
110.56/50
Path
Reliability Construct
Reliability2
Reliability3
Reliability4
Recoverability Construct
Recoverability1
Recoverability2
Recoverabiliy3
Tangibles Construct
Tangibles1
Tangibles2
Reliability5
Responsiveness Construct
Responsiveness1
Responsiveness2
Responsiveness3
Overall Service Quality
Reliability
Recoverability
Tangibles
Responsiveness
Notes:
p-value
RMSEA
SRMR
NFI
NNFI
CFI
.084
.061
.94
.96
.97
Standardised Loading
t-valuea
.57
.65
.79
6.79
7.74
_b
.84
.89
.83
13.55
_b
13.32
.57
.69
.81
10.11
_b
7.95
.64
.89
.68
7.98
_b
8.44
0.92
0.73
0.84
0.69
9.79
8.85
7.52
8.14
307
.66
Recoverability
.81
SQ
Tangibles
.65
Responsiveness
.64
Food1
.75
Food2
.76
Food3
.76
Food4
.69
PV1
.94
.31*
CS1
.71
CS2
.36*
.84
FQ
CS
.79
.76
PV2
PV3
.82
CS4
1.07*
.21*
.91
PV
BI
.76
.79
.72
Goodness-of-fit Indices:
2/df
p-value RMSEA
225.18/128
0
.051
CS3
SRMR
0.051
NFI
0.96
NNFI
0.98
BI1
BI2
BI3
CFI
0.98
Legend:
SQ = Service Quality
FQ = Food Quality
PV = Perceived Value
CS = Customer Satisfaction
BI = Behavioural Intention
The Goodness-of-Fit indices show a moderately good fit of the full structural model to
the data. Hypothesis 1, predicting the direct and positive relationship between customer
satisfaction and behavioural intentions, is statistically supported for the China sample.
Hypotheses 2, 3 and 4 are all supported, which indicates that service quality, food quality
and perceived value are all positively related to customer satisfaction.
Hypothesis 5, depicting the greater importance of reliability, empathy and trust for
Chinese consumers, is not supported. The items associated with empathy and trust
were all removed based on exploratory factor analysis. However, this does not imply that
those two dimensions are not important for the Chinese consumer. Rather, it suggests
that SERVQUAL instrument requires greater modification when used in non-western
cultures; it was developed in a western environment (Zhao et al., 2002). For example,
308
some items that measure trust, such as trust employees, feel safe in their transactions,
are not appropriate in Chinas market. Cash is the most common form of payment in
China, and very few consumers pay with a credit card. Therefore, the risk related to
credit card payment during the transaction is not an important concern in Chinas market.
The results provide some support for the contention that food quality is perceived as
the most important antecedent of customer satisfaction in Chinas market, as tested in
Hypothesis 7, because it has the highest path coefficient at 0.34; however, the difference
between that path and the others is not statistically significant. These differences were
tested using Paternoster et al.s (1998) Z test for the comparison of the coefficients.
Table 10
p-value
H1
Hypothesis
Supported
1.07
.00
H2
Supported
.31
.00
H3
Supported
.36
.00
H4
Supported
.21
.00
H5
Not Supported
H6
N/A
H7
Not Supported
H8
N/A
Notes:
Result
a
_
.38
a
Hypothesis 5 states that reliability, empathy and trust are more important than
responsiveness and recoverability to Chinese customers. This hypothesis is not
testable because empathy and trust were removed from the model based on
EFA results.
This comparative study addresses a gap in the current service research by extending
a service quality model developed for US service quality into a multi-national FFR
environment, measuring the perceptions of service quality in FFRs with samples obtained
from the USA and China. To accomplish this objective, we performed the following
tasks.
First, we modified the SERVPERF instrument for the fast-food environment and
tested it internationally. Our results show that the modified SERVPERF instrument can
provide useful information about service quality management to the fast-food industry in
both the USA and China. The results also suggest that some factors important to Chinese
consumers are not captured in this instrument, and some existing items measuring the
primary dimensions of perceived service quality require modification. So, it is critical to
refine the current measurement instrument for use in China to better address what we
learned by comparison of the US and China markets (Zhao et al., 2007).
Second, we tested the recoverability in both samples and found that the significance
supports our modification of the SERVPERF model used by Qin and Prybutok (2008)
to add recoverability as one of the underlying dimensions of service quality for FFRs.
Theoretically speaking, this result also supports modifying the SERVPERF model for
a particular industry (Carman, 1990; Olorunniwo et al., 2006). Practically speaking, our
309
findings suggest that the ability to deal with customer complaints effectively is directly
related to customers perceptions of the service quality, which then impact their satisfaction
and purchasing intentions.
Third, we determined the relative importance of the main dimensions of service
quality for both countries; we found several remarkable differences between them with
the second-order confirmatory factor analysis. For instance, empathy contributed more to
customer perceptions of the overall service quality of US customers, whereas tangibles
had more explanatory power in with Chinese customers. We identified trust as a main
dimension of service quality in the USA, but not in China. However, we still believe
that trust is important to the Chinese consumer; the results indicate that the items that
measure trust need to be modified for use in a global environment. We found that
recoverability was the most significant factor in both samples and this finding indicates
that recoverability should be incorporated into existing FFR instruments. Practically,
FFRs can collect customer feedback about the service they received in real time;
furthermore, they can identify and respond to customers with service complaints in a
timely manner. This strategy enables FFRs to identify the issues that they are confronting
and take corrective actions. Responsiveness was found significant for Chinese customers.
This might result from the fact that their pace is increasing and they are viewing time as
more valuable than ever. Meanwhile, the Chinese are gradually becoming aware of their
rights as consumers, in part due to a western influence (Imrie, 2005).
Fourth, we examined and found that food characteristics are still influential factors
for both countries when customers make decisions about the selection of FFRs. Consistent
with this finding, providing a wide variety of fresh, tasty food and beverages remains
an important criterion for satisfying customers. This finding makes it imperative for FFR
managers to develop better strategies to differentiate their services. For example, FFRs
might find that segmenting the market by offering specialty market options such as low
fat, low calorie, or low carbohydrate items increases their market appeal. Additionally,
FFRs could prominently display calorie counts and other nutritional information for
menu items on the menus and/or on their website, to better address needs of health
conscious customers. Meanwhile, for those American-style FFRs operating in China, the
results suggest that they may need to modify their menus.
Last, we examined perceived value, finding it significant in China but not in the
USA. We believe that this characteristic is relatively homogenous among the restaurants
in the US market, and as a result perceived value does not exhibit significant variation
relative to the other factors. Furthermore, it is not a critical issue in evaluating customer
perceptions of FFRs because an individual selecting a FFR is doing so in comparison to
other FFRs but not to a fine dining establishment. In China, there is not only western fast
food but also indigenous fast food, and the latter has the advantage of lower price. The
average cost of a meal in Chinese FFRs is around $1.50; however, the cost in western
fast-food chains is higher than $3.00. Confronted with the relatively big differences in
food prices between these different fast-food chains, consumers place a higher value on
price when making dining decisions.
The study empirically tested the relationships among the perceived service quality,
satisfaction and behavioural intentions; both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses
were applied to calibrate the proposed service quality instrument using the survey data.
The significant impact of active recovery strategies on FFRs revenues and profits
indicate that FFRs must train employees in service recovery standards and guidelines.
310
Limitations
The main limitation of this research was the use of college student subjects, which has
a partial advantage because their relatively homogeneity in the two countries. To infer
broader generalisability, an on-site survey or a more varied set of respondents is
recommended. In spite of the homogeneity within our samples, college students are
representative of an important segment of FFR target consumers and they are qualified to
evaluate the performance of FFRs.
In addition, this study is limited to the fast-food industry, and the findings should be
used cautiously in attempting to make generalisations to other industries, including other
restaurant markets.
Future research
We believe an area of future research should examine how the dimensions of service
quality in FFRs potentially differ as a function of culture. With the increasing trend towards
globalisation, many FFRs have extended their business reach to different cultures. The
dimensions identified in this study might need to be expanded because of the unique
characteristics associated with local management. As a result, a direct comparison of the
service quality dimensions across different countries is of great value.
The comparison of the service quality of western and local fast-food chains in China
is another worthwhile research effort. Customers perceptions of service quality are
affected by social, economic and cultural factors (Lee and Ulgado, 1997). Because of the
remarkable differences between local and western fast-food chains, customers might
have distinct expectations and perceptions related to their performance (Zhao et al.,
2007). For example, McDonalds in China is interpreted as a social space for customers
to experience US culture; and therefore a greater emphasis is placed on respect for a
persons privacy and rights and on other intangible benefits. By contrast, Grand Mother
Dumpling Restaurants, a renowned Chinese-style fast-food chain, is characterised by
311
local flavours and lower prices; customers tend to have higher expectations about food
quality and low prices. Hence, for different market segments, customers put varying
values on various attributes of service quality and customer satisfaction. The awareness
of this difference can enable FFRs to thoroughly understand their customers and
continuously improve their service performance.
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