Antecedents and outcomes of relationship quality in casual dining restaurants

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 575-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Girish Prayag ◽  
Sameer Hosany ◽  
Babak Taheri ◽  
Erdogan Haktan Ekiz

Purpose This study examines the mediating effects of relationship quality (RQ) on the relationship between six antecedents and loyalty and the moderating effects of gender on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a convenience sample of 300 respondents as they exited well-known casual dining restaurants in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. Findings With the exception of physical environment, food quality, customer orientation, communication, relationship benefits and price fairness were significant predictors of RQ. RQ partially mediates the relationships between its antecedents and loyalty. Multi-group analyses reveal significant differences between males and females on these relationships. Research limitations/implications At the theoretical level, the study contributes to the conceptualization of RQ in tourism and hospitality research. The sample is not representative of all casual dining restaurants in KL, but findings have important implications for restaurant management in terms of relationship marketing, advertising strategies and customer loyalty development. Originality/value The study extends existing models of RQ in the hospitality and tourism literature by confirming that RQ is best modeled as a second-order construct consisting of three first-order dimensions: trust, satisfaction and commitment. The study also demonstrates that RQ mediates the relationship between the antecedents of RQ and loyalty. Finally, this research confirms the moderating effects of gender on the hypothesized relationships.

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1516-1531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junghwa Son ◽  
Byoungho Ellie Jin

Purpose Most marketing practices assume that consumers will buy when prices are low. This assumption, however, may not always hold true. Employing equity theory and Veblen’s theory of the leisure class, this study tested two moderating effects to ascertain the relationship between perceived price and purchase intention. The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to examine the relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase; second, to discover the effects of two moderators (perceived price fairness and vanity) on this relationship; and third, to compare how these moderating effects differ by consumers’ brand familiarity. Design/methodology/approach A total of 287 usable data sets were collected from college students in the southeastern region of the USA. Findings The findings showed no negative relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase. Only perceived price fairness was found to moderate the perceived price–purchase intention relationship. Furthermore, the moderating effect of price fairness was only confirmed in the high brand familiarity group, while the moderating effect of vanity was only confirmed in the low brand familiarity group. Research limitations/implications Generalization of the findings is cautioned because findings may vary by demographic backgrounds. Practical implications Since purchase intention increases when price is fair even though price is high, marketers should put efforts into promoting and creating the perception of fair price of their products and brands. Originality/value This study extends price perception research by incorporating two theories (equity theory and Veblen’s theory of the leisure class) that help further elaborate the relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.F.M. Jalal Ahamed ◽  
Kåre Skallerud

Purpose – The purpose of this study is threefold: to investigate how relationship quality affects export performance; to see if and to what extent export performance affects exporter satisfaction; and to determine whether exporter satisfaction ultimately affects the expectation of continuing the export-import relationship in an emerging market. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports the findings of a survey of 185 respondents from the ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh chosen from a convenience sample. The responding exporters were located in Dhaka city or nearby areas. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares technique. Findings – The results support four out of five hypotheses, indicating that there is a significant relationship between exporter relationship quality and financial and strategic export performance. Additionally, a positive relationship between financial export performance and exporter satisfaction and between exporter satisfaction and the expectation of continuing the relationship are shown. No significant relationship between strategic export performance and exporter satisfaction is found. Practical implications – The findings have practical implications for managers and policy-makers interested in developing effective strategies for building and maintaining high quality export-import relationships, especially in the context of an emerging market. Originality/value – In order to accomplish the research goal, the main constructs from two influential streams of literature – social exchange theory and the disconfirmation of expectation theory – are utilized. This is new in the context of an emerging economy perspective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Li ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Jinpeng Xu ◽  
Taiwen Feng

Purpose This paper aims to determine whether relationship quality should be measured as a disaggregated or as a composite construct, and investigate the causal relationship between relationship quality and customer involvement. The authors also explore the role of customer involvement in relationship quality-performance linkage in B2B settings. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on 214 Chinese manufacturers and uses the structural equation model to examine this conceptual model and hypotheses. Findings As a reflective second-order construct, relationship quality not only has positive effects on performance but also positively affects customer involvement. More importantly, customer involvement partially mediates the relationship between relationship quality and performance. Research limitations/implications This study only focuses on customer relationship, but neglects the supplier relationship. Practical implications When assessing the relationship quality with customers, suppliers must consider trust, commitment and investment dimensions simultaneously. In addition, to increase performance, suppliers must involve customers who are trusted and invested in training and logistics facility and then cooperate with them in new product design. Originality/value These findings contribute to this understanding on the relationship quality in B2B settings and provide theoretical contributions and managerial insights for both academics and practitioners.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 2162-2191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Pekovic ◽  
Sylvie Rolland

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a better theoretical and empirical understanding of the causal and contextual mechanisms explaining the relationship between customer orientation and business performance. Design/methodology/approach A three-stage least squares model was used on a sample of 3,720 French firms with 20 or more employees. Findings By using a moderated mediation approach, it was found that the mediating effect of environmental customer innovation on the relationship between customer orientation and business performance under different contextual factors (market environment, firm size and sector of activity) can be significantly stronger or weaker. Research limitations/implications This analysis is restricted by the choice of one particular country, and further research should use data from other countries to develop a general understanding of the issues examined. Additionally, examining relevant mechanisms other than firm performance measures will advance the understanding of the customer orientation–firm performance linkage. Because of the fact that the majority of variables used are binary and that each survey was conducted in a particular situation and in a particular context, the picture portrayed could be biased. Because environmental issues not only concern consumers but also all other market actors, it would be highly useful to verify the obtained results using broader concepts such as Hult’s (2011) “market orientation plus” concept or the “sustainable market orientation” developed by Mitchell et al. (2010). Practical implications According to the results, to achieve market success and sustain a competitive advantage, managers must simultaneously invest in customer orientation and innovation performance. Additionally, managers should consider market environment, firm size and sector of activity as important contingencies in their decision of whether to invest in customer orientation. Originality/value This study makes an important contribution by opening up a “black box” and offers a deeper perspective on how and why customer orientation affects firm performance. In particular, rather than providing separate analyses of mediating and moderating effects, this study proposes a simultaneous analysis that reveals how and under what conditions customer orientation improves business performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-178
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Kousheshi ◽  
Samad Aali ◽  
Ali Reza Bafandeh Zendeh ◽  
Soleyman Iranzadeh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to suggest a model for predicting antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in online purchase of physical goods. Design/methodology/approach A total of 462 online buyers in Iran participated in the research by completing questionnaires. The research hypotheses were tested using structural modeling technique. Findings The results showed that website quality, online relationship bonds and reputation of seller have positive effect on online relationship quality. The results also showed that online relationship quality has positive effect on electronic word of mouth, online customer share, online customer loyalty and online customer reviews. Research limitations/implications In this research, online relationship quality was considered as a higher-order construct including trust, commitment and satisfaction with the relationship. However, to achieve more accurate results, future researchers can investigate the separate impact of each of the relationship quality dimensions (commitment, trust and satisfaction) on the consequences of online relationship quality. Practical implications This research provides a wide series of antecedents and consequences of online relationship quality for online stores community so that, through being aware of them, internet stores could choose a suitable guideline to sustain their relationship with online customers and, ultimately, obtain customers’ participation in creating value and strengthening their competitive status. Originality/value This paper proposes a more comprehensive model of the antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in online purchases for the first time, and it demonstrates which factors strengthen online relationship quality as well as indicates which customer reactions online relationship quality can reinforce and which consequences it can provide for internet shops.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Germán Frank ◽  
Guilherme Brittes Benitez ◽  
Mateus Ferreira Lima ◽  
João Augusto Bonzanini Bernardi

PurposeOpen innovation breadth (OIB) considers the diversity of external collaboration partners for innovation. The authors investigate the moderating effect of OIB on the relationship between industrial innovation activities (innovation inputs) and industrial innovation results (innovation outputs).Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on secondary data from the Brazilian innovation survey, representing more than 30,000 innovative companies across 55 industrial sectors.FindingsThis study’s results show that OIB has different moderating effects regarding the several innovation input–output relationships. While OIB benefits some relationships, others are hampered by the diversity of collaboration partners.Originality/valueFew studies have addressed OIB at the macro level. Using the perspective of transaction cost economics (TCE), the authors discuss the contributions and limitations of OIB at the industry level.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 744-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apostolos Giovanis ◽  
Pinelopi Athanasopoulou ◽  
Evangelos Tsoukatos

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the well-established nomological network of service quality-relationship quality-customer loyalty by introducing service fairness – a distinct service evaluation concept. Specifically, the study aims to investigate the impact of service fairness on relationship quality as a complementary to service quality driver, and the direct and indirect effect of service fairness on customer loyalty in the presence of service quality and relationship quality in a no failure/recovery effort service context. Design/methodology/approach – A telephone survey of a random sample of 408 customers of auto repair and maintenance services was implemented using a structured questionnaire with established scales. Data were analyzed with partial least squares path methodology, a structural equation modeling methodology. Findings – Interactional fairness is the most important formative determinant of customers’ overall fairness perception, followed by procedural and distributive fairness. Relationship quality measured as a higher order construct, made of satisfaction; trust; affective and calculative commitment, is the main determinant of customer loyalty. Also, it partially mediates, along with service quality, the relationship between service fairness and customer loyalty and fully mediates the effect of service quality on customer loyalty. Finally, service fairness has the highest overall effect on customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications – The sample is industry-specific and this may affect generalizability of findings. Also, the cross-sectional design adopted does not reflect temporal changes. Practical implications – Interactional fairness is of utmost importance to customers of the investigated industry. So, customers should be fairly treated at every point of contact. Also, service quality is heavily affected by service fairness. Thus, fair service leads to high-perceived service quality. Third, service quality affects customer loyalty only through relationship quality. Only when service quality is coupled by long-term quality relationships, signs of customer loyalty appear. Finally, service fairness influences customer loyalty mainly through service and relationship quality and has the highest overall effect on customer loyalty. So, fairly treating customers is crucial for developing long-term relationships that lead to customer loyalty. Originality/value – The role of service fairness in the service quality-relationship quality-customer loyalty chain is investigated and using a higher order construct for relationship quality.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1058-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenbin Sun ◽  
Jing Pang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between service quality and firms’ global competitiveness in the service industry. A set of moderating effects is formulated to further reveal how the relationship varies under different situations. Design/methodology/approach This paper tests the model with data collected from multiple sources such as World’s Most Admired Companies and COMPUSTAT. Two types of robust regressions for panel data are employed in the empirical model estimation. Findings Service quality is found to significantly drive global competitiveness. Specifically, its impact is stronger for large service firms and when the global environment is characterized as low munificence, high dynamism, or high complexity. Practical implications The paper provides a set of implications for managers of service firms regarding global expansion and quality management. It generates useful guidelines of maximizing the power of service quality when a firm’s global competitive advantage is considered. Originality/value This paper takes the first attempt to formulate service quality’s influence on firm’s global competitiveness with a consideration of specific situational factors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 412-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Villy Abraham ◽  
Abraham Reitman

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of consumer animosity on conspicuous consumption in two research settings: Israel and Russia. The study also examines: the relationship between susceptibility to norm influence (SNI) and consumer animosity, whether SNI affects consumers’ willingness to buy (WTB) products from a country toward which they harbor animosity, and the relationship between consumer animosity and WTB in contexts differing in the level of animosity harbored toward a target country. Design/methodology/approach To probe generalizability, the hypothesized model was tested in two different contexts: Study 1 was conducted in Israel using the context of the Holocaust and Study 2 was conducted in Russia using the context of the recent political discord with the USA. A convenience sample of Israeli-Jewish (n=264) and Russian (n=259) consumers yielded a total of 523 questionnaires. Findings In both contexts, the results from the SPSS and AMOS analyses indicated a negative and significant relationship between consumer animosity and conspicuous consumption. Moreover, SNI was positively associated with consumer animosity. Finally, the study findings point to a negative association between consumer animosity and WTB, regardless of the level of animosity. Originality/value The research findings suggest that consumer animosity may be a stronger predictor for the consumption of conspicuous products than for the consumption of necessity goods.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 720-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiping Zhou ◽  
Yanhong Yao ◽  
Huanhuan Chen

Purpose This paper aims to explore the direct effects of open innovation (OI) on firms’ innovative performance, and to examine the moderating effects of knowledge attributes, including knowledge distance, knowledge embeddedness and partner opportunism on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Survey data of 247 samples from China were used to test the proposed model through hierarchical regression analysis. Findings The findings indicate that the dimensions of OI are positively related to innovative performance. The results also reveal that knowledge distance positively moderates the relationship between inbound OI and innovative performance, whereas knowledge embeddedness negatively affects that relationship. Knowledge embeddedness negatively affects the relationship between inbound OI and innovative performance, whereas knowledge distance positively moderates that relationship. Thus, a new finding is proposed that knowledge attributes could align effectively with specific OI type to achieve superior innovation outcomes. In addition, the empirical results suggest that partner opportunism plays a negative moderating role on the relationship between outbound OI and innovative performance. Originality/value The proposed view that a firm’s innovation outputs will be superior when its knowledge attributes effectively align with OI enriches studies of the OI context and expands the literature of both the resource-based view and the knowledge-based view. Furthermore, this study provides insights into how OI benefits can be influenced by external contexts from the perspective of partners’ opportunistic behaviour.


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