The effects of restaurant attributes on customers’ emotions and loyalty

Abstract

The fast-food industry has rapidly grown through the years, resulting in the development of multiple loyalties toward various restaurants of the customers. The study aimed to determine the significant effects of restaurant attributes on customers’ emotions and loyalty, and significant effects of customers’ emotions on loyalty, among top five (5) fast-food restaurants in the Philippines (in terms of foodservice value retail selling price). Restaurant attributes measured in the study were food quality, food safety, service quality, and store atmosphere. A total of five hundred and twenty-one (n = 521) valid questionnaires were collected from cities of National Capital Region (NCR), where majority of the top five (5) fast food restaurant outlets are located. Partial least squares structural equation model (PLSSEM) was employed to investigate the relationship among the constructs, and to test the hypotheses of the study. Results of PLS-SEM revealed that food quality (β = 0.145, p < 0.05), food safety (β = 0.125, p < 0.05), and store atmosphere (β = 0.471, p < 0.05) have significant effects on customers’ positive emotions, while only service quality (β = -0.119, p < 0.05) and store atmosphere (β = 0.141, p < 0.05) have significant effects on customers’ negative emotions. Food quality (β = 0.202, p = < 0.05) food safety (β = 0.083, p <0.05), service quality (β = 0.139, p <0.05), positive emotions (β = 0.370, p < 0.05), and negative emotions (β = -0.223, p <0.05) have direct significant effects on the loyalty of the customers.

Keywords

• fast food
• restaurant attributes
• restaurant loyalty
• food quality
• store ambience