외식기업의 서비스경험자산이 브랜드자산을 매개로 고객충성도에 미치는 영향

Abstract

How Service Experience Equity Leads to Customer Loyalty in the Foodservice Industry: The Mediating Role of Brand Equity

Hyun, Kyung-Ho Department of Business Administration Graduate School, Pukyong National University

Abstract

The eating-out market matures, competition intensifies, and customers' needs get more sophisticated both in functional and emotional dimensions. As a result, restaurants are faced with the task of how to attract and keep customers, as well as how to stay competitive. Currently, marketers are moving toward a dynamic exchange relationship perspective that involves performing processes and exchanging skills and service where value is co-created along with customers. Prior studies have suggested that firms need to explore and implement ways to enrich customers' positive experiences which have recently been recognized to lead to favorable brand equity and customer loyalty. In this regard, this study aims at investigating the impact of customer service experience equity on customer loyalty through brand equity in the eating-out businesses. For the purpose, the study tries to identify the dimensions in the construct of customer service experience equity, investigate the impact of each dimension on brand equity and the impact of brand equity on repatronage intention, and thus to validate the mediating role of brand equity. In addition, the study tries to test the moderating role of the restaurant type both between customer service experience equity and brand equity and between brand equity and repurchase intention. In this context, this study proposes the three major objectives based on seven hypotheses. First, four hypotheses were established to test if the customer service experience equity dimensions of servicescape, personal service, service convenience, and hedonic service have effects on brand asset(H1-1 to H1-4). Second, this study tries to test whether brand asset impacts repurchase intentions(H2). Third, it aims to investigate whether the relative strength of influence is different between the antecedents and brand asset, and between brand asset and repurchase intention depending on the restaurant type(H3). In addition, it tries to identify whether brand asset mediates the relationship between the antecedent variables and the repurchase intention. This study was conducted based on the following methods and guidelines. First, based on a review of previous studies, servicescape, personal service, service convenience, and hedonic service were selected as representing customer service experience equity in restaurants. Based on prior research, established were the hypotheses and the research model that could evaluate the causal relationships among the exogenous variables mentioned above and the endogenous variables such as brand equity and repatronage intention. Second, measurement items on the questionnaire were developed and adapted from a thorough review of prior research. After a refinement of the items in a pretest, the survey was conducted with the customers who visited fast food and family restaurants in Busan from September 11 through 30, 2013. The sample was selected by using quota sampling method and 70 close-ended questionnaires were distributed to each of the top five fast food and family restaurants in the market share. Out of the 700 questionnaires retrieved, 642 valid responses (323 for fast food and 319 for family restaurants) were used for the empirical analysis by utilizing the statistical package programs SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0. Third, the confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the convergent validity and internal coherence of the exogenous and endogenous variables for purifying variables and validating the adequacy of measurement tools used in the research design. The results from the confirmatory factor analysis proved uni-dimensionality for all constructs and the findings in composite reliability were higher than 0.7, validating the research design. Fourth, structural equation model(SEM) was used to confirm the adequacy of the proposed research model. The model proved adequate as suitability was confirmed for all fit indices(Χ2(df)=1253.61(366), CFI=.91, TLI=.90, RMSEA=.06, SRMR=.06). Based on the analysis results above, research hypotheses were tested. The research findings may be summarized as follows. First, servicescape, service convenience, and hedonic service were found to significantly influence brand equity, but personal service was found not to significantly impact brand equity. Second, brand equity was shown to significantly impact repatronage intention. Also, the partial mediating role of brand equity was verified through the Sobel test. Third, in the multi-group analysis, the moderating role of the restaurant type was found to be significant between brand asset and repurchase intention, but no significant moderating effects were found between customer service experience asset and brand equity. From the findings of the study, the following managerial implications were discussed to stimulate customer service experiences with the goal of strengthening brand asset, thereby maximizing customer loyalty: (1) Establish a restaurant image focusing on creating positive customer experiences. (2) More focus on the aspects of customer hedonic experiences needs to be established. (3) Interaction quality needs to be strengthened through employee training. (4) An information system for communication with customers needs to be more effectively maintained. It is expected that this study, which has studied the relationships of service experiences of restaurant customers, brand asset, and repatronage intention will contribute to understanding that creating the stage for positive customer service experiences leads to more favorable brand asset and enhanced customer loyalty at eating-out establishments. In addition, it will stimulate further research in marketing efforts for the effective management of eating-out businesses.

Key Words: Customer service experience equity, Brand asset, Customer loyalty, Repurchase intention, Structural equation model, Eating-out Businesses