The effects of relationship marketing on relationship quality in luxury restaurants

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to develop a new model to examine the impact of relationship marketing underpinnings namely: customer orientation, expertise, food quality, price fairness and physical environment on the quality of firm-customer relationship as well as the levels of contribution of these underpinnings and explore the effects of relationship quality on customer satisfaction, wordof-mouth and customer loyalty. The new model of relationship quality based on literature was developed and tested empirically among 25 luxury restaurants in Shiraz (Iran). The questions used in this study were taken from the relevant literature which contained 36 questions addressing all the variables. Face-to-face interview of customers was administered in the luxury restaurants for a period of two weeks. A total of 830 usable questionnaires were collected. The findings suggest that relationship quality most influenced by customer orientation (29%), expertise (24%), food quality (20%), price fairness (15%) and physical environment (12%). Beside, this study shows that the most impacts of relationship quality are on customer satisfaction (53%) customer loyalty (36%), word-of-mouth (20%). Also customer loyalty most influenced by customer satisfaction (42%). Customer satisfaction also has an effect on word-of-mouth (33%). Luxury restaurants can build and maintain quality customer relationship through customer orientation, expertise, food quality, price fairness and physical environment. The outcome of the study can help luxury restaurants in developing effective strategies for enhancing the quality of firm-customer relationships. It has been suggested that in order to keep customers satisfied firms should constantly improve overall relationship quality. By comparing the levels of contributions of the relationship marketing underpinnings, luxury restaurants are now able to decide on the level of attention and effort to be assigned to each, based on their importance.

Restaurant Managers' Perceptions of Service Quality: The Mediating Role of Restaurant Size and Seating Capacity

“…The two quality attributes reflecting the quality of people (functional quality) were found to be the most important quality attributes, followed by tangibles (technical quality). The results of our study are in line with previous studies indicating that in restaurant facilities, guests' satisfaction is mainly predicted by the quality of staff (Mosavi & Ghaedi, 2012;Ryu & Lee, 2017). Tangibles were found to be the third most important quality attribute.…”

“…Especially elements associated with noise and cleanliness significantly influence guests' overall perception of restaurant quality (Barber et al, 2011). Mosavi and Ghaedi (2012) reported that physical elements have a different impact on guests who are visiting the restaurant for the first time (first time buyers) than on revisiting guests. Similarly, reported that a statistically significant relationship between the following tangible service factors -presentation value, table aesthetics, sensory perceptions, hygiene purity, and vehicle convenience, and the diners' satisfaction exist within the upscale dining segment.…”

“…In the restaurant industry literature, most of the studies have focused on guests' expectations, perceptions and satisfaction about restaurant quality. Providing highquality offerings positively influences restaurant guests' satisfaction and loyalty (Khan et al, 2016;Kukanja et al, 2017;Mosavi & Ghaedi, 2012) and increases the restaurant's image (Clemes et al, 2018) and profitability (Kim et al, 2016;Kukanja & Planinc, 2018). The scientific literature has clearly highlighted the importance of quality for the restaurant industry.…”

Cost-Effective Service Excellence: Exploring the Relationships Among Restaurants’ Operational Efficiency, Size and Service Quality

“…We can conclude, based on the research results, that despite the level of restaurants' operational efficiency, guests are homogenous in perceiving restaurant service quality. Our findings are consistent with those of Kukanja, Gomezelj Omerzel, and Kodrič (2017), Mosavi and Ghaedi (2012), and Ryu and Lee (2017), who also found that guests' quality perceptions are primarily influenced by the quality of service staff. Tangibles was found to be the third most important quality dimension, which indicates that, apart from the quality of service staff (functional quality), the perceived quality of the Tangible environment (technical quality) also has an important influence on guests' quality perceptions.…”

Mediating Role of Customer Relationship Quality between the Customer Value Co-creation Behavior and Customer Loyalty

“…Several studies have examined the relationship between customer relationship quality with its two dimensions (customer satisfaction and trust in the organization) and customer loyalty. The studies of Kim et al (2001Kim et al ( , 2006, Roberts et al (2003), and Mosavi and Ghaedi (2012) indicated that there is a positive moral relationship between customer relationship quality and loyalty to the organization.…”