Examination of Restaurant Quality, Relationship Benefits, and Customer Reciprocity From the Perspective of Relationship Marketing Investments

Kisang Ryu, Jin Soo Lee

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

65 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The current study adopted cluster and discriminant analyses to investigate how differentially upscale restaurant customers view (a) the four dimensions of restaurant quality (price fairness, food quality, service quality, and physical environment), (b) the three dimensions of relational benefits (confidence benefits, social benefits, and special treatment benefits), and (c) revisit intentions and favorable reciprocal behaviors as proxies for customer reciprocity when customers perceive different levels (high vs. low) of relationship marketing investment (RMI). When customers perceived high RMI, they (high-RMI customers) evaluated all the aforementioned factors positively. By contrast, customers who experienced low RMI (low-RMI customers) rated the same factors negatively. High- and low-RMI customers were best distinguished by service quality, confidence benefits, and favorable reciprocal behaviors. Understanding the distinction between high- and low-RMI customers will shed light on how operators of upscale restaurants develop and reinforce perceived RMI to achieve favorable customer reciprocity.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)66-92
Number of pages27
JournalJournal of Hospitality and Tourism Research
Volume41
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017

Keywords

  • customer reciprocity
  • relationship benefit
  • relationship marketing investment
  • restaurant quality

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

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