Different Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction For Young Generations In Fine Dining Restaurant: A Cross-cultural Study Of The United States And South Korea
Open Access
- Author:
- Koo, Heyjin
- Area of Honors:
- Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Daniel John Mount, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Breffni M Noone, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Customer Satisfaction
Fine Dining Restaurants
Cross cultural - Abstract:
- Customer satisfaction is influenced by various factors. As the restaurant industry is vastly expanding worldwide, restaurant industry professionals must understand what builds and affects customer satisfaction based on cultural differences, especially for fine dining restaurants, as customers tend to have higher expectations for such establishments. This study sought to compare and contrast the different factors affecting customer satisfaction in fine dining restaurants in two different cultures. The two countries, the United States and South Korea, embody individualism and collectivism, respectively, based on Hofstede’s (1980) model of cultural dimensions. Adopting a quantitative approach, past dining experiences at fine dining restaurants were measured with foci on the food quality, service quality, physical environment, similarity to other customers, and physical appearance of other customers. The reliability variables were tested using Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis. Also, t tests were conducted to ascertain the significance of mean differences. Regression analysis was conducted to test research hypotheses. Besides investigating the differences in factors affecting customer satisfaction in fine dining restaurants among the different cultures, this study sought to present practical managerial implications that can be implied to a restaurant business that is rapidly growing worldwide. Results show that food quality, service quality, and physical appearance of other customers had no distinctive effects on customer satisfaction between participants from the United States or South Korea. Physical environment and similarity to other customers appeared to have higher impacts on the United States population compared to the South Korean population.