The effect of customer perceived value on customer satisfaction: a case study of Malay upscale restaurants

Stiff competition and increasingly high operating costs have driven many international and domestic players to introduce new outlet concepts. Malay fine dining, upscale restaurant segment is gaining popularity among Malaysian, especially in Kuala Lumpur. This study examined the effect of perceived value on customer satisfaction in Malay upscale restaurants in terms of emotional responses, monetary prices, behavioral price and reputation. Primary data were gathered from 170 questionnaires returned by respondents from five Malay upscale restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, and statistically analysed using SPSS version 21. The findings of this study revealed that monetary prices had a high positive relationship with customer satisfaction. In addition, the beta value for emotional responses (β=0.530, p<0.01), behavioral price (β=0.180, p<0.01) and reputation (β=0.168, p<0.01) also indicated the respective contributions made to customer satisfaction

The influence of customer perceived value and perceived service performance on customer satisfaction to Malay upscale restaurants in Kuala Lumpur / Mohd Nazri Abdul Raji

To date, popularity of Malay upscale restaurant is still outshined by other international full service restaurant that comes from different part of the world such as American, Mexican, Siamese, Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese and others. Basically the highly demand towards international full service restaurant has made local restaurants particularly Malay full service restaurants trying to be a player and taking a share of this market. This study focuses on the analyzing the influence of customer perceived value and perceived service performance on customer satisfaction to Malay upscale restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. It looks at the dimension in perceived value on emotional responses, monetary price, behavioral price and reputation. Meanwhile, the dimension in perceived service performance looks on physical environment quality, interactional quality and outcome quality. A total of 5 Malay upscale restaurants were chosen and 170 customers participated in this study. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation and multiple analyses were used in the data analysis. Findings showed that perceived service performance has a high contribution (β=0.726, p<0.01) and determined as the most significant influence on customer satisfaction. The beta value for perceived value (β=0.646, p<0.01) was also high which indicated that it made some contribution on customer satisfaction

Penentuan kesepadanan bidang pengajian-pekerjaan dalam kalangan graduan di kolej komuniti

Mismatch issues between training in skills training institutions and skills required by employers often raised. However, we found the lack of a study conducted to examine the compatibility of training between training institutions and industry. Thus, this study was undertaken to determine the level of matching between the fields of study with work and identify the underlying factors that affect compatibility between fields of study with the underlying employment among graduates. Our research involves Community College trainees in the field of electrical which graduation in 2013. This study is a quantitative study using a questionnaire as an instrument. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages and inferential statistical analysis such as Cramer -V Correlation test was used to analyze the data. The results show that almost 43.4 % of graduates work in fields that do not match the field of study at community colleges. In addition, the study also showed that there was no significant effect of educational characteristics (such as academic performance) and job characteristics (such as length of employment, type of employment sectors and employment status) on the correspondence between fields of study with jobs they undertake. Indeed, the quality of graduate students can not be measured only by the ability to place graduates in jobs in the sector , but what is more important is their ability to get a job in matching the field of study and skills acquired

Exploring the roles of local food in developing Lenggong Valley as a rural food tourism destination

Integrating the relationship between food and tourism destination has been an important issue in the current tourism scenario. More tourism leaders globally are recognizing the important role local food can play in strengthening a rural destination’s tourism product. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the role of local food in developing Lenggong Valley as a rural food tourism destination. This study is applying a qualitative method using in-depth interview and participant observation. The finding identified four steps in developing rural food tourism destination; i) identifying local food components, ii) examining the capabilities of local food as tourism product; iii) evaluating local food as tourism product; and iv) selecting suitable marketing strategy to promote food tourism. This study contributes to expanding research on food tourism in constructing the rural food tourism framework. The information in this study leading to new ways of thinking about local food, by integrating local food and tourism resources to enhance rural destination attraction, since local food at rural destination attract little research in the field of tourism management

Utilizing local food product at rural destination

Local food is considered as a symbol of culture destination and its people. Consuming local food is one of the memorial activities by tourists during the holiday seasons apart from fulfilling the basic needs and demands in rural destination. By participating in local food activities, it gives the opportunity to identify closely different culture and identity of a rural destination. Local food in rural destination does not only satisfy hunger, but also provides a major component of intangible heritage and becomes increasingly important attraction for tourists. Current research has found that local food at the rural destination helps to promote destination awareness, form destination identity, create tourist activity, and contribute to tourist satisfaction and experience. Thus, local food can be used as a tool to develop economies in rural destination. In tourism aspects, rural destinations tend to sell common attributes such as nature, historical sites, landscape, and cultural heritage. Integrating local food in rural destination may help to strengthen a tourist destination identity and competitiveness. Therefore, this conceptual paper provides the understanding of utilizing local food product for rural destination development domestically and globally

Roles of traditional local food in developing Lenggong Valley as a food tourism destination

Integrating the relationship between food and tourism destination has been an important issue in the current tourism scenario. Many countries and regions around the world have started to recognize their local food as the core or supporting attraction of the destination. Thus, this study aims to understand and explore the role of local food in developing Lenggong Valley, Perak as a food tourism destination through four main research questions: 1) What is the meaning of Lenggong’s local food?; 2) How local food have been used as promotional tools for Lenggong Valley?; 3) What are the challenges in promoting Lenggong’s local food?; and 4) How local food can be used to develop Lenggong Valley as a food tourism destination? A qualitative method using case study approach was conducted to explore Lenggong's local food and tourism resource as the context for data collection. A total of 15 informants were involved in this study comprised of traditional local food experts, local food providers, homestay owner and local authorities. The data were primarily gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and supported with relevant information from focus group discussion, participant observation, document analysis and audio-visual materials. Data were further analyzed using the constant comparative method in establishing codes and categories for the development of the main themes to answer the research questions. The study found that in developing marketing strategies for the food tourism destination, it starts with identifying and classifying the internal resources. Empirical findings show four components of Lenggong's local food. The four components were: 1) practising traditional food culture using natural ingredients, 2) Malay traditional food as main dishes, 3) freshwater fish sources are used as signature dishes and 4) the used of wild edible plants in traditional cooking. The second step was to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses as the efforts and challenges in local food promotion strategy. This step is crucial in developing the core capabilities of a food tourism marketing strategy. The findings of the study indicated that there were five main criteria of local food promotion strategies, namely through 1) organize traditional food festival, 2) document local food as national heritage food, 3) publish traditional recipe books, 4) market local food through commercialization and 5) promote local food through cooking demonstrations. Meanwhile, local stakeholders and authorities faced a few challenges in these promotional efforts such as 1) changing political landscape, 2) local food is underrecognized as a tourist attraction, 3) lack of tourism facilities and 4) issues in the production and preparation of the local food products. The final step, its required suitable marketing strategies for food tourism development based on existing local food resource and tourism strategies. The marketing strategies of food tourism development comprise of four indicators, namely 1) sustain local food as a tourism product, 2) develop food tourism attractions, 3) strengthen local food promotion strategy and 4) improve and enhance tourist facilities. This study contributes an extended use of food tourism concept and research based theory to construct the rural food tourism framework. This valuable information is advantageous to the state government and related agencies in developing marketing strategies for food tourism destination. Further, it can also benefit the local food producers and homestay providers in offering the traditional local food to the tourists that showcase the identity of Lenggong Valley. Nevertheless, this rural food tourism framework also can be applied to other potential food tourism destinations that might need promotion on their foods using traditional local food to enhance destination attraction and competitive advantage

Mobilizing the role of local foods in rural destination: opportunities and challenges in community development

Many past literatures acknowledge that tourism industry in rural destination has generates various economic benefits to the local communities. In tourism aspects, rural destinations tend to sell common attributes such as nature, historical sites, natural landscape and cultural heritage. Current research has found that local food at the rural destination helps to promote destination awareness, form destination identity, create tourist activity and contribute to tourist satisfaction and experience. Local food in rural destination not only satisfy hunger, but also provides a major component of intangible heritage and become increasingly important attraction for tourists. By participating in local food activities, it gives the opportunity to identify closely the different culture and identity of a rural destination. Integrating rural destination and local food system provides new opportunities for the local communities to increase economic development, promote the cultural heritage and respond to the demand for unique dining experience. Thus, local food can be used as a tool to developed economies in rural destination. Therefore, this conceptual paper provides the understanding of the benefits that local food provides to local communities particularly at rural destinations

Community development through food tourism: exploring the utilization of local food as community development at rural destination in Malaysia

Many regions have recognized local foods as icons of their countries and act as one of important attributes of developing a destination. The availability of local foods provides travellers and local consumers with positive memorable experiences. Tourism destinations are competing to promote food tourism which is an emerging segment in the tourism industry. In this regard, rural destination is no exception. From the tourism perspective, rural destinations mainly focused on nature, historical sites, and practices of host community, landscape and cultural heritage as well as local food products. There are many benefits highlighting local food product as tourist attraction at rural destination. The importance of local foods at rural destinations to develop connection to the place, create diverse tourists’ experience, and provide financial support to the local community well-being cannot be underestimated. Furthermore, in the context of rural area local food is considered as a symbol and practices of traditional culture heritage of the people. For instance, by participating in local food activities, tourists will have the opportunity to experience different local cultures and practices. Key stakeholders and relevant authorities of rural destinations must aware the advantage of local foods in promoting their destinations and the contribution to the local economy. By integrating local foods in rural destinations will help to strengthen destinations’ sustainability competitiveness. However, without support from the local community, it will be impossible to promote the destinations. Technically, local community’s participant is important to promote any tourism products particularly in rural destinations, as local communities can reflect the surroundings and how they can work together to benefit the community and visitors. Therefore, this conceptual paper explores the viability of the community of a rural destination using local foods as determinants towards rural tourism destination development

Past and present practices of the Malay food heritage and culture in Malaysia

Malay heritage varies from north to south; however, there are various similarities and differences. Essentially, Malay heritage food is influenced by a myriad of cultures, such as Arab, Indian, Chinese, Siamese, Javanese, Minangkabau, and others. Different regions in Malaysia are known for their unique or signature dishes, such as beef rendang, laksa, nasi lemak, and tapai. Indeed, it is noted that Malay food is identical in terms of its spiciness. This can be seen from the prepreparation, methods of cooking, and availability and use of prominent ingredients, such as local aromatic herbs and spices. This article highlights the regional Malay food, past and present practices of Malay food culture, and characteristics of Malay food. In addition, this article also discusses the different occasions and table etiquette practices among Malay communities. The reported findings are expected to contribute to the literature on food culture, specifically in Malay heritage food