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 impact of food trends on menu innovation

The search for the right 'pedigree' of innovative menus is endless. As the consumer foodservice markets are converging to one global market, increasingly demand for new menus is evitable. In today's global foodservice markets, the fast changing trend of consumers' preferences and acceptances poses a huge challenge for restaurateurs in managing their new menu innovation. Empirically, little is known the trendsetting in managing menu innovation amid facing market uncertainty. While there are several attributes that have been known to impact menu innovation, this chapter specifically aims to provide empirical evidence of the moderating effect of food trends on the link between innovation orientations and new menu development (NMD) process in a recently concluded research study of chain restaurants in Malaysia

Training transfer: The interaction of changed behaviour and co-worker support on job performance / Fadzilah Mohd Shariff, Artinah Zainal and Rahmat Hashim

The present study examined the moderating effect of changed behav-iour on the relationship between co-workers support on frontline employees job performance. The authors hypothesize that co-work-ers support are more strongly related to performance among front-line employees reporting low than high level in changed behaviour. Results of Structural Equation Modeling, gathered from 264 employ-ees who held positions as Food and Beverage outlet servers in 4 and 5 star ratings hotels, support the hypothesis. The result indicates that when frontline employees’ exhibit low changed behaviour, the relationships between co-worker support and job performance are stronger. Implications for substantive research, strengths and limita-tions, and directions for future research are offered

The Effects of Service Performance of Hotel Customers on Quality of Experience and Brand Loyalty in Iran

AbstractThe main objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of service performance of hotel customers on the quality of experience and brand loyalty in Iran and also to propose a model for the hotel industry in Iran. Therefore, findings will contribute to the improvement of both hotel management and tourism industry in Iran. The present study obtained data from 302 international and local customers in four and five Star hotels in five major cities in Iran. This study will significantly contribute to the Iranian tourism market in seeking improvement towards the effectiveness of hotel customers and loyalty in Iran

Management training approaches in the Malaysian hotel industry

The objective of this study was to develop a framework for identification of the most appropriate, valuable and practical aspects of management training approaches, such as trainer-directed training (TDT) and self-directed training (SDL) to be adopted by the hotel organizations. To accomplish this objective, key aspects were identified through an Expert Survey. This study sorted the opinions of industry professionals namely training managers and human resources managers from four and five-stars rating hotels in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The study was conducted in Two Phases; which is the preliminary interviews and Delphi Technique with three iterations to 20 industry professionals. Key aspects of management training approaches were importance of TDT and SDL and improvement for management training. All key aspects receiving two-third votes in the ‘higher level agreement categories’ (Likert-type scale 4=agree and 5=strongly agree) that were considered as important or essential were included in the framework. The Delphi panel of experts identified 44 key aspects that were considered as emerging consensus. They were 35 aspects on management training approaches and 9 aspects on future improvement for hospitality management training and development. The results of the findings concluded that training approach or instructional design such as TDT and SDL might be incorporated in activities of hospitality management trainees. TDT and SDL being two polar extreme on continuum; namely objectivism and constructivism, are able to increase trainees morale and motivation in their own way and may be adopted for different stages of training phases. It was also concluded that with the combined instructional system design of trainer-directed and learner-controlled in the industry, the hospitality practitioners and institutions of higher learning with hospitality degree program could prepare personnel qualified to improve hospitality organizations in the future

Malaysian gastronomy routes as a tourist destination / Artinah Zainal, Ahmad Nizan Zali and Mohd Nizam Kassim

Globally, food and tourism are increasingly being combined and the development of gastronomy as a tourism product has become a trend recently. The awareness of the importance of food as a heritage component in tourism has been steadily growing. As competition between tourism destinations in the Asia region increases, Malaysian local food and culture are a valuable source to attract tourists. Malaysian gastronomy has a significant identity, and an important role to play since food is closely related to tourist consumption and experience. The tourists’ quest for authentic tastes and experiences has been a fundamental thrust, and in practice tourism destinations strive to develop their own distinctive and unique identities. This emergent trend can be examined as most of the tourist destinations have made a great effort to promote their local cuisines. In line with this, the Malaysian gastronomy route should be in tandem with the cultural activity highlighted

The Effects of Hedonic and Utilitarian Values on Consumer Intention to Return to Ethnic Restaurants

Ethnic restaurants play a crucial role in introducing non-ethnic clients to ethnic foods. Understanding the physical and psychological aspects that influence customer satisfaction and revisiting intention would benefit restaurateurs and contribute to the promotion of a nation's culinary history. This study examines the relationship between dining atmospherics, hedonic and utilitarian values on customer satisfaction and revisits intention in the ethnic fine dining restaurant context. 215 respondents were surveyed at 15 ethnic fine-dining establishments in Kuala Lumpur. The analysis found that restaurant ambiance and hedonic values are substantial predictors of customer satisfaction and propensity to return. Surprisingly, this is not true of utilitarian values. This paper presents implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research

Epistemological Beliefs and Self-directed Learning Readiness of Hospitality Students: The Necessary Precursor to Academic Performance

Throughout the philosophical literature, studies on epistemological beliefs have been well documented. However, within the educational context, this philosophical construct is a recent phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the conception of knowledge (epistemological beliefs) as measured by Schommer’s Epistemological Questionnaire (SEQ), learner perception of self-directedness as measured by Guglielmino’s SelfDirected Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) and academic achievement. The value of CMIN/DF was 2.22, below the recommended value of 3.0 (Kline, 1998). In this case, the U^sup 2^/ df of 2.22 and CFI of .926 indicate an adequate fit between the hypothetical model and the sample data. The RMSEA for the measurement model was .077 (adequate fit). Other fit indices also point to an acceptable model fit between the model and the data (GFI = .921, AGFI = .879, CFI =.926). The entire model had an R2 of .064 and was not significant F(12, 210)=1.112, p > .05. The mediating effect of self-directed learning on GPA, falls short of statistical significance, b = .133, p = .074. However, when reviewing the effects of each of the regression coefficients, only 5 predictor variables (innate, simple, self assessment, goal setter, self control) were found to be of practical significance. MANOVA shows that there was no significant difference in epistemological beliefs, selfregulated learning and gender at .05 level across GPA (Wilk’s lambda = .94, F = 1.153’ df = 5, p > .05)