reflection
Final Report
Faculty Research Grant
Customer Perceived Service Quality in the Fast Food Industry
Stephen Jones (principal investigator)
Associate Professor of Management
479-968-0673
sjones@atu.edu
Kevin Mason (contact author)
Professor of Marketing
479-968-0492
kmason@atu.edu
Mike Benefield
Associate Professor of Finance
479-968-0264
mbenefield@atu.edu
B. Restatement of problem researched or creative activity
Our purpose was to investigate the critical factors which help to determine the expectations that consumers have about the fast food industry and their perceptions of service quality from experience. Our intention was to replicate research in other industries using the SERVQUAL instrument (Parasuraman, et al., 1988) to the fast food industry and extend the research by using multiple and longitudinal responses from participants about meals eaten at local establishments.
We chose the limited service restaurants (fast food) industry because it has become a major part of the American dining-out experience. In both 2002 and 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau (2007) reported that limited service (fast food) restaurants accounted for about 35% of all restaurant sales in the United States and that sales grew almost 30% for the fast food industry while the number of establishments for the industry surpassed the 200,000 mark. In 2007, the industry’s sales surpassed the $150 billion mark, and more than 3 million people were employed in the industry (U.S.
Census Bureau 2007). Usage among average fast food consumers was reported in
2006 to be at over 17 visits per month and among heavy use consumers to be nearly one visit per day (Clarke 2006).
We have an interest in exploring: (1) the pedagogical value of this research in the fields of marketing, business management and consumer finance; (2) the differences between consumer expectations and actual experience with a fast food meal; (3) the varying expectations and experiences of both
Faculty Research Grant
Customer Perceived Service Quality in the Fast Food Industry
Stephen Jones (principal investigator)
Associate Professor of Management
479-968-0673
sjones@atu.edu
Kevin Mason (contact author)
Professor of Marketing
479-968-0492
kmason@atu.edu
Mike Benefield
Associate Professor of Finance
479-968-0264
mbenefield@atu.edu
B. Restatement of problem researched or creative activity
Our purpose was to investigate the critical factors which help to determine the expectations that consumers have about the fast food industry and their perceptions of service quality from experience. Our intention was to replicate research in other industries using the SERVQUAL instrument (Parasuraman, et al., 1988) to the fast food industry and extend the research by using multiple and longitudinal responses from participants about meals eaten at local establishments.
We chose the limited service restaurants (fast food) industry because it has become a major part of the American dining-out experience. In both 2002 and 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau (2007) reported that limited service (fast food) restaurants accounted for about 35% of all restaurant sales in the United States and that sales grew almost 30% for the fast food industry while the number of establishments for the industry surpassed the 200,000 mark. In 2007, the industry’s sales surpassed the $150 billion mark, and more than 3 million people were employed in the industry (U.S.
Census Bureau 2007). Usage among average fast food consumers was reported in
2006 to be at over 17 visits per month and among heavy use consumers to be nearly one visit per day (Clarke 2006).
We have an interest in exploring: (1) the pedagogical value of this research in the fields of marketing, business management and consumer finance; (2) the differences between consumer expectations and actual experience with a fast food meal; (3) the varying expectations and experiences of both
References: Clarke, Paul (2006), “U.S. Appetite for Fast Food Grows,” press release, Sandelman & Associates, (April 16). U. S. Census Bureau. (2007). “Sector 72: EC0772A2: Accommodation and Food Services: Geographic Area Series: Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002.” (accessed September 30, 2010), [available at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=&ds_name=EC0772A2&-_lang=en].