BUS00913 : Business Research Assessment - Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction in McDonalds in Merrylands (Australia)

Business Research Assessment

Case Scenario/ Task

1. Provide a bibliographic heading for each academic journal article you have selected toreview.

2. Provide a very brief overview of each research study so that the reader understands theaim of research and it he context in which it was undertaken (do not go into great detail here, remember that the emphasis is on critically reviewing each study's research design).

3. Critically review the methodological approach, research strategy and data collectionmethods used for the research

4. Provide a conclusion that discusses the implications of the research for your proposed

The aim of this research study is to assess the relationship that exists between three major determinants affecting quality, that is; predictors (physical environment, food and service), price and behavioral intention or satisfaction in fast-food restaurants in the Midwestern State of Australia. The overall quality of in fast-foods relate to the aspect of physical environment, services at the restaurant, and customer satisfaction. The objectives of this study include:

To identify and explore the elements affecting customer satisfaction in fast food restaurants

To improve the quality of service delivery of fast food restaurants to meet the satisfaction of the customers

To develop recommendations for improving the service quality

METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW

EMPERICAL STUDY 1- Influence of the quality of food, service, and physical environment on customer satisfaction and behavioral intention in quick-casual restaurants: moderating role of perceived price (Kisang & Heesup, 2010)

Impacts on quality service delivery on customers’ satisfactions and eventual increase in sales or turnover of quick-casual restaurants is a subject of interest for the authors of this paper. This forms the relevance of the study. The fact that quality service delivery has impacted on customers’ satisfactions is a serious case to consider. Many quick-casual restaurants have reported business losses to their competitors (Kisang & Heesup 2010, p. 312). These losses called for research to address the problem in this study.

In this research, two methods of data analysis were used. To start with, quantitative approach was used to analyze data from the questionnaires that were transferred into excel sheets in numerical forms. Quantitative data were analyzed using interpretive theory, that is; line graphs were drawn to show trends and then the explanation was consequently given to the trend. Moreover, the results were presented in figures and tables.

The methods of research for this study was based on previous studies that used focus groups and questionnaires to measure the service, price, customer satisfaction, quality of food and the physical environment (Kisang & Heesup 2010, p. 313). This may have been good, but other methods such as surveys and public participation should have been considered to give the study a holistic approach that would represent the entire population that was sampled. It is important to note that even though this study used the Likert-type scale to do the assessment of food quality with a scale ranging from the lowest value 1 (totally disagree) to highest value 7 (totally agree), there was no proper descriptive statistics that outline the characteristics of the data collected. Descriptive statistics would include gender that is; male or female and age bracket, that; is children or adult among others. The variation of the Likert-type scale when considering other factors like physical environment where four items were used instead of the three items as used in quality of food also reduces the uniformity when analyzing data. In addition, the question as to why the perceived price was assessed using a single item really needed some deep explanation to the audience and readers of this paper.

The research strategy of this study can be described as a step-by-step process geared towards improved service delivery by changing the behavior, conduct and attitudes so as to improve sales in fast food restaurants. The questionnaires were given to a 200 customers to fill in so as to find out their views on the quality of services offered at McDonald’s. Therefore, the sample size was 200 customers. For example, respondents who in this case where the customers were asked to outline if the quality of service at the food store was satisfactory. Seven items were used to determine and measure quality of service impacts using a Seven-point Likert scale (where 1 = ‘strong positive effect’ to 7 = ‘strong negative effect’). Moreover, secondary data collection was done through research of information on service delivery, books, journal articles and online forums. The argument here is that data collection varied from primary to secondary sources, thereby capturing sufficient information that would be backed by eventual statistical analysis. This good since it increased the acceptability of the data among researchers and other audiences. The implication of the study is that the findings generally contribute towards the in depth understanding of the combined effect of food quality, service delivery quality, as well as physical environment on customer satisfaction on improving sales of fast food. The findings also plays the moderating role of giving a reason behind the perceived price.

EMPERICAL STUDY 2- Measuring customer satisfaction in the fast food industry: a cross-national approach (Gilbert et al. 2004)

This research study focuses on focuses on comparison of cross-cultural service satisfaction in fast-food restaurants (Gilbert et al. 2004, p.372). The analyst believes that this study may fill the conceptual gap through the identification of service quality dimensions and examining empirically the relationship between service quality, delivery, satisfaction of customer, behavioral intentions, and value (Gilbert et al. 2004, p. 373).

The methodological approach was by modelling of quantitative data using ECSI and ACSI. The two models are classified under hierarchical model and were used to predict the impact of value, satisfaction and quality on the behavior of customers at food stores. The two models were slightly complex and left out many other important parameters like the attitude and behavior of the workers of the fast-food restaurants. The positive aspect of the hierarchical model is that it gave output on the feelings and perceptions of the fast food customers while analyzing deeply the three underlying dimensions of this research that included quality of the physical environment, interaction quality, as well as outcome quality. Notably, the dimensions generally formed the holistic service quality perception. Moreover, a total of about eleven hypotheses has been just too much for a research study. The sample size was 215 customers. The research design was a step-by-step process geared towards analyzing satisfaction and quality on the behavior of customers of fast food. Data collected in this study from customers was through questionnaires that were generally self-administered. The argument here is that even though there was some level of confidentiality, the customers would clumsily and reluctantly fill the questionnaires. To limit such anomalies, it would be proper for the researcher to conduct interviews and guide the respondent in filling in the questionnaires so as to reduce some degree of biasness and self-manipulation of the data.

One positive thing about this research study is that there was an extensive review that was conducted on literature relating to hospitality as well as reinforcing this information with information obtained from focus groups and interviews. Of interest to note is that the study also considered demographic factors such as ethnic background, gender and age. The implication is that the study outcome is likely to validate the result and make it widely acceptable. This is because studies in the fast food sector have demonstrated that demographic parameters generally have a strong impact on the views of clients on quality service delivery, behavioral intentions as well as customer satisfaction.

EMPERICAL STUDY 3- Service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in fast-food restaurants (Hong & Prybutok 2009)

The main purpose of this study is come up with a research framework that can explain the relationship existing between customer satisfaction and quality of foods. The study methods involved a variety of statistical tools for modelling because the parameters that were described as too variable (Hong & Prybutok 2009, p. 80). These included confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Even though the output of the statistical models may be similar, the mechanisms of operations are different and therefore creating difficulties in terms of understanding of the audiences. However, the use of logistic regression to analyze the recommendations of the customers was a plus. Regressing the variables gives a clear, precise and easy to understand output (Hong & Prybutok 2009, p. 85). In fact, many studies opt to regress or correlate data so as to make it easier to comprehend. Additionally, the author of this paper used exploratory factor analysis to analyze customer recommendations and satisfaction while at the same time counter-checking if the results were consistent by using confirmatory factor analysis. This approach has been applauded by many researchers since it is considered as appropriate while testing mediation hypothesis like in this study. In as much as this method would be applauded, it had some technicality. For example the model used in this research was made up of two main components, that is; customer satisfaction and Structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM is based on a multi-dimensional premise that's generally measured customers’ satisfaction in relation to three dimensions such as overall quality, restaurant service and physical atmosphere. Actually, it is hard to measure these parameters directly in the field and therefore most of the times dummy variables are used. The dummy variables may be subjective and not objective in the long run since they solely rely on the researcher’s perception. In addition, the other disadvantage of dummy variables is the aspect of coding. For example, hotels without parking lots would be coded as (0) and those with parking would be coded as (1) among others. This is quite challenging for a novice researcher and it needs some degree of experience. The design of the research can also be described as Action design. It was a step-by-step process geared towards analyzing quality of service on the recommendations of the customers.

The sample size was 301 customers. These customers were given questionnaires to fill. Data collected in this study from customers was through questionnaires that were generally self-administered. Surveys and focus groups were used to collect information from the customers. When critically analyzed, the use of many models of a research study creates a lot of confusion among the readers or audiences of the paper. For example the use of exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling makes the study difficult to comprehend. The implication of this study is that customers’ satisfaction will always depend on the quality of the fast food.

Conclusion

Even though the aspect of customer satisfaction in the fast food industry has been widely studied, the tie between service quality, delivery and satisfaction of the customer has been having significance to researchers. According to Kisang & Heesup (2010, p. 311), both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to analyze data from the questionnaires. This gave the study a holistic approach that would represent the entire population that was sampled. It is important to note that even though this study used the Likert-type scale to do the assessment of food quality with values ranging from the 1 (totally disagree) to 7 (totally agree), there was no proper descriptive statistic that outline the characteristics of the data collected. On the other hand, Gilbert et al. (2004, p. 387) bridged the conceptual gap by use of a model. The analyst believes that this study would fill the conceptual gap through the identification of quality service delivery dimensions and examining empirically tie among quality service delivery, customer satisfaction, behavioral intentions, as well as value. However, the model of study used was hierarchical that was used to synthesize the impact of value, satisfaction and quality on the behavior of customers at food stores. This model was slightly complex and left out many other important parameters like the attitude and behavior of the workers of the motel. Furthermore, Hong & Prybutok (2009, p. 83) study methods involved a variety of statistical tools for modelling because the parameters that were described as too variable. Although the output of the statistical models may be similar, the mechanisms of operations are different and therefore creating difficulties in terms of understanding of the audiences.

In my proposed study, I am intending to use Kisang & Heesup (2010, p. 3196 methodological approaches. This is because it will be easy to adapt in my research since there is no aspects of modelling as have been seen in the researches conducted by Gilbert et al. (2004, p. 380), Hong & Prybutok (2009, p. 88) among others. Finally, statistical tools used by Kisang & Heesup (2010, p. 314) are straight forward and easy to run as compared to modelling.