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International Journal of Hospitality Management 27 (2008) 459469 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

The relationships among overall quick-casual restaurant image, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions
Kisang Ryua,1, Heesup Hanb,, Tae-Hee Kimc
b

Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration, University of New Orleans, USA Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-1404, USA c Department of Food Service Management, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Abstract The purpose of this research is to explain the relationships among overall quick-casual restaurant image, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in the quick-casual restaurant industry. The ndings indicate that overall quick-casual restaurant image signicantly inuences perceived value, and overall quick-casual restaurant image and perceived value had a signicant role in inuencing customer satisfaction. Additionally, overall quick-casual restaurant image, perceived value, and customer satisfaction are signicant predictors of customers behavioral intentions. Finally, customer satisfaction can act as a partial mediator in the relationship between overall quick-casual restaurant image/perceived value and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, we discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of the ndings and future research ideas. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Overall quick-casual restaurant image; Perceived value; Customer satisfaction; Behavioral intentions; Quick-casual restaurant

1. Introduction With customers increasingly demanding higher quality food preparation and taste, healthier food choices, better physical eating conditions, superior customer service, and more value for their money, the quick-casual segment has become one of the biggest in the foodservice industry (Anderson, 2003; Sloan, 2002; Tillotson, 2003). This new category, which falls between the Quick Service and Full Service segments, is less likely to offer fried foods and more likely to provide hand-held items such as sandwiches and wraps. Quick-casual restaurants offer cor more consistent with casual dining menus and de experiences. These restaurants tend to have their highest sales volume during lunch and generate a higher average checkbetween $6 and $9than traditional quick

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 785 532 2213; fax: +1 785 532 5522.

E-mail addresses: kryu@uno.edu (K. Ryu), heesup@ksu.edu (H. Han), thkim33@khu.ac.kr (T.-H. Kim). 1 Tel.: +1 504 280 5502; fax: +1 504 280 3189. 0278-4319/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2007.11.001

service restaurants. The rapid growth in the number of quick-casual restaurants (e.g., Panera Bread) has a signicant impact on the overall quick service sector. Many researchers have studied the impact of an organizations image on consumer behavior, particularly on consumer loyalty (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998) in the service sectors. Specically, the intangible characteristic of the restaurant industry may enhance the crucial role of image in inuencing customers behavior because customers heavily depend on tangible cues, such as restaurant cor and interior design brand name (e.g., Panera Bread), de (e.g., Chipotle), and price (e.g., Souplantation). Restaurateurs should establish a distinctive image that differentiates them from competitors to communicate the products major benets and positioning towards a target market. A restaurants image, which can directly indicate the quality of dining service for customers, can have an enormous inuence on customers perceptions of customer value and satisfaction, which, in turn, affects their behavioral intentions (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000; Patterson and Spreng, 1997; Prendergast and Man, 2002).

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Effective management of restaurant image is particularly important in the quick-casual segment in generating perceived value, customer satisfaction, and subsequent behavioral intentions because of the rapidly growing number of quick-casual restaurants. In most quick-casual restaurants, creating distinctive image may present challenges for restaurant managers since the image of one restaurant may inuence customers perception of other restaurants in the same chain. If the components of image cor and (e.g., store location, waiting time for a meal, de interior design, food quality, menu variety, professional appearance of staff, price, and cleanliness) are in harmony, the image of chain restaurant is reinforced, but if they work in conict, the positioning for the restaurant will be unclear to customers, resulting in confusion and disappointment. Effective image management brings in a competent marketing strategy. If restaurateurs are doing this well, they should not have to worry about negative images. Hence it is crucial to maintain a consistent image for service standards for most quick-casual restaurants in the same chain. Despite the increasing importance of the quick-casual segment in the hospitality industry, particularly in the restaurant industry, it has not gained much attention in research. Moreover, there has been no investigation of whether customers in this segment are primarily driven by overall quick-casual restaurant image (OQRI), perceived value, or satisfaction. In addition, little research has been conducted to explain the relationships among OQRI, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in the hospitality and tourism academic eld. For example, one question that has been left unanswered concerns whether there is a direct inuence from OQRI and/or perceived value on customer behavioral intention or an indirect relationship via customer satisfaction. Thus, this paper aims to ll these gaps. Our purpose, therefore, is to explore the relationships among OQRI, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in a quickcasual segment. The specic objectives of this study were to: (1) examine the causal relationship from OQRI to perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions; (2) discover the causal relationship from perceived value to customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions; (3) investigate the causal relationship from customer satisfaction to behavioral intentions; and (4) explore the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between OQRI and behavioral intentions and in the relationship between perceived value and behavioral intentions. The ndings may help restaurateurs determine the impact of restaurant image on perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in quick-casual restaurants. Findings also provide evidence of the relationships among restaurant image, value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions so that quick-casual restaurateurs may understand more fully how to meet or even exceed customer needs.

2. Literature review 2.1. Explication of constructs 2.1.1. Overall quick-casual restaurant image The important aspect of image has received increasing attention in the marketing literature, since it affects the individuals subjective perception and consequent behavior (Castro et al., 2007; Chen and Tsai, 2007; Gallarza et al., 2002; Hartman and Spiro, 2005; Tasci et al., 2007). Due to the complex nature of the image, there are numerous denitions of image. For instance, Baloglu and Brinberg (1997) dened it as the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that people have of a place or destination (p. 11). Similarly, OQRI is dened as the complex of customers perceptions of quick-casual restaurants on different (salient) attributes for the purpose of this study (Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998). In other words, OQRI is described as a function of the attributes of quick-casual restaurants that are salient for evaluation. Numerous studies in marketing have placed emphasis on customers perceptions of a stores image in terms of functional attributes, such as waiting time for service, location, and other qualities (Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998). Consistent with this, in this study, OQRI is a customers perception of the functional attributes of quick-casual restaurants cor (e.g., restaurant location, waiting time for a meal, de and interior design, food quality, menu variety, and cleanliness). 2.1.2. Perceived value The role of value is becoming an increasing concern to consumers and marketers (Dodds, 1991) because it is one of the most powerful forces in todays marketplace (Albrecht, 1992). In marketing, value is typically described from the consumers perspective. The most widely accepted conceptualization of value in marketing is dening it in terms of performance/quality and price (Patterson and Spreng, 1997). Thus, in this study, value can be described as the customers overall appraisal of the net worth of the service, based on the customers assessment of what is received (benets provided by the service), and what is given (costs or sacrice in acquiring and utilizing the service) (Hellier et al., 2003, p. 1765). 2.1.3. Customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction has long been considered a fundamental determinant of long-term customer behavior (Oliver, 1980; Yi, 1990), so service rms increasingly dedicate substantial energies to tracking customer satisfaction. Hunt (1977) dened satisfaction as an evaluation rendered that the (product) experience was at least as good as it was supposed to be (p. 459). Similarly, based on the theoretical empirical evidence to date, Oliver (1997) described it as the consumers fulllment response. It is a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provided (or is providing) a pleasurable

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level of consumption-related fulllment, including levels of under- or overfulllment (p. 13). Although researchers struggle to clearly dene the concept of customer satisfaction, an essential aspect of customer satisfaction is an evaluation process (Back, 2005). This evaluative processoriented approach has been regarded as the most effective way to measure the level of customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1997; Yi, 1990). 2.1.4. Behavioral intentions Customers frequently develop an attitude toward purchasing based on a prior service experience. They also undergo a cognitive decision-making process about whether to stay or leave a service rm (Colgate and Lang, 2001). Oliver (1997) described this attitude as the development of a fairly stable like/dislike of a product based on previous experience. He also indicated that customers can develop an attitude based on prior information without actual experience, so they frequently increase biases for or against providers based on the providers images in the marketplace. This attitude is strongly related to the customers intentions to repatronize the service/product and to be engaged in word-of-mouth behaviors. In this sense, Oliver (1997) dened behavioral intentions as an afrmed likelihood to engage in a certain behavior. Based on this denition, behavioral intention in this study may be described as a stated likelihood to return to the restaurant and to recommend the restaurant to family, friends, and others in the future. 2.2. Hypotheses development 2.2.1. Inuence of OQRI on study variables While a number of studies address the signicant role of store image in determining consumer perception and consequent behavior (Bigne et al., 2001; Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Chen and Tsai, 2007; Lee et al., 2005; Osman, 1993; Prendergast and Man, 2002), there is little empirical evidence to support the explicit relationship between OQRI and perceive value. Specically, in the tourism industry, Andreassen and Lindestad (1998) posited and empirically tested the linkage between store/corporate image and the customers perception of value. Their ndings indicated that while corporate image has an impact on other outcome variables, such as perceived quality and satisfaction, there was no signicant relationship between image and value. However, although image has no direct effect on value, it has an indirect effect through perceived quality. Further, Ferrand and Pages (1999) found that image creates value for sport organizations. Additionally, Aaker (1991) stated the contribution of image to the value of brand. Image can assist in the customers assessment of what is received and what is sacriced, and price paid, and overall assessment. Chen and Tsai (2007) recently investigated tourist behaviors by constructing a comprehensive model including destination image and perceived value into the quality-satisfaction-

behavioral intentions paradigm. The structural relationship analysis showed no signicant inuence of destination image on perceived value and satisfaction. The relationship between image and customer satisfaction has gained little attention in hospitality literature. This is because they are typically analyzed with other constructssuch as perceived value, perceived quality, and customer loyalty (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). Many previous studies have shown that the image can be a critical factor in inuencing customer satisfaction and subsequent behavioral intentions (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998; Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Cai et al., 2003; Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000; OLeary and Deegan, 2005; Osman, 1993; Prendergast and Man, 2002). OQRI is likely to be established in customers minds through media communication or previous experience. Andreassen and Lindestad (1998) claimed that store image is believed to generate a halo effect on satisfaction judgments and attitudes toward the service rm. That is, once customers favorably have OQRI, they are likely to be satised with the services provided, improving their overall attitude toward the quick-casual restaurant. There is a general consensus that the image affects the future behavior of consumers among researchers (Bigne et al., 2001; Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Castro et al., 2007; Chen and Gursoy, 2001; Chen and Tsai, 2007; Osman, 1993; Prendergast and Man, 2002). Osman (1993) argued that customers patronage behavior towards a particular store relies on store image. In a quick service restaurant setting, Prendergast and Mans (2002) ndings revealed that both functional attributes (i.e., waiting time for a seat, store environment, and store location) and psychological attributes (emotion-eliciting qualities of environments) of store image are signicant predictors of store loyalty (the propensity to revisit the store and willingness to recommend the store). In their study, functional attributes of store image more precisely predict store loyalty than psychological attributes. Bloemer and Ruyter (1998) found that store image can only inuence store loyalty through store satisfaction with a particular department store. Store loyalty was assessed using customers behavioral intentions. Further, Andreassen and Lindestad (1998) found that image signicantly inuences customer satisfaction, quality, and loyalty in a service context. In their empirical investigation, behavioral intentions, such as repurchase intentions and willingness to provide positive word-ofmouth, are used to indicate customer loyalty. In addition, Castro et al. (2007) found that a destinations image had the impact on the future behavior of tourists through two mediators: service quality and/or tourist satisfaction. Furthermore, Chen and Tsai (2007) proposed a tourist behavior model by considering destination image, evaluative factors (i.e., trip quality, perceived value, satisfaction) and behavioral intentions. The results showed that destination image appeared to have the most important effect on behavioral intentions (i.e., intention to revisit and willingness to recommend). In accordance with Bigne et al. (2001),

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destination image affected behavioral intentions both directly and indirectly. Based on these ndings, the following hypotheses were formulated: Hypothesis 1. Restaurant image has a positive effect on perceived value. Hypothesis 2. Restaurant image has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. Hypothesis 3. Restaurant image has a positive effect on behavioral intentions. 2.2.2. Relationships among perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions Although the relationships between perceived value and customer satisfaction or behavioral intentions has been debated in service marketing (McDougall and Levesque, 2000), in recent years perceived value has gained special attention as a stable construct in predicting consumer buying behavior (Hellier et al., 2003). Many researchers agree that value has a signicant inuence on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998; Chen and Tsai, 2007; Lee et al., 2007; McDougall and Levesque, 2000; Patterson and Spreng, 1997; Pura, 2005). In their empirical examination of the role of perceived value in explaining consumer behavior in a service context, Patterson and Spreng (1997) found that customers perceived value is a positive and direct antecedent of customer satisfaction. Andreassen and Lindestad (1998) found that value has a positive impact on customer satisfaction in developing a customer loyalty model in a complex service context. Additionally, in investigating the relationships among service quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions, McDougall and Levesque (2000) found that perceived service quality and value were the most signicant drivers of customer satisfaction across four service sectors, such as restaurant, auto service, hairstylist, and dental services. Pura (2005) analyzed the direct effect of customer perceived value on attitudinal and behavioral components of loyalty, such as commitment and behavioral intentions in a service context. His ndings suggested that behavioral intentions and commitment were signicantly inuenced by customer perceived value. Lee et al. (2007) examined the multiple dimensions of perceived value for tourism at the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), and to investigate how that value affected visitors satisfaction and recommendations to others. The results indicated that all of the underlying dimensions of tourists DMZ-perceived value (functional, overall and emotional value) had a signicant effect on DMZ tour satisfaction. The impact of DMZ tour satisfaction also signicantly inuenced the recommendations of DMZ tours to others. Thus, based on these study ndings, the following hypotheses were developed: Hypothesis 4. Perceived value has a positive effect on customer satisfaction.

Hypothesis 5. Perceived value has a positive effect on behavioral intentions. 2.2.3. Customer satisfaction as a predictor of behavioral intentions Many researchers have provided empirical evidence of a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions, such as repurchase and word-ofmouth intentions. Anderson and Sullivan (1993) found that high level of customer satisfaction decreases the perceived benets of service provider switches, thereby increasing customer repurchase intentions (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). Getty and Thompson (1994), in investigating the relationship among service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions, suggested that customer behavioral intentions to recommend and repurchase are positive functions of their perception of satisfaction and service quality. In assessing the role of intentions as a link between satisfaction and repatronizing behavior in a restaurant setting, Soderlund and Ohman (2005) also found that customer satisfaction is signicantly related to two specic intention constructs: intentions as expectations and intentions as wants. Further, Kivela et al. (1999) found that dining satisfaction signicantly inuences post-dining behavioral intentions. These ndings all support the signicant link between customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the restaurant industry. Thus, the following hypothesis was developed: Hypothesis 6. Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on behavioral intentions. The proposed hypotheses are illustrated in the study model (Fig. 1). 3. Methodology Based on previous studies (Baker et al., 1994; Birtwistle et al., 1999; Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000; Osman, 1993; Prendergast and Man, 2002), two focus groups, and a pilot test, a questionnaire was developed and rened to assess OQRI, perceived value, customer satisfaction, behavioral intention, and demographic variables. The questionnaire is presented in Table 1. Part I of the questionnaire consisted of 8 semantic differential items (i.e., 3 very bad, 3 very good) to measure OQRI: Cleanliness was very bad (3)very good (+3). Part II consisted of measurement of perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. All items were assessed via a 7-point Likert-scale, ranging from extremely disagree (1) to extremely agree (7). Perceived value was measured by three items (e.g., The restaurant offered good value for the price). Customer satisfaction was assessed by four items. For example, I have really enjoyed myself at this restaurant. Behavioral intentions were assessed by asking respondents to answer to the three statements: I would like to come back to this restaurant in the future.

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Restaurant Image

H3

H2 H6 H1 Customer Satisfaction H4 Behavioral Intentions

Perceived Value

H5

Fig. 1. Proposed model showing relationships among restaurant image, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. Table 1 Measures of variables for the proposed model Variables Restaurant image (RI) Measures Very badvery good SI1: Food quality wasUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SI2: Menu variety wasUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SI3: Cleanliness wasUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SI4: Price wasUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU cor wasUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SI5: Interior design and de SI6: Professional appearance of staff wasUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SI7: Store location wasUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SI8: Waiting time for a meal wasUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Strongly disagreestrongly agree PV1: The restaurant offered good value for the price PV2: The overall value of dining at the restaurant was high PV3: The dining experience was worth the money Strongly disagreestrongly agree CS1: I was pleased to dine in at the restaurant CS2: The overall feeling I got from the restaurant was satised CS3: The overall feeling I got from the restaurant put me in a good mood CS4: I really enjoyed myself at the restaurant Strongly disagreestrongly agree BI1: I would like to come back to the restaurant in the future BI2: I would recommend the restaurant to my friends or others BI3: I would more frequently visit the restaurant

Perceived value (PV)

Customer satisfaction (CS)

Behavioral intentions (BI)

Two focus groups were conducted. The populations were undergraduate and graduate students. To qualify for the focus group, a participant had to be a customer of a quickcasual restaurant within the past 3 months. Responses from the focus groups helped to construct and rene the questionnaire. Participants freely discussed their criteria for choosing a quick-casual restaurant. In addition, a pilot test was conducted with actual customers at quick-casual restaurants to ensure that the items selected had acceptable psychometric qualities with respect to the salient store image most frequently associated with experiencing the quick-casual dining segment. A visitors survey was conducted at franchised quickcasual restaurants with a different brand name in a Midwestern state. These restaurants do not offer full table service, but promises higher quality of food, service, and

atmosphere than quick service restaurants. Customers at these restaurants were selected as the samples because they were in a position where they could spend some time to experience core store image attributes (e.g., characteristics of menu items, food quality, level of service, and physical surroundings). In the areas where the restaurants are located in, customers are easy to nd an alternative each time if they wish. Further, since selected restaurants a bit differ in terms of their service attributes, customers in each selected restaurant may experience different features of the service. Thus, there was good potential to generalize the ndings from the samples to the quick-casual restaurant industry. Managers of the restaurants described they have higher sales volume during lunch than dinner, and customers average check is about seven dollars. The menu of these restaurants includes more health-conscious items

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containing high quality ingredients (e.g., free range chicken and freshly made salsas). A total of 360 questionnaires were distributed to visitors of these restaurants. After eliminating unusable responses among the completed questionnaires, 341 responses were coded for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated to ascertain the characteristics of the sample and to compare means and standard deviations for each multi-item scale. Among the survey participants, 44.40% were male, and 55.60% were female. Approximately 71.60% of respondents indicated that they had visited the restaurant more than 5 times over the past 3 months, 46.00% had visited more than 10 times, and only 4.10% indicated that this had been their rst visit. The average age of the respondents was 30.50 years. Most respondents were between 26 and 35 years of age (43.20%). About 22.31% of survey participants were less than 25 years of age, and 34.49% were over 36 years. Approximately 36.15% of the respondents described the house hold income level is between $20,000 and $59,999, and 31.20% indicated their house hold income is between $60,000 and $99,999. Most respondents were Caucasian/White (63.20%) and Hispanic (17.65%). Asian (9.40%), African American (6.10%), and other (3.65%) composed less than 20% of the respondents. The mean value of store image was 1.57 (Semantic differential Scale; 3 very bad, 3 very good) with a standard error of .69. The average perceived value was high, with a mean of 5.22 and standard error of .95. The average respondents satisfaction was 5.31 with a standard error of 1.01. Finally, behavioral intention had a mean value of 5.60 with a standard error of 1.08. Overall, survey participants offered somewhat positive evaluations of the quick-casual restaurants.
Table 2 Correlation matrix of variables (N 341)

4. Results 4.1. Reliability and validity testing A reliability test was performed to assess the internal consistency of the result measurements. The coefcient alpha is the most popular measure of reliability for a multiitem scale (Sekaran, 1992). It was used to assess the internal homogeneity among the items scale in this study. Values were all above the suggested cut-off of .70 (store image .81; perceived value .85; customer satisfaction .92; behavioral intentions .89), thus indicating internal consistency (Nunnally, 1978). The results revealed that these multiple measures are highly reliable for measuring each construct. Construct validity assesses the degree to which a measurement represents and logically connects, via the underlying theory, the observed phenomenon to the construct (McDaniel and Gates, 1993). Convergent and discriminant validity are both considered subcategories or subtypes of construct validity. Convergent and discriminant validity checks were conducted using the correlation matrix because the correlation patterns can suggest whether the measures have good convergent and discriminant validity (Campbell and Fiske, 1959; Churchill, 1979). Table 2 presents the correlation matrix among measurement items for study constructs. While correlations among items for store image (A) are weakly correlated, showing insufcient convergent validity and discriminating this construct weakly from others, Table 2 provides general evidence for construct validity. Information presented in this table suggests that acceptable convergent and discriminant validity exist

Note: RI: restaurant Image, PV: perceived value, CS: customer satisfaction, BI: behavioral intentions.

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because the within-construct item correlations (BD) are generally greater than the between-construct item correlations (EJ). Specically, correlation patterns within constructs (BD) differ from the correlation patterns among constructs (EJ), suggesting the measures have acceptable level of convergent and discriminant validity. 4.2. Multiple regression analysis A series of regression analyses were performed to investigate the proposed relationships among store image, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. One of the clearest ways to test the mediating role of a construct is using a series of multiple regression analyses based on Baron and Kennys (1986) suggestion (Oh, 2000). Thus, mediation analysis using regression models was considered an appropriate approach in this study. A series of regression analyses assessed the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between store image and behavioral intentions and in the relationship between perceived value and behavioral intentions. While Baron and Kenny (1986) illustrated mediation analysis using a case of single measures of the independent, mediator, and dependent variables, Oh (2000) insisted that their procedure may be generalized, without losing information, to multivariate data analysis. Accordingly, the four following regression equations were estimated: (1) regressing perceived value on store image; (2) regressing customer satisfaction (the mediator) on store image and perceived value; (3) regressing behavioral intentions (the dependent variable) on store image and perceived value; and (4) regressing behavioral intentions (the dependent variable) on both store image/ perceived value and customer satisfaction. A separate coefcient for each equation was estimated and tested. Table 3 shows the multiple regression equations conducted in this study. The rst regression equation was for testing Hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 1 suggests that parameter b1 should be statistically signicant and positive. The other three regression equations were for testing the other ve hypotheses as well as mediating role of customer satisfaction in forming behavioral intentions. In Eq. (2), Hypotheses 2 and 3 propose that b1 and b2 are signicant and

positive. In Eq. (3), Hypotheses 4 and 5 suggest that b1 and b2 should be statistically signicant and positive. Finally, in the last equation, Hypothesis 6 proposes that b3 is signicant. It was also expected that b1 and b2 would be weaker in the last equation while b3 would be signicant. 4.3. Relationships among study constructs Equation results are presented in Table 4. As predicted in Hypothesis 1, these result show that store image was signicantly associated with perceived value (po.01). The coefcient value was .50. The independent variable (store image) explained approximately 24% of variance in perceived value. Little research has investigated the relationship between store image and perceived value, especially in the hospitality industry. The results for Eq. (1) clearly show that store image is a signicant predictor of perceived value in the fast-casual restaurant industry. In Eq. (2), the effects of store image and perceived value were also found to exert a signicant impact on customer satisfaction (po.01). Thus, Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported. The model explained about 58% of the variance in customer satisfaction. Additionally, the results for Eq. (3) indicated that store image and perceived value are signicant predictors of customers behavioral intentions (po.01), supporting Hypotheses 4 and 5. Both variables in Eq. (3) explain 59% of the total variance in behavioral intentions. This result was consistent with those from previous studies which showed that store image is a signicant predictor of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998; Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Osman, 1993). This result also supports the previous ndings that perceived value has a signicant role in forming customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions (Anderson et al., 1994; McDougall and Levesque, 2000; Patterson and Spreng, 1997; Ravald and Gronroos, 1996). In Eqs. (2) and (3), it was also found that the coefcient (standardized: .64) of perceived value was greater than the coefcient (standardized: .20) of store image in the relationship between store image/perceived value and customer satisfaction. In addition, the coefcient (standardized: .64) of perceived value was also greater than the coefcient (standardized: .21) of store image in the relationship between store image/perceived value and behavioral intentions. This suggests that perceived value has a greater inuence on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions than store image. In both Eqs. (2) and (3), the tolerance level of each variable was greater than .10, and variance ination factor (VIF) value was less than the problematic level of 10.00. Eq. (4) showed a signicant effect of customer satisfaction on behavioral intentions (po.01), supporting Hypothesis 6. This result was consistent with the previous nding that customer behavioral intentions are a positive function of customer satisfaction (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Getty and Thompson, 1994). The results for Eq. (3)

Table 3 Multiple regression equations PV b0 b1 RI  CS b0 b1 RI b2 PV  BI b0 b1 RI b2 PV  BI b0 b1 RI b2 PV b3 CS  (1) (2) (3) (4)

Note: RI: restaurant image; PV: perceived value; CS: customer satisfaction; BI: behavioral intentions; b: regression coefcients; and e: error term.

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466 K. Ryu et al. / International Journal of Hospitality Management 27 (2008) 459469 Table 4 Regression estimates of equations Independent variable Dependent variable Regression coefcients Unstandardized Eq. (1) Eq. (2) Restaurant image R2 (adjusted R2) .25 (.24) Restaurant image Perceived value R2 (adjusted R2) .58 (.58) Restaurant image Perceived value R2 (adjusted R2) .59 (.59) Restaurant image Perceived value Customer satisfaction R2 (adjusted R2) .72 (.71) Perceived value Customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction Behavioral intentions Behavioral intentions Behavioral intentions Behavioral intentions Behavioral intentions .67 .27 .68 .31 .73 .16 .34 .58 Standardized .50 .20 .64 .21 .64 .10 .29 .55 10.52** 4.87** 15.77** 5.28** 15.98** 3.00** 6.58** 12.25** t value

Eq. (3)

Eq. (4)

**po.01.

indicated that when regressed directly on behavioral intentions, store image and perceived value showed relatively high coefcient values (store image: .21 and perceived value: .64), and statistical signicance (po.01). However, in Eq. (4), the effect of store image and perceived value on behavioral intentions showed relatively low coefcient value (store image: .10 and perceived value: .29) That is, although it is still statistically signicant (customer satisfaction is not a complete mediator), the inuence of store image and perceived value on behavioral intentions was a lot less when the mediator (customer satisfaction) was included in the model. These ndings are consistent with Baron and Kennys (1986) partial mediational conditions. Thus, in this study, customer satisfaction can be described as a partial mediator in the relationship between store image/perceived value and behavioral intentions. In Eq. (4), the three variables accounted for 71% of the total variance in behavioral intentions (po.01). Tolerance values ranged from .43 to .71, which were greater than the problematic level of .10, and VIF values for variables were between 1.41 and 2.34. Accordingly, the variables in Eq. (4) were free from multicollinearity problem. To test signicance of the overall model for each regression equation, the overall F-ratio was used. Since the values ranged from 112.05 to 281.53 at a signicance level of .01 (Eq. (1) 112.05; Eq. (2) 225.65; Eq. (3) 243.89; Eq. (4) 281.53), the overall models for all four regression equations were signicant. The literature suggests that customer satisfaction is a key mediating construct in the relationship between store image/perceived value and behavioral intentions (Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Patterson and Spreng, 1997). Bloemer and Ruyter (1998), in a service context, investigated the direct positive effect and indirect positive effect (i.e., a mediator-effect) of store image on customer loyalty, which is similar to the feature of behavioral intentions (Oliver, 1997; Yi, 1990). Their ndings indicated that store image

could only inuence customer loyalty through customer satisfaction, verifying the complete mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between store image and customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction also mediates the effect of perceived value on behavioral intentions. In modeling the relationship among perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in a service context, Patterson and Spreng (1997) found that perceived value was completely mediated via satisfaction and only indirectly inuenced repurchase intentions. Although our results did not fully support the belief that satisfaction is a complete mediator in the relationship between store image/ perceive value and behavioral intentions as revealed in the previous literature, we still showed that customer satisfaction has a signicant partial mediating role in forming behavioral intentions in the fast-casual restaurant industry. 5. Discussion Our aim was to examine the relationships among overall restaurant image, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in the quick-casual segment. The results clearly showed a signicant role of overall restaurant image on perceived value and crucial impact of overall restaurant image and perceived value on customer satisfaction. Overall restaurant image, perceived value, and customer satisfaction were also found to be signicant predictors of customers behavioral intentions. In addition, customer satisfaction is a partial mediator in the relationship between overall restaurant image/perceived value and behavioral intentions in the quick-casual restaurant segment. The ndings have several theoretical and managerial implications. From a theoretical perspective, this study makes important contributions to the hospitality and tourism literature on restaurant image. While the importance of service quality and customer satisfaction has been

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widely discussed in the marketing literature, little research has emphasized the signicant role of image and value as key strategic variables in explaining customer post purchase behaviors (Patterson and Spreng, 1997). This study showed that the inclusion of image and value in addition to customer satisfaction in one model not only highlights the importance of restaurant image and value, but also provides a more comprehensive understanding of their effect on both customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. This also suggests that restaurant image, value, and customer satisfaction should be included when measuring customers behavioral intentions in the quickcasual segment. The exact relationship among restaurant image, value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in a restaurant setting is still unclear. For example, one unanswered question is whether there is a direct relationship between restaurant image and customers behavioral intentions, or an indirect relationship via perceived value or customer satisfaction. In this article we attempted to address this question. The ndings showed that the restaurants image is not only an indicator of behavioral intentions, but also inuences the perception of value and customer satisfaction. Thus the restaurants image has not only a direct but also an indirect effect on value and customer satisfaction, which leads to a higher overall effect on behavioral intentions. For restaurateurs, the study results suggest that developing positive indicators of customer behavioral intentions relies not only on the restaurants ability to increase customer satisfaction, but also to establish a favorable image and perceived value. Hence, the relationship between restaurant image, perceived value, and customer satisfaction is something that restaurateurs are keen to strengthen in pursuit of customer approach behavior (i.e., intention to revisit, willingness to recommend, intention to visit more frequently). Particularly, the eight marketing activities cor and (i.e., store location, waiting time for a meal, de interior design, food quality, menu variety, professional appearance of staff, price, and cleanliness) found in this study may directly affect the image of quick-casual restaurants. Therefore, favorable image building by managing and marketing these eight services marketing variables in accordance with the restaurants image is crucial. In todays competitive restaurant environment, where customers have a diversity of options for food and an extensive range of food within the restaurant, where the actual food being offered is generally of comparable standard to many other restaurants food, the image that a restaurant conveys may be a key determining factor in the decision to choose one restaurant over another. Restaurateurs need to work very hard to keep their image favorable in the mind of the customer; and although the formation of an image incorporates many more compo cor and interior design nents than purely physical ones, de play a big part in the formation and maintenance of a cor and interior design, which is restaurant image. The de

the main component of the restaurant image, may attract a particular segment of customers. For instance, several trade journals indicated that consumers favorite sandwich shop/bakery is Panera Bread, where the best attribute is atmosphere, followed by food quality, menu variety, service, and cleanliness (Sloan, 2002; Tillotson, 2003). cor and interior Here it is important to note that the de design plays a great role in creating atmosphere in the customer perception (Ryu and Jang, 2007). Consumers increasingly expect a more entertaining atmosphere to enhance the entire dining experience, and more restaurateurs are making efforts to meet that desire with cor (e.g., innovative and exciting interior design and de Cosi Sandwich Bar). Hence service providers should give cor and interior design, careful consideration to their de which in turn inuence the overall restaurant image. As a differentiation strategy, restaurant operators should develop a favorable restaurant image through effective restau cor that will set them apart from the rant design and de competition. Several limitations of the present study should be mentioned. First, since data from this study were collected from customers of fast-casual dining restaurants, results may not be generalized to other segments of the restaurant industry. In addition, the use of a convenience sampling approach could decrease external validity. Thus, future studies should consider developing a systematic design to better represent the population. Third, the series of multiple regression analyses used in this study are not necessarily superior to other methods of investigating potential higher-order and/or interactive effects. Structural equation modeling is a prominent alternative method. Fourth, this study limited the concept of behavioral intentions to only favorable viewpoint (e.g., revisit, positive word-of-mouth, increased revisiting volume) like most of previous studies to explain customers behavioral intentions. Unfavorable viewpoint of behavioral intentions (e.g., intention to complain) and price sensitivity were not considered when assessing restaurant customers behavioral intentions in this study. Future study may consider a multidimensional construct formed by four major categories (referrals, price sensitivity, repurchase, and complaining behavior) as suggested by Zeithaml et al. (1996) to precisely assess customers stated likelihood to engage in a certain behavior. Finally, low within-construct correlations for store image were observed in this study. Accordingly, these correlations were not clearly discriminated from between-construct correlations related to store image (E, F, and H). For future study, it would be appropriate to use store image as several separate constructs that has high correlations among the indicators. Given the great diversity of service industries, it would be helpful to replicate similar studies in other service settings. Additionally, especially with regard to restaurant image, developing a reliable and valid scale of measurement still remains a key issue facing the hospitality and tourism academy. Thus future studies should develop a

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