Title: A comparison of the service quality of fast food chain franchises

Authors: Ming-Chun Tsai, Kuang-Hsun Shih, Jason C.H. Chen

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, Chung Hua University, Hsin Chu, Taiwan. ' Department of Banking & Finance, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan. ' Graduate School of Business, Gonzaga University, Spokane, USA

Abstract: Service quality is the core value to attract customers in the fast food industry. While Stevens, Knutson and Patton (1995) have presented a DINESERV measurement scale for the restaurant business, there has not been a specific measurement scale for the fast food business in emerging markets. Therefore, this study will develop a service quality measurement scale for the fast food business from the Taiwanese consumers| point of view. The results show that there are seven factors affecting the overall service quality: Friendliness, Hygiene, Task Accuracy, Comfort, Store Appearance, Convenience and Interior Design. Another finding shows that the two chain franchises (McDonald|s and KFCs) have the best performance in Task Accuracy and Hygiene, and poorest performance in Convenience.

Keywords: fast food services; chain franchises; IPA; importance performance analysis; service process models; service quality; service standards.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSS.2007.012930

International Journal of Services and Standards, 2007 Vol.3 No.2, pp.222 - 238

Published online: 29 Mar 2007 *

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