No abstract

Despite the worldwide importance of the restaurant industry, there is a lack of research, specifically within the emerging market context, regarding the antecedents and patronage outcomes of service encounter experiences in the restaurant industry. Especially in the services marketing domain, service encounter experience is an emerging concept. It is important for businesses such as restaurants, and their management, to identify the factors influencing their patrons' service encounters and the effect of the delivered service encounters on business success. The primary objective of this study is to determine the antecedents and patronage outcomes of service encounter experiences of patrons in the Zimbabwean restaurant industry. A convenience sample of 400 respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire focusing on how four selected antecedents influence service encounter experiences, and how service encounter experiences relate to three selected patronage outcomes. From a quantitative analysis, three of the antecedents proved to significantly influence service encounter experiences, namely ambience factors, service quality delivery and typology of patrons. In addition, the empirical results showed statistically significant relationships between service encounter experiences and both re-patronage intention and patronage loyalty. The study contributes by providing practical recommendations to restaurant managers, based on the results, to improve the success rate of restaurants operating in emerging markets. P MUKUCHA C ROOTMAN NE MAZIBUKO

The study sought to determine the customers’ emotional responses to employee displayed emotions at lunar parks in Zimbabwe. Hundred adult consumers were surveyed soon after an observation of the employee-consumer interaction. Employee emotional displays were measured using observational methods and customers’ emotional states were assessed using the PAD scale. Bivariate regression analysis was used to analyse data. The study revealed that employee displayed emotions positively influences customers’ emotional states of pleasure, arousal, and dominance. Unlike the findings from previous studies the dominance dimension was found to relevant to the lunar park services.

A survey was conducted in Harare, Bulawayo and Bindura to quantify the effect of selected variables on private label brand perception. The following variables were tested; familiarity, store image perception, selected demographic factors (age and income) and consumer characteristics (intolerance of ambiguity, price consciousness, the level at which an individual believes brand names reflect product quality and social status). Data was analysed using stepwise multiple linear regression. The factors that were found to have a significant and positive effect on private label brand perception were familiarity (p<0.01) and store image perception (p<0.05). The authors concluded that there is scope to increase growth of the private label brand market share in the grocery sector of Zimbabwe. The authors recommended that retailers should embark on marketing strategies that focus on increasing the familiarity of private label brands such the use of in-store tastes. Recommendations were also made for retailers to focus on the improvement of store appearance and environment as this affects private label brand perception.