Culture and service quality expectations

Abstract

Purpose -The main purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of individual-level cultural dimensions on Generation Y consumers' expectations of service quality. Design/methodology/approach -Service quality and individual-level cultural values were measured using existing scales from the literature. Factor analysis was conducted to verify the factor structures of both constructs while structural equation modeling was employed to examine the measures for cultural values and service quality dimensions. Findings -Four out of the five hypotheses are supported and the last one is partially confirmed in terms of directional support. Service quality expectations are positively related to uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation but negatively related to power distance. Masculinity and collectivism did not have a significant relationship. Service quality was found to be a three-factor construct consisting of tangibles, reliability and responsiveness/empathy/assurance. Cultural values were confirmed to consist of five dimensions according to Hofstede's typology. Generation Y consumers are found to be low in power distance and have high expectations of service quality.Research limitation/implications -The main limitations are that the study did not distinguish between different types of full-service restaurants in its analysis and the sample consisted of undergraduate students only. Practical implications -The findings indicate the importance of measuring individual-level cultural values which may be used as a segmentation variable to guide service delivery and resource allocation. Originality/value -The study contributes to the scant research on service quality among Generation Y consumers in developing countries. It also assesses the five-factor structure of the SERVQUAL scale in a new country setting, that is, Malaysia.

Food and the Perception of Eating: The Case of Young Taiwanese Consumers

“…According to Lo (2005), 64.12% of the restaurants in Taipei serve ethnic food from foreign cultures. Young Taiwanese are presumed to have a great degree of acceptance of new food as implied by prior studies (Kueh & Voon, 2007). In addition to that, the economic transformation in Taiwan has changed the eating habit tremendously.…”

“…On the other hand, scholars have urged for further research on Gen Y consumers in restaurant industry due to the relatively scant attention given into this segment (Kueh & Voon, 2007). The limited food studies investigating young consumers had worked on various perspectives and contexts, including service quality expectation of young consumers in Malaysia (Kueh & Voon, 2007); key restaurant attributes affecting young consumers' experiences in United States (Harrington et al, 2012); food practice and social relationships among young people (Neely et al, 2014); attitudes of young Taiwanese towards healthy eating (Sun, 2008). Among the limited literature on young consumers, foodservice attributes received the greatest attention.…”

“…This study intends to focus on young consumers or members of Generation Y who are born between 1977 and 1994 (Kim & Jang, 2014;Paul, 2001). The marketing potential of young consumers has been widely documented in prior studies (Harrington et al, 2012;Jang, Kim, & Bonn, 2011;Kueh & Voon, 2007). Labelled as the next big spending group, Gen Yers who were socialized in a materialistic society have a higher level of disposable income and live a more affluent lifestyle (Farris, Chong, & Dunning, 2002;Tomkins, 1999).…”

“…Labelled as the next big spending group, Gen Yers who were socialized in a materialistic society have a higher level of disposable income and live a more affluent lifestyle (Farris, Chong, & Dunning, 2002;Tomkins, 1999). A large portion of the young consumers' spending goes to food and beverage expenditure with the prevalence of eating-out culture (Jang et al, 2011;Kueh & Voon, 2007). This market segment is particularly significant to Taiwanese food market.…”

Consumption among Brazilian Women and the Role of Persuasion: An Analysis of Hedonic/Utilitarian Values in a Materialistic Scenario

“…The classification of individuals into generations is of use when attempting to understand some characteristics related to consumption (Foscht & Schloffer, 2009;Kue & Voon, 2007;Hudson, 2010). Members of all generations have experiences in childhood and adolescence that affect their view of consumption and labor (Bakeell and Mitchell, 2003).…”