The relationship between restaurant attribute satisfaction and return intent in theme restaurants

Theme restaurants were designed to provide their customers with a meal coupled with an entertaining experience (Bagli, 1998). After a rapid rise in popularity in the early to mid 1990\u27s, theme restaurants began to experience a decline in market share. As the theme restaurant segment experiences the downsizing of many once popular brands, it is imperative that the industry segment investigate customer satisfaction with restaurant attributes in order to assess which areas are in need of improvement. Although much research has been conducted on customer satisfaction in the service industries, none has focused on the theme restaurant industry in particular. Expectancy disconfirmation theory has been adopted in order to assess customer satisfaction with theme restaurant attributes. This study adds to the existing body of customer satisfaction literature by examining four theme restaurant attributes and their influence on return intent. The restaurant attributes of interest in this study are food quality, service quality, atmosphere, and novelty; Findings and conclusion. This study has provided empirical results indicating that customer satisfaction with the theme restaurant attributes food quality and atmosphere is influential in determining return intent. These findings support previous research showing a link between customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The present research provides a contribution to the field by providing insight into the repeat purchase behavior of theme restaurant patrons. It expands the current body of literature on customer satisfaction by examining an industry segment that has not been previously researched