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intention at Malay restaurants
M.A.A. Bashir, N. Zainol & A.M.F. Wahab
Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Penang, Malaysia
ABSTRACT: The foodservice business today is a dynamic industry. This can be seen from the assort-
ment of foodservice establishments escalating in all sub-sectors of the industry, including restaurants.
Food quality appears to be acknowledged as fundamental for the success of restaurants; however, most
restaurant quality-related studies focused on atmospherics and service delivery, often neglecting the
significance of food itself as the basis of a restaurant. The objectives of this study were to assess the
effects of food quality on behavioral intentions and to further examine the contribution of individual
food attributes on it. With regression analyses, the results demonstrated overall food quality significantly
affects behavioral intentions; on top, food freshness was the utmost contributor to it. Hence, restaurateurs
should identify that customer place a high value on freshness of food and this appears to be associated
with crispness, juiciness, and aroma of the food.
Keywords
:
Food quality, food quality attributes, behavioral intentions, Malay restaurants
1 INTRODUCTION
business competitors. They further argued that
although food quality has been noticed as impor-
tant, most restaurant quality related studies have
focused on atmospherics and service delivery, often
overlooking the importance of food itself as the
core competency of a restaurant. Therefore, the
objectives of this study were to assess the effect of
food quality on behavioral intentions and to fur-
ther examine the contribution of individual food
attributes on it.
Viewing at the phenomenon of increasing num-
bers of Malaysians dining out, entrepreneurs have
taken this ideal opportunity to open businesses in
foodservice industry, particularly restaurant. Sub-
sequently, with increasing competition between
restaurants, enticing new customers can no longer
promise profits and success, but retaining exist-
ing customers is of more importance. Indeed, a
competitive environment provides customers with
more alternatives to choose from (Haghighi, Dor-
osti, Rahnama & Hoseinpour, 2012). As a result,
the basis to sustainable competitive advantage lies
in providing high-quality service that will in turn
lead to repeat patronage. Relating to restaurant
industry, total foodservice involves both tangible
and intangible components. With regard on tan-
gible components, this is the time when food qual-
ity plays an important role underneath restaurant
business. It has been reported that in the restaurant
industry, quality of food is the most critical factor
for patrons' behavior (Jin, Lee & Huffman, 2011).
Namkung and Jang (2007) as well asserted that
quality of food is one of the best means to maxi-
mize success in the restaurant business. Despite
the importance of food quality in restaurant busi-
nesses, according to Namkung and Jang (2007), a
critical challenge facing restaurant industry these
days is to offer quality food that is not only com-
pelling for the customers but also can be better to
1.1
Food quality and food quality attributes
Among the vital elements in consumer food per-
ceptions and food choice decisions is the quality
(Grunert, 2005). Generally, consumers favor prod-
ucts of high quality including the choice of food
that they are consuming. Hence, it is necessary
to know consumers' own perceptions of quality
as consumers typically will be making purchas-
ing decisions on these beliefs (Rijswijk & Frewer,
2008). Food quality has been commonly accepted
as a fundamental element of the overall restaurant
experience (Ryu, Lee & Kim, 2012; Ha & Jang,
2010; Namkung & Jang, 2007). According to Peri
(2006), food quality is an essential condition to sat-
isfy the needs and expectations of customers.
Despite the importance of food quality in res-
taurant business, there is no agreement on the
individual attributes that represent food qual-
ity. Sulek and Hensley (2004) included all food
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