Do All the Satisfied Customers Promote the Service? A Closer Look at the Effect of Dining-out Behaviour

Purpose- The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of dining experience (developed from food quality, service quality, physical environment, and price) on dining satisfaction (developed from cognitive and affective factors) in the context of emerging fast fine-dining restaurants (FFDRs); to test the effect of customers’ dining satisfaction on word of mouth (WoM) marketing; and to examine the moderating effect of dining-out behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach- Data were collected from 294 foreign diners dining in ethnic- based fast fine-dining restaurants (FFDRs) and analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling using SmartPLS software.

Findings- The results indicate that dining experience has a significant influence on dining satisfaction which leads to higher WoM. The results also show that dining-out behaviour moderates negatively on the relationship between dining satisfaction and WoM.

Practical Implications- This study contributes to the body of knowledge on food services by understanding the predictors of dining experience and the potential impacts of marketing tactic variables, specifically in the context of FFDRs.

Originality- The study specifies that restaurant attributes are the primary features that influence customer satisfaction; however, customers need to be delighted to promote restaurants.