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IJCHM
24,2
200
Received 9 October 2010
Revised 1 March 2010
13 May 2011
25 June 2011
Accepted 6 August 2011
International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality
Management
Vol. 24 No. 2, 2012
pp. 200-223
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0959-6119
DOI 10.1108/09596111211206141
The influence of the quality of the
physical environment, food, and
service on restaurant image,
customer perceived value,
customer satisfaction, and
behavioral intentions
Kisang Ryu
College of Hospitality and Tourism Management,
Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea
Hye-Rin Lee
School of Hotel and Tourism Management,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China, and
Woo Gon Kim
Dedman School of Hospitality, Florida State University, Tallahassee,
Florida, USA and Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to propose an integrated model that examines the impact of
three elements of foodservice quality dimensions (physical environment, food, and service) on
restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from customers at an authentic upscale
Chinese restaurant located in a Southeastern state in the USA via a self-administered questionnaire.
Anderson and Gerbing’s two-step approach was used to assess the measurement and structural models.
Findings – Structural equation modeling shows that the quality of the physical environment, food,
and service were significant determinants of restaurant image. Also, the quality of the physical
environment and food were significant predictors of customer perceived value. The restaurant image
was also found to be a significant antecedent of customer perceived value. In addition, the results
reinforced that customer perceived value is indeed a significant determinant of customer satisfaction,
and customer satisfaction is a significant predictor of behavioral intentions.
Research limitations/implications – The proposed model and study findings will greatly help
researchers and practitioners understand the complex relationships among foodservice quality
(physical environment, food, and service), restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer
satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in the restaurant industry.
Originality/value – This study is the first to develop an integrated model that explicitly accounts for
the influence of three restaurant service quality factors on restaurant image and customer perceived
value. Using structural equation modeling, this study empirically confirms that the model with the
causality from quality, in particular three dimensions of foodservice quality in this study, to restaurant
image is superior to the one with causality from image to quality in the context of restaurant.
Keywords Foodservice quality dimensions (physical environment, food, and service), Restaurant image,
Customer perceived value, Satisfaction, Behavioral intentions, Customer satisfaction,
Customer services quality, Consumer behaviour, United States of America
Paper type Research paper
Introduction The influence of
The consistent increase in cultural and ethnical diversity in the United States has the physical
resulted in the variety and prosperity of ethnic restaurants in the U.S. foodservice
market (Liu and Jang, 2009a). In particular, because of good taste and great customer environment
perceived value for the price, the popularity of Chinese cuisine has been increasing.
According to Liu and Jang (2009a), there are about 43,139 Chinese restaurants in the
United States, which is larger than the combined number of all McDonald’s, Wendy’s, 201
and Burger King domestic outlets. Chinese restaurants generate over $17.5 billion
annual sales, accounting for about a quarter of the overall annual sales generated by
ethnic restaurants in the US (Liu and Jang, 2009a).
Today, Chinese restaurants are facing increasing competition from the growth of
other Asian restaurants (e.g. Thai, Indian, Vietnam, and Korean restaurants). In
addition, American consumers have become more sophisticated, more familiar with
ethnic cuisine, and increasingly they prefer healthy or spicy food. As a result, Chinese
restaurants can no longer largely rely on good taste or low price alone for their success
(Liu and Jang, 2009a). Today, customers are no longer willing to sacrifice poor service
or dining environment (atmosphere) for good taste when they seek an exotic experience
in ethnic restaurants. An excellent overall dining experience via excellent food in
conjunction with good atmosphere and high-quality service needs to be achieved to
meet their satisfaction. However, it is still not empirically tested if customers in this
segment are primarily driven by food, atmospherics, or employee service.
Service quality and customer satisfaction have become the most core marketing
priorities since they are prerequisites of consumer loyalty, such as repeat sales and
positive word-of-mouth (Han and Ryu, 2009; Liu and Jang, 2009b). In today’s intensely
competitive market, it is generally assumed that the key to gaining an advantage lies in
delivering high-quality service that will, in turn, lead to satisfied customers (Han and
Ryu, 2007). In particular, in the restaurant industry, customers generally use food,
physical environment, and employee services as key components of restaurant
experience in evaluating the restaurant service quality (Chow et al., 2007; Namkung
and Jang, 2008; Ryu and Han, 2010). A proper combination of these vital attributes
should result in customers’ perceptions of high restaurant service quality, which in
turn should enhance customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the restaurant
industry. However, little research has been conducted to investigate the influence of
multiple components of restaurant service quality on outcome variables such as
restaurant image and customer perceived value.
The literature has discussed the impact of an organization’s image on consumer
behavior, particularly on consumer loyalty in the service sectors (Andreassen and
Lindestad, 1998). Some previous studies have found that the perceived quality of the
physical environment (Baker et al., 1994; Nguyen and Leblanc, 2002) or the service
quality (Lai et al., 2009) can significantly influence store/corporate image. This image
can have a subsequent influence on customer perceived value and satisfaction, which,
in turn, affects their loyalty (Lai et al., 2009; Patterson and Spreng, 1997; Prendergast
and Man, 2002; Ryu et al., 2008). However, few studies have examined to identify the
antecedents and consequences of image, specifically restaurant image in relation to
the restaurant experience.
IJCHM Although the importance of a Chinese restaurant sector has been consistently
24,2 growing, it has not gained much attention in research. Despite the importance of
foodservice quality, academics and managers know relatively little about how the
combined effects of restaurant service quality (physical environment, food, and
service) elicit restaurant image, customer perceived value, and customer satisfaction,
which, in turn, affect consumer behavior. In particular, to the best of our knowledge
202 none of previous studies have examined the linkage between three dimensions of
restaurant service quality and the restaurant image. In addition, the combined effects
of three antecedents on customer perceived value have been rarely examined even
though customer perceived value is a fundamental determinant of customer
satisfaction. Consequently, this study aims to bridge these gaps by developing an
integrated model that explicitly accounts for the effects of three components (physical
environment, food and service) of restaurant service quality on the restaurant image,
customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in a
Chinese restaurant segment.
This study is important both theoretically and practically. This study attempts to
develop a conceptual model that explicitly accounts for the influences of three
restaurant service quality factors (physical environment, food, service) on restaurant
image and customer perceived value. Practically, this study can provide various
insights into the important role of three dimensions of restaurant service quality on
customers’ perceptions towards the restaurant image, customer perceived value,
customer satisfaction and loyalty behaviors to restaurateurs.

Literature review
Restaurant service quality
Recently, few studies indicated that food, physical environment, and employee services
should be functioned as vital components of restaurant experience in forming the
perceptions of the restaurant service quality in the restaurant industry (Chow et al., 2007;
Jang and Namkung, 2009; Namkung and Jang, 2008; Ryu and Han, 2010).
Chow et al. (2007) investigated the relationships between service quality, customer
satisfaction, and frequency of patronage in the context of full-service restaurant. They
captured three dimensions of service quality (i.e. interaction quality, physical quality,
outcome quality). Namkung and Jang (2008) also conducted a study to identify key
quality attributes that significantly distinguish highly satisfied diners from non-highly
satisfied diners using the context of mid-to-upper scale restaurants. They used three
quality factors (food, atmospherics, and service) to measure diners’ perceived quality in
relation to restaurant experience. Moreover, Jang and Namkung (2009) extended
Mehrabian and Rusell’s (1974) model by incorporating restaurant-specific stimuli and
restaurant-specific measure of emotions. In order to address a lack of comprehensive
evaluation of restaurant service quality, this study used three dimensions of restaurant
quality: product, atmospherics, and service. In addition, Ryu and Han’s (2010) study
examined the relationships among three determinants of quality dimensions (food,
service, and physical environment), price, customer satisfaction, and behavioral
intention in quick-casual restaurants. Similarly, this study also attempted to
understand the effects of three dimensions of foodservice quality (food, service,
physical environment) on customer response in the restaurant industry. It is common
that all three studies examined the influence of foodservice quality on customer The influence of
satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the context of restaurant. However, none of the physical
previous studies investigated how multiple components of restaurant service quality
influenced customers’ perceptions of restaurant image and customer perceived value. environment

Influence of physical environment quality, food quality, service quality on restaurant

image 203
There are many different ways of defining and operationalizing brand image construct
because of the complex nature of the image (Ryu et al., 2008). “Brand image” refers to a
series of perceptions about a brand the consumer formulates as reflected by brand
associations (Keller, 1993). Brand image can be defined as the symbolic meanings that
customers recall when they encounter the specific features of the product or service
(Padgett and Allen, 1997). Baloglu and Brinberg (1997, p. 11) also defined image as “the
sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that people have of a place or destination.”
Moreover, Low and Lamb (2000, p. 352) defined brand image as “the reasoned or
emotional perceptions consumers associate to specific brands.” In addition, Homer
(2008, p. 718) defined brand image as “a higher-order type of association that is more
deeply felt, connected to self, and ‘socially’ impacted versus perceived product
quality which is a lower order type of association that can be more easily altered
(e.g. via verifiable product design efforts).” In this study, the restaurant image refers to
the sum of the emotional perceptions, ideas, or symbolic attitudes that customers
associate with restaurants.
Selnes (1993) argued that performance quality influences a general evaluation of the
brand. Similarly, in the examination of airline service, Ostrowski et al. (1993) posited
that “positive experience over time following several good experiences will ultimately
lead to positive image” (p. 23). In the restaurant industry, a consumer’s perception of a
restaurant’s image is likely to fully reflect customer’s cumulative consumption
experiences (e.g. food, atmospherics, and service). Among the many components that
comprise a consumer’s consumption experiences is a restaurant’s service quality,
which makes it a salient element. Thus, it is reasonable to expect that the perception of
restaurant service quality directly influences the perception of restaurant image.
The physical environment does much to shape a place’s brand image. Booms and
Bitner (1982) documented that the servicescape of a hospitality firm had a significant
impact on customer revisit intention and a restaurant’s brand image. They argued that
the physical environment of hotels or restaurants could be effectively utilized to
strengthen the brand image of the company, to reposition the guest’s perceptual
mapping among competition, and to enhance directly their customer satisfaction with
the service encounter. Baker et al. (1994) also demonstrated the role of the physical
environment of service firms on improving a brand image and stimulating purchase
behaviors. Nguyen and Leblanc (2002) revealed that guest-contact personnel and
physical environment had a significantly positive impact on perceived corporate image
by new clients from a life insurance company.
Lai et al. (2009) proposed and tested an integrative model to examine the relations
among service quality, customer perceived value, image, satisfaction, and loyalty in the
context of a Chinese mobile communications company. In this study the service quality
was assessed using five elements of Parasuraman et al. (1988) SERVQUAL
IJCHM (i.e. tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, and empathy). The results showed
24,2 that service quality directly affected both customer perceived value and image
perceptions, which in turn influenced satisfaction. Tse et al. (2002) found that a
crowded restaurant tended to signal high food quality and conveyed a favorable
restaurant image for Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong, which implies a positive
relationship between food quality and restaurant image. Ryu et al. (2008) reported that
204 food quality, service quality, interior design and décor, restaurant location, and wait
time were the primary drivers of a restaurant’s brand image. When those drivers do
not deliver consistent messages to restaurant guests, the restaurant image is damaged,
and the positioning of the restaurant is confusing to customers. Therefore, maintaining
superb food and service quality is an important precursor to maintaining a restaurant
brand image. Nguyen and LeBlanc (1998) also demonstrated that service quality was
an antecedent of building a corporate brand image. They suggested that the higher
level of service quality customers received from banking and financial institutions, the
higher level of an organization’s brand image would be instilled in the minds of
customers. Based on the aforementioned discussion, it is logical to posit the following
hypotheses:
H1a. The quality of the physical environment has a positive influence on
restaurant image.
H1b. The quality of the food has a positive influence on restaurant image.
H1c. The quality of the service has a positive influence on restaurant image.

Influence of physical environment quality, food quality, service quality on customer

perceived value
Extant literature shows that product quality and service quality serve as predictors of
customer perceived value (Bolton and Drew, 1991; Chen and Hu, 2010; Lai et al., 2009;
Zeithaml, 1988). Eggert and Ulaga (2002) highlights that service quality features
(e.g., tangibles, empathy, reliability, and responsiveness) are positively associated with
consumer perceived value. To the best of our knowledge there is a dearth of research
that investigated the direct impact of food quality as a latent variable on perceived
value. Ryu et al. (2008)’ study appears to be the only empirical evidence indicating that
food quality significantly affected perceived value. However, considering the fact that
perceived product quality affects perceived value and food quality is well accepted as
one of the key elements of perceived product quality in the context of restaurant, it is
logical to propose the link between food quality and perceived value.
Customer perceived value can be defined as the result of the personal comparison
between perceived overall benefits and the perceived sacrifices or costs paid by the
customer (Zeithaml, 1988). Only the customer rather than a service provider can
evaluate whether or not a product or service provides value and the concept of
customer perceived value is perceived to be very subjective and personal
(Parasuraman et al., 1985). McDonald’s standardization efforts through the slogan of
QSCV (Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Value) led to their global brand success
(Wright et al., 2007). Customer perceived value is derived from a core product from
McDonald’s as well as other components, including food and service quality, which the
company delivers to customers. Customers will patronize the McDonald’s when it The influence of
relative to other competitors offers high customer perceived value to meet their needs. the physical
Bitner (1992) argued that a firm’s servicescape has a direct relationship with
cognitive responses, such as customer beliefs and perceptions. In the restaurant environment
context, the physical environment, such as décor, ambient condition, and seating
comfort, provides first-visit customers with cues that deliver the expected service
offerings’ nature and customer perceived value (Nguyen and Leblanc, 2002). Mattila 205
(1999) also showed that a hotel’s servicescape is an important driver of a business
traveler’s perceived value. Han and Ryu (2009) confirmed the positive relationship
between three elements of the restaurant physical environment (i.e. décor and artifacts,
spatial layout, and ambient conditions) and customer perceived value perception.
Among the three dimensions, décor and artifacts were found to be the most influential
driver of customer price perception. Liu and Jang (2009b) examined the relationships
among dining atmospherics, emotional responses, customer perceived value, and
behavioral intentions in the context of Chinese restaurants. Results showed that dining
atmospherics had significant effects on customers’ perceived value. In addition,
customer perceived value also influenced customers’ post-dining behavioral intentions.
Not only was customer perceived value the greatest contributor to behavioral
intentions, but it also mediated the relationship between emotional responses and
behavioral intentions. On the basis of the previous literature, a positive relationship
between three components of restaurant service quality and customer perceived value
is postulated below:
H2a. The quality of the physical environment has a positive influence on customer
perceived value.
H2b. The quality of the food has a positive influence on customer perceived value.
H2c. The quality of the service has a positive influence on customer perceived
value.

Influence of restaurant image on customer perceived value and customer satisfaction

Previous studies show that the brand/store image has significant impact on customer
perceived value, satisfaction, and revisit intention (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998;
Bloemer and Reyter, 1998; Cretu and Brodie, 2007; Lai et al., 2009; Patterson and
Spreng, 1997; Ryu et al., 2008). Thus, maintaining differentiated restaurant image
compared to competition is an important task of restaurant operators. Managing a
consistent and distinct restaurant image is an important marketing strategy
component for restaurant managers, which in turn has an influence on customer
perceived value and satisfaction.
Patterson and Spreng (1997) examined the role of customer perceived value in
explaining consumer behavior in a service context and found that customer’s perceived
value was a positive and direct antecedent of customer satisfaction. Andreassen and
Lindestad (1998) empirically tested the relationship between store/corporate image and
the customer’s perception of value in a service context. Their findings implied that
while corporate image had an impact on other outcome variables, such as perceived
quality and satisfaction, there was no significant relationship between image and
IJCHM customer perceived value. Although image had no direct effect on value, it had an
24,2 indirect effect via perceived quality. Bloemer and Reyter (1998) found that store image
could only affect customers’ behavioral intentions through store satisfaction with a
particular department store. Castro et al. (2007) found that a destination’s image
influenced tourists’ future behavior through service quality and/or tourist satisfaction.
Cretu and Brodie (2007) tested the impact of brand image and company reputation on
206 customers’ perceptions of product and service quality, customer perceived value, and
customer loyalty in a business market and revealed that brand image had a positive
influence on customer perceived value. Ryu et al. (2008) examined the relationships
among overall quick-casual restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer
satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in the quick casual restaurant industry. They
found that overall quick-casual restaurant image was a significant determinant of
customer perceived value and customer satisfaction. Lai et al. (2009) revealed that
corporate image affected customer perceived value, and both customer satisfaction and
customer perceived value were significant predictors of loyalty. They further
discovered that customer perceived value and customer satisfaction mediated the
impact of both service quality and corporate image on customer loyalty. In sum,
customers who have favorable restaurant image are likely to believe the restaurant
offer good customer perceived value and high customer satisfaction. Thus, the
following hypotheses are formulated:
H3. Restaurant image has a positive influence on customer perceived value.
H4. Restaurant image has a positive influence on customer satisfaction.

Influence of customer perceived value on customer satisfaction

Extant research confirms that customer perceived value has been accepted as a reliable
predictor of customer satisfaction and consumer purchase behavioral intentions
(Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998; Chiou, 2004; McDougall and Levesque, 2000;
Patterson and Spreng, 1997; Ryu et al., 2008, 2010). Chiou (2004) demonstrated
that customer perceived value was an important driver of customer satisfaction
toward internet service providers. According to Andreassen and Lindestad (1998),
customer perceived value was positively associated with customer satisfaction in
the service industries. Patterson and Spreng (1997) also confirmed that
customer perceived value had a positive and direct relationship with customer
satisfaction. McDougall and Levesque (2000) reported that perceived service
quality and customer perceived value were the two most salient precursors
of customer satisfaction across four service industries: restaurant, auto
service, hairstylist, and dental services. Ryu et al. (2008) found that overall
quick-casual restaurant image significantly influenced customer perceived value, and
overall quick-casual restaurant image and customer perceived value
significantly influenced customer satisfaction. It was further revealed that
overall quick-casual restaurant image, customer perceived value, and
customer satisfaction were significant predictors of customers’ behavioral intentions.
Based on the findings of previous research, the following hypothesis is developed:
H5. Customer perceived value has a positive influence on customer satisfaction.
Influence of customer satisfaction on behavioral intentions The influence of
Numerous studies confirm the positive and direct association between customer the physical
satisfaction and behavioral intentions, such as repurchase and word-of-mouth
communication (Han and Ryu, 2009; Kim et al., 2009; Kivela et al., 1999; Namkung and environment
Jang, 2007; Oliver, 1999; Ryu et al., 2010; Ryu and Han, 2011). Kivela et al. (1999) found
that dining satisfaction significantly influenced post-dining behavioral intentions.
Namkung and Jang (2007) confirmed the positive link between customer satisfaction 207
and behavioral intentions toward mid-to-upscale restaurants. Kim et al. (2009) also
showed that customer satisfaction was positively related to return intention and
positive word-of-mouth endorsement in university foodservice dining operations. Han
and Ryu (2009) found that three components of the physical environment (i.e. décor and
artifacts, spatial layout, and ambient conditions) strongly influenced customers’ price
perception and customer satisfaction level, which in turn directly/indirectly influenced
customer loyalty such as revisit intentions and positive word-of-mouth intentions.
These findings all support the significant link between customer satisfaction and
behavioral intention in the restaurant industry. Drawing on the previous findings, the
following hypothesis is formulated:
H6. Customer satisfaction has a significant influence on behavioral intentions.
Figure 1 displays the conceptual model of the relationship among the quality of the
physical environment, food, service, restaurant image, customer perceived value,
customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions.

Methodology
Measures
Based on previous research (Brady and Cronin, 2001; Jang and Namkung, 2009;
Kim and Kim, 2004; Low and Lamb, 2000; Namkung and Jang, 2007; Ryu and

Figure 1.
Relationships between
latent variables in the
proposed model
IJCHM Jang, 2007, 2008; Ryu et al., 2008; Zeithaml et al., 1996), a focus group, and a pilot test, a
24,2 questionnaire was developed to assess three dimensions of foodservice quality (food,
service, and physical environment), restaurant image, customer perceived value,
customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. Table I presented all of measurement
variables that were assessed using a seven-point Likert-type scale, ranging from
strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). Food quality (FQ) was measured using six
208
Factors Factor loading t-value

Factor 1: Quality of physical environment (QPE)

QPE 1 The restaurant had attractive interior design and décor 0.74 8.44
QPE 2 The background music is pleasing 0.73 8.39
QPE 3 The dining areas are thoroughly clean 0.78 NA
QPE 4 Employees are neat and well dressed 0.65 7.59
Factor 2: Food quality (FQ)
FQ 1 The food was delicious 0.76 8.41
FQ 2 The food was nutritious 0.84 NA
FQ 3 The restaurant offered a variety of menu items 0.62 7.12
FQ 4 The restaurant offered fresh food 0.65 7.23
FQ 5 The smell of the food was enticing 0.70 7.85
FQ 6 The food presentation was visually attractive 0.74 8.32
Factor 3: Service quality (SQ)
SQ 1 Employees served me food exactly as I ordered it 0.73 9.23
SQ 2 Employees provided prompt and quick service 0.77 9.50
SQ 3 Employees are always willing to help me 0.65 NA
SQ 4 Employees made me feel comfortable in dealing with them 0.78 9.55
Factor 4: Restaurant image (RI)
Image 1 The restaurant is sophisticated 0.68 8.54
Image 2 It has a cheerful and enchanting atmosphere 0.78 9.34
Image 3 The restaurant has authentic Chinese cuisine 0.69 NA
Image 4 It tastes good compared with price 0.82 9.56
Factor 5: Customer perceived value (VAL)
Value 1 This restaurant offered good value for the price 0.73 NA
Value 2 The restaurant experience was worth the money 0.78 8.13
Value 3 This restaurant provides me great value as compared to others 0.84 8.55
Factor 6: Customer satisfaction (CS)
CS 1 I am very satisfied with my overall experience at this restaurant 0.78 NA
CS 2 Overall, this restaurant puts me in a good mood 0.75 10.43
CS 3 I have really enjoyed myself at this restaurant 0.85 11.21
Factor 7: Behavioral intentions (BI)
BI 1 I would like to come back to this restaurant in the future 0.75 NA
BI 2 I would consider revisiting this restaurant in the future 0.64 9.38
BI 3 I would recommend this restaurant to my friends or others 0.78 11.00
BI 4 I would say positive things about this restaurant to others 0.75 10.67
BI 5 I would encourage others to visit this restaurant 0.73 10.42
Table I. Notes: All factor loadings are significant at p , 0.000; parameter fixed at 1.0 for the maximum-
Results of confirmatory likelihood estimation. Thus, t-values were not obtained for those fixed to 1 for identification
factor analysis purpose.;(x2 ¼ 892.49, df ¼ 356, RMSEA ¼ 0.07, CFI ¼ 0.94, NNFI ¼ 0.92)
items (Jang and Namkung, 2009; Namkung and Jang, 2007). For instance, respondents The influence of
were asked to rate the following question: “Food was delicious.” Service quality (SQ) the physical
was measured using five items (e.g. “Employees served me food exactly as I ordered
it.”) (Brady and Cronin, 2001; Jang and Namkung, 2009). The quality of physical environment
environment (QPE) was measured using six items (e.g. “The restaurant had attractive
interior design and décor.”) ( Jang and Namkung, 2009; Ryu and Jang, 2007, 2008). The
restaurant image (RI) was measured using four items (e.g. “The restaurant has 209
authentic Chinese cuisine.”) (Kim and Kim, 2004; Low and Lamb, 2000). Specifically,
the concept of “authenticity” was introduced to better capture the restaurant image.
Customer perceived value (VAL) was measured using three items (e.g. “This restaurant
offered good value for the price”) (Ryu et al., 2008; Sweeney and Soutar, 2001).
Customer satisfaction (CS) was measured using three items (e.g. “I am very satisfied
with the overall experience at this restaurant”) (Oliver, 1997; Ryu et al., 2008).
Behavioral intentions (BI) were measured using five items (e.g. “I would like to come
back to this restaurant in the future”) (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Finally, socio-demographic
variables (e.g. gender, household income, age, education level, ethnic background) were
also assessed.

Sample
A focus group interview was conducted by eight graduate students who patronized
authentic Chinese restaurants for the past six months. One of authors functioned as a
moderator. Participants freely discussed their criteria in evaluating the quality of the
physical environment, food quality, service quality, and the restaurant image.
Responses from the focus group helped to construct and refine the questionnaire. To
further ensure the content validity of the measurement scales, this study also
incorporated academic and industry experts’ suggestions (i.e. two professors in two
hospitality programs and a general manager at the authentic restaurant). In addition, a
pilot test was conducted with 30 actual customers at an authentic Chinese restaurant as
a preliminary test of the final version. Based on the results of the content adequacy
assessment, slight modifications of questions were made. All of these multiple steps
helped to ensure that the items selected had acceptable psychometric qualities with
respect to the food, service, physical environment, restaurant image, customer
perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in the authentic
Chinese restaurant context.
Finally, data were collected from customers at an authentic upscale Chinese
restaurant located in a Southeastern state in the USA. The restaurant delivered the
authentic Chinese food as well as authentic Chinese atmosphere. The menu was
developed in both Chinese and English versions. Most of the interior materials in the
dining area of the restaurant were directly imported from the mainland China. In order
to select the authentic Chinese restaurant, a Chinese restaurant directory was first used
to identify the 42 Chinese restaurants located in a metropolitan city. Then, based on the
criteria of selecting authentic Chinese restaurants (e.g. interior design and decor,
characteristics of chefs, and menu) determined by the consultation with hospitality
professors and restaurant owners, four authentic Chinese restaurants were identified
and remained as the sampling frame. Next, one of the authors contacted each of the
four restaurants to discuss the purpose of the study and to receive the approval for
IJCHM data collection. Only one owner gave permission to collect the data on his restaurant’s
24,2 premises. During the data collection process, respondents were selected at different
times of the day and on different days of the week to ensure an adequate representation
of the population. Restaurant staff distributed questionnaires to randomly selected
customers while they were waiting for the dessert or check after finishing their main
entrée. They explained the purpose of the study and asked if they were willing to
210 participate in the personally administered survey. A total of 310 samples were collected
from October to November in 2008. After deleting ten surveys that contained
incomplete responses, 300 questionnaires were used for the final data analysis.

Data analysis
The testing of the hypotheses in this study adopted a structural equation modeling (SEM)
designed to simultaneously examine the structural relationships among the proposed
constructs. Following Anderson and Gerbing’s (1988) two-step approach, this study
checked the measurement model first and structural model consequently using AMOS
18. Also, the SEM analysis was based on the maximum likelihood method (Byrne, 1998;
Mueller, 1996) as an estimation method for model evaluation and procedures. Olsson et al.
(2000) stated that under the conditions of misspecification, the maximum likelihood
method could represent more realistic indexes of overall fit and less biased parameter
values for paths, as compared to other approaches such as generalized least square. If the
sample size is too big (e.g. 400 to 500), the maximum likelihood method becomes too
sensitive. Consequently, any difference can be easily detected (Hair et al., 1998). However,
300 samples for the final data analysis in this study were suitable for the maximum
likelihood method since it is satisfactory for the minimum sample size of 150.

Results
Sample characteristics
The study’s respondents were approximately equally divided by female (50.3 percent)
and male (49.7 percent). Many of respondents held bachelor’s degrees (43 percent),
followed by some college degrees (28 percent), high school degrees (18 percent), and
graduate degrees (7 percent). The main age category of respondents was 46-55 years of
age (30 percent), followed by over 55 years of age (23 percent), 36-45 years of age
(20 percent), 26-35 years of age (17 percent), and 18-25 years of age (10 percent),
reflecting that more mature customers patronize the restaurant than do younger
customers. Also, participants were mostly Caucasian (58 percent), followed by Asian
(22 percent), Hispanic (12 percent), and African American (8 percent). This study
showed that 50.7 percent of respondents were repeat visitors, while 49.3 percent
of respondents were first-time visitors.

The testing of reliability, measurement model, and validity

Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the reliability of multi-item scales for each
construct. Based on the reliability analysis results, three items with low corrected
item-total correlations were eliminated: two items representing the physical
environment quality (i.e. “Layout makes it easy for me to move around.” and
“Dining area has appropriate lighting.”) and one item representing the service quality
(i.e. “Employees have knowledge of the menu.”). Once these items were removed,
Cronbach’s alphas were computed again: quality of the physical environment (0.74), The influence of
food quality (0.78), service quality (0.74), restaurant image (0.74), customer perceived the physical
value (0.72), customer satisfaction (0.71), and behavioral intentions (0.84). Table II
showed that all the alpha coefficients were over the cut-off point of 0.7 (Nunnally, 1978), environment
suggesting a high level of internal consistency for each construct. In addition, the
normality test was conducted with Amos. As shown in the Appendix (Table AI), all the
critical ratios (t-value) fall below ^ 1.96 at a 0.05 error level, implying that all 211
the measures satisfied normality (Hair et al., 1998).
An average variance extracted (AVE) (see Table III) for each construct was greater
than the squared correlation coefficients for corresponding inter-constructs, which
confirmed discriminant validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Also, convergent validity
was supported by the fact that all AVEs exceeded 0.5 (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). In
addition, as shown in Table I, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results lent
further support for the convergent validity of measures because the estimated loadings
for all indicators are significant at p , 0.001 (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). The
measurement model was also found to fit the data well, according to the goodness-of-fit
indices (x2 ¼ 892.49, df ¼ 356, RMSEA ¼ 0.07, CFI ¼ 0.94, NNFI ¼ 0.92) from CFA.

Model comparisons
After confirming the measurement model, the proposed structural model was
compared with an alternative model. In this study, it is hypothesized that three

Characteristic Frequency Percentage

Gender
Male 149 49.7
Female 151 50.3
Age
# 25 29 9.7
26-35 51 17.0
36-45 61 20.3
46-55 89 29.7
$ 56 70 23.3
Education
Less than high school degree 10 3.3
High school degree 54 18.0
Some college 85 28.3
College graduate 129 43.0
Graduate degree 22 7.3
Ethnic background
African American 24 8.0
Asian 67 22.3
Hispanic 36 12.0
Caucasian/White 173 57.7
Past experience
First time visitors 148 49.3 Table II.
Repeat visitors 152 50.7 Profile of the respondents
IJCHM
QPE FQ SQ Image Value CS BI
24,2
QPE 1.00
FQ 0.25 (0.06) 1.00
SQ 0.14 (0.02) 0.49 (0.24) 1.00
Image 0.18 (0.03) 0.30 (0.09) 0.37 (0.14) 1.00
212 Value 0.16 (0.03) 0.36 (0.13) 0.28 (0.08) 0.42 (0.18) 1.00
CS 0.15 (0.02) 0.33 (0.11) 0.15 (0.02) 0.25 (0.06) 0.47 (0.22) 1.00
BI 0.13 (0.02) 0.20 (0.04) 0.12 (0.01) 0.20 (0.04) 0.46 (0.21) 0.57 (0.32) 1.00
Reliability 0.74 0.78 0.74 0.74 0.72 0.71 0.84
AVE 0.53 0.52 0.54 0.55 0.62 0.63 0.54
Mean 6.38 6.32 6.39 6.40 6.19 6.31 6.28
Std dev. 0.44 0.40 0.43 0.41 0.46 0.43 0.47
Table III. Notes: QPE ¼ Quality of physical environment; FQ ¼ Food quality; SQ ¼ Service quality;
Correlations (squared Image ¼ Restaurant image; CS ¼ Customer satisfaction; BI ¼ Behavioral intentions;
correlations), reliability, AVE ¼ Average variance extracted; mean values are based on seven-point scales; all correlations
AVE, and mean are significant at p , 0.01

dimensions of restaurant service quality positively influence the restaurant image.

However, other studies showed that image, such as brand image (Cretu and Brodie,
2007), destination image (Loureiro and Gonzalez, 2008), and store image (Yoo et al., 2000)
had a direct influence on perceived (product and service) quality, indicating the reverse
causality direction. Therefore, in order to test the right causality direction between
quality and image, in the comparison model (see Figure 2), the direct impacts of the
restaurant image on three dimensions of restaurant service quality were estimated by
linking causal paths from the restaurant image to three components of restaurant
service quality (physical environment, food, and service). The results indicate that
overall goodness-of-fit indices of an alternative model (CFI ¼ 0.80; NNFI ¼ 0.78) are
not superior to the ones in the proposed model. In addition, in comparing this
alternative model with the hypothesized proposed model, significant differences

Figure 2.
A competing model
emerged (Dx2 ¼ 37:7, Ddf ¼ 3, p , 0.001). It is clear that based on the criterion of The influence of
goodness of fit indices and chi-square difference, the proposed model significantly fits the physical
better than the competing model. Thus, the originally proposed model was used for
further analyses. environment

Results of structural model

The structural model was also found to fit the data well, according to the 213
goodness-of-fit indices (x2 ¼ 904:3, df ¼ 364, RMSEA ¼ 0.07, CFI ¼ 0.94,
NNFI ¼ 0.92). The explained variances by predicting constructs were 54 percent
(restaurant image), 35 percent (customer perceived value), 47 percent (customer
satisfaction), and 56 percent (behavioral intentions).
According to the structural model testing presented in Figure 3, quality of physical
environment (g11 ¼ 0.22, t ¼ 2.87), food quality (g21 ¼ .43, t ¼ 3.63), and service
quality (g13 ¼ 0.23, t ¼ 2.83) were positively associated with restaurant image,
supporting H1, H3, and H5. In particular, quality of food exerted the greatest influence
on restaurant image. However, with respect to their associations with customer
perceived value, food quality (g22 ¼ 0.18, t ¼ 2.23) alone positively influenced
customer perceived value, whereas quality of physical environment (g21 ¼ 0.22,
t ¼ 0.02) and service quality (g23 ¼ 2 0.12, t ¼ 2 0.95) were not significantly related to
customer perceived value. This result corroborated H2b and rejected H2a and H2c.
Additionally, image (b21 ¼ 0.42, t ¼ 3.12) positively affected customer perceived
value, whereas it (b31 ¼ 2 0.05, t ¼ 2 0.45) did not serve as a predictor of customer
satisfaction. Therefore, H3 was supported, and H4 was rejected. As expected,
customer perceived value -customer satisfaction path (b32 ¼ 0.63, t ¼ 6.35) and

Figure 3.
Results of the proposed
model
IJCHM customer satisfaction-behavioral intentions path (b43 ¼ 0.68, t ¼ 7.95) showed a
24,2 significantly positive sign, supporting H5 and H6.
As shown in Figure 3, with respect to antecedents of image, food quality
(g21 ¼ 0.43, t ¼ 3.63) served as a stronger predictor of image than the quality of
physical environment (g21 ¼ 0.22, t ¼ 0.02) and service quality (g13 ¼ 0.23, t ¼ 2.83).
Likewise, food quality (g22 ¼ 0.18, t ¼ 2.23) was found to be the only positive
214 antecedent to customer perceived value, whereas the quality of physical environment
(g21 ¼ 0.01, t ¼ 0.02) and service quality (g23 ¼ 2 0.12, t ¼ 2 0.95) were not related to
customer perceived value. These findings imply that food quality is a major antecedent
of enhancing satisfaction and favorable behavioral intentions through image and
customer perceived value.

Mediation test
None of previous studies have examined the relationships between three dimensions of
restaurant service quality, restaurant image, perceive value, and customer satisfaction
within a conceptual model. To more fully understand the relationships between these
variables, particularly the relationships between image-value-satisfaction, this study
tested whether customer perceived value exercises the mediating effect on
image-satisfaction relationship (see Table IV). First, the image-satisfaction
relationship without customer perceived value was tested. The relationship
(b31 ¼ 3.32, t ¼ 4.12) turned significant without the mediator of customer perceived
value. Second, the constrained model that fixed the image-satisfaction relationship to
zero (0) was estimated to obtain chi-square statistics. Chi-square difference between the
constrained model (x2 ¼ 904:5, df ¼ 365) and the original structural model
(x2 ¼ 904:3, df ¼ 364) was calculated. When the p-value for this difference is larger
than 0.05, it implies that the constrained model is not statistically different from the
original model, which is an indicator of a full mediation. As presumed, the p-value for
the chi-square difference (Dx2 ð1Þ ¼ 0:2, p . 0.05) was greater than 0.05, so customer
perceived value was found to serve as a full mediator. In sum, the insignificant direct
relationship between image and customer satisfaction can be attributed to the full
mediating effect of customer perceived value (Holland, 1988; Sobel, 1990).

Discussion
Summary of the study
The purpose of this study was to propose an integrated model that examines the
relationships among three elements of quality dimensions (physical environment, food,
and service), restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and

Chi-square difference
between constrained
Image ! CS without Original structural and original structural
value Constrained model model models
Table IV. b31 ¼ 3.32, t ¼ 4.12 x2 ¼ 904.5, df ¼ 365 x2 ¼ 904.3, df ¼ 364 Dx2 (1) ¼ 0.2 p . 0.05
The testing of a perfect
mediating effect for value Notes: Image ¼ Chinese restaurant image; CS ¼ Customer satisfaction
behavioral intentions in a Chinese restaurant context. The results show that all three The influence of
elements of restaurant service quality dimensions were significant determinants of the the physical
restaurant image. While the food quality was also found to be a significant predictor of
customer perceived value, the quality of the physical environment and the service was environment
not found to be a significant antecedent of customer perceived value; these findings run
contrary to a majority of previous studies. Moreover, these findings indicate that the
restaurant image is a significant determinant of customer perceived value. While 215
customer perceived value was the significant determinant of customer satisfaction, the
restaurant image was not a significant predictor of customer satisfaction. In addition,
the current study reinforces the positive impact of customer satisfaction on loyalty
behaviors. Customers’ perceptions of the three elements of quality dimensions
explained 54 percent of variance in restaurant image. However, 35 percent of variance
in customer perceived value and 47 percent of variance in customer satisfaction were
explained by independent latent variables. The overall variance explained in
behavioral intentions was 56 percent, indicating the proposed model in this study could
well predict and explain customer behavioral intentions in the Chinese restaurant
context.

Theoretical implications
From a theoretical standpoint, this study makes important contributions to the
hospitality literature beyond previous studies. Although this study has some levels of
similarities with some previous studies (Chow et al., 2007; Ryu and Han, 2010), it is
important to understand how this study is unique from previous studies. For example,
Chow et al. (2007) examined the relationships among three dimensions of service
quality (i.e. interaction quality, physical quality, and outcome quality), customer
satisfaction, and frequency of patronage in the context of full-service restaurant. In
addition, Ryu and Han’s (2010) study investigated the relationships between three
determinants of quality dimensions (food, service, and physical environment), price,
customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention in the context of quick-casual
restaurant. Similar to this study, these two studies captured three dimensions of
foodservice quality (i.e. food, service, and physical environment). They also intended to
examine the influence of three dimensions of foodservice quality (food, service,
physical environment) on customer response such as customer satisfaction and
behavioral intentions in the restaurant industry. However, there are some differences
between the present study and those previous studies. First, not to mention of using
different outcome variables the major focus of the current study is to examine how
customers’ perceived foodservice quality influence their perceived image toward the
restaurant. In contrast, the main objective of Chow et al.’s (2007) study was to measure
service quality of restaurants in the context of China and to examine the relationships
of service quality, customer satisfaction, and frequency of patronage. The primary
focus of Ryu and Han’s (2010) study was to investigate how customers’ perceived
foodservice quality affect their satisfaction level and how perceived price act as a
moderator between foodservice quality and customer satisfaction. Second, it is also
very important to note that very limited amount of research has been undertaken to
examine the antecedents and consequences of restaurant image. To the best of our
knowledge Ryu et al. (2008)’s study is the only study that investigated the relationships
IJCHM between restaurant image and outcome variables, such as customer value, customer
24,2 satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in the restaurant industry. However, this study
did not examine the relationships between (restaurant service) quality and (restaurant)
image. Third, the relative importance of foodservice quality dimensions in conjunction
with other variables (e.g., restaurant image, perceived price, customer perceived value,
customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions) can vary among different contexts.
216 However, the previous literature did not clearly address if customers were primarily
driven by food, atmosphere, or human service to different restaurant sectors such as
fast-casual restaurants or authentic (Chinese) restaurants. Therefore, we believe the
current study has merits to contribute to the existing literature by differentiating this
study from the previous studies to some extents.
While the importance of brand image, organization image, store image, corporate
image, or destination image has been widely discussed in the marketing literature, little
research has proposed the integrative model that investigates the antecedents and
outcome variables of restaurant image in explaining customers loyalty behavior. This
study proposes a conceptual model that explicitly accounts for the effects of three
major elements of restaurant service quality (physical environment, food, service) on
restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral
intentions in order to understand comprehensive evaluation of restaurant experience.
Thus, this study provides a more comprehensive view in understanding the role of
three components of restaurant service quality and restaurant image on consumer
behavior.
One of the interesting theoretical contributions of this study can be found the
causality direction between quality and image. This study hypothesized that three
dimensions of restaurant service quality had positive impacts on the restaurant image
in the proposed model. In contrast, a few previous studies claimed the direct causal
impact from the image to perceived quality (Cretu and Brodie, 2007; Loureiro and
Gonzalez, 2008; Yoo et al., 2000). The empirical findings of this study indicate that the
framework with the causality from quality to image is superior to the one with
causality from image to quality. It is logical that the excellent quality of food and
service will lead to a great restaurant brand image in the context of restaurant
business; however, the opposite link may not work well in the restaurant context. Great
restaurant image does not necessarily guarantee perfect execution of service guarantee
and high food quality. Thus, under the context of the restaurant industry, the causality
direction between quality and image is superior to the opposite direction that was
empirically supported in other industry contexts.
A noticeable finding of current study is that customer perceived value served as a
perfect mediator over an image-satisfaction path. Ryu et al. (2008) first found that the
restaurant image had not only a direct but also an indirect effect on customer perceived
value and customer satisfaction in the context of quick-casual restaurants. However,
the findings of this study indicate that the consumer evaluation process flows from
image to satisfaction via customer perceived value, not directly from image to
satisfaction. This supports the notion that customers highly rely on customer
perceived value to evaluate their satisfaction, while customer perceived value is
significantly influenced by image. In other words, restaurant image, derived from the
restaurant quality, determines customer perceived value that in turn affects
satisfaction. The positive effect of customer perceived value on satisfaction draws on The influence of
the logic that cognition triggers affect (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Customer perceived the physical
value is considered a cognitive construct since it is determined through a cognitive
trade-off between quality and sacrifice. On the other hand, satisfaction is known as an environment
affective construct due to its association with emotion (Oliver, 1997). Therefore,
customer perceived value can influence satisfaction in that the cognitive process
induces affective responses. Due to non-significant image-satisfaction path arising 217
from the perfect mediator, the mediating effect of image was found over quality of
physical environment/food quality/service quality-image-value.

Managerial implications
All three components (i.e. food, physical environment, service) of restaurant service
quality function as significant contributors to restaurant image in the context of
authentic Chinese restaurants. Since all three elements matter to customers’ perceived
image about the Chinese restaurant, the restaurant manager needs to know the relative
importance of each of these elements with regards to the restaurant image to better
understand the distinct role of each individual component. The findings of this study
further reveal that out of all three components, the quality of food served as the
greatest contributor to the restaurant image in authentic Chinese restaurants. Good
food is commonly viewed as an essential component of customer satisfaction and
repeat patronage decisions in the restaurant industry (Namkung and Jang, 2007;
Sulek and Hensley, 2004). The findings of this study reinforce that food quality is
indeed the most important factor affecting the restaurant image, which in turn affects
customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions such as
intent to return and spread positive word-of-mouth. The present study suggests that a
priority should be given in maintaining and improving high-quality food rather than
cost savings to establish a favorable image towards the Chinese restaurant that
differentiate it from competitors.
The findings indicate that the restaurant image can be influenced by not only good
food but also by pleasant physical surroundings and good service. Today, an exotic
experience solely depending on food may not be enough to attract and maintain
consumers to a restaurant. At some restaurants, customers may give high marks to
a number of design aspects (e.g. Planet Hollywood restaurants) or service
(e.g. Four Seasons) when they perceive the restaurant image. The findings of this
study reinforced that both pleasing environment and good service positively influence
customers’ perception of the restaurant image. Restaurant managers must utilize the
effects of the dining environment and service to build customers’ favorable image.
Specifically, this study finds that the physical environment is the second most
important contributor to the restaurant image. This finding indicates that atmosphere
is another salient component of a dining experience. Therefore, restaurant managers
should continually plan, build, change, and control the restaurant’s physical
surroundings to establish distinctive image that differentiate it from its competitors.
For instance, a restaurant can utilize various exotic-style decorations (e.g. Chinese
brush drawings) and/or traditional Chinese music to communicate the unique image of
an “authentic Chinese restaurant” to the target markets.
IJCHM Interestingly, this study finds that only good food contributes to customers’
24,2 perception of value with the dining experience in the Chinese restaurant context. This
finding is inconsistent with previous studies (Han and Ryu, 2009; Liu and Jang, 2009b).
Chinese cuisine has been known for its taste and customer perceived value to American
consumers. However, Jang et al. (2009) recently examined American customers’
perception of Asian foods (Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese)
218 and found that Chinese food did not have many distinctive strengths on important
attributes (e.g. taste, freshness, and attractiveness), compared to other Asian foods.
The findings of the present study suggest that the managers indeed needs to pay the
most attention to food since it is the most vital component of the restaurant experience
affecting customer perceived value and consequently customer satisfaction. To meet or
exceed the demanding standards of food-savvy clientele, restaurant should provide
customers with the exceptional mixture of good taste, variety of menu, nutritional
value, attractiveness in presentation, freshness, and enticing aroma. However,
surprisingly an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere and good service were not found to
be significant determinants of customer perceived value in the context of a Chinese
restaurant. This indicates that customers in Chinese restaurants do not much perceive
atmosphere and service as significant additional benefits considering the fact that
many customers might be primarily driven to Chinese restaurants by good taste and
low price instead of atmospherics and employee service. In this vein, the findings of
this study suggest useful implications for restaurateurs to accomplish a balance or
focus on three components of restaurant service quality. The results can be also
meaningful in prioritizing limited business resources in enhancing customers’ pleasant
restaurant experience that strengthen customer perceived value, and consequently
customer satisfaction and favorable behavioral intentions.
For restaurateurs, the findings in relation to the mediating role of customer
perceived value suggest that achieving customer satisfaction depends not only on the
restaurant’s ability to provide customer perceived value, but also to establish a
favorable restaurant image. Thus, the relationship between restaurant image,
perceived value, and customer satisfaction is something that restaurateurs are eager to
intensify to increase customer loyalty behavior (i.e. intention to revisit, willingness
to recommend). In particular, restaurateurs should manage and market three
components of restaurant service quality (i.e. food, physical environment, and service)
in order to build favorable image of authentic Chinese restaurants, which in turn
affects customer perceived value.

Limitations and future research

A convenience sampling approach was used to collect data from restaurant customers
who dined in an upscale Chinese restaurant. Thus, the generalization of the results
needs to be cautiously conducted. For instance the findings should be interpreted with
caution when applied to different types of restaurants. The future studies may expand
this research by comparing the relative importance of three dimensions of restaurant
service quality on image and customer perceived value between different types of
ethnic restaurants. Only graduate students were used in the focus group to form the
questionnaire, whereas in the final sample only 7 percent of the respondents held the
graduate degree. The focus group could have been made of a more representative
nature to begin with. For future studies, more restaurants may be included to increase The influence of
the reliability of the research. In addition, the quality of the physical environment, food, the physical
and service in the present study was measured by general items that are widely
accepted and used in previous studies. In the future, additional research is needed to environment
develop survey items to assess the quality of physical environment, food, and service
specifically reflecting Chinese atmosphere, Chinese food, and Chinese service styles in
order to provide an even more fully realized understanding of customer perceptions of 219
the dining experiences. Future researchers may need to incorporate moderating
variables into the proposed model. For example, the findings of this study indicate that
the quality of food was the most influential predictor of the restaurant image in the
context of authentic Chinese restaurants. However, it is assumed that different degrees
of authenticity can affect the relative importance of three components of restaurant
service quality on the restaurant image. Thus, the moderating role of authenticity
between three dimensions of restaurant service quality and the restaurant image can
be further examined. Further research would be necessary to extend our findings by
incorporating situational or personal characteristics (e.g., first timers vs. repeaters) as
moderators into the conceptual framework. Understanding consumer differences based
on personal and situational characteristics is another opportunity for further research.

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Appendix The influence of
the physical
Factors Skewness c.r. Kurtosis c.r. environment
Factor 1: Quality of physical environment (QPE)
QPE 1 The restaurant had attractive interior design and décor 20.25 21.79 20.26 20.93
QPE 2 The background music is pleasing 20.12 20.86 20.07 20.25
QPE 3 The dining areas are thoroughly clean 20.15 21.07 0.36 1.29 223
QPE 4 Employees are neat and well dressed 20.23 21.64 20.41 21.46
Factor 2: Food quality (FQ)
FQ 1 The food was delicious 0.16 1.14 20.46 21.64
FQ 2 The food was nutritious 20.07 20.50 0.26 0.93
FQ 3 The restaurant offered a variety of menu items 20.05 20.36 20.39 21.39
FQ 4 The restaurant offered fresh food 20.09 20.64 20.19 20.68
FQ 5 The smell of the food was enticing 20.27 21.93 20.45 21.61
FQ 6 The food presentation was visually attractive 20.04 20.29 20.39 21.39
Factor 3: Service quality (SQ)
SQ 1 Employees served me food exactly as I ordered it 20.21 21.50 20.29 21.04
SQ 2 Employees provided prompt and quick service 20.03 20.21 20.52 21.86
SQ 3 Employees are always willing to help me 20.13 20.93 20.49 21.75
SQ 4 Employees made me feel comfortable in dealing with them 20.25 21.79 20.51 21.82
Factor 4: Restaurant image (CRI)
Image 1 The restaurant is sophisticated 20.26 21.86 0.03 0.11
Image 2 It has a cheerful and enchanting atmosphere 20.07 20.50 20.36 21.29
Image 3 The restaurant has authentic Chinese cuisine 20.03 20.21 0.42 1.50
Image 4 It tastes good compared with price 20.15 21.07 0.11 0.39
Factor 5: Customer perceived value (VAL)
Value 1 This restaurant offered good value for the price 20.18 21.29 0.54 1.93
Value 2 The restaurant experience was worth the money 20.13 20.93 0.15 0.54
Value 3 This restaurant provides me great value as compared
to others 20.17 21.21 0.23 0.82
Factor 6: Customer satisfaction (CS)
CS 1 I am very satisfied with my overall experience at this
restaurant 20.24 21.71 0.36 1.29
CS 2 Overall, this restaurant puts me in a good mood 20.02 20.14 0.5 1.79
CS 3 I have really enjoyed myself at this restaurant 20.07 20.50 0.16 0.57
Factor 7: Behavioral intentions (BI)
BI 1 I would like to come back to this restaurant in the future 20.16 21.14 20.06 20.21
BI 2 I would consider revisiting this restaurant in the future 20.22 21.57 0.43 1.54
BI 3 I would recommend this restaurant to my friends or others 20.23 21.64 0.26 0.93
BI 4 I would say positive things about this restaurant to others 20.03 20.21 0.49 1.75
BI 5 I would encourage others to visit this restaurant 20.26 21.86 0.18 0.64
Table AI.
Note: c.r. ¼ Critical ratio Assessment of normality

Corresponding author
Kisang Ryu can be contacted at: kisang72@hotmail.com

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