The Influence of Service Quality on the Performance of Food and Beverage Businesses in Thailand

Abstract

This research employed a mixed-method approach to study the service quality and performance of restaurants and beverage shops. The main objective was to study the relationship between service quality and organizational performance of restaurants and beverage shops. The data collection tools included questionnaires to gather quantitative data on customers’ perspectives and interviews to collect qualitative data on the attitudes of restaurant and beverage shop operators in 5 provinces: 1) Sangkhla Buri, Kanchanaburi Province, 2) Suan Phueng, Ratchaburi Province, 3) Yala Province, 4) Pattani Province, and 5) Narathiwat Province. The convenience sampling method was used to select 432 customers and 14 restaurants and beverage shops offering dine-in, street food, and delivery services, in order to measure service quality from the perspective of customers with different cultural dimensions. The objectives were: 1) to study the components of restaurant service quality from the perspective of customers with different cultural dimensions, 2) to study the characteristics of customers’ cultural dimensions that influence their expectations of service quality, and 3) to study the influence of service quality on organizational performance. The data collected from the questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including percentage, mean, and standard deviation, with the Amos software to process the statistical data for the Structural Equation Model (SEM). Various indices such as the Chi-square index, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI), Tucker Lewis Index (TLI), Incremental Fit Index (IFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), were used to analyze the regression coefficients of the variables.

The research results indicated that: 1) Service quality, as perceived by customers, comprised three components: tangible (Concrete Element), ability to support customers (Ability to Serve), and compassion in service (Service Caring). 2) The characteristics of the customer’s cultural dimensions in terms of power distance, risk avoidance, and long-term perspectives influenced service quality expectations. These service quality expectations, in turn, affected both the perceived and customer satisfaction. Moreover, the perceived service quality  and customer satisfaction impacted organizational performance. 3) The qualitative data revealed that the stores prioritized service quality components differently than customers, with the highest emphasis on Ability to Serve, followed by Service Caring and Concrete Element. 4) Fit indices values ​​from statistical analysis using the Amos program were CMIN/df = 3.243, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) = 0.884, Adjusted Goodness of Fit (AGFI) = 0.851, Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.905, Incremental Fit Index (IFI) = 0.921, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.920, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.072.