Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Decision: Evidence from Fast Food Restaurants

Service quality is a major determinant of customer satisfaction and consequently a repurchase decision in the fast food restaurants' (FFRs) industry. Nevertheless, prompt and efficient services alone may not guarantee a restaurant a place in today's hyper- competitive marketplace. Therefore, this study was conceived to examine the impact of food quality (FQ), service quality (SQ), perceived value (PV) and restaurant environment (RE) on customer re-purchase decision, mediated by customer satisfaction (CS). Data for the study were obtained from a sample of 320 consumers drawn from 12 FFRs in three major towns in Delta State, Nigeria. Multiple and hierarchical regressions were used to analyse the data generated. The findings indicated that FQ, SQ, PV and RE exerted positive and significant effects on CS and re-purchase decision. The results also showed that CS fully mediated the relationship between SQ and repurchase decision, but the meditational influence was only partially for FQ, PV and RE; implying that FQ, PV and RE have their own direct influence on RPD besides through SQ. Given the impact of FQ, SQ, PV and RE on CS and repurchase decision, restaurants' managers need to continually improve on the quality of their services, environment and offerings to sustain the patronage of their clients in order to survive in today's hyper-competitive marketplace.