THE EFFECT OF SERVICE QUALITY ON CONSUMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY IN GASTRONOMY

This research aims to analyze the impact of service quality on consumer loyalty, when mediated by satisfaction. The investigation was carried out through a survey-type research, applied to consumers of bars and restaurants in Orla de Atalaia, in the city of Aracaju-SE. Two hypotheses were established: I) the perceived quality of service has a positive, direct and significant effect on loyalty and II) the perceived quality of service has a positive and indirect effect on loyalty, with satisfaction as a mediating factor. The survey recorded 274 valid responses, later the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), based on partial least squares (PLS), was used as a statistical model for data analysis and hypothesis testing. The results showed that the quality of services has a direct influence on consumer loyalty and also confirmed satisfaction as a mediating factor that contributes to consumer loyalty. The study presents managerial contributions, since the findings can serve as a basis for strategies aimed at increasing retention and attraction of new customers; as well as academic contributions, as it contributes to increasing the number of researches that investigate the link between perceived quality, consumer loyalty and satisfaction in the hospitality area, more specifically, in the out-of-home food sector.