Perceptions of Chinese restaurants in the US: What affects customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions?

This study investigates American customers' perceptions of Chinese restaurants in the U.S., using the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) approach. This study also examines which attributes of Chinese restaurants influence American customers' satisfaction and behavioral intentions The IPA shows that. environmental cleanliness and attentive service are two important areas where Chinese restaurateurs can make improvements. In addition, food taste and service reliability appear to be key attributes for Chinese restaurants' success. Overall, this study indicates that food quality, service reliability and environmental cleanliness are three pivotal attributes to create satisfied customers and positive post-dining behavioral intentions. Chinese restaurant managers should reasonably allocate their limited resources to restaurant attributes based on their contributions to customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.