Influence of Price, Service, and Atmospheric Quality on Brand Switching among Dinners in Food Service Outfits in Umuahia, Abia State
Abstract
This study determined the influence of price, service quality, and atmospheric quality on brand switching in food service establishments in Umuahia metropolis, Abia State. Descriptive survey research with three specific objectives and three research hypotheses guided the study. The researchers purposively selected 300 dinners of six reputable food service establishments in the study area as sample size. The research instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire on a 4-point rating scale which was subjected to reliability test that produced reliability co-efficient of 0.78, proved the usability of the instrument. Accessibility sampling technique was used in the administration of the instrument. Descriptive and inferential statistics on SPSS version 25 were used to analyze the data generated. Findings revealed that price has a positive relationship with brand switching but not statistically significant. Furthermore, service quality was found to have a negative relationship with brand switching and significant at 5% level. Similarly, atmospheric quality was found to have a negative relationship with brand switching and not significant. On the strength of the findings of this study, it is recommended that operators of food service establishments in the study area should ensure that their tariff structure reflects quality are made more pocket-friendly, apply total quality management strategy (TQM) in improving service delivery to the delight of the customers, and ensure that environmental and aesthetic features that define atmospheric quality evoke emotional feelings and are perceived to be environmentally friendly.
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