Consumers’ purchase intentions in fast food restaurants: an empirical study on undergraduate students

Abstract

The fast food industry in Malaysia is facing increasingly competitive challenges as with other industries around the world. The purpose of this study was to identify the key determinants of customer satisfaction in fast food outlets and the current perceived service quality level amongst undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. Besides, this study was aimed at identifying the significant relationships between customer satisfaction and customers purchase intentions. Questionnaires w ere distributed to 380 undergraduate students in the university where 358 (94.21%) students responded to the survey. Among the five dimensions tested, assurance was found to be the strongest determinant of custom er satisfaction towards fast food restaurants (FFRs), followed by responsiveness, reliability, tangibility and empathy. The results also supported the contention that customer satisfaction can lead to customer purchase intentions. Recommendations to FFRs and discussions for future studies are also provided.