A Comparative Study of Consumers' Recognition of Service Quality in Korean Restaurants

국내 한정식 전문점의 서비스 품질에 대한 소비자의 인식 비교 연구

The purpose of this study was to measure consumers' recognition of service quality in Korean restaurants, and to compare the differences in perceived service quality according to consumers' general characteristics. Self-administrated questionnaires were completed by 1,494 subjects and data were analysed by frequency, factor, reliability, and subjected to t-test and one-way ANOVA. The major results of this study can be outlined as follows: Factor analysis on perceived service quality resulted in 4 factors: staff service (5 variables), menu quality (4 variables), price and value (4 variables) and atmosphere and convenience (5 variables). Cronbach's alpha values for the reliability were over 0.8 for all the factors. The mean value in the elicited factors was indicated to be in order of menu quality ($4.73{\pm}1.19$), atmosphere and convenience ($4.57{\pm}1.09$), price and value ($4.55{\pm}1.15$), and staff service ($4.46{\pm}1.12$). Also, a significant difference was shown in service quality, which was perceived according to consumers' general characteristics. A higher mean value in perceived service quality was shown in women than in men, in the older than in the younger, in people with a high frequency of visiting Korean restaurants than those who do so with low frequency, and in people with high cost expenditure when visiting than those with low cost expenditure. In terms of region, the mean value in perceived service quality was significantly lower for consumers in the Gwangju region than in other regions.