dissertationconsumer satisfaction is a key to a business‟s success. it indicates the positive...

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McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction ii

[McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction]

By

[Your official name]

B.S., [University], 2012

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment

Of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Counselling Psychology

University Name

[Last month of quarter you plan to graduate]

Dec, 2012

McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction iii

DEDICATION

I dedicate this dissertation to my wonderful family, particularly to my Parents. Their time,

energy, and support were critical to the completion of my dissertation. I also my thanks to all my

class mates helped in this research project. I learned about the energy, enthusiasm and motivation

that one can achieve from someone else‟s success. I hope to carry this lesson with me long after

new research has advanced our understanding of incidental learning. Special thanks to my

academic supervisor, [Dr____Name_____], for his/her commitment and guidance throughout the

project.

McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing this thesis has been very demanding, challenging and time-consuming, but also

remarkable, informative and above all fun. Nevertheless, it feels great to have finally completed

my master‟s thesis and I am now looking forward to a nice relaxing period for recovering. It has

been both advantages and drawbacks with the limited amount of earlier research conducted

within this area, even though I faced serious troubles but sometimes the advantages of this

research luckily were in my favour and have made this research both challenging and interesting.

I would like to thank my supervisor -------, professor at -------University, who has been great in

guiding my through this thesis, helping me through the difficulties I faced during the entire

process and motivated me to work hard. Furthermore, I would like to thank all my friends, for

their contributions by sharing their perceptions and opinions with me. Above all I would like to

thank my family and teachers that provided me with valuable and constructive criticism.

McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction v

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], confirm that the following research and its

complete content has been personal, unaided attempt and has not been published or submitted

earlier. Additionally, it demonstrates my view and take on the subject and is does not represent

the view of the University.

Signature: _________________

Dated: ___________________

McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction vi

ABSTRACT

The purposes of the study is to identify the level of satisfaction of Thai customer satisfaction of

MacDonald‟s on their purchasing experience on the Bangkok area attributes. The findings

showed that Thai customers were motivated to visit the Bangkok area by both push and pull

factors. Family and/or friends and the Internet were considered as important sources in trip

decision making. Thai customers were generally satisfied with the Bangkok area‟s attributes.

They also showed the desire to revisit and recommend MacDonald‟s Bangkok and Thailand as

fast food chains.

McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 BACKGROUND............................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................................... 2

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................................. 2

1.4 DEFINITIONS ................................................................................................................................................. 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 5

2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 5

2.2 CHOICE OF THEORY ........................................................................................................................................... 6

2.2.1 Branding ................................................................................................................................................. 8

2.2.2 Corporate Identity ................................................................................................................................... 9

2.2.3 Corporate Image ................................................................................................................................... 10

2.3 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ......................................................................................................................... 13

2.3.1 Involvement ........................................................................................................................................... 14

2.3.2 Attitudes ................................................................................................................................................ 14 2.3.2.1 The ABC Model of Attitudes ......................................................................................................................... 15 2.3.2.2 Using social responsibility to Create Positive Consumer Attitudes ............................................................. 16

2.3.3 Decision-Making Process ...................................................................................................................... 18

2.4 THE YAKIMOVA & BEVERLAND (2005) MODEL ........................................................................................ 20

2.4.1.1 The benefit of market orientation ............................................................................................................... 22 2.4.1.2 Responsive and proactive market orientation ............................................................................................ 23 2.4.1.3 Market orientation and strategic orientation ............................................................................................. 24 2.4.1.4 The barriers to market orientation .............................................................................................................. 25 2.4.1.5 How to enhance market orientation............................................................................................................ 26

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY................................................................................................................................ 28

1.1 RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................................................... 28

1.2 THE RESEARCH PROCESS ......................................................................................................................... 28

1.3 RESEARCH METHODS ............................................................................................................................... 29

1.3.1 Qualitative Research ............................................................................................................................. 29

1.3.2 Quantitative Research ........................................................................................................................... 30

1.4 RESEARCH APPROACH .............................................................................................................................. 30

1.4.1 Sources of Data Collection ................................................................................................................... 30

1.4.2 Secondary Data ..................................................................................................................................... 30 Search terms – key terms .................................................................................................................................................. 32 Additional Online searches .............................................................................................................................................. 32 Critical Appraisal tool...................................................................................................................................................... 32

1.5 PRIMARY DATA ......................................................................................................................................... 32

1.5.1 Questionnaires ...................................................................................................................................... 33

1.5.2 Questionnaire Survey............................................................................................................................ 33

1.5.3 Questionnaire Frame Work .................................................................................................................. 34

1.5.4 Questionnaire Design ........................................................................................................................... 34

1.6 DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................................... 35

1.7 DATA ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................ 35

1.7.1 Descriptive Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 35

McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction viii

1.7.2 Bangkok area and Thailand ................................................................................................................. 35

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH ..................................................................................................................... 35

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 37

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 48

5.1 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................. 48

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 48

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................................... 50

McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction 1

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background

Consumer satisfaction is a key to a business‟s success. It indicates the positive emotion

and experience of consumers toward businesses. Satisfied consumers also have a propensity to

repurchase and recommend products to their families and friends. To achieve consumers‟

satisfaction, businesses must understand consumers‟ needs to be able to provide their products

and services that meet or exceed consumers‟ expectations. One of the fastest growing segments

in the tourism industry is city tourism (Pakaleva-Shapira, 2007). Customer satisfaction marketers

make extensive efforts in marketing the city and retaining customers to maintain their position in

the marketplace. The success of customer satisfaction marketing lies in their ability to compete,

brand, understand customer perceptions and satisfaction, provide value, and manage the total

customer experience (Tasci, Gartner, & Cavusgil, 2007; WTO, 2005).

The study of customer satisfaction image reveals customer perception of Thai

McDonald's customer 13– 9. Therefore, it is critical to study the customer satisfaction in order to

address the customer‟s expectations and satisfaction to determine the strengths and weaknesses

of the MacDonald‟s brand, which later will be used to improve the brand‟s attributes, and

develop marketing strategies to compete with other businesses (Pakaleva-Shapira, 2007).

Thailand is a well known international travel destination due to its long history, rich

culture, beautiful natural resources, and the hospitality of Thai people (Meng, Tepanon, & Uysal,

2006). International tourists around the world visit Thailand all year round. Among travelers

from South Asia, Indian tourists are the most prevalent in Thailand (Tourism Authority of

Thailand, 2007). There are an increasing number of international travelers who have more

purchasing power (ITB Berlin, 2007). This international outbound segment is a business


opportunity for food and restaurants marketers to increase the market share, since there is a trend

of increasing the multicultural market that already has demand to travel and purchasing power to

spend for the trips. To take advantage of increasing business opportunity, hospitality

professionals need to study McDonald's Thai customer satisfaction and perception in Thailand

Markets. However, there is no research reported on the Thai customer satisfaction. This study,

therefore, aims to examine McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction Age regarding their

experience within the Bangkok area of Thailand to gain a better understanding of McDonald's

Thai customer satisfaction and behavior.

1.2 Purpose of the Study

The purposes of the study is to

Identify Thai customers‟ demographics and fast food stores patterns

Identify the level of satisfaction of Thai customers on their fast food experience on the

Bangkok area attributes;

Examine the intention to customer retention and willingness to recommend the Bangkok

area and Thailand.

1.3 Research Questions

The main research questions of this study are:

What are the demographic characteristics and fast food perspectives Thai customers‟

satisfaction?

What are the top rankings of Thai fast food customer‟s satisfaction‟ take the Bangkok

area trip?


What are the dimensions of satisfaction that influence Thai customers in making the

decision to visit the MacDonald‟s fast-food chains in Bangkok area?

What are the rankings of Thai customer‟s satisfaction on the Bangkok area‟s attributes?

What are the satisfaction levels of Thai customers on each component of Bangkok area‟s

attributes?

1.4 Definitions

Many of the concepts used in this research can be ascribed a wide variation of definitions.

Below follows a list of key concepts and words that will be used frequently throughout the

thesis. This will ensure that the reader will interpret the concepts in the same way the researchers

have done while conducting the study.

Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is the study of consumers and the methods

that is selected by consumer to use and dispose of services and products, it also involve that how

these method leave impact on the world (Smith, 2003, 52-76). Customer satisfaction integrates

ideas from various sciences i.e. psychology, chemistry, economics and finance, biology. This

definition was selected for the purpose of this thesis because it gives a clear explanation of the

concept and fits well with the customer satisfaction, behaviour and attitude undertaken by The

MacDonald‟s Fast food.

Bangkok area: The area of study including: Bangkok, Pattaya (the nearest beach

destination to city of Bangkok), and Ayuttaya (the ancient city).

Visitor (to The MacDonald’s Stores): A person entering through the doors of The

MacDonald‟s fast food stores in Thailand.


Brand: A name, term, sign, symbol or a combination of these, that identifies the maker

or seller of the product, designed to enhance the identity of the product.

Competitive Advantage: A firm has a competitive advantage over its competitors when

it earns, or has the potential to earn, a continually higher rate of profit. This can be due to higher

market share, customer loyalty etc (Grant, 2008, 23-44).

Corporate Identity: A step in the branding process, the picture that the company is

trying to create about who they are in the minds of the consumers.

Corporate Image: The picture that the consumers actually have of a company.

Attitude: An individual's evaluation of people, objects or issues, generally positive or

negative.

Attitude Object: The object which a person has the attitude towards. In this study, the

attitude object referred to will be The Body Shop.

Consumer: A person who consumes, or uses a certain category of products (i.e.

cosmetics).


Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

The literature reveals the main sources of information used for this research are articles,

literature and electronic sources. For information regarding consumer satisfaction and attitude,

the main sources of information have been articles. This because there are few books written on

the subject, especially when it is to be linked to branding. When using articles and recent

research, the study can make sure that they use only the latest information regarding this.

Most articles used have been found through searches in databases, such as Business

Source Premier and EBSCO. Keywords, such as “customer satisfaction and attitude” and

“branding”, were typed in to find appropriate articles. The majority of the articles used have been

published in recognized scientific journals such as Journal of Marketing Research and European

Business Review, which is another indication of the quality of the articles.

Literature has been selected through a search in the UK University Library‟s database.

This search was very similar to the search for articles; key words such as “consumer behaviour”

and “customer satisfaction and attitude” were typed in the search window. Literature has been

used mainly for consumer behaviour theory and in the method chapters. The works of Michael

R. Solomon serve as the main source of information regarding consumer behaviour. Solomon is

an expert in consumer behaviour and he has made numerous awarded studies regarding the

relationship between marketing strategies and consumers' preferences. Therefore, his works are

considered to be trustworthy sources in this study.

Most of the information regarding MacDonald‟s comes from the company itself and was

collected from their website and through interviews. To avoid bias, information about the


company has also been collected from other, independent, sources, such as The Centre for

Management Research.

When electronic sources are used, most of them refer to organizations‟ web pages, such

as the European Commission. The researchers are aware of the risk that electronic sources are of

a lower quality than other sources. For this reason, the researchers have tried to limit the use of

electronic sources as much as possible.

A factor that could lower the quality of the sources is the use of old articles and materials.

To avoid this, the researchers have tried to limit their use of articles to those written within the

last ten years. In some occasions, where it is believed it is justified, older sources have been

used. The works of Milton Friedman, for instance, has been cited in the thesis even though this

information dates back to 1962 (Bryman, and Bell, 2007, 56-77). Because Friedman was an

important factor in the customer satisfaction and attitude debate during that period, some of his

arguments are still considered to be important background information for this thesis.

2.2 Choice of Theory

The subjects of customer satisfaction, branding and consumer behaviour are very broad,

and a huge amount of theories and information can be found regarding this. For this reason, the

study has have tried to select the theories most important for this study. In this process, the

research questions were used as a starting point. To be able to select appropriate theories, the

researchers asked the question “What information and models are needed to be able to analyze

our problem question? (Grant, 2008, 23-44)”

The study decided that theories regarding customer satisfaction and attitude will be used

more as a theoretical background, since those are theories necessary as a basis for testing the


other theories regarding corporate identity and image, attitudes and behaviour. Hence, the reason

for including customer satisfaction and attitude theories as well is because they serve as a

background and pre-requisite to the theories that are to be tested.

The theories included regarding corporate identity and image is based on the reasoning of

David A. Aaker. Aaker is highly respected and considered a marketing guru. He has won several

awards, such as best article awards by the Journal of Marketing and the California Management

Review, and the 1996 Paul D. Converse Award for outstanding contributions to the development

of marketing. Aaker‟s Brand Equity Model is used in this thesis, even though it dates back to

before 1991 (Aaker, 1991, 44-54). Since it is still used to explain brand equity today, the study

decided that the model is still valid to use in his thesis. Aaker‟s Brand Equity Model is the most

cited model regarding brand equity, although it has sometimes been criticised for not being

consistent. The main criticism concerns the fact that the internal relationship between the

structural elements (perceived quality, brand associations etc) is missing. This criticism has

somewhat been avoided by the study, since they chose to only use a part of the model (Aaker,

1991, 44-54).

The ABC model is used as a way of explaining how attitudes are formed. The study

included this model because they consider it to give a clear description of this process. This

model has sometimes been criticized for the order in which the different components appear in

the model, with the result that other models explaining attitude creation have been developed.

This criticism was considered by the study and other models were examined, with the conclusion

that the ABC model best fitted the purpose for this study.

The decision making process is illustrated by five different steps explained by Solomon

and de Chernatory and McDonald (De Chernatony, & McDonald, 1992, 112-123). This process


was regarded a crucial element in this study which is the reason to why it was included as the as

part of the theory section below.

2.2.1 Branding

A product is something that is made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by a

customer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly

outdated; a successful brand is timeless” (Papasolomou, 2005, 263-279)

This quote illustrates the importance of a strong brand when trying to create sustainable

competitive advantage and a good customer satisfaction and attitude strategy can serve as a basis

for doing so. For today‟s consumers, the brand is of significant importance in the choice of

product. It is no longer enough that a product satisfies a basic need; in order for the product to be

considered unique it also has to offer some kind of added value. From the company‟s

perspective, this means that the basic consumer need is satisfied with a generic product, but to

provide added value the product has to be differentiated. Companies will want to offer a

differentiated brand that provides a unique, attractive and sustainable added value that will

satisfy the consumers‟ wants and needs. This is where a good SCR strategy can be used to

differentiate the brand and provide extra value to the consumer. Customer satisfaction and

attitude will then be the “differentiating attribute” used to create a strong corporate identity,

which will hopefully give the company a positive brand image among its consumers, which will

lead to positive attitudes and influence the buying behavior (Smith, 2003, 52-76).

The figure below, developed by the study, shows two important steps in brand building


Figure 2.1: Connection between Corporate Identity & Corporate Image

Corporate image and corporate identity are core concepts in branding. As they are

closely linked and frequently confused, the study tries to explain and separate the two concepts

in this figure. Corporate identity has a company perspective; a company uses positioning to

communicate its identity to the consumers. Corporate image has a consumer perspective, where

associations are used to transfer the corporate identity to the image. Corporate identity and

corporate image will now be further examined and the link between them and how they can be

created will be studied.

2.2.2 Corporate Identity

“The identity is the brand’s unique fingerprint which makes it one of a kind.” (Barone, 2007,

437-445)

Corporate identity refers to the picture that the company is trying to create about who

they are in the minds of the consumers. It involves the way a company presents, or positions,

itself to the target consumers. Companies use positioning in order to create a corporate identity.

Consequently, brand identity mainly deals with how a comp (Srinivasan, 2005, 359-371) any is

trying to be perceived (Nguyen, 2003, 447-454). Customer satisfaction and attitude can be an

important tool in creating a positive corporate identity, as an organization can link its behaviour

with social responsibility to build a strong corporate identity (Anon, 2006, 27-29). A positive


corporate identity is the basis for creating a strong brand as it will protect the company from

competitors trying to provide identical products. (Anon, 2006, 25)

When creating a corporate identity, a company will have to evaluate its resources and

capabilities to decide on a core value which will serve as a basis in the identity creation. The core

value has to be carefully selected. De Chernatony and McDonald state that consumers use the

same criterions when they pick brands as they do when they choose their friends, and that brand

are used as a non-verbal way to communicate with peer groups (Fombrun, 1996). Therefore the

corporate identity has to be a reflection of how the consumer wants to be perceived; it has to be

congruent with the consumer‟s self image (Cooper, 2003). It is also crucial that the selected core

value is considered to be important, relevant and attractive by the target consumers (Anon, 2007,

35-37). Hence, a company that uses customer satisfaction and attitude as a core value when

creating a corporate identity has to make sure that their target consumers find this attribute

important.

When a brand identity is successfully created, this picture has to be transferred to the

consumer. This is done through careful positioning. The goal with positioning is to place the

brand in the minds of the consumers, which will hopefully lead to brand loyalty.

Being the first company to hold a certain position on the market has its obvious advantages, as

consumers always tend to remember companies that are first in something and view the

followers as copies (Baldauf, 2003, 220-236). The first company to hold a certain position will in

most cases be intimately associated with the selected core value.

2.2.3 Corporate Image

Corporate image can be described as the picture that the consumers actually have of a

company, where associations play an important role in creating this image. Consequently, the


corporate image will be a reflection of the corporate identity since a company‟s reputation

depends on the signals they send out about who they are. There is, however, no guarantee that a

positive image will actually be created in the minds of the public, even though a company tries to

send out positive signals (Balmer, 1999, 182-192). The more homogenous the corporate identity

and the corporate image are, the more integrated the company‟s self image is with the

consumers‟ view of the company. This means that the only thing a corporation can change is its

corporate identity, to try to influence its corporate image.

When buying exclusive brand products, consumers use the brand as a tool for self-

expression and to be socially accepted; they will use the brand to enhance their self image and

the image they want to communicate to others. This makes brand image especially important for

exclusive brands (Anon, 2007, 35-37). A positive corporate image is the foundation for building

successful commercial relationships with the target consumers. Having a positive corporate

image leads to positive attitudes, which will affect the customer‟s behaviour towards the

company. Brand associations are very powerful to create a positive corporate image, as

associations often serve as a basis for purchase decisions and brand loyalty (Da Silva, 2006, 293-

305). Aaker‟s brand equity model below highlights the importance of associations in brand

equity:


Figure 2.2: Aaker’s Brand Equity Model

The researchers have chosen to highlight the link of brand equity that relates to brand

associations, since this is most relevant for this study. Consequently, the other parts of brand

equity (brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality and other proprietary brand assets)

have been faded in the model above. Most of the criticisms towards this model claim that brand

loyalty should not be presented as a structural element of brand equity, since it should be seen a

result of the created customer value, rather than a contributing factor to said customer

value(Gupta, 2001, 297-309). The researchers agree with these criticisms, and this weakness of

the model is somewhat avoided by only focusing on the brand associations link in the model

presented in this study.

As made visible by the model presented above, brand associations are part of brand

equity, which compile a set of assets that are linked to the brand and add value to the product.

The model shows how positive brand associations lead to positive attitudes, which (among other

factors) lead to brand loyalty and competitive advantage (James, 2005, 12-24).


But how do associations really work? The underlying value of a brand name is often built

on what the consumers associate the brand with. A brand association is anything that is linked in

memory to a brand. There are a number of different associations linked to a brand, and these are

organized into groups in the consumer‟s mind. An association can also vary in strength

depending on the consumer‟s level of exposure to the company‟s communication, and if the

association is supported by a network of links (Calderon, 1997, 293-304).

Associations can either be based on intangible assets or on a product specification (e.g.

technology leader). It is no longer enough to base market success on product superiority, since

high speed technological advantages make technological lead vulnerable to innovation (James,

2005, 12-24). For this reason intangible factors are generally perceived to be more effective

associations since they will be more sustainable and harder for competitors to copy or

outperform (Kumar, 2006, 285-306). When associations provide customer benefits, these

benefits can either be rational or psychological. A rational benefit is closely linked with the

product attribute and is part of a rational decision process, whereas a psychological benefit

relates to what feelings are provoked when buying the brand. Psychological benefits are often

very significant in the attitude formation process, and very powerful associations (MacDonald,

2005, 3-10).

Associations and brand image are essential factors when consumers form attitudes

regarding a brand. These attitudes will then serve as a basis in the consumers‟ decision-making

process. The next part will look more closely at how attitudes are formed and how these attitudes

affect the decision-making process.

2.3 Consumer Behaviour


The previous part treated theory regarding how strong corporate images are created in

order to evoke positive consumer attitudes towards a brand. This part will bring up theory that

can be used as a basis for analyzing how positive attitudes are created and whether positive

attitudes towards a brand will lead to positive purchase behaviour. Hence, this chapter has more

of a consumer behaviour perspective.

2.3.1 Involvement

Before analyzing consumers‟ attitude formation and decision process, their level of

involvement in the decision has to be decided. The level of involvement decides how motivated

the consumer is to process information. According to de Chernatony and McDonald, consumers

are often highly involved when buying products that are used to reflect the buyers‟ self image,

such as cosmetics (Martínez, 2003, 432-448). When consumers are highly involved in the

purchase and perceive significant differences between brands they will use an extended problem

solving process. In this process, consumers will seek information more actively. For this reason,

companies targeting high involvement consumers need to reinforce their brands‟ unique

differential position in the market, and identify the attributes that are perceived as important by

the consumers, to be able to communicate those as strongly as possible (Nguyen, 2003, 447-

454). Hence, for high involvement products, differentiation through the use of customer

satisfaction and attitude can be an effective strategy to implement. When consumers are highly

involved, the attitudes they create about certain brands are deep-seated and become part of the

consumer‟s value system. These attitudes are very important to the consumer and this makes

them hard to change (Reast, 2005, 4-13).

2.3.2 Attitudes


An attitude is an individual's evaluation of people, objects or issues, generally positive or

negative. An attitude object is the object that a person has the attitude towards (Sinclair, 2005, 5-

8). Attitudes towards brands are formed in many different ways. In order to understand why

consumers perceive certain brands in certain ways, it is important to understand how attitudes are

created and what they consist of. The ABC model tries to describe this process.

2.3.2.1 The ABC Model of Attitudes

The ABC model emphasizes the interrelationship between feeling, doing and knowing. In

this model, there are three components which together form an attitude:

Affect refers to the feeling that the consumer has towards the attitude object

Behaviour involves the intention that the consumer has to do something in regard to the

attitude object

Cognition refers to the beliefs the consumer has about the attitude object

Even though all three components are important, the relative importance of each of these

will be decided by the consumer‟s level of involvement in regard to an attitude object

(Srinivasan, 2005, 359-371).

The ABC model uses a hierarchy of effects to explain the relative impact these three

concepts will have in the formation of an attitude. The different hierarchies described are

standard involvement hierarchy, low involvement hierarchy and experiential hierarchy (Barone,

2007, 437-445). When consumers are highly involved in the purchase decision, they are more

likely to use the standard involvement hierarchy. As already established in the previous part,

buying cosmetics is often characterized by high involvement, which is why The Macdonald‟s

consumers are most likely to use a standard involvement hierarchy. The two other hierarchy


models are therefore considered to be of less relevance to this research, which is why they will

not be further examined.

Figure 2.4: Standard Involvement Hierarchy

In the standard involvement hierarchy process, the consumer will initially collect

knowledge about certain objects with regard to several attributes, and then form their own

beliefs about those objects. When these beliefs are formed, feelings regarding the object are

created, and finally the consumer’s behaviour is based on these feelings. This means that the

attitudes consumers develop in the standard involvement hierarchy are based on cognitive

information processing. This way of creating attitudes will often lead to brand loyalty

(Srinivasan, 2005, 359-371).

The ABC model explains how attitudes are created in general. The next section will focus

on how consumer attitudes are created with the use of customer satisfaction and attitude.

2.3.2.2 Using social responsibility to Create Positive Consumer Attitudes

The theory presented so far has shown how customer satisfaction and buying behaviour

can be used as a branding tool to create a positive corporate image, which will lead to positive

consumer attitudes. Being socially responsible will not automatically lead to positive consumer

attitudes, however. When consumers form attitudes towards a brand in regard to social

responsibility, the perceived motive behind the company‟s social responsibility is a crucial

factor. These perceived underlying motives for the social responsibility will affect the

consumer‟s evaluation of the brand and thus affect beliefs, attitudes, and purchase decisions

(Barone, 2007, 437-445). Prior research shows that it is very unusual that consumers


unconditionally accept social responsibility efforts as honest actions. When they are exposed to a

company‟s social responsibility, they will question the trustworthiness of the social responsibility

and then try to assign one of two main types of motives to the company:

Self serving, where the goal, or underlying motive, is to increase profits and sales,

Public serving, where the goal, or underlying motive, is to help citizens in need, save the

environment or raise awareness for a specific issue.

This scepticism regarding social responsibility and the true motives behind it arises

because consumers instinctively believe social responsibility to be motivated by company self-

interest.

Consumer attitudes stemming from social responsibility not only depend on the socially

responsible act itself or the perceived motives behind it, but also on how well the consumers

believe that the social responsibility actions fit with the company. In other words, the consumer

must believe that the social responsibility activities that the company engages in fit the

company‟s purpose in order for positive attitudes to arise. If the social responsibility activities of

a company are inconsistent with prior expectations and actions of a company, it is much more

difficult for the consumer to integrate this new information into existing memory structures.

Consumers who develop such an in congruency will most likely have negative attitudes towards

the company and its social responsibility (James, 2005, 12-24).

Another interesting aspect of social responsibility and the creation of consumer attitudes

is that some social responsibility strategies may even affect the perceived quality of a specific

brand‟s products (Da Silva, 2006, 293-305). Consumer attitudes and the formation of these have

now been explored. The next chapter will focus on the consumer‟s decision making process and

the role these attitudes play in the evaluation of brands.


2.3.3 Decision-Making Process

Consumer attitudes towards a brand will serve as a basis in their decision making

process. The stages in the consumer‟s decision making process are also influenced by many

other factors, such as time pressure, previous experience and advices from friends. Two other

important issues are the extent of involvement in the decision and perceptions of differences

between competing brands. As already discussed, consumers buying cosmetics can be assumed

to be highly involved. The following decision making process applies to highly involved

consumers (where step two, three and four are most relevant to this study):

1. Awareness of a need. A purchase is something a consumer does in response to a need.

When a consumer realizes that there is a significant difference between his/her current

state and desired state, a need arises (Bijlsma, 2001, 192-207).

2. Information search. To satisfy this need, the consumer starts to look for information.

When consumers are highly involved they seek information more actively, which is why

it is extra important for the company to reinforce the brands unique differentiated

position. It is also important that they are reinforcing the attributes that the customers

actually believe are important.

3. Evaluating competing brands. After the information is gathered, the consumer will

evaluate competing brands against the criteria that they find most important. Evaluation

is done by considering the attributes of the different brands and examining how each

brand attribute measures up to the desired characteristics. In this brand evaluation

procedure, negative associations can have a harmful effect, whereas positive associations

can improve brand evaluations (Calderon, 1997, 293-304). The knowledge that the

consumer has about different brands is represented by beliefs, and the way these beliefs


are organized in peoples‟ minds (step one in the ABC model). Using this knowledge, the

consumer then creates an evoked set of alternatives, which consists of the brands already

in memory and those that stand out in the evaluating process. The brands in the evoked

set are those that share similar features. Brand evaluation is also done through

categorization. Consumers use what they already know about a brand and those things to

which it is similar to put the brand in a certain category. Good brand positioning is

crucial in this step, since the marketer can influence which other brands they will be

compared to. Hence, if a brand is positioned on corporate responsible, it will most likely

be compared to other socially responsible brands (if the consumer considers this to be an

important attribute). The way a product is grouped with others is very important in

determining its competitors and what criteria that are used in making a brand choice. In

this step, brand beliefs are formed. These beliefs create attitudes, and if positive attitudes

evolve, the consumer is more likely to develop a positive purchase intention in the next

step.

4. Purchase decision. Once a category of appealing brands is created, a selection must be

made. Consumers use certain dimensions, called evaluative criteria, when they decide

between competing options. They also look at how products differ from one another, and

the attributes used to differentiate among choices are determinant attributes (Kumar,

2006, 285-306).

5. Post purchase evaluation. If a consumer is satisfied after the purchase, the positive

attitudes will be strengthened and this will make the consumer look favourably upon the

brand in future purchase situations. This is how brand loyalty is created. Thus, in

industries where consumers are highly involved (such as in the cosmetic industry), using


customer satisfaction as a differentiating tool can create brand loyalty (Lynch, 2002, 5-

12).

2.4 The Yakimova & Beverland (2005) model

Aaker and Shansby (1982) claimed that when positioning or repositioning a brand, it is

important for marketers to consider factors such as product attributes, price/quality, users, and

product class. Furthermore, marketers must consider issues such as competitors and how

customers perceive competitors. Constructing a successful repositioning strategy requires

marketers to undertake an in-depth analysis which includes not only the internal but also the

external environment. Yakimova and Beverland (2005) claimed in order to construct a successful

repositioning strategy marketers must ask themselves a critical question: “How can I keep my

present brand strong and growing?” In order to successfully maintain the competitiveness of the

existing brand, it is important to ensure the company has brand updating ability before

implementing any repositioning strategy. According to Yakimova and Beverland, the brand

updating model contains three elements: market orientation, brand-supportive dominant logic

and a generative approach to learning. In the next few sections, we will take a close look at each

one of them.


[Figure 2.3: Yakimova & Beverland (2005) model of brand updating ability.]

2.4.1 Market orientation

The first element in the Yakimova & Beverland (2005) model is market orientation.

Researchers define market orientation in different ways. The definition employed here comes

from Slater & Narver (1995); market orientation is the implementation of the marketing concept

philosophy, and it can be considered as a cultured orientation by the firm. Market orientation

contains three behavioural components: customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-

functional orientation (Slater & Narver, 1995). In other words, market orientation is an

organisational culture which assists the business to effectively and efficiently monitor the

marketplace to achieve superior values for both buyers and sellers which also leads to an

increase of profitability (Grinstein, 2008).

Slater and Narver (1995) claimed that, in order to create and maintain a positive and

profitable relationship with customers, market orientation plays an important role of encouraging

organisational learning behaviour. Moreover, empirical evidence has shown that companies that


are implementing market orientation practice are more likely to have a better financial

performance compared to those that are not. It is because market-orientated companies are better

at satisfying customers. These companies collect information about both the needs of customers

and their capabilities more frequently than their competitors, with the result that these companies

achieve financial superiority (Olavarrieta & Friedmann, 2008).

2.4.1.1 The benefit of market orientation

Market orientation refers to the organisational behaviour which encourages companies to

focus on understanding and satisfying the needs of the customer without excluding the interests

of other stakeholders such as employees and competitors (Deshpande, Farley & Webster, 1993).

Furthermore, market orientation behaviour also contributes to companies in market intelligence

generation which can be applied in areas such as new product development (Atuahene-Gima,

1996).

Jaworski and Kohli (1996) suggested that implementing market orientation behaviour can

assist companies to achieve four main benefits: firstly, financial benefits. Based on empirical

evidence, many researchers have claimed that increasing focus on the market can enhance the

business„s performance and return on assets (Deshpande et al., 1993; Ruekert, 1992). Secondly,

customer consequences; an increase in the focus on market orientation can assist companies to

achieve success in areas such as customer-perceived quality and value, customer-perceived

levels of service, and customer-based order to delivery times (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). More

specifically, market-orientated companies typically focus on providing different levels of

services and responsiveness based on relative importance and customer segments, thirdly,

employee consequences. Empirical evidence has shown that market-orientated companies are


more likely to affect the employee„s attitude to the organisation (such as level of motivation,

commitment and satisfaction). Finally, the innovation consequence as mentioned before,

implementation of market-orientation practices can generate market intelligence which can be

used for innovation issues (Jaworski & Kohli, 1996).

2.4.1.2 Responsive and proactive market orientation

It is obvious that businesses establish a competitive advantage in order to compete and

survive in the market (Porter, 1985). Researchers have claimed that building up the competitive

advantage is not purely about how well a company plays by the existing rules of the game. More

importantly, it is about whether the firm has the ability to change the existing rules or not

(Favalgi, Whipple, Ghosh & Young, 2005). Under this scenario, one of the ways to change the

existing rules is through the customer knowledge advantage (Govindarajan & Gupta, 2001). In

other words, focusing on developing the customer knowledge advantage can assist the

companies to acquire a sustainable competitive advantage.

In order to develop a customer knowledge advantage, market orientation plays an

important role under this scenario. Slater and Narver (2004) claimed there are two forms of

market orientation: responsive and proactive. Before examining these two types of market

orientation, it is important to understand the concepts of expressed and latent needs. Expressed

needs and expressed solutions refer to the needs and solutions that a customer can be aware of

and express, such as the need for clean and hygienic clothes which may lead to a solution using

cleaning detergent. A responsive market orientation is a business practice of focusing on

understanding and satisfying the expressed need of the customer and providing a solution.


Furthermore, expressed needs may initiate either an expressed or a latent solution (Narver, Slater

& Maclachlan, 2004).

Latent needs and latent solutions refer to needs and solutions that are unknown by the

customers. Hence latent needs may look quite intangible compared to expressed needs;

nevertheless it is no less real„than the expressed needs. For example, at the outset of the

development of portable music players, the need associated with the benefit for the MP3 player

was a latent need. For a proactive market orientation, the focus is on discovering and satisfying

the latent needs of the customer. In other words, a proactive market orientation can lead the

customer to satisfaction of their needs (Narver et al., 2004).

In past decades, the concept of market orientation behaviour (especially responsive

market orientation) has already become a common business practice. Thus, businesses are

achieving sustainable competitive advantage from a responsive market orientation. However,

more than likely, as the business continually implements a responsive market orientation in the

future, ultimately there will be an increased need for a proactive market orientation. In other

words, rather than focusing on what is happening in the market, in the future businesses need to

discover and fulfil the latent needs of the customer in order to create and maintain a sustainable

competitive advantage (Narver et al., 2004).

2.4.1.3 Market orientation and strategic orientation

Many researchers argue that market orientation is the most important strategic orientation

which can directly affect overall organisational performance. Nevertheless, some researchers

claim the balance between market orientation and other strategic orientations is the primary

factor which influences a firm„s performance (Atuahene-Gima & Ko, 2001). Based on empirical

data, Grinstein suggested market orientation has a positive relationship between four strategic


orientations: first the learning orientation; the empirical data suggests market orientation is

strongly related to learning orientation. It is obvious that market orientation and learning

orientation share the same values and beliefs. As the firm starts to develop the knowledge, more

than likely they will frequently acquire the market information and constantly examine the

quality of this information (Grinstein, 2008).

Secondly, market orientation has a positive relationship with entrepreneurial orientation.

Both market and entrepreneurial orientation aim to satisfy the expressed and latent needs of the

customers. Furthermore, marketing information and knowledge are most likely to be considered

as one of the important elements for the entrepreneurial process (Atuahene-Gima & Ko, 2001).

Thirdly, the employee orientation; market orientation is likely to increase employee loyalty, job

satisfaction, organisational commitment and team spirit (Siguaw & Honeycutt, 1995). This is

because employees who are from market-orientated and employee-orientated organisations are

more likely to share the information, participate in the decision-making process, and work

together to achieve common goals (Jaworski & Kohli, 1993). Lastly, market orientation has a

positive relationship with innovation orientation. The reason for the positive effect is because

market orientated firms are more likely to focus on new product development in order to satisfy

the latent needs of the customers (Hurley & Hult, 1998). In summary, the literature claims

marketing orientation is an organisational culture which strongly influences the practice and

behaviour of an organisation. Nevertheless, a successful market-orientated firm must not exclude

other strategic orientations. Furthermore, in order to successfully implement market-orientation

behaviour, firms must develop their organisational culture with the combination of other

strategic orientations (Grinstein, 2008).

2.4.1.4 The barriers to market orientation


Studies suggest there are a number of barriers which can affect the effectiveness of

market orientation. Felton (1959) suggested the greatest barrier to market orientation can be

executive inexperience, incomplete integration of organisational functions, and a lack of

management and misuse of hierarchical position. Furthermore, Felton (1959) argued the barriers

for market orientation are more likely caused by irrational employee behaviour. This leads to

imperfection in employee decision-making (Felton, 1959). Gummesson (1991) argued the

resistance to new orientation strategies, tactics and plans from all level employees represents one

of the greatest barriers to market orientation. Therefore, it is not only the top management„s

responsibility, but employees at all levels to understand the importance of market orientation and

the motivation behind it (Gummesson, 1991). Similar to Gummesson (1991), Messikomer (1987)

argued the primary barrier to market orientation is the values, beliefs and culture of the

organisation. In other words, the traditional organisational culture, such as a lack of cooperation

and coordination, a lack of appropriate skill, and departmental myopia represent the barriers

which can directly influence the effectiveness of market orientation (Harris, 1999).

2.4.1.5 How to enhance market orientation

Harris (1999) suggests in order developing market orientation, it is important to focus on

the organisational members. Narver (1991) suggested that by applying two basic approaches:

Top-down Change Efforts and Bottom-up Change Efforts, the effectiveness of market orientation

in an organisation can be directly enhanced. Top-down change efforts refer to the organisational

change efforts that are initiated by senior management. In this situation, key issues such as

making credible resources allocation, consistent commitment, and encouragement informed risk-

taking are led by management (Narver, 1991). Bottom-up change efforts refer to organisational

change that is led by the lower or middle levels of employees often by a champion manager, and


spread out through the whole company. The bottom-up change efforts can be understood as an

emergent strategy which means, in the first stage, the firm develops a strategy that aims at

creating buyer value and learning how to create value. Secondly, based on this strategy from the

first stage, the firm will continually adapt the elements within this value-creating strategy such as

structure, staffing, systems and other organisational properties (Narver, 1991).


Chapter 3: Methodology

1.1 Research Design

This chapter gives us an overview of the methodology, which describes how the research

will be carried out. “Methodology” refers to how a research should be undertaken (Creswell

2003 45). In order to conduct a successful research, it is essential to collect relevant data from

various sources and analyse it.

The study sets out to expand upon previously completed work on the topic of

“McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction Age 13 – 19 (Teenagers) in the Bangkok Metropolitan

Area”. Considering the nature of my research, I intend to use a questionnaire approach drawing

on qualitative and quantitative research methods. This study further defines and discusses the

following: the research design, the research approach, the research methods, the sample design

and data collection and analysis of the research. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the

author's ability to conduct and utilise research methods to carry out his proposed research in

organisational leadership performance.

There are a number of different types of method available for the collecting research

data, for example:

questionnaire

observations

1.2 The Research Process

The first step of any research is to identify a subject area of research and design a

clear objective within it to do further study on that particular research. Secondly, after getting

secondary data from different sources on a similar subject has to be critically reviewed. To carry


out proper research an ideal person has to be defined, out of which, a sample has to be dispatched

for survey by different sources.

However, to make the research more authentic, qualitative research has to be carried out

in the former of descriptive questionnaire. Lastly, before completing the report, the qualitative

data thus collected has to be analysed properly and then drive final conclusion.

Following table will show a brief summary of the research process 3. (I)

Source: [Adapted] (Sekaran 2000 89) Research methodology for business studies.

1.3 Research Methods

1.3.1 Qualitative Research

Van Maanen (1983) define qualitative methods of research as „ an array of interpretive

techniques, which seek to describe, decode, translate and otherwise come to terms with the

Formulating and clarifying Research Topic

Critically Reviewing Literature

Choosing Research Approach

Constructing Instrument for Data Collection

Selecting a Sample for Survey

Analysis Qualitative Data

Writing the Research Report


meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less naturally according phenomena in the society

world.

1.3.2 Quantitative Research

Virtually all research will involve some numerical data or contain data that could

usefully be quantified to help your answer your research questions and to meet your objectives

(Vander 2009 21). Quantitative data refers to all such data and can be a product of all research

strategies. This method is the easy way to collect information from large numbers of sample. In

my research I will use quantitative method to collect and analysis information through

questionnaires.

1.4 Research Approach

An effective strategy will be used to collect most of the information and data from

various sources. The research will contain two parts, firstly “secondary Research” in which the

researcher will go through various research papers, electronic journals and database. Whereas

for “primary Research”, different methods that will be used to collect information from

companies.

1.4.1 Sources of Data Collection

Data for the research project is usually either by using primary data, secondary data or a

combination of both.

1.4.2 Secondary Data

Secondary Research will be aimed at focusing on existing sources of information such as

an internal document, journal, magazines, internet etc. Research got permission from

management to use internal material, which are not company confidential (Crotty 2006 45). Data


collection from secondary research will be routinely evaluated to eliminate bias, check the

accuracy of data, make sure it is current and not obsolete, fit the purpose for what it is

collected , examine the content of the data and to make sure it is dependable. Information

centres such as City Business Library and Local Libraries will be use to add value to the already

existing material at College Library, this purpose.

Different statistical tools such as bar charts will be used to analysis data and to draw

conclusions and recommendations. In order to make it more comprehensive, Ms Excel

spreadsheet will be used (Malhotra 1996 41). This research methodology is carefully selected

after considering factors such as the purpose and cost of the research, accessibility and

the amount of the time available. It is different as reanalysis the data that has already been

collected by other researcher. This usually includes the use of journals, articles, and online

research etc. Kent (1999) states, typically, desk research is used in an explanatory phase of

research, but on occasion, it may be discovered that sufficient data is available to avoid the need

to collect data especially for research at hand”.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

The following criteria will be used to search databases, magazines and

websites. Research should be: Published in English between 2005 and 2010;

The public method reconsiders model, meta-analysis, and consideration of other

publications, research, assessment, randomized controlled trials, and browse research

assistance;

Focuses on the companies that operate globally.

Concentrated on the information that will be reliable and validates with the latest

statistics


Search terms – key terms

The terms that will be used for searching in the above listed databases are:

Effective leadership; multinational firms, employee motivation.

Additional Online searches

Both public and private libraries online libraries will be visited to access the data.

Some of the online databases that will be accessed are Ebsco, Questia, Emerald, and

phoenix and so on.

Critical Appraisal tool

The secondary research does not provide statistical information about

the subject and is purely based on qualitative analysis. It triggers generalized results not

representing the actual picture of the research. For this reason, we cannot rely much on

qualitative research.

1.5 Primary Data

Primary data can be defined as the new data collected for the specific purpose of the

research. This usually includes the use for various forms of interviews and questionnaire. The

main medium to obtain the primary data is through a questionnaire, which has been

developed on the basis of the literature reviewed by seeking advice from managers in the

companies, concerning effective leadership and its impact on organisations (Cooper 2006 11). A

questionnaire is a written list of questions, the answer to which is recorded by respondents. The

questionnaire will consist of ten questions for which descriptive answer have to be provided by

the managers and staff of the top ten global companies. Primary data will be collected to find out

the most popular leadership strategy currently used by companies. To support my research, I will


collect data from international companies like (Primark, M&S, Argos, Peacock, Boots including

manufacturing companies etc).

1.5.1 Questionnaires

Questionnaires will be a mix of structure and unstructured questions. Structure

questions will be used to find out the percentage of similar answer to a given condition while

unstructured question will be use whenever there is a necessity for a wider view on the part of

the respondent(Thomas 1999 45). Other forms of interview method such as postal

email interview will be not used as the response rate is likely to low, additional time be needed

to get a response and the lack of motivation/initiative on the part of the respondent will make the

process frustrating. Further, it will not be possible for the research to read between lines of the

response, due to the absence of observation of body language.

1.5.2 Questionnaire Survey

“Any person to person interview between two or more individuals with a

specific purpose in mind is called an interview” (Paul 1997 41). Research will collect primary

data through the questionnaire duly filled in by the sample companies will be briefly informed

about the research by the researcher before they will be given the questionnaire to be filled. The

questionnaire will be mainly targeted to the managers, and other staff of the companies

who provide the most detailed information about the company and result in the return of their

price strategy from customers. The data collected will be recorded on paper from the

information provided by the companies which will be solely for the purpose of the research

only. All the respondents‟ agreements will be taken before using the provided data for research.

I target four to five leading retail companies in London, which will cover approximate 30 to 35

samples to fill a questionnaire.


1.5.3 Questionnaire Frame Work

To conduct research in the form of a questionnaire, a sample of companies will be

chosen. “A sample is a set of elements selected in some way from a population” (Schofield,

2000). It is, therefore essential to choose a proper sample for any research. “The quality of the

sample has a significant impact on the overall quality of research but designing an appropriate

sample is seldom easy.” (Zikmund 2000 41) It is also important to choose a sample of

respondents. To select sample, questioner will be distributed to the staff of selected company.

Information will be gathered on the basis of it; however, it will be kept in mind that a more

varied the sample would lead to better accuracy to the finding to the research. Therefore,

maximum number of questioners will be distributed, In order to come out with accurate outcome

for the research.

1.5.4 Questionnaire Design

While designing the questionnaire, the main object will be that how managers address the

complex and adaptive challenges the society is facing today and will face in the future. Also,

what are the new ways to enhance leadership in organizations (Greener 2008 12).

A number of progressive leadership models and perspectives will be presented. Participants will

be required to reflect upon leadership as a process, the need of highlighting the leader-follower

relationship, recognizing the role of the larger system, stressing the importance of collaboration,

emphasizing the role of ethics, and serving the ultimate goal of creating positive change.

The researcher will utilise sampling methods in designing the research sample. Initially

the unit analysis will be identified as the executive leaders working within government and

government organisations in Dubai. There will be no exclusion to the unit according to age,

gender or nationality. Then the characteristic of the unit will be defined.


Furthermore, several sampling methods as appropriate and listed below will be

considered bearing in mind the time and cost constraints at the time of study, accessibility of

information, the scope of the inquiry and the desired accuracy. The researcher will take every

precaution to make sure a credible scale has been developed for the study.

1.6 Data Collection

Questioners will be used as collection methods. The time and budget will be managed.

Questionnaires will be distributed to the selected company members and face to face interviews

will be held. The respond rate will be 70% with the help of which adequate research analysis will

be done.

1.7 Data Analysis

The data was analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) as follows:

1.7.1 Descriptive Analysis

Descriptive analysis was used to provide the frequency of demographic information as

well as trip behaviors of the respondents. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the following

research questions.

1.7.2 Bangkok area and Thailand

Moreover, this analysis was employed to provide the mean scores of an importance level

of motivation and information sources, as well as a level of satisfaction. Descriptive analysis was

used to analyze the following research question: What are the satisfaction levels of Thai

customers on each component of Bangkok area‟s attributes?

1.8 Limitations of Research


As in any other dissertation or research project, this dissertation will also carry its own

limitation or scope. Time is a definite constraint, considering that the fact duration is only three

months, and there are other modules in this final level.

Finance is a further constraint as the researcher is a student and cannot afford to spend a

lot of money to purchase material, which are not available in the libraries.

Lack of comprehensive information may be another limitation. Further, the sample

selected is based on the author‟s convenience and the author‟s belief in the probability of

receiving the response from the selected candidates. Hence, this research is not devoid of bias.

However, consideration has been given to make this research as close as possible to reality.


Chapter 4: Results and Discussion

This chapter encompasses the results produced by SPSS to study the McDonald's Thai

Customer Satisfaction between the ages of 13 – 19 (Teenagers) in the Bangkok Metropolitan

Area. The sample of 500 individuals both male/female have been taken between the ages of the

13-19. All the attributes of the questions have been presented in the following 16 attributes to

study the customer satisfaction of the McDonald's Thai in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. The

chapter consists of different tables showing the statistics of the research of the individual

attributes.

Table – 01: shows the components of the customer satisfaction in terms of the total

observations (N), its Range, Mean values, Standard Deviations, and the Variance of the each

attributes included in the study of the McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction in the Bangkok

Metropolitan Area. There 500 responses have been taken in all the attributes; the visit to

McDonald‟s restaurant (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 4), (Mean = 4.39), (Standard

Deviation = .834), and (Variance = .696), the friendliness of the employee (Total Responses (N)

= 500), (Range = 2), (Mean = 4.72), (Standard Deviation = .453), and (Variance = .203), taste of

the food (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 4), (Mean = 4.68), (Standard Deviation = .551),

and (Variance = .304), the freshness of the food (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 4),

(Mean = 4.65), (Standard Deviation = .655), and (Variance = .429), the customer received

exactly what he/she ordered (including availability of napkins, straws and condiments i.e.

Serving of the Exact Order Customer Made (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 1), (Mean =

4.61), (Standard Deviation = .487), and (Variance = .237), sales promotions (Total Responses

(N) = 500), (Range = 1), (Mean = 4.66), (Standard Deviation = .475), and (Variance = .225),

price satisfaction (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 1), (Mean = 4.65), (Standard Deviation


= .478), and (Variance = .229), satisfaction from variety products (Total Responses (N) = 500),

(Range = 1), (Mean = 4.63), (Standard Deviation = .484), and (Variance = .235), Restaurant

Environment (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 1), (Mean = 4.68), (Standard Deviation =

.465), and (Variance = .217), Service Efficiency (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 3),

(Mean = 4.65), (Standard Deviation = .502), and (Variance = .252), Food Appearance (Total

Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 3), (Mean = 4.60), (Standard Deviation = .534), and (Variance =

.285), Nutritional Quality of McDonald's Menus (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 3),

(Mean = 4.59), (Standard Deviation = .561), and (Variance = .314), Convenient Location (Total

Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 1), (Mean = 4.62), (Standard Deviation = .486), and (Variance =

.236), McDonald's Brand Image (Total Responses (N) = 500), (Range = 3), (Mean = 4.60),

(Standard Deviation = .506), and (Variance = .256).

Table - 01:

Components of Customer Satisfaction

N Range Mean Std.

Deviation

Variance

Gender 500 - - - -

Visits 500 4 4.39 .834 .696

Friendly Employees 500 2 4.72 .453 .205

Foods Taste 500 4 4.68 .551 .304

Food Freshness 500 4 4.65 .655 .429

Serving of the Exact Order

Customer Made

500 1 4.61 .487 .237

Sales Promotions 500 1 4.66 .475 .225

Price satisfaction 500 1 4.65 .478 .229

Variety satisfaction 500 1 4.63 .484 .235

Restaurant Environment 500 1 4.68 .465 .217

Service Efficiency 500 3 4.65 .502 .252

Food Appearance 500 3 4.60 .534 .285


Nutritional Quality of

McDonald's Menus

500 3 4.59 .561 .314

Convenient Location 500 1 4.62 .486 .236

McDonald's Brand Image 500 3 4.60 .506 .256

Valid N (list-wise) 500

The 16 attributes involved in this study are showing the following information. Table -02,

shows the sample of 500 individuals including both male (182) and female (318). The majority

of the sample size consists of the female gender which is about 64%, whereas the male are about

36% of the sample size. Total responses of 500 have been entertained.

Table - 02:

Gender

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Male 182 36.4 36.4 36.4

Female 318 63.6 63.6 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 03: shows the customer satisfaction in terms of the visits to McDonald‟s

restaurant. There is no missing value all the 500 participants responded. There are 3 responses of

the extremely dissatisfied which are about 0.6%, 20 dissatisfied which are about 4%, 36

remained neutral are about 7.2%, 160 extremely satisfied are about 32%, and 281 satisfied are

about 56.2%.

Table - 03:

Visits

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Valid Extremely

dissatisfied

3 .6 .6 .6

Dissatisfied 20 4.0 4.0 4.6

Neutral 36 7.2 7.2 11.8

Extremely Satisfied 160 32.0 32.0 43.8

Satisfied 281 56.2 56.2 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 04: shows the friendliness of the McDonald's employees; 1 response of been

neutral is minor is about 0.2%, 137 responses of the satisfied which is 27.4%, 362 extremely

satisfied which are about 72.4%. There is no such a responses of the customer extremely

dissatisfaction.

Table - 04:

Friendly Employees

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Neutral 1 .2 .2 .2

Satisfied 137 27.4 27.4 27.6

Extremely

Satisfied

362 72.4 72.4 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 05: shows the response about the satisfaction of the taste of the foods; 1 response

of extremely dissatisfied is about 0.2%, 3 dissatisfied are about 0.6%, 6 responses of the neutral

is about 1.2%, 137 satisfied responses which are about 27.4 %, and 353 extremely satisfied

responses of the customer satisfactions about the taste of the foods. There are no responses for

the extremely dissatisfied/dissatisfied.


Table - 05:

Foods Taste

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Extremely

dissatisfied

1 .2 .2 .2

Dissatisfied 3 .6 .6 .8

Neutral 6 1.2 1.2 2.0

Satisfied 137 27.4 27.4 29.4


Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 05: shows the responses of the customer satisfaction of the freshness of the

foods; 5 responses of extremely dissatisfied which are 1%, and the responses of 1% from the

dissatisfied and neutral responses, whereas, 131responses of the satisfied which are about 26.3%,

and 354 responses of the extremely satisfied which are about 71%.

Table - 06:

Food Freshness

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Extremely

dissatisfied

5 1.0 1.0 1.0

Dissatisfied 5 1.0 1.0 2.0

Neutral 5 1.0 1.0 3.0

Satisfied 131 26.2 26.2 29.2


Total 500 100.0 100.0


Table – 07: shows the responses from the customer about the Serving of the Exact Order

Customer Made; 193 responses of satisfied customers which are about 39%, and 307 responses

of extremely satisfied customers which are about 61.4%.

Table - 07:

Serving of the Exact Order Customer Made

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Satisfied 193 38.6 38.6 38.6

Extremely

Satisfied

307 61.4 61.4 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 08: shows the responses of customers about the sales promotions; there are 171

responses of the satisfied customers which are about 34.2% and 329 responses of the extremely

satisfied customers which are about 66%. There are no responses for the extremely

dissatisfied/dissatisfied or neutral.

Table - 08:

Sales Promotions

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Extremely

Satisfied

329 65.8 65.8 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0


Table – 09: shows the price satisfaction from the customers; 176 responses of satisfied

which are about 35.2% and 324 responses of the extremely satisfied customers are about 65%.

There are no responses for the extremely dissatisfied/dissatisfied or neutral.

Table - 09:

Price satisfaction

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Extremely

Satisfied

324 64.8 64.8 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 10: shows the responses about variety of products being offered; as 187

responses of satisfied customers which are about 37.4%, and 313 responses of the extremely

satisfied customers are about 63%. There are no responses for the extremely


Table - 10:

Variety satisfaction

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Extremely

Satisfied

313 62.6 62.6 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table -11: shows the responses from the customers about the environment of the

restaurants; 158 responses of the satisfied customers which are about 32%, and 342 responses of


the extremely satisfied customers are about 68.4%. There are no responses for the extremely


Table - 11:

Restaurant Environment

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Extremely

Satisfied

342 68.4 68.4 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 12: shows the responses of the customer satisfaction about the service efficiency;

2 responses of the dissatisfied customers are about 0.4%, 169 responses of satisfied customers

which are about 34%, and 329 responses of the extremely satisfied customers which are about

the 66%. There are no responses for the extremely dissatisfied and neutral.

Table - 12:

Service Efficiency

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Dissatisfied 2 .4 .4 .4

Satisfied 169 33.8 33.8 34.2

Extremely

Satisfied

329 65.8 65.8 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 13: shows the responses of the appearance of the food; 2 responses of the

dissatisfied customers are about 0.4%, 5 remained neutral which are about 1%, 185 responses of


satisfied customers are about 37%, and 308 responses of the extremely satisfied customers are

about 62%. There are no responses for the extremely dissatisfied/dissatisfied.

Table - 13:

Food Appearance

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Neutral 5 1.0 1.0 1.4

Satisfied 185 37.0 37.0 38.4

Extremely

Satisfied

308 61.6 61.6 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 14: shows the responses of the customer satisfaction about the Nutritional

Quality of McDonald's Menus; 4 responses of dissatisfied,6 responses of being neutral which are

0.8% and 1.2% respectively. 180 responses of satisfied customers are about 36%, and 310

responses from the extremely satisfied customers are about 62%. There are no responses for the

extremely dissatisfied.

Table - 14:

Nutritional Quality of McDonald's Menus

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Neutral 6 1.2 1.2 2.0

Satisfied 180 36.0 36.0 38.0

Extremely

Satisfied

310 62.0 62.0 100.0


Nutritional Quality of McDonald's Menus

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Neutral 6 1.2 1.2 2.0

Satisfied 180 36.0 36.0 38.0

Extremely

Satisfied

310 62.0 62.0 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 15: shows the responses of customer satisfaction about the convenience of the

location; 190 responses of satisfied customers are about 38%, and 310 extremely satisfied

customers which are about 62%. There are no responses for the extremely

dissatisfied/dissatisfied and neutral.

Table - 15:

Convenient Location

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Extremely

Satisfied

310 62.0 62.0 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0

Table – 16: shows the responses from the customers about the brand image of the

McDonald's; only 1 response from the dissatisfied customer is about 0.1%, and the same

percentage from the individual remain neutral, 194 responses of satisfied customers are about

39%, and 304 responses from the extremely satisfied customers which are about the 60.8% .

There are no responses for the extremely dissatisfied.


Table - 16:

McDonald's Brand Image

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent


Neutral 1 .2 .2 .4

Satisfied 194 38.8 38.8 39.2

Extremely

Satisfied

304 60.8 60.8 100.0

Total 500 100.0 100.0


Chapter 5: Conclusion

5.1 Conclusion

The study of McDonald's Thai Customer Satisfaction Age 13 – 19 (Teenagers) in the

Bangkok Metropolitan Area shows that the majority of the customers are satisfied by the services

McDonald's offers. Most of the participants taken in this study responded the satisfaction and

there are few responses from the dissatisfied customers.

5.2 Recommendations

Recommendations Based on the limitations, the following three recommendations for

future studies are made: survey design, data collection techniques (researcher personal attributes,

permission), and future area of study. Suggestions are provided for researcher as follows:

The survey should be designed as concise as possible, especially when data will be

collected at the airport. The length of the survey influenced the respondents to complete the

entire survey.

Future studies should add a section of theory, such as the involvement construct, and

discard the unnecessary attributes to make a solid and short survey. It may concentrate on just

one area of customer satisfaction components such as hotels or attractions. Two data collection

techniques are researcher personal attributes and permission.

Interesting future studies may be conducted on: a correlation between the level of

satisfaction (high, medium, low) and frequency of visitations to indicate the level of loyalty, a

correlation between the level of satisfaction (high, medium, low) and level of importance of

travel motivation. The survey should include the satisfaction levels of competitive cities such as


Singapore, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur, so that Bangkok can use the findings to develop

competitive marketing strategies.


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