Title: Service quality and gender differences in Brazilian self-service restaurants

Authors: André Luís Policani Freitas; Marta Duarte De Barros

Addresses: Darcy Ribeiro North Fluminense State University, Production Engineering Laboratory, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000 Parque Califórnia, Campos dos Goytacazes/RJ, Brazil ' Darcy Ribeiro North Fluminense State University, Production Engineering Laboratory, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000 Parque Califórnia, Campos dos Goytacazes/RJ, Brazil

Abstract: This paper presents an experimental approach to assess the quality of restaurants regarding amenities, services provided and sustainable practices. Several studies have been conducted to identify factors that influence the restaurant quality. However, the analysis of gender differences appears to be meaningful because gender may influence the diners' perception of restaurant service quality. This study was conducted in Brazilian self-service restaurants. Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlations were used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire. One way ANOVA was used to examine the differences between male and female customers. Quartile analysis was used to determine the most critical items; linear regression and Cook's distance were used to identify outliers. Only one of the most relevant dimensions is related to servicescape dimensions; however, the most critical items are related to such dimensions. The quality ratings of the restaurant given by males and females differ for certain items.

Keywords: restaurant service quality; self-service restaurants; servicescapes; gender differences; service staff; SERVQUAL; SERVPERF; Brazil; restaurant quality; diner perception.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEM.2016.081863

International Journal of Services, Economics and Management, 2016 Vol.7 No.2/3/4, pp.198 - 221

Received: 25 May 2016
Accepted: 22 Nov 2016
Published online: 29 Jan 2017 *

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