Let's have lunch? A study on the relation between hospitality, service quality and experiential marketing in the satisfaction of restaurant cli-ents

Abstract

Justification of the topic: The city of São Paulo is the region of the country with the highest concentration of establishments in the sector of bars and restaurants, employing around 780,000 people, and the revenue in 2015 was greater than BRL$ 30 billion. From the perspective of hospitality, service quality and the experience while consuming the product are intimately related to satisfaction and consequent loyalty. Therefore, this study is initially justified according to these aspects. Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of hospitality, service quality and experiential marketing on the perception of satisfaction among clients in restaurants frequented at lunchtime during working hours in the city of São Paulo and the respective loyalty of these clients. Methodology/Design: This study is characterized as quantitative descriptive and used a questionnaire with a seven-point Likert scale.  For the data collection, we used the forms tool on the Google Docs platform and the data collection period was in the months of March and April of 2017. We used non-probability sampling composed of 269 participants and the multivariate data analysis technique of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings: We observed that the sample was predominantly female, over 30 years of age, who spent between BRL$ 30.00 and BRL$ 50.00 per day and possess higher education. We would like to point out that despite the positive empirical results of the study, they should not be generalized, since this sample characterizes a specific group in the city of São Paulo. Originality: This study provides new insights for the literature on consumer behavior specifically in the areas of hospitality and experiential marketing in a sector represented as much by income as it is by the number of collaborators in the greater Brazilian metropolitan area.