THE ROLE OF PATRON DINING EXPERIENCE AND EMOTIONS ON RELATIONSHIP QUALITY IN CHAIN RESTAURANT INDUSTRY: A CONCEPTUAL PAPER

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of patron dining experience (PDE) and emotions on relationship quality in the chain restaurant industry. The research includes PDE and emotions as the predictors of relationship quality and loyalty as the consequence. Hence, a conceptual framework of relationship quality expanded with PDE, emotions and loyalty construct is proposed. The present paper hypothesized emotions as the predictor of relationship quality in achieving customer loyalty where it also further discusses the relationship between PDE and emotion. Relationship quality is constructed of three dimensions (i.e. trust, satisfaction and commitment) where PDE consist of five attributes (i.e. price, food quality, service quality, location and environment). Emotions are constructed by both positive and negative emotions. The present paper hopes to provide managers in services, particularly those in the restaurant industry, relevant information to assist in improving their relationship marketing programs.