Hotel and Restaurant Management Program electronic theses and dissertations (MU)
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The items in this collection are the theses and dissertations written by students of the Hotel and Restaurant Management Program. Some items may be viewed only by members of the University of Missouri System and/or University of Missouri-Columbia. Click on one of the browse buttons above for a complete listing of the works.
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Item American customers' expectations of service quality toward an Indian restaurant compared to an American restaurant(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010) Hasan, Syed Zeeshan; Hwang, Johye[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The increasing number of immigrants in the USA has made the American society more diverse, making the increase in ethnic restaurants an interesting research topic. As people from different cultures settled in the United States, they brought with them their culture influences as well as their food. Ethnic restaurants have emerged in the past decade and many establishments have introduced cuisines from different parts of the world. The acceptance of ethnic cuisine is tremendously positive. One reason is that Americans are traveling further from home exposing them to new cuisines that they may look for when they return home. By studying the factors that are important to people in choosing an ethnic restaurant versus and American casual dining restaurant, the ethnic restaurant owner becomes better equipped to emphasize the needs of the customers. In addition, this study will help the ethnic restaurant owners in understanding the importance of service quality expectations in ethnic restaurants. This study will give ethnic restaurant owners direction to where they should focus their attention and efforts to provide quality service. This study will help the ethnic restaurant owners to better understand the importance of keeping the customer happy and provide them insight on how they can improve themselves by establishing service quality standards based on the findings of this study. Finally, this study will be based upon what Americans expect as a culture. This study will also help understand the role gender and age play in determining differences in expectations. It is important to understand what aspects of service quality are important in matching good service to what is culturally expected.Item College students' information search behavior for spring break: an exploration in the concept of specialization(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007) Park, Sangwon, 1980-; Kim, Dae-Young, 1972-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This study identified college student travelers' different information search behaviors, dividing the travelers into groups of high, medium and low levels by using the concept of specialization. The research investigated the perceived value of information content and information sources, and identified the main information sources used to obtain information for their recent spring break trip. The results indicated that the different specialization groups assigned different values to information content and sources. More specifically, it appeared that the high specialization group placed greater value on information content such as accommodations, getting around, attractions, and activities, than the other two groups. In regard to internal information source and word of mouth, the high specialization group also showed the highest value of the three groups. The medium specialization group, on the other hand, was more likely to place importance on online travel agencies and television/radio than the other groups. Overall, the findings of this study supported the idea that the specialization concept can be used as a new approach to segment travelers in a more comprehensive way.Item A study of the individual and organizational characteristics influencing event planner's perception on information content and channel choice(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2009) Alexander, Amanda, 1984-; Kim, Dae-Young, 1972-Based on the understanding of the role of event planners within the context of organizational decision making process, the main purpose of this study is to examine factors (i.e., organizational vs. individual) that influence event planners perception of information contents and channel choices. An online survey questionnaire was sent to a sample of members of International Special Events Society (ISES) and 189 usable responses were received. The results reveal that personal interaction is the most valuable channel whereas meetings room information appears to be most influential for event planners' decision-makings. It is also observed that individual factors more influence event planners' channel choices and perceptions. The results of this study are anticipated to provide valuable marketing implications for destination marketing organizations such as CVBs.