Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-141). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-141). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The Statement of the Problem: This research proposes to identify and evaluate the existing management practices and management performance of two categories of restaurants by comparing the Chinese specialty restaurant to the American specialty restaurant in the Miami, Florida area.

Abstract and faculty adviser information are not available for this thesis.

The purpose of this study is to investigate franchisee turnover practice and empirically test the relationship between franchisee satisfaction and turnover behavior. A total of 402 franchisees of a quick service franchise system were surveyed by using two sets of structured questionnaires. Sixty-seven current and 24 terminated franchisee participated in the study, yielding a response rate of 29.8%. Based on the objective and research questions, two hypotheses were established and tested. The testing of the hypotheses indicated a significant difference between the satisfaction of terminated and current franchisees on service support, social interaction, and general satisfaction. Also, there is a relationship between franchisee’s satisfaction and his or her future intention. Through factor analysis two critical factors were identified closely related to the satisfaction and future intention of current and terminated franchisees. / Master of Science

Dining out is one of the most popular leisure activities in developed countries. A review of the studies on consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CS/D) in restaurant dining indicates that the majority of restaurant management literature deals with the product/service dimension of restaurant dining and that the leisure dimension of restaurant dining has not been explored. This study was approached with a desire to combine the knowledge from leisure, tourism, marketing, and service management in order to add to the body of knowledge in restaurant management. An analysis of an empirical test of the satisfaction disconfirmation model in an upscale restaurant was conducted. The emphasis was on the impact of perceived product/service and leisure disconfirmations on CS/D with upscale restaurant dining. Initially, thirteen product/service attributes were identified through in-depth literature review and consequently nine leisure attributes were adapted from Beard and Ragheb's leisure motivation scale (1983). A self-administered questionnaire was given to 443 customers in an upscale restaurant and 217 questionnaires were returned by mail. It was found that respondents had significantly higher perceived product/service disconfirmation than perceived leisure disconfirmation. Five factors were identified by factor analysis of the 22 attributes. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that all the 13 product/service attributes which separated into three factors--food and beverage (F&B), price/quantity, and physical/service--had significant impacts on consumer satisfaction. The nine leisure attributes were identified as two factors--factor leisure one and factor leisure two. Factor leisure one was found to have no significant impact on CS/D. Factor leisure two which includes discover new things, avoid the hustle & bustle of daily activities, and interact with others, was found to relate significantly to consumer satisfaction. Among the four significant factors, F&B had the highest effect on consumer satisfaction with upscale restaurant dining followed by price/quantity. Compared with the physical/service factor, factor leisure two had a slightly higher effect on consumer satisfaction for upscale restaurant dining. / Ph. D.

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived environmental uncertainty, business strategy, and financial performance in the lodging Industry. Using a contingency framework, this study investigated the match between strategy content and environmental uncertainty which, from previous research, appear to distinguish between high and low performing organizations (Miles 8 Snow, 1978; Bourgeois, 1978; Schaffer, 1986). The key question that forms the basis of this research is whether the empirical evidence supports previous theory relating to the environment, strategy, and performance relationship. The findings of this study indicate that a "match" between the state of the environment facing an organization and its business strategy is required for high performance. Hotels employing a defender strategy In a stable environment tend to perform better than hotels that employing other strategies. Similarly, hotels employing an analyzer strategy in a volatile environment tend to perform better than hotels that employing other strategies. Furthermore, irrespective of the environment faced, smaller hotels do better than larger hotels in terms of profit, while larger properties tend to fare better in terms of revenue. From an Industry application perspective, this study provides the strategy planner in the lodging industry with empirical information relating to: 1. A means to assess the state of the business environment perceived by individual unit general managers, 2. A repertoire of business strategies that emphasize different competitive postures, and 3. A "decision rule" to apply in appropriately matching their strategy to an environmental state for maximal performance outcome reflected in revenues and earnings. The results obtained provide an invaluable planning and analysis tool for all levels of management involved in charting a firm’s future. / Ph. D.

The major purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of strategy and environmental scanning to performance. Porter’s (1980) strategic typology was utilized to classify foodservice firms by strategic orientation; and, an analysis of variance was performed to determine the differences in their performance. Environmental scanning engaged in by the firms was measured utilizing a modified multimethod - multitrait scale developed by Hambrick (1979). A final analysis conducted in this study was the comparison of environmental sectors scanned by high and low performing firms of each strategic group to determine their relationship with the performance variables. The three performance variables used in this study were: (a) Return on Sales, (b) Return on Assets, and (c) Growth in Unit Sales. All foodservice firms surveyed were either independent corporations or strategic business units of larger corporations whose major source of revenue was the foodservice industry. The study was nationwide with 18 national, 32 regional, and 15 local foodservice companies participating. The data was collected from fiscal year 1982 through fiscal year 1986 from both private and public sources. Strategy and environmental scanning were found to have substantial influence on both Return on Sales and Return on Assets. High performing firms in both differentiation and low cost strategies were found to engage in significantly greater amounts of environmental scanning than low performing firms in those two strategic groups. Focus strategy underperformed all other strategic groups in all performance measures. / Ph. D.