Consumer Loyalty in Fast-Food Restaurants in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study assesses the loyalty behaviour of consumers in fast-food restaurants in Saudi Arabia by studying the antecedents and the consequences of loyalty behaviour. The sample consisted of 231 Saudis and non-Saudis living in Saudi Arabia. They were approached using the “snowball” technique. Participants were all over the age of eighteen, and they were customers of Al-Baik restaurants. Data was collected through a face-to-face questionnaire, and analyzed using SPSS software. Specifically, Cronbach’s Alpha test, Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis were used. Results show that significant relationships exist between the antecedents and the consequences of loyalty behaviour. It is also indicated that participants’ personalities and values were significantly related to the loyalty behaviour of consumers in Saudi Arabia. The major limitation of this study is that it was conducted in only one city, Jeddah. Therefore, additional research should be carried out in other cities with larger samples. The research results offer compelling evidence that Saudi loyalty behaviour differs from Western behaviour. Therefore, it suggests that international fast-food operators in Saudi Arabia should take local factors into account when formulating marketing strategies, such as the role of women and youth in Saudi society. This thesis makes a novel contribution to the literature, as it is the first to model the antecedents and the consequences of loyalty behaviour of consumers in a single study. It is also the first to study contributed to the literature to examine the relation between the Six Dimensional Achievement Motivation Scale (Jackson, Ahmed, and Heapy, 1976), Rokeach Value System (1973), and loyalty behaviour of consumers.