The loyalty of young people towards multinational fast foods: case of

international McDonald's in Morocco

ABSTRACT:
This article aims to verify the impact of service quality, satisfaction, commitment and trust on
loyalty behavior among young Moroccan McDonald's customers as an example. In the
Moroccan context, the results were completely different from similar results from other studies
in other different contexts.
Key words: Relationnal Marketing, McDonald’s, Loyalty, Commitment, Trust, Service Quality
and Satisfaction.

Introduction
At the beginning of the nineties, Morocco had known a policy of openness to world
competition. The objectives of this openness were to attract foreign investment that created
jobs and to improve the competitiveness of local businesses. At that time, Morocco
experienced the entry of several global groups operating in different fields of activity, including
those operating in the field of fast food (Mc Donald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Quick...). These global
giants have succeeded over the years in introducing a new consumer culture foreign to that of
Moroccans (often focused on traditional cuisine).
The Moroccan consumer was attracted by the products and services offered by fast food
companies. These companies have become a scourge over the past ten years. However, for a
few years these multinationals began to have very big problems and marketing diffculties.
Indeed, these companies are mostly franchises of American origin, which negatively influenced
their image following the poor diplomatic reputation of their country of origin, something from
which they could not break away (War in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine). Customers therefore
began to boycott the restaurants of these companies which were accused of contributing in
some way to the financing of these wars. Faced with this situation, everyone believed that it
would be the end of their existence on the Moroccan market, but despite everything, we found
the opposite. We have therefore witnessed the expansion of their commercial networks and
the increase in the number of customers who visit their points of sale regularly. This would only
be thanks to a well-developed marketing strategy and the communication potential employed
in order to get out of the crisis situation in which they found themselves.
In our research, we investigate the influence of loyalty antecedents such as perceived service
quality, trust, satisfaction and commitment on the loyalty behavior of Moroccan customers
from a purely relational perspective towards fast food companies.
In our research, we will try to answer the following questions:
- Among the antecedents of loyalty, which ones matter most to the Moroccan customer and
encourage him to become loyal to a Fast-Food company?
- In what order does each variable act to lead the customer to develop loyalty behavior?
In order to answer these questions, our approach is as follows: First, we will present a review of
the literature concerning the construct of loyalty and its antecedents. Then, we will present our
conceptual model and the hypotheses that follow from it. The methodology will then be
presented in detail, followed by the results. Finally, research directions and a conclusion will be
proposed.

I. The concept of loyalty

Most of the research work aimed at defining loyalty was carried out before the end of the
1970s by Jacoby and Chesnut in 1978 and then by Laban in 1979. Historically, three approaches
to loyalty have appeared over time: the behavioral approach, the attitudinal approach and the
mixed approach.
The behavioral approach explains loyalty as repeated purchase behavior. According to this
approach, loyalty is the result of repeated buying behavior that is highly correlated with highly
social behavior associated with intense verbal communication and a particular receptivity to
word of mouth (CARMAN, 1970). Or, it reflects repeated buying actions that depend on a high
number of random variables (BASS, 1974). More precisely, CHESNUT and JAVOBY (1978) explain
that repeated purchase behavior is composed of a random part and a deterministic part that
they call loyalty. For them, the random part depends on certain elements that cannot be
controlled by the managers, while the deterministic part (loyalty) comes from psychology
according to needs, attitudes and purchase intentions.
The attitudinal approach appeared and was developed following the limitations of the
behavioral approach. Indeed, FISLER (1994) explains that past behavior is not the best predictor
of future behavior. While FOURNIER and YAO (1997) say that the behavioral approach appears
to be too descriptive and does not make it possible to highlight the richness and complexity of
the relationships between the consumer and the brands.
The attitudinal approach approaches loyalty according to attitude. Indeed, KATZ (1960) defines
attitude as "a predisposition of the individual to evaluate in a certain way an object or a symbol
of this object". In another way, KRECH and CRUTCHFIELD (1948) consider the attitude as being
"a durable organization of motivational, emotional, perceptive and cognitive processes with
regard to an aspect of the individual's world". This approach has been used, like the behavioral
one, to give definitions to loyalty based on the concept of attitude. Thus, ASSAEL (1987) defines
loyalty as being a commitment following a set of constant attitudes from previous purchases.
MASSARO (1975) explains that loyalty, according to the attitudinal approach, is an intermediate
variable in the decision-making process of a consumer placed between the stimulus and the
response that follows.
Finally, the most recent approach is the so-called mixed approach. This approach attempts to
define loyalty by combining the last two approaches (behavioral and attitudinal). Under this
approach, DICK and BASU (1994) consider loyalty to be the strength of the relationship
between the individual's attitude and the behavioral pattern of repurchase of that brand.
However, the most popular definition is that of JACOBY and KEYNER (1973), who define it as a
behavioral response that is discounted (because it is not random) over time by a decision unit
concerning one or more brands taken as a whole, according to the decision process. The
contribution of the mixed approach makes it possible to distinguish between three types of
loyalty, namely true loyalty, latent loyalty and false loyalty. In fact, true loyalty is observed
when a customer develops a strong attitude towards a brand with a large number of visits to
the point of sale. On the other hand, false loyalty arises when the customer develops a weak
attitude towards the brand despite his or her high frequentation of the outlet. According to
KUMAR (1988), this false loyalty will be the consequence of a behavior called inertia and which
defines it as a strong attraction to sequential choice brands and/or addictive or coercive
behavior. Regarding latent loyalty, it is observed when the customer develops a strong attitude
and a low frequentation of the point of sale. This type of loyalty is the consequence of certain
obstacles to frequentation, such as high prices or difficulties in accessing the sales outlet.
For our research, we will adopt the mixed approach to define customer loyalty. This loyalty will
be approached as a multidimensional concept (behavioral and attitudinal), which will allow us
to distinguish between true loyalty and other repeat purchase behaviors (inertia and retention).

II. The relational approach through the marketing literature

The term relationship marketing was first used by BERY in 1983. Through his work, he defined
relationship marketing as consisting in attracting, maintaining and strengthening the
relationship with the customer. MORGAN and HUNT (1994) suggest that relationship marketing
should refer to all marketing activities oriented towards the establishment, development and
maintenance of successful relational exchanges with the customer. Relationship marketing is
opposed to transactional marketing. Today, there is a tendency to identify the significant
variables that enable the development of the customer-brand relationship according to the
relationship marketing approach. Indeed, loyalty according to CRISTAN (2001) is considered
according to the relational approach as being a real psychological and emotional relationship
that is intense, dynamic, long-lasting and evolving, reconciling cognitive and affective
approaches while recognizing the brand as an active partner. The relational approach is very
important and even primordial to properly study brand loyalty. The relational approach
assumes that loyalty has as antecedents' satisfaction, perceived quality per service, trust and
commitment (EVRARD, 2001).

III. The conceptual model and research hypotheses

Before presenting our research model as well as the hypotheses, it was necessary to present
the component variables of the model, which are considered according to the relational
approach as being the antecedents of the behavior of loyalty.

1- Perceived quality by the service:

The concept of service quality began to interest researchers in the early 1980s. Most of these
researchers focused on the measurement of this concept and its relationship or consequences
on other relational variables (trust, commitment, satisfaction and loyalty). The best-known
works on service quality are those of PARASURMAN, ZEITHAML and BERY (1988). Perceived
service quality is a global evaluation, and it is recommended to conceptualize it as an attitude
(PARASURMAN et al, 1988; CORIWA and TAYLOR, 1992). Or as an overall judgment about the
superiority of a service (PARASURMAN et al, 1985).
In fact, this perceived quality results from a global and cognitive evaluation and does not
depend on a transaction in a direct way. Researchers have tried to distinguish between
perceived quality and expected quality, explaining that expected quality depends on customer
expectations (OLIVER, 1980), while perceived quality depends on the way the service is
perceived (PARASURMAN et al, 1985, 1988).
In order to measure the quality perceived by the service, PARASURMAN et al, (1988) designed a
model in the form of a measurement scale called "SERVQUAL". This scale is composed of 44
items, 22 of which measure expectations and 22 others to evaluate perception. Thus, this scale
makes it possible to evaluate 22 service attributes. These 22 items are classified into five
dimensions:
- Tangibility: Relates to physical facilities and equipment.
- Reliability: Relates to the ability to deliver the promised service.
- Serviceability: Refers to the willingness and interest of staff to serve customers.
- Assurance: Refers to the competence, mastery and confidence inspired by the staff.
- Empathy: The understanding of needs. The care and attention given to the customer by the
staff and the company.
This "SERVQUAL" measurement scale has been revised several times. Some items have been
eliminated and others added. SERVQUAL" remains the most widely used scale for measuring
perceived service quality and its items will be used to measure perceived service quality among
customers in our research.
Recent research (DWIGHT et al, 2003; SARIVASTAV, 2009) has shown that perceived service
quality influences customer satisfaction, commitment and trust. Hence the importance of this
concept in explaining customer loyalty.
We will therefore adopt the following hypotheses:

H1: The perceived quality of the service is positively related to customer satisfaction.
H2: Perceived service quality is positively related to customer engagement.
H3: The quality perceived by the service is positively linked to the customer's confidence.

2- The Satisfaction:
For some researchers, customer satisfaction is a strong determinant of customer loyalty
(KUNINGHAM, 1995; FORNELL and LEHMAN, 1994; BOLTON and DREW, 1994; SULIVAN, 1993;
WILTON, 1998; OLIVER, 1980). On the other hand, other researchers adopt the idea that only
customers who have reached a very high level of satisfaction can be qualified as loyal
(HALLOWEL, 1996; BOULDING et al, 1993). For others, the link between satisfaction and loyalty
is not linear. Some have even shown that there is no significant relationship between délité
and satisfaction (BlOEMER and KASPER, 1993). Other researchers have indicated that the level
of consumer loyalty is higher for very satisfied customers than for satisfied customers (JONES
and SASSER, 1995).
Satisfaction has been the subject of several studies and is considered a central concept in
marketing. Satisfaction is a complex term and a difficult concept (CZEPIEL and ROSENBERG,
1973). Satisfaction is considered to be an affective state resulting from an affective and
cognitive evaluation process that occurs during a specific transaction (PHICHON, 1998). Indeed,
the cognitive process was introduced by OLIVER (1980) through his disconfirmation model. This
model explains satisfaction as a gap between expectations and perceived performance. If the
individual's expectations are identical to his or her perceived performance, there is a
confirmation of expectations and consequently moderate satisfaction. On the other hand, if
expectations are higher than the service received, the client will be dissatisfied as a result of a
non-confirmation of expectations and vice versa.