Nutr Res Pract.  2011 Apr;5(2):163-168.

Service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intention in home delivered meals program

• Joung HW
• Kim HS
• Yuan JJ
• Huffman L

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate recipients' perception of service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intention in home delivered meals program in the US. Out of 398 questionnaires, 265 (66.6%) were collected, and 209 questionnaires (52.5%) were used for the statistical analysis. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with a maximum likelihood was first conducted to estimate the measurement model by verifying the underlying structure of constructs. The level of internal consistency in each construct was acceptable, with Cronbach's alpha estimates ranging from 0.7 to 0.94. All of the composite reliabilities of the constructs were over the cutoff value of 0.50, ensuring adequate internal consistency of multiple items for each construct. As a second step, a Meals-On-Wheels (MOW) recipient perception model was estimated. The model's fit as indicated by these indexes was satisfactory and path coefficients were analyzed. Two paths between (1) volunteer issues and behavioral intention and (2) responsiveness and behavioral intention were not significant. The path for predicting a positive relationship between food quality and satisfaction was supported. The results show that having high food quality may create recipient satisfaction. The findings suggest that food quality and responsiveness are significant predictors of positive satisfaction. Moreover, satisfied recipients have positive behavioral intention toward MOW programs.

Keyword

Perceived quality; satisfaction; behavioral intentions; MOW; Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

MeSH Terms

Food Quality
Intention
Meals
Surveys and Questionnaires

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Meals-On-Wheels respondents' perception model. ***P < 0.001. Bold lines represent hypothesized significant relationships. Dotted lines represent hypothesized insignificant relationships.

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