Journal of Research in Business, Economics and Management (JRBEM) ISSN: 2395-2210 Volume 4, Issue 4 available at www.scitecresearch.com/journals/index.php/jrbem/index 446 SCITECH Volume 4, Issue 4 RESEARCH ORGANISATION November 15, 2015 Journal of Research in Business, Economics and Management www.scitecresearch.com Customer Satisfaction in the Brazilian Fast Food Franchise Segment Edgard Monforte Merloˡ, Helenita R. da Silva Tamashiro², Evandro Eduardo Seron Ruiz³ ˡ Phd in Business FEA/USP, Professor at FEARP/USP – Business Department ² Phd in Business FEA/USP, Professor at Reges College – Business Department ³ Phd in Electronic Engineering University of Kent at Canterbury - Professor at FFCLRP/USP – Computer Science and Mathematics Department Abstract In a market with great competition, store image associated with quality and brand become an important competitive tool, meanly when associated to perceived customer satisfaction. The main objective of this study was to analyze the influence of image, brand and quality on customer satisfaction in the Brazilian fast food segment. Data analysis was conducted through multivariate techniques to verify the significance of the relationship between variables analyzing two of the five biggest fast food chains in Brazil. The results showed that brand and quality were the most valued variables according to perceived customer satisfaction. In the model used, brand presented the greatest explanatory power. Based on the multiple coefficient of determination (adjusted R 2 ), quality, image and brand as a group explained about 62.7% (Franchise 1) and 61.3% (Franchise 2) of the search for satisfaction, being that only quality and brand were statistically significant. Keywords: Image Store; Retail; Quality; Attributes; Consumer; Brand; Satisfaction; Fast Food. 1 Introduction Kumar and Steenkamp (2008) described the shift that took place from the 19 th century, when customers purchased nameless products of inconsistent quality offered by local factories, to brand products made by global manufacturers, such as Coke, Johnnie Walker, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Levi’s, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé , Unilever and others. These authors also demonstrated that customers initially purchased brands endorsed by these manufacturers as symbols of quality, trustworthiness and affluence. After some time, these brands began to be consumed as symbols of aspirations, images and lifestyles. In this perspective, Swoboda et al. (2013) also indicated that the success of retailers depends on having strong and attractive retail brands, ease access to a store with an equally accessible and suitable location. The author also observes that a strong brand may receive the benefits from the company brand’s image. Within this emphasis, retailers must pay attention to their model of customer service, so that it does not become out of date. If this occurs customers may form a negative store image. For Burt and Carralero-Encinas (2000), the image of the retailer is the key factor contributing to a company’s success. Thus, it is essential to understand the importance of such image to define the position of a company within its market. Within the franchising context, just like in any other segment of the economy, quality plays an important role as a standard for expanding a business (Monroy and Alzola, 2005). Similarly, Khauaja and Mattar (2006) highlighted that in the current hypercompetitive business environment, the relevance of branding to a company’s performance must be acknowledged, whether on a national or international level. According to these authors, the power of brand had a great capacity to positively influence buying behavior. This is d ue to the fact that products’ functional attributes are usually not sufficient to set them apart from their competition. In the retail segment frequently occurs that technologies, designs, raw materials and functions are very similar, if not identical. In this case, brands play an important role to products and services offered. Based on this background, the following research question was created: how do image, brand and quality influence customer satisfaction in the fast food segment?