Service-profit Chain: Literature Review and Recommendations for Future Research Within the Restaurant Industry

Abstract

The restaurant industry has historically struggled with poor management, low wages, and high employee turnover, all of which inevitably affect customer service and business results. Increasing pressure has been placed on the industry concerning the employee-employer relationship and organizations struggle to implement strategies that successfully address workforce concerns while continuing to optimize financial performance. Service management and service-profit chain literature have offered initial support for a framework in which employee perceptions influence customer perceptions of service, which in turn affect financial results. The theory is that, though there is a growing body of literature addressing these issues, there is a need for comprehensive literature review to generate optimized methods for future research within the industry. Torraco’s (2005) integrative literature review was the method used to evaluate the literature. Multiple domains of literature were examined in support of this problem in order to meet the primary objectives of the study. In summary, this research synthesizes the service-profit chain literature to better refine the model, to evaluate the current gaps in literature, and to provide a research agenda that will help to produce new knowledge relevant to the restaurant industry’s woes, while also contributing to the food service, human resource development, and marketing literature.