The effects of ethnocentrism on the service quality perception of local and foreign fast-food restaurants: A research in Kazakhstan

Service quality is one of the critical success factors in fast-food restaurants. Fast-food restaurant managers need to constantly measure and improve their restaurants' service quality, so that their businesses can retain their existing customers and also keep acquiring new ones. In addition, now when foreign brands/companies from the same industry enter the local markets and the competition is increasing, it is important to know how well the local and foreign brands are perceived by consumers. In this study, the effects of ethnocentrism on perceived service quality of local and foreign fast-food restaurants were investigated. The consumers ethnocentrism levels in Kazakhstan's fast-food sector was evaluated and both: newly introduced "McDonald's" and newly opened local "Zheka's Döner House" fast-food restaurants were compared and analysed, and some conclusions based on the results were put forward. To summarize, while low ethnocentric participants have highly evaluated the service quality of McDonald's restaurants, high ethnocentric participants have evaluated the service quality of "Zheka's Döner house" restaurant to be quite better.