AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

Technology is ever evolving in the restaurant industry. According to the Pocket Factbook (2015) issued by the National Restaurant Association, there are over one million restaurant locations currently in the United States that are projected to employ 14 million people and contribute in sales of $709.2 billion in 2015. Many restaurants have incorporated the use of technology from ordering systems, mobile applications, social media and more. Information technology is commonly used for order processing, marketing, accounting, and site selection of new restaurant units; and almost all restaurants use point-of-sale (POS) systems and accounting packages to process their financial data (Huber, Hancer, & George, 2010). Pre-payment applications, tablet touch screens and stock checking via an iPhone, all help the restaurateur save time and therefore money, says Carol Emmas (2014). Technology has enabled restaurants to work smarter rather than harder. The purpose of the study is to examine the correlation between Information Technology and Service Quality in the casual and fast-casual restaurant segments relating to satisfaction, revisit intention and word of mouth intention. Survey data was collected from 276 respondents nationwide. The survey included a demographic portion for respondents, which was analyzed through one t-test and eight ANOVA tests. Within the two different types of tests, income was considered to be the only statistically significant demographic component that directly affected the respondents??? perceptions of the information technology attributes. Additionally, multiple regression tests were conducted to determine the significance of customer satisfaction, revisit intention and word of mouth intention relating to Factor One and Factor Two. Advisors/Committee Members: Lee, Myong Jae (advisor), Chesser, Jerald (committee member).