This study investigates the association between empathy and future purchase\ud
intentions (FPI) among customers of high contact services. Empathy is seen as an\ud
interpersonal relationship and conceptualised as a communal relationship. In this\ud
study, it is theorised as the outcome of restaurant service attributes, the influential\ud
force of relationship quality (i .e., overall satisfaction, trust and commitment) and\ud
future purchase intentions (FPI) as a fonn of customer loyalty by using upscale\ud
restaurants as service settings. With a view to developing the conceptual framework,\ud
the three bodies of theory are incorporated to f01m the theoretical foundation of the\ud
study, from which the constructs are derived and relationships among them are\ud
discussed and theorised. These are exchange theory, affect theory and relationship\ud
marketing theory. The theoretical framework then provides the underpinning for\ud
developing the conceptual model, which leads to the development of the hypotheses\ud
and questionnaire.\ud
I