Antecedents and outcomes of restaurant employees’ food safety intervention behaviors

Restaurants are likely culprits of having foodborne illness outbreaks, causes of which are often linked to employees failing to control food threats during the flow of food. Research indicates that many food risks posed by restaurants could be thwarted if employees would intervene as threats are noticed. For unknown reasons, employees are not always motivated to reduced or eliminate threats when observing poor food safety behaviors, regardless of position, education, or experience in the industry.This study applies the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion (ELM) and protection motivation (PMT) theories to investigate employee reactions to food safety threats. Of keen interest was to identify employees of differing positions in the restaurant and to study how they react to food safety threats to either intervene, passively dismiss, or simply leave the location of the incident.     

An exploratory study examining information technology adoption and implementation in full-service restaurant firms

The purpose of the paper is to explore and compare the current use of information technology-related advances in chain and independent full-service restaurants, the factors that motivate managers of these types of restaurants to decide whether or not to implement such technology, and how these managers perceive the impact of technology on the firm. A case study analysis involving four San Francisco Bay Area full-service restaurants was conducted to examine the framework of full-service restaurants to implement new technology. Propositions are developed that purport the information technology adoption and implementation characteristics of full-service restaurant firms while elucidating the distinctiveness between chain and independent firms.     

Share repurchases and stock market reactions: Messages from the restaurant industry

It is generally accepted that investors tend to react favorably to share repurchases. However, it is actually not uncommon for investors to underreact to some share repurchases. Recently, a number of restaurant firms have spent huge amounts of internal cash on share repurchases but little is known regarding the market’s underreaction to share repurchases in the restaurant industry. Hence, this study attempted to identify factors that could mitigate market reactions to share repurchases. Analyzing U.S. restaurant firms, this study revealed that growth opportunities, franchising, dividend payments, and spending excessive free cash flows on share repurchases negatively impacted market reactions. However, the negative impact of growth opportunities was weaker for franchise restaurants than for non-franchise restaurants. This study provides useful managerial information regarding the timing of and the amount that can be spent on restaurant firms’ share repurchases.     

American theme restaurants: A study of consumer's perceptions of the important attributes in restaurant selection

In recent years, a number of American theme restaurants have established in Hong Kong. Keen competition exists for this type of restaurants. Customers who visit this type of restaurant seem not only to enjoy their food but also to enjoy their environment. However, little is known about what customers expect and how they select this type of restaurant. In order to have an understanding of customers’ behaviour in relation to the customers’ perceptions of important restaurant attributes in selecting an American theme restaurant in Hong Kong, a study was conducted. The results indicated that ‘Food quality’, ‘Servers’ attitude’, ‘Value for money’, ‘Atmosphere’ and ‘Word‐of‐mouth’ were the five important restaurant dimensions as considered by consumers in selecting an American theme restaurant. Customers for this type of restaurant are likely to be professionals, highly educated and belong to the middle‐income group in the society. Customers usually go to the American theme restaurants for meetings, fun and enjoyment. Marketing implications and directions for future studies are discussed.     

Brand knowledge and non-financial brand performance in the green restaurants: Mediating effect of brand attitude

The restaurant business has been increasingly recognized for its ability to help mitigate many negative environmental impacts. To develop a competitive advantage, green restaurants may adopt an innovative branding strategy. Marketing management recognizes that understanding brand attitude is critical for marketing strategies. Studies have examined the relationship between brand knowledge and non-financial brand performance. However, it remains unclear how the green restaurant brand attitude affects this relationship.This study aims to fill this research gap by identifying the composition and structure of the brand attitude in Taiwan’s green restaurants and examining the mediating effects of brand attitude on the relationship between brand knowledge and brand performance. The findings of this study broaden and deepen the current knowledge of the role of brand attitude in Taiwan’s green restaurant industry. In practice, it is suggested that green restaurant management should develop well-known brand knowledge to form brand attitudes and foster brand performance.     

Is restaurant franchising capital a substitute for or a complement to debt?

Since Oxenfeldt and Kelly’s 1969 study, the resource scarcity hypothesis has been considered a representative theory to explain franchising motivations. Whether franchising capital is a substitute for or a complement to debt has been discussed in the franchise literature but the relationship remains unclear. Using Frank and Goyal’s (2003) financial deficit model along with trade-off and pecking order theories, this study shed light on whether franchising capital acts as a substitute for and/or to complement debt in the restaurant industry. This study discovered that the adjustment speed of long-term debt leverage was faster for franchise restaurant firms than non-franchise restaurant firms. Further, the average long-term leverage target was lower for franchise restaurants. Consequently, this study revealed that franchising capital functioned as a substitute for long-term debt. In contrast, the adjustment speed of short-term debt leverage was slower for franchise restaurants and, thus, franchising capital complemented short-term debt.     

Restaurant revenue management: Do perceived capacity scarcity and price differences matter?

Revenue management (RM) has become an indispensable strategic tool in capacity-constrained service industries whose total revenue often depends on the abilities of firms to use capacity efficiently. The restaurant business is similar enough to traditional RM industries such as hotels and airlines, but restaurants also have unique characteristics that pose special challenges to restaurant operators. Among the unique characteristics of restaurants are the relative flexibility of service capacity and the flexible duration of a meal, which are important subjects to be considered in the implementation of RM practices. In addition, when a restaurant operator practices a demand-based variable pricing policy to adjust demand, the magnitude of the price differences may influence fairness perceptions of the policy. Based on the commodity theory and the equity theory, this study hypothesizes that two main effects, namely, perceived scarcity of capacity in a restaurant and price differences, influence the perceived value of a restaurant's offerings and the fairness perceptions of a restaurant's RM practices. As hypothesized, the negative effects of price difference on fairness perceptions are supported by the results. However, findings suggest that perceived scarcity of capacity influences neither the perceived value of a restaurant's expected offering nor the fairness perceptions for a restaurant's RM practices.     

Restaurant's decision to purchase local foods: Influence of value chain activities

In this paper we investigate how restaurant managements’ attitudes and behaviors influence decisions to purchase local foods as inputs to their products. An enhanced investigation of chefs’ and managers’ decision-making criteria could improve understanding of local food systems linkages with the restaurant industry. We apply a value chain framework to investigate activities that influence restaurants’ decision to purchase local foods. Results indicate that attitudes and behaviors associated with sourcing and product characteristics play an important role in local food purchase decisions in the restaurant value chain. Order processing time and uniqueness of products are the most significant reasons in restaurant managements’ decisions to purchase local foods. The implications of these findings for restaurants and producers are discussed. Our study contributes to the literature by expanding upon the criteria used by restaurants to make local food purchasing decisions.     

Study on the Utilization of Restaurant Services by the Disabled and their Demand for Better Access in Korea

This study is on disabled peoples' utilization of and demands for better access to restaurants, which are a social and cultural activity. A survey was conducted on 172 physically or mentally challenged persons regarding their utilization of restaurants, criteria for choosing a restaurant, inconveniences while visiting restaurants and requests for improvements. For dining to be more accessible to the disabled, mobility within restaurants, accessibility to restaurants and improvements in their facilities are urgently needed. A change in attitude by the people in the restaurant industry and encouragement at the government level are also needed.     

Effects of service quality and food quality: The moderating role of atmospherics in an ethnic restaurant segment

This study empirically examined not only the relationship between perceived quality and satisfaction/loyalty, but also the role of customer perceptions of atmospherics in an ethnic restaurant segment. Specifically, this study, using hierarchical regression analyses, investigated the direct effects of service quality and food quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as the moderating effect of the perception of atmospherics, in Korean restaurants. As expected, this study showed that service and food quality have positive and significant effects on customer satisfaction and loyalty. This suggested that, similar to other restaurant segments, employee service and food are of great importance for ethnic restaurants as well. Verifying the moderating role of atmospherics, however, this study found that good employee service can be more effective for increasing the satisfaction and loyalty of customers with a low perception of the atmospherics compared to those with a higher perception. Further, providing quality food is particularly critical for creating customer satisfaction in ethnic restaurants where atmospherics are not satisfactory. More detailed findings and implications are also discussed.     

Are better-connected CEOs more socially responsible? Evidence from the U.S. restaurant industry

Extensive research has documented how corporate social responsibility (CSR) outcomes are determined by CEOs' intrinsic characteristics, while their social network status has been under-researched. Building on impression management theory and resource-based theory, the current study analyzes the association between CSR activities and top management's position in the social hierarchy, i.e., network centrality. The heterogeneous effects across different restaurant and CSR types are examined based on stakeholder theory. Using a panel dataset of publicly traded U.S. restaurant companies and a novel dataset of CEO network centrality, we find that firms with highly connected CEOs are involved in more socially responsible activities. In addition, the marginal effect of network centrality on CSR is stronger for fast-food than for full-service restaurants and more prominent for external than internal stakeholder subcategories. The results advance the determinant analysis of CSR and provide managerial implications for CEO selection and policy suggestions on CSR promotion.     

Does a minimum wage increase endanger restaurant jobs? Examining the role of franchising

This study examined the effect of federal minimum wage increases on the U.S. restaurant industry. Based on the competitive labor market perspective, this study expected that minimum wage increases would negatively (positively) influence restaurant employment (compensation), while franchising would positively moderate the minimum wage-employment (minimum wage-compensation) relationship. The results of the analysis showed that minimum wage increases negatively influence employment, while franchising positively moderates the adverse effect of minimum wage increases on restaurant employment. This study also revealed that minimum wage increases positively influence per employee compensation, but franchising does not significantly moderate the relationship. This study suggested that franchising provides a buffer that absorbs the adverse effects of minimum wage increases on restaurant employment. Conversely, franchise restaurants may face potential service quality issues because franchise firms seem to strategically adjust full-time employees to part-time workers to address minimum wage increases.     

An examination of cost management behavior in small restaurant firms

The purpose of this study is to test cost management behavior of small restaurant firms and identify whether managers of these small restaurants behave differently depending on their management and ownership structure. The sample was comprised of 87 small restaurant firms identified from the 1998 Survey of Small Business Finances (SSBF). Cost of doing business, size of staff, and five performance measures were used as dependent variables. Independent variables included management and ownership type. Study findings identified significant differences in the profit margin depending on management type and ownership percentage of the primary owner. We also find that the cost of doing business (total expenses) varies depending upon single-family majority/minority ownership and the ownership percentage of the primary owner. The results support the notion that small restaurant firms are operated differently depending on their management and ownership structure.     

Fine-dining in prisons: Online TripAdvisor reviews of The Clink training restaurants

This study evaluated customer reviews about The Clink restaurants to understand how they are rated and what experience is gained by fine dining in a prison. The Clink Charity runs training restaurants in four U.K. prisons and aims to change attitudes and transform lives through prisoner rehabilitation. This research used an interpretive case study of the Clink restaurants to evaluate online customer reviews posted on TripAdvisor. In total, 3951 reviews were analysed using Leximancer 5.0. The most prominent themes were Food: ‘fine-dining in prisons’, Visit: ‘The Clink ambassadors’, and Prison: ‘the inside and outside divide’. Despite the prison location, customers reported having exceptional, professional and memorable dining experiences delivered by highly trained chefs, and that the front of house staff would rival those in many fine-dining restaurants. Further research is required to confirm how dining at a Clink restaurant may have potentially begun to change the public perceptions of prisoners.     

Uncertainty risks and strategic reaction of restaurant firms amid COVID-19: Evidence from China

To contain the pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19), social distancing, self-isolation and travel restrictions have been imposed globally. To shed light on how COVID-19 is affecting restaurant industry, this study aims to explore the factors that affect restaurant firms’ financial turnaround for their sustainability after the business shutdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By utilizing a total of 86,507 small- and medium-sized restaurant firms’ sales data collected from nine cities in Mainland China, the exploratory approach of this study successfully determines positive impacts of three aspects of operational characteristics (i.e., delivery, discounts, and service type) and brand effects as uncertainty minimizing factors amid distinctive business shutdowns and restrictions. This is the first empirical study in the management realm on the impacts of COVID-19 on restaurant industry. This paper strengthens the extant literature by highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry after the business restrictions are lifted.     

Does mandatory food safety training and certification for restaurant employees improve inspection outcomes?

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between mandatory food safety training and certification and inspection results of chain restaurants and independent restaurants, using current food safety inspection results of food service establishments in Central Florida. More specifically, this study examines whether there is any statistically significant difference in the violation frequency among chain and independent restaurants. Reducing the risk of any foodborne illness is a critical strategy that industry stakeholders should pursue in an area dominated by tourism such as Orlando, Florida. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine the differences between the two types of restaurants. Findings indicate that there is significant difference between chain and independent restaurants for critical violations. No difference was found when comparing chain verses independent restaurants for non-critical violations.     

Revenue management strategies under the lunar–solar calendar: Evidence of Chinese restaurant operations

This paper discusses the lunar–solar calendar-driven festivals that affect Chinese restaurant operations. In-depth interviews and a survey were carried out with 50 catering professionals to provide information that was subsequently used to estimate the change of restaurant turnover due to the identified festivals. Four core common lunar–solar calendar-driven festivals that create more demand for dining out across China were identified. They generated extra revenue, which was nearly 10% of total annual business for restaurants. The study also ascertained 21 measures related to revenue management strategies to cope with these demand variations. In addition, a new restaurant revenue management strategy framework was developed. Recommendations based on this study were suggested to multi-functional restaurants and hotel systems.     

To cluster or not to cluster?: Understanding geographic clustering by restaurant segment

This study tested whether geographic clustering differs by restaurant segment due to the differences in consumers’ hedonic and utilitarian values by using Ripley’s K function and a Tobit model. This study found that higher priced restaurant segments have stronger clusters than lower priced restaurants, which implies that restaurants that focus on hedonic values tend to cluster more than utilitarian focused restaurants. However, the results differ depending on whether or not restaurants are located within a central business district (CBD). For example, quick service restaurants have stronger clusters than casual restaurants outside CBDs. Practical applications may apply to new restaurants that are attempting to open. Up-scale restaurants have the advantage of reducing research costs by locating near similar restaurants. Moreover, casual restaurants do benefit by clustering near existing ones under the condition that demand is not severely hurt by competition, while quick service restaurants benefit by diffusing from each other.     

Restaurant Customers’ Perceptions of Noise and Their Satisfaction and Loyalty Behaviors

This exploratory study expands the current literature on servicescapes by examining the total noise environment in restaurants and the impact of ambient noise levels and general restaurant attributes on customer satisfaction and loyalty behavior, defined as the customer's willingness to return to a restaurant and motivation to recommend it. The researchers surveyed guests at one casual dining restaurant in the Southwestern United States. The results showed that services, physical attributes, and quality of food and beverage had significant impact on overall satisfaction, overall atmosphere, and loyalty behaviors. Noise level factors such as effects of noise and appropriateness of noise levels, influenced overall satisfaction, but not loyalty behaviors.