Changing Food Consumption Patterns and Their Impact on the Quick Service Restaurant Industry

Summary

During the past two decades there have been significant changes in U.S. food consumption patterns. Consumers are purchasing smaller quantities of milk, eggs, pork, and beef. They are consuming more poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables. Such trends in food demand are important since they may require corresponding changes in marketing and production strategies for the foodservice industry. This study investigates the driving forces that influence consumer food preferences and the trends in food consumption patterns, and consequently their influence on the Quick Service Restaurant industry.     

Understanding consumer's brand categorization across three countries: Application of fuzzy rule-based classification

In multi-brand situations, people categorize all known brands into subsets called consideration, hold, foggy and reject sets. This is the Brisoux–Laroche model. Traditional brand categorization models including this, assume that consumers can properly categorize each brand into these subsets. However, a brand with both perceived positive and negative attributes increases the difficulty for a consumer to decide about the placement into subsets. This study investigates consumers' brand categorization when a brand has both perceived positive and negative attributes. We propose that a brand may belong to more than one subset (decision fuzziness). Using fuzzy-rule-based classification, this is investigated across three cultures (Chinese, Japanese and Kazakhstan) and two product categories: Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and beer. The findings confirm that decision fuzziness varies across cultures. Chinese consumers have less decision fuzziness for foreign brands than for local brands in the QSR market. In general, the opposite is found to be true for Japanese and Kazakh consumers.     

Food for Thought: How Will the Nutrition Labeling of Quick Service Restaurant Menu Items Influence Consumers’ Product Evaluations, Purchase Intentions, and Choices?

Within the context of quick service restaurant meals, three studies (a consumer diary study, web-based experiment, and longitudinal experiment) examine how accurately consumers estimate calorie, fat, and sodium content and explore how objective nutrition information may influence product evaluations, perceptions, and purchase intentions. The results indicate that many consumers have little understanding of the calorie, fat, and sodium levels of many typical quick service meals, and this is especially true for less healthful meals. Consistent with rationale drawn from the expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm, results demonstrate that menu-based nutrition information provision negatively influences consumers’ responses when that information is less favorable than expected. Findings suggest that the relationship between actual and expected nutrition levels drives responses, rather than the disclosure of information per se. Since these relationships can vary both within and between restaurants, results suggest that the effects of mandated nutrition information disclosure may not be uniform across the industry.     

Consumer Attitude Toward Adding Quick-Service Foods to In-Flight Meals

Summary

This study examines consumer attitude toward the addition of quick-service foods (QSF) to domestic coach class in-flight meals. Multiple regression analysis is used to test two hypotheses. Findings indicate that airline passengers who are satisfied with current airline food do not want QSF added to in-flight meals. However, airline passengers who currently enjoy QSF would like to see the addition of QSF to in-flight meals.     

Nutrition Labels: An Exploratory Study of Consumer Reasons For Nonuse

Studies of consumer usage of nutrition labels required by the Food and Drug Administration have found that usage levels are low. A mailback survey of food shoppers in Madison, Wisconsin was conducted to determine who uses nutrition labels as well as reasons for nonuse. Multiple regression analysis revealed that compared to users, nonusers did not rate themselves as highly on nutrition knowledge, were less likely to plan meals in advance, and were not as highly educated. When asked why they did not use labels, most nonusers said they did not need them, and a sizable group reported their shopping practices pre-empt label usage. Nonusers also felt that a sample label had too much information. When asked to perform computations from sample label information, nonusers were less successful than users. The implications of these findings for nutrition education efforts are discussed.     

Consumer Primacy on Campus: A Look at the Perceptions of Navajo and Anglo Consumers

ABSTRACT

A comparison was made between 152 Navajo students and 245 Anglo students regarding their perceptions of the educational product. Based upon focus group outcomes, nine elements were used to represent the educational product in the analyses. The elements were conceptualized using the Marketing Lens Model. Four hypotheses were developed and tested. Significant cultural differences were found for the following elements of the educational product: importance ratings among educational attributes, anticipated preparation after graduation, and satisfaction with the educational product. Results are discussed and managerial implications for university administrators are offered.     

Attitudes of Korean College Students Towards Quick-Service,Family-Style,and Fine Dining Restaurants

Abstract

A research instrument was developed to identify attitudes of Korean college students towards quick-service, family-style, and fine dining restaurants. Of the 350 questionnaires distributed, 292 (83%) were returned and usable. Respondents had the most positive attitudes toward fine dining restaurants, followed by quick service and family-style restaurants. Family-style restaurants, however, were most frequently patronized by respondents for their regular meals. “Good taste” was found to be the determining factor in selecting a restaurant for regular meals among Korean college students. Implications for Korean restaurant operators, researchers, and restaurant operators in other countries were provided.     

Challenges Facing the Foodservice Industry

Abstract

Restaurant managers and other foodservice operators are increasingly approaching researchers and land grant institutions to seek solutions for some of their problems. The capacity of research institutions to solve the problems of foodservice operators is limited by a lack of understanding of the issues and a lack of societal incentives to address such issues. This study reports the results of a university's efforts to better understand the problems facing the foodservice industry. As part of the study, the researchers conducted a focus group of industry leaders. The researchers end with an overview of problems facing the foodservice industry.     

Evidence Supporting the Importance of Brands in Marketing Computer Products

ABSTRACT

For convenience store (c-store) management to be truly customer-focused, they must listen to their customers and provide the products that meet customers' needs. This study investigates one aspect of c-store customer satisfaction, the product mix. The purpose of this paper is to investigate c-store customers' perceptions of product offerings to expand the c-store's product mix and in turn increase customer satisfaction. Fourteen products were examined. Of the fourteen, three were rated very likely to be purchased: postal services, home style meals, and a salad bar. Differences in preference were found between gender and marital status. Men and single customers had higher purchase intentions for the home style meals than women and married customers. Suggestions for future research are provided.     

Service Science Management Engineering and Design (SSMED): a semiautomatic literature review

ABSTRACT

SSMED (Service Science, Management Engineering and Design) is multidisciplinary by nature. However, some authors stated that SSMED publications remain focused on single scientific domains. This paper proposes a Semiautomatic Literature Review (SALR) using integrated techniques for knowledge extraction –‘Time Aware Knowledge Extraction’ (TAKE) – to analyse the interdisciplinarity of SSMED publications and the potential for transdisciplinarity based on the actual adoption of Service-Dominant Logic as the foundation of SSMED research. Findings reveal that: 1) most SSMED publications are not interdisciplinary and are mainly related to Management; 2) Service-Dominant Logic has been adopted very often in SSMED publications, paving the way for SSMED transdisciplinarity.

This paper offers theoretical and practical insights by enhancing the knowledge about SSMED literature and enriching the state of the art related to techniques to perform literature reviews. Furthermore, it stimulates the expansion of scholars’ and managers’ views of holistic approaches to service systems while fostering SSMED viability.     

The Effect of Alcohol Consumption and Patronage Frequency on Restaurant Tipping

ABSTRACT

The National Restaurant Association projected $376 billion in sales and 11 million employees for the restaurant industry in the year 2000. For the servers and bartenders in the industry, tipping is an important part of their income. Results of this study suggest there are several variables that affect the tip amount by party including the amount of the total bill, customer tipping potential, alcohol consumption, the presence of children in the dining party, patronage frequency, and the age of the patron paying the bill. Patron frequency and the amount of the total bill have a strong influence on tipping, as does the customer's tipping potential as judged by the server. A server can expect larger tips from patrons with no children as opposed to those with children. Also, tips are larger when the patron paying the bill has consumed alcohol. The gender and ethnicity of the patron were found to be nonsignificant, as were seating preference and method of payment.     

Managerial Success Factors

Abstract

This article reports on an exploratory study conducted in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to identify the managerial success factors perceived by Chinese managers to be important in their market economy. The study also looked at how these factors are exhibited by recent graduates of Chinese universities now working in Chinese firms. Questionnaire responses were collected from managers in 113 Chinese state-owned exnterprises (SOEs) and private firms. Managers in both types of firms agreed on the relative importance and presence of the following factors: work habits, teamwork, creativity, ethics, communication, leadership, and business area knolwedge. Respondents gave higher ratings to the importance of each factor than to its presence in the recently hired gradutes. The results of this study provide a management profile of knowledge, skills, and abilities considered desirable by Chinese managers for today's market economy in the People's Republic of China. The identification of gaps between importance ratings and presence ratings provides valuable insight into changes that should be considered by educators in the design of business area currucula in Chinese universities.     

Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Ratings by Spanish Listed Firms

The aim of this paper is to analyze whether a number of firm and industry characteristics, as well as media exposure, are potential determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices by Spanish listed firms. Empirical studies have shown that CSR disclosure activism varies across companies, industries, and time (Gray et al., Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 8(2), 47–77, 1995; Journal of Business Finance & Accounting 28(3/4), 327–356, 2001; Hackston and Milne, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 9(1), 77–108, 1996; Cormier and Magnan, Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting 1(2), 171–195, 2003; Cormier et al., European Accounting Review 14(1), 3–39, 2005), which is usually justified by reference to several theoretical constructs, such as the legitimacy, stakeholder, and agency theories. Our findings evidence that firms with higher CSR ratings present a statistically significant larger size and a higher media exposure, and belong to more environmentally sensitive industries, as compared to firms with lower CSR ratings. However, neither profitability nor leverage seem to explain differences in CSR disclosure practices between Spanish listed firms. The most influential variable for explaining firms’ variation in CSR ratings is media exposure, followed by size and industry. Therefore, it seems that the legitimacy theory, as captured by those variables related to public or social visibility, is the most relevant theory for explaining CSR disclosure practices of Spanish listed firms.     

The Roles of Price,Quality and Value-Added in Industrial Distributor Purchasing Decisions

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a study of heavy equipment distributors and their decision criteria for purchasing a critical add-on attachment. A key question is the extent to which basic value is the controlling factor, in comparison with value-adding services and capabilities. When customers are segmented according to their importance ratings for price and quality, significant differences in purchase decision patterns are observed. Implications for marketing strategy and tactics are discussed.     

The Michelin Guide and Restaurant Pricing Strategies

Abstract

This study reports the analysis of the price changes that occurred among randomly chosen French restaurants during the period of 1970–94. It discussed the relationship between these changes and the Michelin Guide restaurant ratings. The findings suggest that when the Michelin ratings increase or decrease for a particular restaurant, its prices reflect this change. Even two years before receiving a Michelin promotion, restaurants are observed to increase their prices relative to other restaurants. Most likely this is due to their incurring the extra expense of raising the quality of their fare and improving their amenities in the hope of qualifying for an increased Michelin rating.     

Determining Relationship Quality in the Development of Business-to-Business Financial Services

ABSTRACT

The quality of relationships built with customers during the New Service Development (NSD) process is a current concern of researchers in relationship marketing (and NSD) and is particularly important in a highly competitive environment characterised by rapidly changing customer needs like the one of financial services. The primary relationship analyzed in relationship marketing is the one between seller and buyer, but the focal type of relationship for new product and service development is the one termed “the knowledge relationship” (Gummesson 2002), a relationship used to create knowledge. This paper reports the results of in depth qualitative research on the factors that impact on the quality of such relationships developed between new service developers and their customers during the NSD process of business-to-business financial services. Results show that the most important factors that affect relationship quality are: communication quality of the relationship; the development of strong relationship bonds; the quality of relationship partners; a strong customer orientation in NSD based on a proactive approach of relationship partners during the NSD process, and proficiency in knowledge brokering.     

萃华楼(英文)

1. The guests from all over the world to Beijing should not leave without visiting tile famous golden street-Wangfujing Street; along which from the south to the north, you can go shopping and look around all the way. On the northeast of Wangfujing Street, there is a Roman Catholic Church with steeple called the East Church, built in 1655. Next to the East Church is the famous restaurant in Beijing---Cuihualou Restaurant. If you are hungry now, just go and enjoy the meals there.2. At the mention of the history of Cuihualou Restaurant, there is a story. In those years the Dongxinglou Restaurant was one of the "Eight Great Restaurants" of Beijing. When An Shutang, the general manager of Dongxinglou Restaurant died, he passed the restaurant to the succeeding manager, An Yaodong. After An Yaodong took over the restaurant, he dawdled everyday. Capable persons could not find a foothold there, so they did not care about the business. Then the restaurant soon declined within three years.     

Placing snacks in children's movies: cognitive,evaluative, and conative effects of product placements with character product interaction

ABSTRACT

Type of placement integration has been shown to influence placement effects in adults. However, no studies have explored the role of character product interaction (CPI) for product placement effects on children. We also lack knowledge about the moderating role of age in this context. We therefore exposed N = 363 children aged 6–15 years to a movie containing no placement, a static placement, or a CPI placement. The presence of placements affected cognitive and conative brand outcomes. However, children's product memory and consumption were higher for CPI placements compared to static placements. As a relevant implication for product placement research, we found that brand outcomes were independent of the children's ages and prior movie familiarity. This suggests that children's developmental stage concerning age does not mitigate product placement effects. Implications for educators and consumer advocates are discussed.     

Pre‐school staffs’ attitudes toward foods in relation to the pedagogic meal

The aim of this study, with the pedagogic meal in focus, was to identify pre‐school staff members’ attitudes to the role of food and meals as part of daily activities at pre‐school. Interviews were carried out at 12 pre‐schools and a total of 34 pre‐school staff participated. The staff revealed strong opinions as well as ambivalence towards how food and meals should best be integrated into their daily work and pedagogic activities. The pre‐school staffs’ lack of or insufficient education and knowledge regarding food and nutrition resulted in an ambivalent and uncertain situation with respect to how they should see themselves as teachers in the meal situation. Nevertheless, most of the staff had a clear perception of what it meant to practice a pedagogic meal. It meant helping and encouraging the children to help themselves and serving as an adult model for the children at table, though this pedagogic activity was uncommon. While the staff were satisfied with the pre‐schools’ role of catering for the children, they expressed concern about or even mistrust towards the children's parents. Despite, or perhaps due to, their inadequate knowledge about food and nutrition and the lack of specific aims for the pedagogic meal, they assumed that the public sector was a better educational institution regarding foods and a better guarantor for children's food habits and dietary intake. As the teachers’ identities have changed over the past years they have not yet found a solid ground for determining how food and meals could be integrated into their everyday work as pre‐school teachers and childminders.     

Service quality and blood donors — a marketing perspective

The National Blood Service, celebrating their fast half century, have responded to the increasing need for blood with the launch of their biggest recruitment drive ever, targeted at young adults with the goal of encouraging a life‐time habit of giving blood. Prerequisites for improving the effectiveness of donor acquisition and retention strategies are to understand who gives blood, the motivations for giving and for defection as well as the reasons why the majority of eligible donors do not donate. A literature review of blood donor characteristics and motivations sets the contextual background to the field study of some 240 students at a British University and a conceptual model which depicts the behavioural chain of blood donorship is drawn. The implications for donor acquisition, retention and defection management are then outlined. Service quality, solicitation of donor's views and communication strategies are discussed and we conclude with proposals for further research.