Nutritional information disclosure on the menu: Focusing on the roles of menu context,nutritional knowledge and motivation

As menu labeling legislation that requires nutritional information on restaurant menus becomes increasingly prevalent, it is controversial whether the provision of nutritional information promotes consumers to select healthy items. This study aims to examine the extent to which the nutritional information presented on menus influences consumer food evaluation and choice in restaurant patronage. We also investigate the effect of menu context and individual characteristics, such as nutritional knowledge and motivation to process, on consumers’ information processing. A computer-based experiment was conducted to collect data. The results show significant effects of the presence of nutritional information and the menu context, which is the healthiness of other alternatives on the menu, on consumer food decision. Consumer motivation to process the provided nutritional information significantly moderates the effect of nutritional information disclosure. These results present valuable implications for restaurateurs and policy makers interested in the effect of menu labeling.     

Price premiums for organic menus at restaurants: What is an acceptable level?

This study identifies acceptable premium price levels that customers would be willing to pay for organic menu items at restaurants in the United States. Previous literature indicates that health-related and socio-demographic characteristics significantly influence consumers’ intentions to purchase organic food. To advance our understanding of how different consumers respond to changes in organic food prices, this study examines the moderating effects of the level of health consciousness (high versus low), gender (male versus female), and age (young versus old) on the relationship between premium price levels and purchasing intentions. In addition, this study further investigates acceptable premium price levels for different consumer segments at two types of restaurants (casual dining versus fine dining). The results of this study provide guidelines for menu design and strategies for restaurateurs to devise effective price premiums for organic menu options.     

In search of diners responsive to health cues: Insights from U.S. consumers

Many consumers rely on summary statistics offered by online and mobile platforms to attain nutrition information on menu items. While positive (vs. negative) summary cues garner more favorable consumer responses, this research provides a more nuanced understanding of this effect by examining the moderating role of two individual-level characteristics: health-consciousness and need for status. Two MTurk samples (Study 1: n = 142, Study 2: n = 119) were recruited in 2018. Findings from Study 1 suggest that health-conscious (vs. less health-conscious) consumers show a wider gap in perceived healthiness of a menu item in response to the valence of a health cue. This greater gap translates into more polarized attitudes toward the menu item. Findings from Study 2 indicate that consumers high (vs. low) in need for status exhibit less favorable attitudes toward a menu item with a negative health cue. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Mimicking menu choices: Menu choice failure and blame attribution of Korean customer

Although behavioral mimicry occurs when customers make decisions, researchers have paid little attention to how behavioral mimicry might affect food choices and subsequent behavioral intentions, especially in social networking. Therefore, this study examined how menu choice failure after using menu referrals from online social networks affect blame attribution and subsequent behavioral intention. This study considered how uncertainty about menu, task importance and tie-strength with an online social network referral affects blame attribution and behavioral intention (customer satisfaction and revisit intention). 2 (Uncertainty; high versus low) × 2 (Task importance; high versus low) × 2 (Tie-strength; strong versus weak) between-subjects experimental design was utilized. This research provided evidence that people are less likely to blame a social media friend for the failure of menu choice when the consumers have low uncertainty about the menu, when the menu choice is less important to them, and when they have strong ties.     

Price bundling presentation and consumer's bundle choice: The role of quality certainty

As bundling has become a prevalent marketing strategy, the existing literature has focused on how to present price discount information for bundled products. To further understand bundling in restaurant operations, this study examined the moderating role of consumer quality certainty on the relationship between the effects of price bundling and consumers’ bundle choices. This study analyzed different bundling phenomena from an acquisition–transaction utility theory perspective in order to investigate the effects of price presentation and quality certainty manipulation on consumers’ bundle choices. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that quality certainty had a significant moderating effect. The less confident a consumer is about the quality of the bundled food products, the more likely it is that price presentation strategies will affect his or her willingness to order a bundle menu. The results also showed that transaction utility becomes significant as price discount information is segregated and as consumers are more certain of the quality of the bundled products. Managerial implications for restaurant operations are also discussed.     

Effects of campus foodservice attributes on perceived value,satisfaction, and consumer attitude: A gender-difference approach

This study explores a conceptual framework incorporating interrelationships among campus foodservice attributes, perceived value, satisfaction, and effects of these on consumer attitude. Mediating roles of perceived value and satisfaction as well as gender differences in attitude formation process also are investigated within the conceptual framework. Results confirm that enhanced performance in service and product quality, menu, and facility have favorable effects on perceived value, satisfaction and, ultimately, on consumer attitude. However, the attitude-formation process and mediating roles of perceived value and satisfaction differ notably between male and female consumers.     

Web-Based Menu Design: A Conjoint Value Analysis

ABSTRACT

This study explores the primary factors associated with online restaurant menu design, including trust, familiarity and recognizable patterns, branding consistency, psychological triggers, and utility (or ease of use). In order to assess the causal link between online menu design and consumer behavior, conjoint value analysis was employed. Sample menus were modeled such that the attributes of the five factors represent the independent variables with the responses indicating consumers’ preferences serving as the dependent variable. The study’s findings suggest that trust is paramount, followed by familiarity and recognizable patterns. Surprisingly, our analysis indicates that utility was the least important factor.     

Strategic consumer behavior in online hotel booking

This study investigates strategic consumer behavior in online hotel booking. Free cancellation policies enable consumers to rebook the hotel room at a later time should the price drop prior to the date of stay. A discrete choice experiment is used to infer consumer preferences for free cancellation and non-refundable rates under different scenarios. The study also examines the moderating role of the risk attitude of consumers. Risk-seeking consumers show preference for a free cancellation rate that increases with the availability of an automatic rebooking service. Although a higher booking window increases the utility of the free cancellation rate, such impact decreases as risk propensity increases. The identification of four distinct consumer segments provides clear implications for industry practitioners.     

Effect of experiential value on customer satisfaction with service encounters in luxury-hotel restaurants

Exactly how the restaurant industry creates good quality service experiences has attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners. Some scholars advocate creating high quality service encounters to enhance customer satisfaction. However, recent research has not examined hotel restaurant service, and a detailed understanding of its potential effects on the customer meal experience and customer satisfaction is needed. Consequently, this study of service encounters and restaurant consumer behavior constructed a comprehensive framework via a literature review. Empirical data were collected by a questionnaire distributed to luxury-hotel restaurant customers. The empirical results indicated that restaurant environmental factors and interactions with service employees and other consumers positively influence the consumer experiential value. Additionally, only interactive relationships with service employees directly and positively affect consumer satisfaction. Restaurant environment factors and interactions with other consumers indirectly and positively influence consumer satisfaction through experiential value. Finally, with respect to marketing and development initiatives, the results of this study can help improve the physical attractiveness of the examined luxury-hotel restaurants.     

The effect of ad appeals and message framing on consumer responses to plant-based menu items

While the recent surge of meat-like items on restaurant menus has received considerable attention, little is known how to encourage consumers to choose such novel dishes. To address this gap, we investigate the role of various communication strategies in making plant-based menu items more attractive. The results from Study 1 suggest that using a social appeal in the ad increases consumers’ preference for plant-based menu items via anticipated pleasure, but a health appeal does not. The results from Study 2 demonstrate that information on social costs induces feelings of ambivalence toward meat eating, thus making plant-based menu items more desirable. However, information on health risks of meat consumption does not have such an effect. Practical implications for promoting plant-based menu items are discussed.     

电子口碑对餐厅在线浏览量影响研究

Web 2.0技术和用户创造内容的发展改变了人们搜索和分享信息的方式,电子口碑作为传统口碑在互联网时代的发展产物,日渐成为消费者收集信息和进行决策的主要渠道。特别是近年来第三方点评网站数量不断增加,汇集了海量的信息,形成电子口碑效应,但是目前对这种效应的评价和测量研究不足。因此,文章借助第三方点评网站,研究消费者点评和编辑点评对餐厅网页浏览量的影响以及点评网上呈现餐厅的哪些口碑因素是吸引消费者浏览餐厅网页最重要的因素。研究发现,这两种形式的电子口碑对增加餐厅网页浏览量都具有显著的作用,编辑点评的重要性开始凸显,但消费者点评的作用更强。其中,点评数量是影响消费者浏览餐厅网页的最重要因素,其次是价格因素和消费者在餐厅网页上发布的图片。在餐厅体验的3个基本因素中,食物味道是影响餐厅网页浏览量最重要的因素。研究结果对第三方点评网站和旅游企业都具有重要的现实意义。     

Eye movements on restaurant menus: A revisitation on gaze motion and consumer scanpaths

Menu designers have based design tactics on roughly applied psychological foundations. In particular, attention and memory-based design placement strategies are founded upon assumptions which necessitate a clear idea of consumer eye movement sequences across restaurant menus. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, a review of academic and practitioner literature is presented to frame the current discussion on gaze motion patterns as applied to restaurant menus. Second, the results of an eye-tracker study are presented as an empirical and more quantitatively analyzed replication of past restaurant gaze-motion studies. Results offer an average menu scanpath, show that observed consumer scanpaths differ from those anecdotally espoused by industry, and suggest traditional menu “sweet spots” may not exist.     

Other consumers in service encounters: A script theoretical perspective

Hospitality service consumptions often involve sharing the service environment with other consumers. Drawing upon the Script Theory, this research provides a theoretical perspective of consumer responses to behaviors of other consumers in service encounters. The results from an experimental study provide strong support for the dual-mode consumer responses (felt emotions and displayed emotions) and for the moderating effect of psychological closeness on consumer responses. Managerial implications for training, service management and service design in hospitality businesses are also discussed.     

Self-regulation and “other consumers” at service encounters: A sociometer perspective

Hospitality consumption often involves sharing the physical environment with other consumers. Other consumers can be either acquaintances a focal consumer shares the consumption experience with (co-consumption others) or strangers the focal consumer encounters due to serendipity (Customer Bs). This research used sociometer as a theoretical lens to examine the social dynamics among a focal consumer, co-consumption others and Customer Bs at service encounters and the impact of such social dynamics on consumer self-regulatory behavior. The results of the experimental study showed that when co-consumption others elicit higher level of need for self-monitoring, a focal consumer is more likely to regulate his/her interpersonal goal and emotions in response to the behavior of Customer Bs at service encounters. The results further suggested that while interpersonal goals do not have a significant effect on encounter satisfaction, emotion regulation positively contributes to encounter satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.     

Attention to Chinese menus with metaphorical or metonymic names: An eye movement lab experiment

Food is as cultural as it is practical, and names of dishes accordingly have cultural nuances. Menus serve as communication tools between restaurants and their guests, representing the culinary philosophy of the chefs and proprietors involved. The purpose of this experimental lab study is to compare differences of attention paid to textual and pictorial elements of menus with metaphorical and/or metonymic names. Eye movement technology was applied in a 2 × 3 between-subject experiment (n = 40), comparing the strength of visual metaphors (e.g., images of menu items on the menu) and direct textual names in Chinese and English with regard to guests’ willingness to purchase the dishes in question. Post-test questionnaires were also employed to assess participants’ attitudes toward menu designs. Study results suggest that visual metaphors are more efficient when reflecting a product’s strength. Images are shown to positively influence consumers’ expectations of taste and enjoyment, garnering the most attention under all six conditions studied here, and constitute the most effective format when Chinese alone names are present. The textual claim increases perception of the strength of menu items along with purchase intention. Metaphorical dish names with bilingual (i.e., Chinese and English) names hold the greatest appeal. This result can be interpreted from the perspective of grounded cognition theory, which suggests that situated simulations and re-enactment of perceptual, motor, and affective processes can support abstract thought. The lab results and survey provide specific theoretical and managerial implications with regard to translating names of Chinese dishes to attract customers’ attention to specific menu items.     

Does offering an organic food menu help restaurants excel in competition? An examination of diners’ decision-making

This study aims to examine whether the presence of an organic food menu can positively influence diners’ decision-making. A 3 (restaurant segment: quick service vs. casual dining vs. fine dining) by 2 (price discrepancy between competing restaurants: small vs. large) scenario-based experiment was conducted with 405 U.S. consumers. MANCOVA results indicate that using organic ingredients offers a greater advantage for the quick-service segment regarding perceived food quality, attitudes towards the restaurant, and willingness to select, compared to casual and fine dining segments. The magnitude of a premium price of organic ingredients negatively influences such advantage in the process of consumers’ decision-making. When a large (vs. small) premium price is charged for using organic ingredients, customers’ preferences for the restaurant (over its rival) significantly drops to such an extent that customers are more willing to choose the competitor (i.e., rival restaurant with a conventional menu). Discussions and implications are further elaborated.     

Determinants of a restaurant average meal price: An application of the hedonic pricing model

This study applies the hedonic pricing model to examine important attributes influencing average customer meal prices in restaurants in Seoul, Korea. Data from 185 restaurants were collected via Internet, phone interviews, site inspections, and ZAGAT Survey, and analyzed using OLS regression. The log-linear model was found to be most suitable for the data, and the proposed hedonic model accounted for as much as 73.7% of the variation in meal prices. The results indicate that food quality and décor were important determinants of restaurants’ average meal prices while service was not. Furthermore, the study found that a restaurant's location within the building (1st floor), the types of cuisine served (Japanese and Italian), parking facilities, private dining settings, franchising, and the number of blogger reviews (e-WOM) have significant effects on restaurants’ average meal prices. The model will provide useful information for restaurateurs in deciding effective menu pricing strategies.     

Effects of calorie information disclosure on consumers’ food choices at restaurants

Menu labeling is a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but mandatory calorie information disclosure by restaurants is currently under consideration as a potential regulatory initiative to help curb excess calorie intake and encourage healthier food choices. There is much debate about the effectiveness of such legislation. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of calorie information disclosure on consumers’ food choices at restaurants. Results of an online experimental study using real menu boards suggest that the effect of calorie information disclosure interplays with perceived healthfulness of restaurants to jointly affect consumers’ food choices and underlying psychological processes. Upon exposure to calorie information, divergent food choice patterns at restaurants of varying levels of perceived healthfulness were observed. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Consumer values among restaurant customers

The research presented in this article focuses on consumer values in restaurant meal experiences from the restaurant customers’ points of view. Based on a set of data, the purpose is to evaluate the customers’ perceived consumer values in restaurant meal experiences and to compare the results with other studies on consumer values and service quality and with studies of meal experiences. A modified grounded theory approach has been followed. The empirical data are based on seven semi-structured interviews of experienced restaurant customers in two cities in Norway. A conceptual model illustrates the coding process that shows the connection between the different categories. The data analysis produces different categories of consumer-specific values on three levels of integration. The lowest level includes 29 consumer values that are integrated into 13 specified values. On the highest level, five value categories of consumer-oriented values are specified. These are excellence, harmony, emotional stimulation, acknowledgement, and circumstance value, of which harmony is the most emphasised value among the restaurant customers.