Effects of ingredients,names and stories about food origins on perceived authenticity and purchase intentions

The current study examines the influence of unfamiliar food-related attributes (i.e., ingredients and food names) and stories about food origins on consumers’ perceptions of authenticity and their purchase intentions. The results show that unfamiliar ingredients, unique food names, and stories about food origins increase consumers’ perceptions of authenticity. In ethnic restaurants, authenticity has been emphasized as a critical factor for ensuring customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. The mediating role of customers’ perceptions of authenticity is confirmed in the current study. The findings of the current study suggest that the management of Chinese restaurants should develop unique food names and stories about a dish’s origin, as these are pivotal elements contributing to customers’ perceptions of authenticity and purchase intention.     

Effects of message framing on food allergy communication: A cross-sectional study of restaurant customers with food allergies

The prevention of allergy reactions to food requires communication between individuals with food allergies and restaurant employees. This study investigated the effectiveness of framed messages (gain-framed versus loss-framed) in encouraging food allergy communication and explored factors that influenced customers’ intentions to communicate with restaurant staff about their food allergies. A total of 291 valid survey responses were collected. Approximately 70% of the participants had experienced food allergy reactions in restaurants, but less than 15% of them could always communicate with restaurant employees before placing food orders. Overall, participants perceived dining out as somehow risky. Gain-framed messages were more persuasive than loss-framed messages in encouraging food allergy communication. Fear, attitudes toward the messages, the perceived effectiveness of the messages, and the severity of one’s food allergies were significant predictors of customers’ intentions to communicate. Customers’ attitudes toward the messages mediated the relationship between message format and the behavioral intention to communicate.     

The influence of perceived credibility on purchase intention via competence and authenticity

Due to the significant role of authenticity in the restaurant business, restaurateurs proactively make authenticity claims. However, the literature has rarely examined whether customers view these claims as credible and how the credibility of these claims influences dining intention. Thus, this study examines customers’ perceived credibility of authenticity claims based on the authenticator claiming authenticity, restaurant ownership type, and restaurant history. Furthermore, utilizing trust-transfer theory, this study proposes and tests a model that links customers’ perceived credibility of a restaurant’s authenticity claims, perceived restaurant competence, perceived restaurant authenticity, and purchase intention. The results show that the authenticator of authenticity claims and restaurant ownership type influence the perceived credibility of authenticity claims. Additionally, the perceived credibility of authenticity claims influences customers’ dining intention indirectly through restaurant competence and constructed authenticity.     

The chain of effects from authenticity cues to purchase intention: The role of emotions and restaurant image

The current study aimed to address the lack of studies on consumers’ perceived authenticity of traditional restaurants. Specifically, this study examined the antecedents of perceived authenticity by focusing on three restaurant attributes (i.e., authenticator, ownership type, and history). Additionally, by utilizing cognitive appraisal theory, the current study developed an authenticity model to enhance our understanding of the effect of perceived authenticity on consumer behavior. The results show that authentication by local people and chain ownership significantly enhance consumers’ perceived authenticity. Moreover, consumers’ perceived authenticity influences their purchase intention both directly and indirectly through restaurant image and positive emotion. This study’s findings provide traditional restaurateurs with insights into how to enhance perceived authenticity and purchase intention.     

Reconstruction of the relationship between traditional and emerging restaurant brand and customer WOM

Customer word of mouth (WOM) is the focus of restaurant research. However, until now, few empirical studies with integrated perspectives have explored whether traditional and emerging restaurants have different paths. To fill this research gap, Study 1 examined 546 customers of time-honored restaurants and proved that brand authenticity affects customer WOM through perceived value and brand identification. Furthermore, that process is positively moderated by cultural involvement. Study 2 conducted a survey of 571 customers in an Internet celebrity restaurant and found that brand personality could promote customer WOM through perceived coolness and brand experience. Moreover, food quality enhanced the process of coolness perception and brand experience. These findings highlight that different paths of brand characteristics lead to a high level of customer perception and brand behavior. In other words, brand psychology and brand behavior occupy different core positions in traditional and emerging restaurants.     

Why do customers switch? More satiated or less satisfied

This study investigated whether restaurant customers switch to other restaurants due to satiation or diminished satisfaction. To achieve its objectives, this study extended well-known relationships among perceived quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions by including satiation and further examined the role of satiation on switching intentions. The results of this study showed that satiation was negatively associated with satisfaction but differed from diminished satisfaction. Further, the study results endorsed that satiation significantly influenced switching intentions, whereas satisfaction did not. This supports that customers switch to other restaurants not because they are less satisfied but because they are satiated. Regarding the relationship between perceived quality and satiation, service quality and food quality considerably reduced satiation levels, whereas physical surroundings were associated with an increase in satiation. In addition, satiation fully mediated the relationship between perceived quality and switching intentions, which emphasizes the importance of satiation in customer switching intentions. Findings and implications are provided in the main body of this paper.     

Perceptions of Chinese restaurants in the U.S.: What affects customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions?

This study investigates American customers’ perceptions of Chinese restaurants in the U.S., using the Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA) approach. This study also examines which attributes of Chinese restaurants influence American customers’ satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The IPA shows that environmental cleanliness and attentive service are two important areas where Chinese restaurateurs can make improvements. In addition, food taste and service reliability appear to be key attributes for Chinese restaurants’ success. Overall, this study indicates that food quality, service reliability and environmental cleanliness are three pivotal attributes to create satisfied customers and positive post-dining behavioral intentions. Chinese restaurant managers should reasonably allocate their limited resources to restaurant attributes based on their contributions to customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.     

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.     

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.     

The role of perceived corporate social responsibility on providing healthful foods and nutrition information with health-consciousness as a moderator

As customers become more health conscious and governments create legislation requiring restaurants to provide nutrition information, the restaurant industry can no longer ignore demands for healthful eating environments. This study considers providing healthful food options and nutrition information as strategies for creating healthful eating environments at restaurants, and aims to develop a theoretical explanation of consumer reactions to such actions that incorporates perceived corporate social responsibility. Data were collected using a between-subjects experimental design with scenarios. The results show that customers perceive restaurants to be socially responsible when they are provided with healthful foods and nutrition information; highly health-conscious customers react more strongly to provision of healthful foods than their counterparts. Consequently, customers have favorable attitude toward and high willingness to visit restaurants providing healthful foods and nutrition information. Restaurateurs should consider taking such initiatives to entice more customers and develop a socially responsible image.     

The effects of dining atmospherics: An extended Mehrabian–Russell model

This study examined the relationships among dining atmospherics, emotional responses, perceived value, and behavioral intentions, using Chinese restaurants as its research setting. Results of the study revealed that dining atmospherics had significant effects on customers’ positive emotions, negative emotions, and perceived value. Further, both positive and negative emotions and perceived value also influenced customers’ post-dining behavioral intentions. Perceived value not only functioned as the greatest contributor to behavioral intentions but also mediated the relationship between emotional responses and behavioral intentions. Positive emotions and negative emotions had asymmetric effects on perceived value. Positive emotions showed a stronger capability in predicting perceived value. Chinese restaurant managers must utilize the effects of restaurant atmospherics to improve customers’ perceived value of the restaurant and their revisit intentions. Other practical implications are discussed as well.     

Beyond the authentic taste: The tourist experience at a food museum restaurant

This study investigates the factors influencing food experiences perceived by food tourists in the context of a food museum and its associated restaurant. A qualitative exploratory approach was employed, using Chinese tourists visiting Hangzhou Cuisine Museum in Zhejiang province. This research finds that food tourists look for knowledge accumulation and gastronomic experiences when visiting a food museum and restaurant complex, and each experience is formed by both tourist and setting factors. The findings highlight the significant and more complex engagement of setting factors in the museum restaurants. The institutionalised characteristics of museums are equally expected within the in-house restaurants, and social trust in the museum along with external factors that verify authentic representation of the museum contributed to the perceived authenticity of the food tourist's dining experience. This paper discusses broad implications for food experience design at food museums and restaurants as emerging tourism attractions.     

Understanding the relationship between food experiential quality and customer dining satisfaction: A perspective on negative bias

This research explores how food experiential quality of consumers affects their overall dining satisfaction. Drawing on negative bias theory, we propose a nonlinear relationship between food experiential quality and customer dining satisfaction. Moreover, we investigate how restaurant price moderates the nonlinear relationship between food experiential quality and customer dining satisfaction. Results of the threshold model using 10,950 online reviews of 219 restaurants on Dianping.com provide support for the proposed hypotheses. The results suggest that a curvilinear relationship is found between food experiential quality dining satisfaction, and the turning points of nonlinear returns decreases for restaurants that belong to high-priced groups. Theoretically, our findings contribute to the existing literature by considering the nonlinear effect of food experiential quality on customer dining satisfaction in the hospitality area through the lens of negative bias, as well as considering the boundary condition. Practically, our findings suggest that restaurant managements can improve customer dining satisfaction through focusing on the food experiential quality of their customers and enhancing their response to customers who have low-level food experiential quality. In addition, if the restaurant price is high, restaurant managers should provide high-level of food experiential quality.     

Mechanism of customer value in restaurant consumption: Employee hospitality and entertainment cues as boundary conditions

Food quality and employee task performance have been demonstrated to positively influence customer evaluations of restaurant dining experience. This study extends previous research by incorporating customer affective responses to examine the mediating processes underlying the relationships between customer perceptions of task performance/food quality and perceived value. The moderating influences of employee hospitality and entertainment cues on the relationships between customer perceptions of task performance/food quality and their affective responses were also examined. Results from surveying 308 customers of full-service restaurants showed that customer affective responses mediate the relationships between task performance/food quality and perceived value. The results also indicated that the relationship between food quality and affective responses increases with employee hospitability. However, employee hospitability negatively moderates the relationship between task performance and affective responses. Additionally, strong entertainment cues positively reinforce the relationship between task performance and affective responses, but do not significantly affect the relationship between food quality and affective responses.     

Examining the impact of experiential value on emotions,self-connective attachment,and brand loyalty in Korean family restaurants

ABSTRACT

This study examines how experiential value as perceived by customers of Korean family restaurants influences consumption emotions, self-connective attachment to the restaurant brand, and, ultimately, brand loyalty. Having conducted a comprehensive literature review, the study proposes and estimates a model that specifies the interrelationships among four dimensions of experiential value (i.e., atmosphere, escapism, customer return on investment, and service excellence), and latent variables of positive and negative emotions, self-connective attachment, and brand loyalty. Analysis with structural equation modeling was conducted with data collected from customers of family restaurants in South Korea. The results show that dimensions of experiential value influence either positive or negative emotions. The emotion variables, together with self-connective attachment, also mediate the relationships between perceived value of dining experience and brand loyalty.     

Factors influencing customers’ dine out intention during COVID-19 reopening period: The moderating role of country-of-origin effect

COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the restaurant industry and reopening provides restaurants an opportunity to survive this crisis. This study examined the interplay of perceived importance of preventive measures, dining involvement, brand trust, and customers’ intention to dine out at American Chinese restaurants during the reopening period. Additionally, the study investigated the moderating role of country-of-origin (COO) effect on these relationships. 296 U.S. restaurant customers recruited via a market research company completed the online survey. Structural equation modeling was used for data analyses. The results indicated that dining involvement had a direct positive effect on customers’ intention to dine out. Moreover, both perceived importance of preventive measures and dining involvement could enhance customers’ intention to dine out indirectly via brand trust. Positive COO effect moderated the relationship between perceived importance of preventive measures and brand trust. The study provided significant implications for restaurant operators in the U.S during the reopening period.     

Variety seeking in restaurant choice and its drivers

The purpose of this study was to identify variety drivers in restaurant settings and to examine their influence on diners’ variety seeking intentions. More specifically, this study considered perceived quality, customer satisfaction, overall boredom, and boredom with restaurant attributes as variety drivers and examined how they affect customers’ variety seeking intentions. Further, this study investigated the moderating role of personality characteristics and overall loyalty level toward a restaurant in the relationship between variety drivers and variety seeking intentions. The results showed that atmospheric quality, overall boredom, and boredom with atmospheric attributes significantly influence variety seeking intentions. Personality characteristics reflecting optimal stimulation level also played a moderating role in the relationship between overall boredom and variety seeking intentions. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided in the conclusion.     

Restaurant servers’ risk perceptions and risk communication-related behaviors when serving customers with food allergies in the U.S.

Communication between and among customers with food allergies and foodservice staff has become a concern in the restaurant industry. The purpose of this research was to explore the perceived risks and risk communication-related behaviors of restaurant servers when serving customers with food allergies in the U.S. An online survey instrument was developed based on interviews with full service restaurant managers, pilot-tested, and distributed through an online survey research firm. The results indicated that most servers lacked knowledge about food allergies and perceived that initiating communication and preventing allergic reactions were mostly the responsibilities of customers with food allergies. Servers’ risk reduction and communication behaviors were affected by their perceived severity of food allergy reactions, previous training, sources of media exposure, and the perceived responsibilities of preventing food allergy reactions. Restaurateurs and foodservice educators may use these findings to develop training and strategies for food allergy risk communication in the restaurant industry.     

Signaling authenticity of ethnic cuisines via handwriting

Ethnic cuisines have become increasingly popular among travelers. Given people's demand for authenticity in ethnic dining, this research proposes and examines handwriting as a menu presentation strategy that boosts perceived authenticity of menu offerings and in turn enhances purchase intention. To that end, we utilize a mixed-methods approach and investigate the joint effects of menu format (handwriting vs. print) and regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention) in the context of ethnic dining. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, we show that ethnic restaurants using a handwritten (vs. printed) menu may enhance perceived authenticity and subsequently elevate purchase intention. However, such beneficial effects of handwriting only occur among prevention-focused customers, but not promotion-focused customers. Managerial implications for ethnic restaurant operators are discussed.