Restaurants and COVID-19: What are consumers’ risk perceptions about restaurant food and its packaging during the pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent U.S. in-restaurant dining restrictions deleteriously affected the restaurant industry. While dining restrictions were adopted to prevent human contact, evidence suggests that consumers may mistakenly perceive that restaurant "food" and its "packaging" are risky sources of COVID-19. To explore consumers' COVID-19 risk perceptions about food itself, restaurant food specifically, and restaurant food packaging, this study collected nationwide U.S. consumer survey data (n = 958) using an online consumer panel. Findings showed that: (1) consumers were less concerned about contracting COVID-19 from food in general than restaurant food and its packaging, with consumer restaurant concern highest for food served in restaurants, and lowest for hot/cooked restaurant food followed by restaurant food from carry-out; and (2) the risk perceptions of consumers varied with financial concern for food, gender, and being in a high-risk category of COVID-19. Implications for researchers, restauranteurs, government, and food safety professionals are discussed.     

The socially distant servicescape: An investigation of consumer preference’s during the re-opening phase

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic restaurant operators had to close their dining rooms for dine-in service for a number of weeks; however, once they were allowed to re-open concern still existed over safety and socially distancing many operators had to get creative in ensuring guest and worker safety. The current study sought to assess consumer perceptions and preferences regarding different types of dining room setups that were implemented by restaurants around the U.S. during the re-opening phase to ensure proper social distancing amongst guests. A quasi-experimental design was implemented where respondents were shown images of two different dining-room setups and provided responses to questions based on their perceptions and preferences for these socially distant servicescapes. Overall, respondents indicated that partitions between tables were preferred to mannequins being placed at tables. Academic and practical implications are discussed.     

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.     

“His lack of a mask ruined everything.” Restaurant customer satisfaction during the COVID-19 outbreak: An analysis of Yelp review texts and star-ratings

The aim of the study was to provide practical advice to restaurant managers for improving star ratings as well as information for researchers on how the pandemic has impacted established determinants of satisfaction. The study examined criteria used by restaurant customers in assigning star-ratings on Yelp during the COVID-19 pandemic using keyword analysis and Multiple Correspondence Analysis. In evaluating restaurants, the reviewers focused on service, overall experience, and food quality. Service was discussed in relation to the pandemic and included safety of the dine-in experience, contrasted with take-out options and compliance with COVID-19 guidelines. These criteria applied differently with lower-star reviews focusing on safety, social distancing, and mask policies. Higher-star reviews focused on take-out/delivery services, high-quality food, and an overall positive experience. The study provides valuable contributions to our understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the restaurant sector in a post-pandemic world.     

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.     

Rapid responding to the COVID-19 crisis: Assessing the resilience in the German restaurant and bar industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally impacted the restaurant and bar industry. Simultaneously, this industry is already undergoing structural change. Using the concept of organisational resilience, we analyse the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on owner’s assessment of resilience in the German restaurant and bar industry. Findings from an online survey with 623 owners and managers show that ex-ante business problems, and financing by loans or credit, reduce the likelihood of owners perceiving their business as resilient; while, delivery and takeaway service, ownership of property and higher age of owners, increase the likelihood of enterprise resilience. The paper contributes to understanding how restaurants and bars absorb and cope with the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, we make recommendation for future research on the recovery and adaptability of the business sector.     

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.     

Comparative study of deep learning models for analyzing online restaurant reviews in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

Online reviews remain important during the COVID-19 pandemic as they help customers make safe dining decisions. To help restaurants better understand customers’ needs and sustain their business under current circumstance, this study extracts restaurant features that are cared for by customers in current circumstance. This study also introduces deep learning methods to examine customers’ opinions about restaurant features and to detect reviews with mismatched ratings. By analyzing 112,412 restaurant reviews posted during January-June 2020 on Yelp.com, four frequently mentioned restaurant features (e.g., service, food, place, and experience) along with their associated sentiment scores were identified. Findings also show that deep learning algorithms (i.e., Bidirectional LSTM and Simple Embedding + Average Pooling) outperform traditional machine learning algorithms in sentiment classification and review rating prediction. This study strengthens the extant literature by empirically analyzing restaurant reviews posted during the COVID-19 pandemic and discovering suitable deep learning algorithms for different text mining tasks.     

The motivations of visiting upscale restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of risk perception and trust in government

Despite the massive impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality industry, only limited papers empirically examined consumer reactions to current pandemic in the context of restaurants. To fill this gap, the primary aim of this paper is to reveal how individuals’ intentions to visiting upscale restaurants are affected by dining out motivations under the COVID-19 pandemic. The second aim is to investigate the moderating role of risk perceptions of COVID-19 and trust in government in building relationships. The research was conducted in Istanbul, a city deeply affected by the coronavirus. Data gathered from 681 people living Istanbul were analyzed via structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis. Findings indicated that two motivations—namely, sociability and affect regulation—have positive impacts on visit intention toward an upscale restaurant. Consumers’ COVID-19 risk perception and their trust in government moderate the relationship between some motivational factors and visit intention. The study makes a significant contribution to the literature in terms of both managing the risk perceptions of consumers and building trust in government.     

Drivers and resources of customer co-creation: A scenario-based case in the restaurant industry

The aim of this study was to build and test a model that explores customer co-creation by integrating drivers and resources that promote customer co-creation. This study used a scenario-based survey that combines respondents’ personal experiences of dining at a full-service restaurant and their responses to the hypothetical scenario of the co-creation experience. The population of the study was restaurant customers in the United States who visited any full-service restaurant within the previous three months before the survey date. Using convenience sampling, respondents were recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk. A total of 501 responses were used for data analysis using a two-step approach of structural equation modeling. This study found that customers with a higher level of knowledge, self-efficacy, and motivation are more likely to participate in the co-creation experience. In addition, the results supported the role of the customer as a resource integrator during the co-creation experience.     

To survive or to thrive? China’s luxury hotel restaurants entering O2O food delivery platforms amid the COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19 presents luxury hotels with an unenviable task of maneuvering to secure survival. One of the contingency measures of China’s five-star hotels is to salvage revenues by entering online-to-offline (O2O) food delivery platforms. However, both opportunities and risks will ensue. Study 1 has content analyzed customer reviews on the largest O2O food delivery platform in China to probe the key factors of concern. The results show that taste, freshness, and brand credibility remain salient, as in dine-in experiences, while packaging and delivery quality emerge as a result of the integration of the O2O platform, and hygiene due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, interaction quality between restaurant staff and customers still plays significant roles with the online channel. Study 2 has further deepened the understanding of luxury restaurants’ O2O services through semi-structured interviews with F&B professionals. The results have paved the way for hotel operators to employ tactics on O2O platforms.     

Impact of Restaurant Experience on Brand Image and Customer Loyalty: Moderating Role of Dining Motivation

This study seeks to determine which restaurant experiences influence the image of a restaurant's brand and formation of customers' loyalty. The research examines the connections among restaurant experiences, brand image, satisfaction, and loyalty in the context of full-service restaurants. This study also investigates the moderating effect of customers' dining motivations on the formation of brand image. The results of this study suggest that: (a) A restaurant's environment and food quality positively influences brand image and customers' satisfaction, (b) customers' perceptions of price fairness do not influence brand image but does affect customers' satisfaction, (c) development of customers' positive brand image does not drive satisfaction but does influence loyalty in full-service restaurants, and (d) customers' dining motivations moderate the relationship between restaurant experiences and perceptions of brand image. These results provide a basis for investigating which restaurant experiences are critical in eliciting development of a positive brand image and which have behavioral consequences. This study also offers mangers a perspective for developing marketing strategies to strengthen brand image in full-service restaurants.     

Customers’ risk perception and dine-out motivation during a pandemic: Insight for the restaurant industry

The restaurant industry is one of the most affected businesses during the outbreak of COVID-19. The customer choice regarding whether or not to dine in a restaurant have changed due to this unprecedented global pandemic. Integrated with the affective decision-making framework, meta-theoretic model of motivation (3M), and optimistic bias theory, this conceptual paper proposes a theoretical scheme for understanding constructs that affect consumer motivation while considering the significance of consumers’ risk perceptions of the novel coronavirus disease. This research aims to delineate the role of loyalty, trust, and transparency on resuming in-restaurant dining during and after the pandemic. By identifying the link between each construct and addressing the unparalleled food-/health related risks, this study suggests that restaurants who accumulated more customer trust by fostering transparency are likely to have more business and quickly recover from the shock.     

Explicit expression of anti-black biases in the full-service restaurant industry: Legal responsibilities and risks

Anecdotes detailing racial prejudices and discriminatory treatment of Black Americans while dining in full-service restaurants surface routinely in the popular press. These anecdotes are buttressed by a small number of studies documenting evidence of racist language and observed mistreatment of Black restaurant customers. In an effort to further explore the pervasiveness and correlates of such explicit expression of anti-Black biases in restaurant workplaces, this study presents findings from an online survey that was administered in two independent, large, and demographically diverse samples of current restaurant employees. We find that on average between 15 % (Qualtrics sample) and 24 % (Facebook sample) of participants agreed with statements indicating that racist language and discrimination against Black customers is common in the restaurants where they work. We explore the individual and organizational correlates of such explicit expression of anti-Black biases in restaurant workplaces and highlight the associated legal ramifications. We conclude by encouraging restaurateurs to take action against manifestations of racial prejudice in their establishments in order to fulfill their legal responsibilities to both their customers and their employees and thereby to minimize the threat of litigation.     

Do you dare to travel to China? An examination of China's destination image amid the COVID-19

The impact of COVID-19 on destination image is critical for international tourism recovery. This study is conducted focusing on China, the first epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, with mixed methods. Drawing on survey data collected from 500 US travelers, the study first examines China's destination image perceptions and travel intention. The results reveal that (1) US respondents have low travel intentions to China amid the pandemic; (2) Destination safety and security is the most influential image factor that leads to the low travel intentions to China. News media is proposed to have significant influence on China's image formation due to the COVID-19. A simple content analysis is conducted on CNN's news and China is found to be tied closely with COVID-19 and most news articles are emotionally negative. Those respondents who follow news outlet websites for COVID-19 view China more negatively and have lower travel intentions.     

Consumers’ luxury restaurant reservation session abandonment behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: The influence of luxury restaurant attachment,emotional ambivalence,and luxury consumption goals

The purpose of this research is to examine how consumers’ attachment to luxury restaurants and their emotional ambivalence contribute to their reservation session abandonment during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition, the moderating effect of luxury consumption goals (e.g., self-presentation motives, status consumption, and need for uniqueness) is examined. A total of 408 participants completed questionnaires, and the results reveal that luxury restaurant attachment significantly influences consumers’ emotional ambivalence, which in turn causes them to not complete their reservation sessions. Furthermore, the moderating effects of status consumption and need for uniqueness are supported.     

Multiunit restaurant productivity assessment using three-phase data envelopment analysis

This paper focuses on uncontrollable variables’ effects on multiunit restaurant productivity using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We argue the importance of first considering managerially uncontrollable (nondiscretionary) variables as inputs in the actual DEA model, with managerially controllable variables considered post hoc for their relationship to the efficiency scores. We illustrate the merits of this approach using data from a chain of 62 full-service restaurants. From a large number of candidate inputs, we arrive at a short list of uncontrollable inputs: hourly server wage, restaurant seats, and a coding variable representing whether the restaurant is a stand-alone facility. Output variables in our model were daily sales and tip percentage. We find that just under 12% of the restaurants operate efficiently and that the average efficiency for the chain is 82%.     

The antecedents and consequence of consumer attitudes toward restaurant brands: A comparative study between casual and fine dining restaurants

This study examined a theoretical model examining interrelationships among three service qualities (i.e., physical environment quality, interactional quality, and outcome quality). In addition, this study investigated the effects of three service qualities on utilitarian and hedonic attitudes toward restaurant brands and the mediating effects of such attitudes in forming brand preference in full-service restaurants. To further understand unique differences, this study conducted a multi-group analysis comparing the proposed relationships between 318 casual and 303 fine dining patrons (621 full-service restaurant patrons in total). In the full-service restaurant setting, the results of data analysis indicated significant interrelationships among three service qualities. Physical environment quality explained a large amount of variation in both interactional and outcome quality. In turn, interactional quality had a positive effect on outcome quality. Physical environment quality had a significant effect only on hedonic attitude. Interactional and outcome qualities had significant effects on utilitarian and hedonic attitudes toward restaurant brands. Finally, utilitarian and hedonic attitudes toward restaurant brands enhanced brand preference. When separately analyzed, the effect of physical environment quality on hedonic attitude became not significant in casual dining segment. Further, the effect of outcome quality on utilitarian attitude became not significant in fine dining segment. Both theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed.     

Service Quality Measurement and Triadic Interaction

Abstract

The authors recognise the importance of the service quality encounter and the critical roles played by three direct stakeholders: customers, front-line staff and operational managers, in the assessment of restaurant service quality. The paper therefore argues the merits of adopting a triadic perspective on restaurant service quality assessment and presents the details of a comparative analysis of stakeholder perceptions of service quality performance that was undertaken in three full-service restaurants in Manchester, U.K. The results showed that service providers tended to overrate the quality of service in full-service restaurants, if customer perceptions are used as the standard of comparison. Managers' ratings showed the least convergence with those of customers whilst there was a high degree of convergence between the perceptions of front-line service providers and customers on many of the dimensions. With the exception of the tangible dimension, there were statistically significant differences in service quality performance between the perceptions of stakeholders. Overall, the results have highlighted areas of particular concern and priority which require more in-depth research with qualitative methods; they therefore support the adoption of a triadic perspective in the assessment of restaurant service quality performance.     

The “Mask Effect” on the tips that customers leave restaurant servers

Masks have become the custom among restaurant workers and bartenders as a form of protection against COVID-19. Yet, given the rapid introduction of masks to the uniforms of restaurant servers there is a dearth of extant scholarship that has explored the effects of face coverings on customers’ behaviors. In response, this research offers a preliminary test of the effect of server masks on a common consumer behavior in the full-service restaurant industry—tipping. We review theoretical and empirical reasons suggesting that a mask may have a negative effect on customers’ tipping practices. Potential mask effects on tipping are then explored with a survey experiment that was administered to a large and diverse sample of Amazon Mechanical Turk “workers.” Our results suggest that wearing a mask is not likely to, on average, have a meaningful effect on how much restaurant customers tip their servers. However, we do observe a negative indirect effect of a mask on customer reported tip amount through diminished perceptions of a hypothetical servers’ friendliness. This effect was found to be attenuated among those who are altruistically motivated to tip servers as a way to help them financially. The implications of our results and directions for future research are discussed.