Who is an evangelist? Food tourists’ positive and negative eWOM behavior

Purpose This study aims to examine food tourists’ engagement in positive and negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) by considering the following questions: Do satisfied customers engage in advocacy, and do dissatisfied customers make the same effort to spread their negative experiences? Which restaurant experience attributes influence eWOM behavior? What demographic and psychographic characteristics contribute to advocacy? Design/methodology/approach Using data from an online survey of 456 consumers with restaurant experience in the tourism context, this study applied simultaneous Tobit estimation to examine the research hypotheses. Findings Engagement in negative eWOM because of poor experiences was stronger than engagement in positive eWOM because of positive experiences. Food taste was a critical attribute for both positive and negative eWOM. Authenticity was influential for positive eWOM only, and value was influential for negative eWOM only. Atmosphere, service and location were found to be insignificant, indicating that they are ‘indifferent’ factors for eWOM in the food tourism context. Female customers were more active in negative advocacy, while Generation Y customers were more active in positive advocacy. Food involvement was significantly related to both positive and negative eWOM. Research limitations/implications The results of this study provide useful marketing and service insights for restaurant managers in the digitally connected world, enabling them to formulate services based on factors critical for restaurant eWOM in the tourism context. Originality/value To fill a gap in the current literature in the era of digital marketing, this study takes a comprehensive yet industry-specific perspective on eWOM engagement by examining demographic factors and the food involvement of consumers as well as restaurant experience attributes. By investigating both positive and negative eWOM, this study presents meaningful practical and theoretical implications.

Employee Service Quality at Uzbekistani Halal Restaurants Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this study, we examined the employee service dimensions which are associated with satisfaction and customers’ intention to revisit among Uzbekistani customers who visit halal restaurants in Korea. We also investigated the situational factor of the pandemic outbreak and the moderating role of the restaurant locations. A total of 264 respondents participated. The results revealed that behavior quality and appearance were important employee service quality dimensions for halal restaurants. However, interaction quality and expertise quality were not associated with satisfaction. The results may indicate that consumers did not prefer human interactions at the restaurants because of the risk of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The results affirmed that customers who positively evaluated their restaurant experience showed a higher intention to visit again. Finally, the findings showed a moderating effect of the location (the capital city vs. others). The customers visiting restaurants in the capital city were likely to be satisfied with employees wearing masks and wearing clean uniforms. These findings could enrich the literature on the multidimensional aspects of service encounters at Uzbekistani halal restaurants considering the tangible and intangible service qualities of employees during COVID-19.

Destination restaurants, place attachment, and future destination patronization

Consumers sometimes travel to a destination for the main purpose of enjoying the food and services a restaurant can offer. These restaurants are termed destination Restaurants. This study explores what constitutes such an experience at destination restaurants and how such experience influences visitors’ sense of place development for the destination they travel to and their revisit intention for the place. Data was gathered using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to tourists dining in destination restaurants in Hwayang-Dong in Chungbuk province, South Korea. Based on a convenience sample of 244 participants, the results suggest that a destination restaurant experience compromises seven components including ‘Food quality’, ‘Locale image’, ‘Restaurant atmosphere’, ‘Price Fairness’, ‘Ingroup socialization’, ‘Ease of conversation’, and ‘Immersion’. The research showed that locale image, atmosphere, ease of conversation, and immersion significantly affect overall restaurant experience satisfaction. The findings also demonstrated that the destination restaurant experience positively affects tourist place attachment and destination revisit intention.

Excellent Cuisine Worth a Detour

Luxury restaurants are expected to offer outstanding culinary talent and expertise; be authentic, creative and consistent; and provide exciting quality food. Currently, culinary art discourses include a social dimension in which social networking sites are used to share gastronomic experiences and check recommendations. User-generated reviews are thus an intersection of participatory culture and ‘foodie' discoures. This study's main objective was to examine this phenomenon by analysing web reviews to identify the expressive dimensions that describe guests' experiences. Mixed-method content analysis was selected for this research, using qualitative text interpretation to supplement quantitative word counts and factor analyses. Content analysis of reviews of the top three Michelin-starred restaurants (i.e., two stars) in Portugal identified concepts used to assess haute cuisine experiences from the client's perspective. The results include a concept map encompassing the following dimensions: ‘food', ‘restaurant', ‘experience', ‘menu', ‘wine', ‘special (dinner)', ‘view', ‘beautiful (food)', ‘friendly (staff)', ‘chef', ‘visit' and ‘dessert'.

AESTHETIC GUEST EXPERIENCE IN RESTAURANT: A STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW

The concept of customer experience has received considerable attention in various disciplines, particularly in tourism and hospitality research. However, the aesthetic guest experience has hardly been investigated in previous studies. Aesthetics involves what makes an object beautiful and what people feel when they encounter a beautiful object. Dining experience encompasses almost all senses together, which makes it difficult to measure this concept properly. Considering the important role of aesthetics in the dining experience, this study provides a review and synthesis of the literature to establish a foundation for the conceptual framework for measuring the aesthetic guest experience in restaurants. The main objectives of this study are to categorise and summarise the research on aesthetic guest experience, present a new conceptualization and conceptual model of the aesthetic guest experience in restaurants, and highlight the emerging trends and gaps in the literature. The findings of this study contribute to aesthetic theory and offer practical implications for restaurant managers regarding all aesthetic components that should be considered when designing a memorable aesthetic restaurant experience.

CONTENT ANALYSIS OF MICHELIN RESTAURANTS ONLINE REVIEWS IN CROATIA

The Michelin Guide is considered by many to be the hallmark of global fine dining and quality cuisine. For five years now, renowned and selected Croatian restaurants have been included in the worldwide Michelin Guide. In the latest edition of Michelin Guide, seventy Croatian restaurants were included. Nowadays, to find the ideal restaurant, diners are increasingly using TripAdvisor and reviews on social media. Online reviews are a great source for capturing unique customer experiences. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the components of restaurant guest experiences. The most recent online reviews on TripAdvisor of 17 Croatian Michelin guide listed restaurants (7 one-star restaurants and 10 Bib Gourmand) were analysed. This study follows a content analysis approach. Simple frequency counts were performed on the number of positive, negative and neutral comments. The empirical results showed that the overall customer satisfaction in the analysed restaurants was positive. The content analysis revealed that customers mainly focused on the food, menu offerings, ambiance, and service in the online reviews. This study contributes to the customer experience literature by applying data mining techniques and content analysis of online reviews to understand customers’ views of the restaurant experience. The findings of this study also provide practical implications for restaurateurs by identifying the key determinants in customer reviews of restaurants.

Understanding the robotic restaurant experience: a multiple case study

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the robotic restaurant experience of travellers around the world and understand the components of robotic restaurant experience. Design/methodology/approach Travellers who had experienced a robotic restaurant were purposefully selected as a sample group for the study. As the robotic restaurants are limited around the world, multiple case study method has been chosen to gather richer data. A user-generated content technique which is a form of qualitative case study method has been benefited to gather data from travellers’ reviews. Findings The results reveal a model of components of robotic restaurant experience that include six main themes: attraction for kids, robotic system, memorable experience, ambience related attributes, food related attributes (economic value and gastronomic aspects) and deficiencies (in robotic system, in ambience related attributes and in food related attributes). Originality/value This paper is one of the first to investigate the robotic restaurant experience of travellers around the world. Moreover, it contributes to the research on restaurant experience and offers a model of components of the robotic restaurant experience.