A restaurant’s image is considered to be a collection of consumers’ perceptions and feelings as they relate to various components of a restaurant’s physical and
operational components (Ryu & Jang, 2008; Ryu, Lee, & Kim, 2012). These components, which primarily consist of the atmosphere and service environment, or “servicescape,” and the quality of service, food, and overall experience, ultimately work to form a general image of a particular establishment (Lin & Mattila, 2010; Ryu & Jang, 2008; Stevens, Knutson, & Patton, 1995). Together the components help to build a general brand image which consumers either like or dislike, resulting in the formations of satisfaction and loyalty, which lead to revisit intention and purchase behavior, and ultimately aides in the decision on choosing where and what to eat when dining away from home (Han & Ryu, 2009; Stevens et al., 1995). Though the determinants of why an individual decides to dine out are dynamic and relatively unpredictable, research has shown that consumers
Building upon previous research on hedonic vs. utilitarian benefits and customer satisfaction, Chitturi, Raghunathan, & Mahajan, (2008) suggested that product
consumption for hedonic purposes evoked delight, whereas consumption for utilitarian purpose evoked satisfaction, and a failure to address these expectations ultimately resulted in the evocation of converse emotions: anger and dissatisfaction. In order to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction, one of the primary goals of every hospitality practitioner, operators and practitioners must work to understand the
consumers’ consumption goals and identify the attributes they are trying to fulfill by the consumption of a specific product or attribute.
Though operational strategies vary depending on restaurant type and target market, many of the fundamental elements are found to exist across almost all restaurant types. In a comparative study of the marketing strategies between American and
Canadian restaurants, Heroux (2002) identified six fundamental components of a restaurant operating strategy based upon consumers’ demands:
1) The product line, or menu: Includes the variety of offerings, portion size and quality.
2) Service: Includes guest services, customization, reservations, hours, and satisfaction.
3) Place or location: Includes visibility, site evaluation and appearance, building type, parking, and public accessibility.
4) Atmosphere: Layout, lighting, cleanliness, scent, signage, and other elements that contribute to perceptions of a restaurant’s physical surroundings.
transactions, and any other financial interactions that directly influence consumer perceptions or service interactions.
6) Promotions: External advertising and internal communication to the guest. Restaurants are unique in this manner, as they can both satisfy a very basic, physiological necessity, and help to satisfy a social, higher-level need that humans desire (Mehta & Maniam, 2002). Because of the dichotomous nature of purpose and function, restaurants have a developed the unique property of being both a product and a service. So when developing a marketing strategy, restaurant operators or managers must keep in mind that consumers are seeking both the primary fulfillment of being fed, as well as the desire to interact socially and partake in an experience.
The marketing of the experience has long been a primary component in all hospitality marketing strategies (Scott, Laws, & Boksberger, 2009). In the specific context of a restaurant, not only does the marketing of food and drink play a role in the experience, but the kind of service provided and atmosphere are critical as well. Offering multiple options also allows the consumer the freedom of choice, which ultimately adds to the overall dining experience (Campbell-Smith, 1970). Additionally, the type of cuisine—which can vary by region or country of origin and range in nutritional or caloric value—as well as how it looks, smells, and tastes can all factor into the accentuation of a dining experience. There are also several levels of service that factor into the restaurant experience, with counter-service at one end of the spectrum, and complete table-service at the other.
For Campbell-Smith (1970), the last component to marketing the restaurant experience is atmosphere. Elements of atmosphere in a restaurant can range extensively,
and includes everything from seating style and arrangement to lighting and cleanliness. Though each individual element has the potential to influence a diners’ experience and create an image of the restaurant, it is the total effect of all of the elements combined that produces the strongest individual effect on the overall dining experience.
The origination of looking at atmosphere as a specific marketing tool can be traced to the field of retailing. Kotler (1973-1974) was perhaps the first to recognize that when making a purchase decision, consumers respond to more than just what a product or service has to offer, instead factoring the product as a whole—including such attributes as packaging, advertising, imagery, and other components that coincide with the products positioning. And in some specific circumstances and scenarios, Kotler (1973-1974) argues that the place where a product is sold, or more specifically the atmosphere of a place, can be more influential than the actual product itself when a consumer is making a purchase decision. It is within this concept of using a place or atmosphere as a marketing tool that Kotler coins the term ‘atmospherics,’ or the effort to design a retail or buying environment intended to produce specific emotional effects in the buyer, thus enhancing their purchase probability (Kotler, 1973-1974). Kotler (1973-1974) proposed four situations where and when atmospherics can be a relevant marketing tool:
1) Where the product is purchased or consumed and the seller has design options. The atmospherics are more meaningful for retailers than for manufacturers, wholesalers, or basic sales.
2) When the number of competitors increase—as it can help to differentiate and attract specific market segments.
4) When products or services are targeted towards specific social classes or lifestyle-buyer groups.
Atmosphere, which can include a restaurant’s signage and menu, can affect purchase behavior in many ways, as it can help create attention and deliver a message. It also helps to create affect by triggering senses which can heighten or create a desire or appetite for an item, service or experience (Kotler 1973-1974). The general concept that guides the connection between atmosphere and purchase decision is that a consumer will first apprehend and perceive the sensory qualities of a given space, which will therefore modify the information and affective state of the consumer, ultimately impacting their probability of making a purchase.
Expanding on the concept of atmospherics as a marketing tool and the ability of a physical environment to influence consumer behavior, Bitner (1992) describes in more depth how the servicescape, or the built environment of a service establishment, can affect the behaviors of both consumers and employees of a given service organization. The servicescape can have many components, but it generally incorporates the ambient conditions such as temperature, air quality, noise, smells, and spatial layout, including furnishings and equipment, as well as signs, symbols and artifacts. Bitner (1992) posits that the servicescape can be the most important marketing attribute in a service setting, as both the customers and the employees experience the organizations’ facility.
Even though there are several types of service organizations, each with its own varying aspects of physical complexity to its particular servicescape, the underlying concept is that any individual who is exposed to a particular setting responds cognitively, emotionally, and physiologically to that environment. Subsequently, an individual’s
response to the atmosphere or servicescape can directly influence their behavior,
affecting approach or avoid decisions or other social interactions between and among the customers and the employees (Bitner, 1992).
Within a hospitality context, Heung and Gu (2012) sought to identify and categorize the elements of restaurant atmospherics and investigate the influences of atmospherics on patrons’ satisfaction and intentions to revisit. Five dimensions of restaurant atmospherics were identified: facility aesthetics, ambience, spatial layout, employee factors, and view from the window. Heung and Gu’s (2012) research supported results from previous literature that reinforced the evidence that restaurant atmospherics have a significant influence on patrons’ dining satisfaction and intentions to revisit, as well as willingness to spread positive word-of-mouth and pay more.
In addition to physical and situational factors, individuals’ emotional state and response to surrounding stimuli has also been shown to have a direct effect on approach or avoid behavior. Mehrabian and Russell’s (1974) model on consumer approach and avoid behavior posits that environmental stimuli leads to an emotional response, which results in a subsequent reaction. The authors concluded that environmental stimuli elicited a positive emotional reaction which directly affected purchase decisions and willingness to pay more. Conversely, negative emotional responses resulting from environmental stimuli resulted in avoidance behavior, which ranged from the ignoring of communication to physical departure from the location (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974).
Jang and Namkung (2009) extended and adapted Mehrabian and Russell’s (1974) model within a hospitality context to see how environmental stimuli could affect
quality, and quality of food were the environmental stimuli used to determine what effect positive or negative emotions had on behavioral outcome, mostly return intention. Jang and Namkung (2009) concluded that a positive emotion resulting from perceived product quality, service quality, and restaurant atmospherics increased likelihood to revisit and other positive behavioral intentions, where negative emotions elicited from the same stimuli had a reverse effect.
Similarly, Kim and Moon (2009) applied the Mehrabian-Russell (1974) model to see how the servicescape could affect restaurant customers’ cognitive and emotional processes and the resulting influence on perception of service quality, level of enjoyment, and revisit intention. It was determined that the perception of the servicescape had a direct influence on the customers’ emotional state which then affected their behavioral intention. Intent to revisit increased when environmental stimuli produced positive emotions like pleasure and increased perception of service quality, whereas negative perceptions of the servicescape led to negative emotions which therefore reduced revisit intention.
Based on the literature surrounding the effects of restaurant image on purchase behavior in a restaurant, the following hypothesis was formed:
H1: Perception of restaurant image has a positive, direct effect on the purchase of a local food item in an upscale casual restaurant setting.
The following section will review the literature surrounding the two independent variable constructs used in the conceptual model guiding this research: environmental consciousness and the perception of menu information, which includes a review
consumer perceptions of information and signage, previous research on menus, menu psychology, and the importance of the menu in a foodservice operation.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES