Diners' variety seeking in the restaurant choice
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify variety drivers in the restaurant setting and examined their influences on variety seeking intention in the restaurant choice situation. More specifically, this study considered perceived quality including service quality, food quality, and atmospherics quality, customer satisfaction, overall boredom, and boredom of restaurant attributes derived by past dining experience at a particular restaurant as variety drivers, and examined how those variety drivers affect customers’ variety seeking intention in the restaurant choice for their next dining-out. Also, this study investigated the moderating role of personality characteristics reflecting optimal stimulation level and overall loyalty level toward a particular restaurant in the relationship between variety drivers and variety seeking intention. Especially, this study viewed variety seeking intention from two dimensions: intention to choose different alternative among familiar alternatives and intention to choose a new alternative that has never experienced before. To examine the effect of variety drivers on variety seeking intention, structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted. Also, this study performed multiple group analysis to identify the moderating effect of personality characteristics and loyalty. The result of SEM showed that service quality, food quality, and customer satisfaction derived by past dining experience were not significant driver leading to variety seeking intention, whereas atmospherics quality significantly influenced variety seeking intention, specifically intention to choose another alternative from familiar alternatives. Also, overall boredom and boredom with atmospherics attributes had positive relationship with variety seeking intention. The result of multiple group analysis suggested that personality characteristics reflecting each individual’s optimal stimulation level played a moderating role in the relationship between overall boredom and variety seeking intention. However, loyalty was not a significant moderator. The findings of this study would contribute to the body of knowledge in customers’ variety seeking in the service environment, specifically restaurant setting, and also provide some managerial implications for restaurant operators to understand customers’ variety seeking intention and develop the marketing strategies.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Jang, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Marketing
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