Advanced
search

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Determinants of customers' choice of dining-related services: the case of Taipei City

Ching-Chan Cheng (Department of Food and Beverage Management, Taipei University of Marine Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan)
Hung-Che Wu (Business School, Nanfang College of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China)
Ming-Chun Tsai (Department of Business Administration, CTBC Business School, Tainan City, Taiwan)
Yu-Yuan Chang (Department of Hospitality Management, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan)
Cheng-Ta Chen (Department of Food and Beverage Management, Taipei University of Marine Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan)

British Food Journal

ISSN: 0007-070X

Article publication date: 30 March 2020

Issue publication date: 28 April 2020

615

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to extract determinants of customers' choice of dining-related services (CDS) to understand their attitudes and habits for dining-related services. Moreover, it classifies restaurant customers into several clusters based on their CDS factors and further analyzes the differences in the preferences and habits for dining-related services among various clusters.

Design/methodology/approach

This study extracts the CDS factors using principal component analysis and identifies construct validity of the CDS factors through the results of confirmatory factor analysis. Then, it divides the restaurant customers in Taipei City into different clusters through cluster analysis to explore the habits and preferences for dining-related services in each cluster.

Findings

The study results show that the extracted six CDS factors, including service commitment, dietary preferences, design styles, additional value, delicate information collection, and dining environments. Dietary preferences, service commitment and additional value factor are the most important CDS factors for restaurant customers in Taipei City. This study divides 1,029 restaurant customers in Taipei City into three clusters based on the CDS factors through cluster analysis. The differences in the preferences and habits for dining services among three clusters have been discussed in the context in detail. Finally, this study develops eight service strategies and determines the order of execution of the eight service strategies for each cluster of customers.

Originality/value

The findings will help restaurant operators segment the market, target market customers, carry out service positioning and develop marketing strategies to respond to the highly competitive restaurant market and achieve sustainable restaurant operations.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors thanks for the support by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan under grant number MOST 105-2410-H-229-002 –

Citation

Cheng, C.-C., Wu, H.-C., Tsai, M.-C., Chang, Y.-Y. and Chen, C.-T. (2020), "Determinants of customers' choice of dining-related services: the case of Taipei City", British Food Journal, Vol. 122 No. 5, pp. 1549-1571. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-07-2019-0566

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles

Manage cookies

We’re listening — tell us what you think

Join us on our journey