An analysis of technology applications in the restaurant industry

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the utilization of Front of House (FOH) and Back of House (BOH) technology applications in different types of US restaurants along with their level of IT management and explore the importance of these technology applications to restaurant operations.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from 500 randomly selected restaurant technology managers who subscribe to Hospitality Technology Magazine. The sample group represented 67,299 restaurant units. Data analysis was organized into three parts (descriptive, exploratory factor analysis, and independent samples t-test).

Findings

For FOH, the top-five point of sale (POS) technologies used are POS hardware, touchscreen, POS software, gift card integration and integrated credit card swipe into POS. At the BOH, the top-five POS technologies used are accounting/financial software, enterprise reporting, inventory management software, kitchen printers and company intranet.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to include a variety of technologies used in restaurants. Most existing studies focus on a single technology or a small number of them. However, this study provides an overall perspective on a variety of restaurant technologies from FOH to BOH. It also includes mobile POS technologies.

研究目的

本论文旨在研究美国各种类型饭店的前厅（FOH）和后厨（BOH）的各种科技应用系统以及其信息科技管理水平, 此外, 本论文还分析了这些科技应用对于饭店运营的重要性。

研究设计/方法/途径

本论文采用问卷采样形式, 从订阅了酒店科技杂志（Hospitality Technology Magazine）的饭店科技经理中随机抽取500名经理为问卷样本, 此样本代表了67,299家饭店。数据分析方法共分为三个部分（描述型、因子分析、和独立样本t检定）。

研究结果

对于FOH而言, 排名前五的POS科技包括POS硬件、触摸屏、POS软件、礼品卡管理、和信用卡与POS系统链接。对于BOH而言, 排名前五的POS科技包括会计/财务软件、企业报表、库存管理软件、厨房打印机、和公司内网。

研究原创性/价值

本论文是仅存的几篇研究多样饭店科技的文章之一。大多数文章只是关注一种或者少数几种科技。然而, 本论文提供从FOH到BOH多种饭店科技的分析研究, 包括移动POS科技等。

关键词 饭店科技、前厅科技、后厨科技、移动POS

Citation

Cavusoglu, M. (2019), "An analysis of technology applications in the restaurant industry", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 45-72. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-12-2017-0141