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The concept of experience economy states that customers seek experiences whether from products and services. Tourism is at the forefront of the experience economy because tourists are looking for staged experience encompassing the four realms (entertainment, educational, esthetic and escapism). The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the effects of the experience economy on tourists’ word-of-mouth (WOM) in Chengdu cuisine through satisfaction and memory.

In total, 397 valid data were collected from the tourists who have experienced the ethnic cuisine in Chengdu. A partial least-square structural equation modeling technique was used to examine the research model.

The empirical results indicated that esthetic is the antecedent of the other three realms of experience economy; esthetic, educational and entertainment experiences influence satisfaction; four realms of experience economy influence memory; and satisfaction and memory ultimately influence WOM.

The findings of this study provide practical implications for operators of ethnic restaurants in designing their restaurants and menus, travel agencies in planning the tour itinerary and governments in using ethnic cuisine for destination marketing.

This study is a pioneer in studying the experience economy in the ethnic cuisine. It has identified the relationships between four dimensions of experience economy of ethnic cuisine, tourist satisfaction, memory and WOM toward ethnic cuisine in a tourist destination. It has also integrated the senses of Chinese cuisine (“sight,” “smell” and “taste”) into the measures of esthetic experience for studying experience economy in ethnic cuisine.

The primary aim of this paper is to reveal the changes in perception of East Asian cuisine (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese) in New York City between 1997 and 2007. Through analysis of data collected from Zagat Survey food reviews, the research seeks to explore trends regarding each cuisine's social status, quality, and also to observe general comparisons between each ethnicity's cuisine. The secondary aim is to evaluate how each cuisine is currently perceived in the city that is not only beaming with culinary delights, but also deemed the “Restaurant capital of the world”.

Using the Zagat Survey New York City 1997 and 2007, quantitative analyses were performed using the scores for comparison purposes. The mean and the standard deviations are calculated in terms of food, decor, service, and price. The t‐test was used to verify whether there have been statistically meaningful changes in each cuisine for the past ten years in the Zagat Survey.

In terms of popularity, the number of Japanese restaurants has significantly increased in ten years while that of Chinese restaurants decreased about 30 percent. According to the t‐tests, Japanese showed most significant changes in almost all aspects. Thai cuisine also demonstrated remarkable improvements, especially, in decor and service. Korean and Chinese cuisine did not show a noticeable change in food, decor, and service. Only the price showed a little change for these cuisines. Vietnamese cuisine achieved a significant progress in food while no enhancement in other aspects.

Because the scope of the research was “general” restaurants in New York City, the discussion on their price range, quality of food, decor, and service, the type of restaurant under observation was inevitably limited.

The research can help in marketing and development of new restaurants for it provides some insight into the characteristics of each ethnic cuisine and trend changes of restaurants.

The research presented in the paper can be applied both by practitioners and academics in the fields of food service management.

The USA is culturally and ethnically diverse and becoming more so. This diversity is reflected in the variety of cuisines available both in stores and in restaurants. Trends show a movement towards trying out new and exotic foods, increasing interest in vegetarian items, as well as a growing use of spices, herbs, and hot peppers. Asian foods are getting more popular with cuisines from China, Thailand, and Japan in the lead. Indian cuisine is hot, spicy, flavored with herbs, and offers many vegetarian options. This study examines the perceptions of White Americans, South Asians, and those of other ethnic origins in their perceptions of the food and service in Indian restaurants in the USA. The findings of this study suggest that there are universal likes/dislikes as well as differential perceptions between ethnic groups. Implications for researchers and operators of Indian restaurants are provided.

Virtual kitchens are a new business phenomenon, and how customers react to the new business model is still a largely unexplored topic. The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying mechanisms of consumers’ different responses to their reasoning of the new and disruptive business model of the virtual kitchen.

Based on the attribution theory and situated focus theory of power, this study conducts three online experiments to test the proposed framework. A total of 487 US residents who had prior experience with restaurant food delivery participated in the studies.

The results indicate that external attribution (vs internal attribution) and ethnic cuisine (vs mainstream cuisine) are more likely to elicit customers’ empathy and justice, leading to higher purchase intentions with virtual kitchens. A mainstream virtual kitchen is better off attributing itself to external factors. The significant effects of causal attribution and cuisine type on purchase intention only exist with powerful customers and those with high moral identity.

The results of this study provide valuable insight to virtual kitchen businesses to better position and market themselves to gain customers’ support. The findings also suggest that ethnic and mainstream restaurants should strategize their marketing communications about virtual kitchens differently.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to provide in-depth insight into the growing phenomenon of virtual kitchens. It also contributes to the extant literature on attribution theory and situated focus theory of power.

The research objective is to explore consumers' (those of ethnic origin and non-ethnic origin) motivation for choosing ethnic food.

A total of 120 respondents were approached at Padang restaurants in Jakarta, and personal interviews were conducted using soft laddering techniques linking to means-end chain (MEC) analysis. The associations among attributes, consequences and values were mapped into a graphical hierarchy to depict the cognitive structure of consuming ethnic food.

The unique and spicy taste of Padang food, as well as preferences for the cuisine, was identified as the determinants of consumption of Padang food. In addition, the Minang people still considered the food's origin and tradition when consuming it. “Financial security” and “happiness” were identified as the desired values that consumers want to achieve.

The extent to which acculturation affects consumers' decision-making on consuming ethnic food has not been significantly investigated.

Padang food can be promoted by highlighting its traditions and unique, spicy taste. These are key messages to attract consumers of Padang ethnic food.

The paper presents an original motivations and cognitive structures for eating Padang food.

The study aims to examine the mediating effects of escapism (ESC) and ethnic food experience (EFE) in the relationship between diversity (DIV) and behavioral intentions (BI) of visitors attending Hoi An International Food Festival held in Vietnam.

The research takes a predictive and explanatory approach rather than theory confirmation. Partial least squares (PLS) algorithm was used to analyze multiple mediation. The data were collected from 323 attendees through a self-administered questionnaire.

The research highlights that escapism and EFE have positive and significant mediating effects on the relationship between DIV and BI. Furthermore, while EFE is the most important predictor of BI, escapism has emerged as an antecedent variable that deserves to be given the highest importance. Finally, visitors who are participating in their first international food festival do not seem to consider the nexus between DIV and ESC as much as repeaters.

The study's limitations include the collection of data from a single festival and the fact that the analyses are only quantitative. The results contribute to festival organizers by revealing the importance of multiple mediation roles.

This study contributes novel insights to the literature on festival and event management, extending previous studies and filling a gap by proposing ESC and EFE as multiple mediators in the nexus between DIV and BI. The present study provides a comprehensive examination of the influence of individual variables previously analyzed separately on festival-goers' experiences. This facilitated the identification of crucial aspects of the circumstance, thereby reducing any ambiguity.

With the expansion of dining out, visiting ethnic restaurants is becoming one of dominant trends worldwide. Given the fact that ethnic restaurants involve a number of peculiar elements that are not present when visiting regular “local” restaurants, the purpose of this paper is to identify the key determinants of choosing a particular ethnic-themed restaurant, as well as factors that have an impact on an ethnic restaurant’s perceived image.

Research was done by conducting two separate studies. The first study identified factors that were generally the most significant to respondents when making a choice of an ethnic restaurant in which to dine. For the second study, a new sample of respondents – consisting of those who had just visited such an establishment – was used in order to determine which factors have the most significant impact on creating an image of ethnic restaurants. The research was therefore directed toward those restaurants where the customers can experience a unique atmosphere and ambiance that are synonymous within a given culture.

The results obtained from the first study show that quality of food and price are the two most significant factors that determine which restaurant will be visited. On the other hand, the interior and exterior ranked as the two least important factors. In addition, the second study revealed that following the visit, the strongest impact on the restaurant’s image was its interior. Following interior, service quality surfaced as the most important antecedent of perceived image, while the impacts of price and exterior were weaker, but still statistically significant.

The study itself was done in two stages. In the first stage the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) model was used for ranking factors significant for choosing an ethnic restaurant, while in the second stage, structural equation modeling (SEM) model was used to identify triggers of perceived image after a visit to an ethnic restaurant. Future research should utilize both models to determine antecedents of the variables used. Apart from this, it is recommended to employ new variables that further explore the uniqueness of the ethnic restaurants.

One of the main contributions of this work is related to combining of the AHP and SEM models, with the objective of completing a comparative results analysis, identifying in the process the positive aspects of both models and building a foundation for their coordination in terms of future use. This is significant, given that only a few prior studies have used such synergy.

This paper aims to examine the effects of perceived authenticity at an independent, full-service mainstream ethnic restaurant and the moderating effects of diners’ cultural familiarity and cultural motivation on the influence of perceived authenticity on perceived value and behavioral intention.

A total of 417 self-administered questionnaires were collected from customers of an independent, full-service Italian restaurant in southeastern USA. The data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.

Restaurant authenticity has a positive influence on perceived value. Respondents who are more familiar with and interested in Italian culture and food tend to attach more value to the restaurant authenticity. Respondents tend to use authenticity to convey quality judgment of the restaurant.

First, this study advances previous literature on dining authenticity by incorporating cultural familiarity and cultural motivation. Second, this study extends the theoretical framework of perceived quality of ethnic restaurants by connecting authenticity perceptions and quality assessment.

Results suggest that the managers at independent, full-service mainstream ethnic restaurants should focus on the restaurants’ environment and atmospheric authenticity, especially for customers who possess cultural familiarity and cultural motivation, while also ensuring the quality of food and service.

This study makes an initial attempt at studying the role of authenticity in a mainstream ethnic restaurant context and adds to the knowledge of restaurant authenticity from the perspectives of cultural familiarity, cultural motivation and perceived quality.

This chapter addresses the emerging trends in Australia’s food destinations and analyzes different demands for this experience from a Korean tourism market perspective. Tourism Australia’s report on the international market research was analyzed, and the findings indicate that four main food experiences were sought by Koreans. A sense of landscapes plays an important role in enhancing their local food experiences. Multicultural food, health conscious markets, and food shopping are also crucial for developing Australia’s competitive advantage in this area. This chapter suggests marketing implications and directions for future research to explore cross-cultural gaps in food culture and behaviors from the perspectives of Asian tourism markets.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the negotiation and otherization of the regional representations of southern foodways in public restaurants within a larger urban cultural setting often seen as its cultural antithesis.

The method and approach is multifaceted, including content and historical analysis and participant observation. The literature review lays the foundation for the otherization of the South in the USA. The content analysis explores various media publications relevant to southern food restaurants and the qualitative analysis demonstrates the nuances of southern restaurants in New York City.

The literature and content analysis demonstrates the socio‐historical grounding for the otherization of the South and southern foodways. The qualitative research demonstrates how southern restaurants are constructed and otherized differently in New York City depending upon their local context and the participants who are primarily involved.

A larger sample of restaurants could provide a potentially more valid and nuanced analysis of the phenomena.

Most research on regional, subcultural differences in foodways occurs within the imagined boundaries of that respective region, but this paper explores the historical proliferation of restaurants and the meanings of the production and consumption of southern regional foods in these restaurants within another region.