choice of upscale ethnic restaurants

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Consumers' Choice Factors of an UpscaleEthnic RestaurantMichael D. Clemes a , Christopher Gan a & Chirawan Sriwongrat aa Lincoln University , Canterbury , New ZealandPublished online: 01 Oct 2013.

To cite this article: Michael D. Clemes , Christopher Gan & Chirawan Sriwongrat (2013) Consumers'Choice Factors of an Upscale Ethnic Restaurant, Journal of Food Products Marketing, 19:5, 413-438,DOI: 10.1080/10454446.2013.724364

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Journal of Food Products Marketing, 19:413–438, 2013Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1045-4446 print/1540-4102 onlineDOI: 10.1080/10454446.2013.724364

Consumers’ Choice Factors of an UpscaleEthnic Restaurant

MICHAEL D. CLEMES, CHRISTOPHER GAN,and CHIRAWAN SRIWONGRAT

Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand

The demand for ethnic foods has increased worldwide, due to theinfluences of ethnic diversity, globally sourced food, cultural expe-riences, and media exposure. Despite the importance of restaurantchoice criteria and a growth in the popularity of ethnic foods, pub-lished research on consumers’ restaurant selection behavior thatfocuses on the ethnic restaurant segment is sparse. This researchaims to fill this gap in the literature by empirically identifying thefactors (and their relative importance) that influence consumers todine at an upscale ethnic restaurant.

Focus group discussions and the literature review assist in identi-fying a set of factors that influence restaurant choice. A mail surveyis used to collect the data. Factor analysis is applied to refine thedecision factors. Logistic regression analysis identifies five signifi-cant factors that influence restaurant choice: dining experience,social status, service quality, food quality, and value for money.

KEYWORDS upscale ethnic restaurant, ethnic foods, food-serviceindustry

INTRODUCTION

Turgeon and Pastinelli (2002, p. 252) use the term ethnic for outsiders or peo-ple who come from another land and are foreign to the mainstream culture.The authors define an ethnic restaurant as “a restaurant whose signboard

The authors would like to thank Dr. Zhaohua Li, Lincoln University, for her valued advice.Address correspondence to Michael D. Clemes, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Commerce,

Department of Business Management, Law, and Marketing, P.O. Box 84, Lincoln University,Canterbury, New Zealand. E-mail: [email protected]

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414 M. D. Clemes et al.

or publicity clearly promises the national or regional cuisine of another land.”Similarly, Olsen, Warde, and Martens (2000) studied the dining-out marketin the United Kingdom and identify all traditional non-British restaurants asethnic restaurants.

The term ethnic food is defined differently in various studies. The FoodMarketing Institute (1998) defines ethnic food as a product that a particularethnic (racial, national) or cultural group favors. Utami (2004) defines ethnicfood as a region-specific cuisine that tends to reflect the particular charac-teristics of its local origin. Food is usually considered ethnic by people whoare in a different area from the origin of the food (Utami, 2004). The termethnic food is also used to describe the cuisine of the minority immigrants inmulticultural societies (Utami, 2004).

Dining in an authentic ethnic restaurant is a way to experience anotherculture, as Van den Berghe (1984, as cited in Withers, 2000) postulated:

What more accessible and friendlier arena of inter-ethnic contact could bedevised than the ethnic restaurant? What easier way to experience vicar-iously another culture than to share its food? As an outsider consumingan exotic cuisine, one is literally ‘taking in’ the foreign culture.

The whole experience consumers receive from patronizing an ethnic restau-rant, including ethnic waitstaff and flavor of the cuisine, brings consumerscloser to that particular culture and helps them recall the memories of theiroverseas trips to the country (Verbeke & López, 2005). For example, Yükseland Yüksel (2002) examine the segmentation of tourist consumers and theirrestaurant choice and find that tourists in the adventure-seekers group willtry local cuisine in order to learn about the traditions and culture of the hostcountry. Similarly, Tian (2001) and Sukalakamala and Boyce (2007) confirmthat diners view an ethnic restaurant patronage as a way to learn about adifferent culture.

Dining at ethnic restaurants also offers consumers the opportunity tohave the similar emotional and symbolic experience of a vacation, withoutleaving home, as Zelinsky (1987, p. 31) posited:

The diners at ethnic restaurants don’t go just for the food. They alsohunger for an exotic dining experience. Ethnic restaurants offer an effort-less journey to a distant land where the waiter recites a menu of aliendelights in charmingly accented English. The patrons of ethnic restaurantsare gastronomic tourists.

Novelty has specific appeal, and consumers are known to be curious aboutnovelties, such as experiencing a new food and the new ambience of arestaurant (Peters, 2005). A new experience emerges as a determinant that

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Consumers’ Choice Factors 415

influences some consumers to dine at an ethnic restaurant, as they con-sider a variety of experiences a value in itself (Martens & Warde, 1998).Patrons of ethnic restaurants also often seek an authentic experience thatis different from their everyday meals at home (Turgeon & Pastinelli,2002).

Ethnic restaurants are facing increasingly sophisticated consumers andan intensely competitive restaurant industry. Consumers who frequentupscale dining establishments not only demand good food but also a com-plete dining experience (Yüksel & Yüksel, 2002). Furthermore, the expansionof interest and acceptance of ethnic foods reflect the increasing diver-sity of contemporary society (Monteiro, 2000). A deeper understanding ofconsumers’ selection criteria will provide ethnic restaurant operators withvaluable information and insights to attract and retain more consumers(Qu, 1997). However, there is only limited published research available onthe consumer decision-making process and restaurant choice behavior thatfocuses on the ethnic segment (Qu, 1997; Monteiro, 2000). This study usesthe consumer decision-making process as a framework and identifies thedecision factors that specifically influence consumers to select an upscaleethnic restaurant.

The focus on the upscale restaurant segment in the context of thisstudy is to standardize the factors to only those that apply to a full-service, higher-price, upscale dining establishment. The majority of upscaleethnic restaurants in New Zealand present their food with style and ina very nice atmosphere. Customers expect to pay a higher price fortheir meal, and people often dress up for dinner without feeling out ofplace. There is a pleasant dining atmosphere—the majority of customersbehave in a reserved manner. The restaurants are stand-alone establish-ments and they are not attached to pubs or other liquor outlets. Ethnicrestaurant foods are distinctive, and many of the owners are from the coun-try represented by the food. For example, if an upscale ethnic restaurantis “authentic Chinese,” it normally has Chinese owners and cooks, andthere are no New Zealand creations on the menu. Customers will notsee any blinking Christmas lights encircling the room. Instead, one maysee smooth, black lacquered furniture, high-quality teapots, chopsticks, andwaitstaff appropriately dressed. Fast-food, takeaway, and low-price ethnicrestaurants are not included in this research as these types of restaurantsnormally serve branded foods and focus on convenience, speed, and pricefactors.

The remainder of this article is organized as follows. The next sectionprovides a background of the study and the conceptual research model.The third section discusses the research methodology and data. The fourthsection discusses the empirical results, and the last section offers a discussionand conclusions.

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BACKGROUND

The Consumer Decision-Making Process

The consumer decision-making process is a five-stage decision processpioneered by Dewey (1910) as a paradigm to understand consumerpurchasing behavior toward goods. Dewey’s (1910) process was concep-tualized as problem recognition, search, evaluation of alternatives, choice,and outcome. Dewey’s decision-making framework viewed the consumeras an information processor, manipulating information through the variousstages of the decision process, and suggested that the process, at least the-oretically, applied to the full range of consumer decisions. The five-stagedecision process has more recently been conceptualized for services as prob-lem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase andconsumption, post-purchase evaluation (Zeithaml & Bitner, 2003).

The consumer decision-making process starts when consumers recog-nize that a need exists. The structure of human basic needs was proposedby Abraham Maslow as motivation theory, ranging in a hierarchical mannerin order of importance from least at the bottom to most at the top of thepyramid. These needs include physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem,and self-actualization needs (Maslow, 1970). Consumers view a need as aproblem and prepare to find a solution to solve the problem (Zeithaml &Bitner, 2003).

In a restaurant context, Finkelstein (1989) emphasizes that contemporaryrestaurant dining has as much to do with psychological desires as objectivedesires. Restaurant patrons associate their dining out with the presentationof social status and belongingness. Consumers want to be seen dining out inthe place that reflects their self-images and includes them as a part of socialtrends (Finkelstein, 1989).

Once the need is recognized, consumers usually search for informationabout a service that can fill their need. Consumers may seek informationfrom personal sources (e.g., friends or experts) and nonpersonal sources(e.g., mass or selective media) as a method to reduce the perceived risksthat are associated with purchasing services (Zeithaml, 1981).

Zeithaml (1981) notes that restaurant meals are considered to be highin experience qualities as a restaurant meal cannot normally be evaluatedprior to purchase. The risk in selecting a restaurant, therefore, is perceivedto be high. For this reason, consumers primarily rely on personal sourceslike word-of-mouth from friends as their source of information for restaurantattributes (Ladhari, Brun, & Morales, 2008; Sweeney, Johnson, & Armstrong1992).

Once consumers have obtained enough information, they tend to forman evoked set of alternatives. The evoked set of alternatives is the group ofoptions considered acceptable by a consumer in a given category of a prod-uct or service (Zeithaml, 1981). Consumers evaluate these alternatives byidentifying a bundle of attributes relating to their needs. Consumers attach

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different degrees of importance to each of the attributes and are likely tochoose the service provider that offers the attributes that are most impor-tant to them (Kotler, Bowen, & Makens, 1998). For example, one out oftwo restaurants offering comparable food and service may be selected onlybecause the restaurant offers a lower price or other extra attributes (Brookes,2004).

After comparing the alternatives in the evoked set, consumers finallydecide to make a purchase from their chosen service provider. In the caseof a restaurant choice, consumers make a decision to dine at a particularrestaurant. At this stage in the consumer decision process, the purchase andthe consumption of a restaurant service experience occurs simultaneously(Zeithaml & Bitner, 2003).

In post-purchase evaluation, consumers tend to evaluate an experiencesuch as dining at a restaurant by determining if their dining experiencehas met their expectations (Zeithaml & Bitner, 2003). The marketing liter-ature notes that satisfied consumers are likely to have favorable post-diningbehavioral intentions such as loyalty, recommendation, and willingness topay more (Ladhari et al., 2008).

The literature suggests the following factors may be linked to con-sumers’ decision-making between going to, and not going to, an upscaleethnic restaurant: service quality, food quality, dining experience, social sta-tus, marketing communications, religious food options, value for money, anddemographic characteristics (see Figure 1).

SERVICE QUALITY

Several studies on consumer behavior in a restaurant setting (e.g., Chow,Lau, Lo, Sha, & Yun, 2007; Johns & Pine, 2002; Sweeney et al., 1992) suggestthat service quality markedly influences consumers’ decisions on a restau-rant. For example, Sweeney, Johnson, & Amstrong (1992) investigated theinfluence of various cues on the perceptions of service quality for a restau-rant and noted that manner of staff is the most important cue consumersuse in selecting a restaurant. Consumers generally expect restaurant serviceemployees to be attentive and courteous, and to possess a good knowledgeof the menu (Heung, Wong, & Qu, 2000; Pratten, 2003; Sulek & Hensley,2004). In addition, waiting time (Sulek & Hensley, 2004) and billing accu-racy (Kelly & Carvell, 1987) can affect the perceived dining experience ofrestaurant consumers.

FOOD QUALITY

Food quality is clearly a fundamental element of a restaurant experience(Namkung & Jang, 2007; Sulek & Hensley, 2004). Sulek and Hensley (2004)investigated the relative importance of food quality, physical environment,and service quality in a full-service restaurant and found that food quality

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Binary Variable

Service Quality (+)

Food Quality (+)

Dining Experience (+)

MarketingCommunications (+)

Social Status (–)

Religious Food Options (+)

Value for Money (–)

Independent Variables

Choice ofUpscale Ethnic

Restaurant

Goer/ Non-goer

DemographicCharacteristics

(+/–)

FIGURE 1 The consumers’ upscale ethnic restaurant choice factors model.

is the most important determining factor of overall dining experience andrepeat patronage. Similarly, Auty (1992) and Kivela (1997) examined therestaurant selection factors for different restaurant types and dining occasionsand showed that food type and food quality are the most influential factors ofa restaurant selection, regardless of restaurant type or occasion. The elementsthat constitute food quality are unique tastes and ingredients, menu vari-ety, appearance and presentation, healthy food options, and familiar food.Unique food tastes and ingredients are particularly important in the caseof ethnic restaurant dining (Robinson, 2007). In addition, Sukalakamala andBoyce’s (2007) study showed that consumers of Thai restaurants considerunique tastes and authentic ingredients as the most important componentsin their authentic dining experience.

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DINING EXPERIENCE

Dining experience, in this study, includes different dining experiences, cul-tural learning, restaurant atmosphere, and authentic restaurant design. Thecomposition of these elements of a dining experience conforms to the uniqueaspects of an ethnic restaurant dining experience. Consumers go to an eth-nic restaurant not only for food and service but also for a different diningexperience and cultural experience (Tian, 2001; Turgeon & Pastinelli, 2002).Tian’s (2001) explanation is consistent with Sukalakamala and Boyce (2007),who suggested that authentic ethnic cuisines experience, cultural learning,and a different experience are among the main important influences on con-sumers’ perceptions of dining at ethnic restaurants. Restaurant design andatmosphere are also recognized as important aspects of a dining experience.The decoration in a restaurant, including furniture style, lighting, comfortableseating, paintings, and other facilities, can have an impact on how dinersperceive and rate a restaurant (Sloan, 2004). Ryu and Jang (2007) empir-ically found a positive relationship between restaurant facility aesthetics,which include restaurant décor, and the behavioral intentions of consumers,moderated by pleasure.

SOCIAL STATUS

The items that constitute social status in this study are social class, image, andbeverage preference. The constitution of this variable is unique to this study,which may be partly explained by the drinking culture of New Zealand.Many New Zealand diners associate drinking and dining out as being a partof their lifestyle. As Simpson (1999) commented, “New Zealand is a drinkingnation.” In addition, a study of the Christchurch and New Zealand dining-outmarkets by van Ameyde and Brodie (1984) pointed out that New Zealandpatrons dined out more frequently at licensed restaurants able to offer wine,beer, and spirits than unlicensed restaurants. Studies also suggest that dinersselect a restaurant based on the restaurant’s image, which is often associatedwith their social status (Cheng, 2006; Peters, 2005). An upscale restaurant, inparticular, is associated with esteem and status (Mill, 2007). Diners generallyfeel superior in a fine dining environment as they normally receive goodservice, and the ambience and style often suits their esteem need (Peters,2005).

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Marketing communications are used by service firms to inform, persuade,and remind consumers (Lovelock, Patterson, & Walker, 1998). The impor-tance of word-of-mouth for service firms has been well established in

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the marketing literature (Mangold, Miller, & Brockway, 1999). Marketingcommunications, including word-of-mouth, advertising, and promotion area significant factor influencing customer loyalty for international restaurantsin Saudi Arabia (Tunsi, 2000). According to Jackson, Titz, and DeFranco(2004), high-price restaurants benefit from coupon promotions to a greaterextent than lower-price restaurants. Jackson et al.’s (2004) finding suggeststhat consumers may also be motivated by promotions to select an upscaleethnic restaurant.

Positive publicity can create a positive image for a restaurant andthus may be used as another effective marketing communications tool(Miller, 1993). Robinson (2007) argued that the growth in interest and ris-ing demand for ethnic cuisines are partially attributed to the influenceof the media public perceptions. This contention implies that public-ity may be an additional influential factor of upscale ethnic restaurantchoice.

RELIGIOUS FOOD OPTIONS

Religious beliefs play an important role in food selection for consumers ofseveral religions groups (Asp, 1999; Dugan, 1994). For example, Muslims areforbidden to consume pork and are allowed to eat only the meat of animalsthat are slaughtered according to the halal rules of Islam. These religiousrequirements prevent these consumers from dining at restaurants that do notoffer halal food (Hassan & Hall, 2004). Therefore, the restaurants that offerfoods that are prepared according to religious beliefs may be likely to attractadditional segments of consumers (Dugan, 1994).

VALUE FOR MONEY

Restaurant consumers consider the value for money of a restaurant by com-paring what they get from the restaurant (e.g., food and service) and whatthey have to sacrifice by patronizing that restaurant (e.g., price) (Oh, 2000).In general, consumers recognize a good value for money when they perceivethat the quality of the products and service they receive are worth as muchas, or more than, the price they pay. Soriano (2002) and Oh (2000) identifyvalue for money as an important variable when consumers make a decisionon a restaurant. Muller and Woods (1994) asserted that restaurant consumersuse price as a measure for the quality of the restaurant and assume thatan expensive restaurant serves better food and offers better quality thanan inexpensive restaurant. Similarly, Sweeney et al. (1992) illustrated thatalthough a low price may increase the probability of choosing a particularrestaurant, a low price may also decrease consumer perceptions of restaurantquality.

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DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Demographic variations are used in numerous studies to differentiate themarket segments of consumers. For example, Olsen et al. (2000) report evi-dence of niche markets for ethnic restaurants based mainly on educationlevel, age, and income. The authors indicate that the likelihood of attendingethnic restaurants decreases with age (Olsen et al., 2000). Restaurant selec-tion behavior also varies according to gender (Mohsin, 2005); ethnic andcultural groups (Josiam & Monteiro, 2004); age groups (Auty, 1992; Kivela,1997; Mohsin, 2005); occupation (Kivela, 1997); income (Auty, 1992); andbenefit seeking behavior (Yüksel & Yüksel, 2002). The common demo-graphic characteristics in ethnic restaurants patronage behavior are thewell-educated and high-income groups (Turgeon & Pastinelli, 2002).

METHODOLOGY AND DATA

For many commodities and services, the individual’s choice is discrete, andthe traditional demand theory has to be modified to analyze such a choice(Ben-Akiva & Lerman, 1985). Let Ui

(yi, wi, zi

)be the utility function of con-

sumer i, where yi is a dichotomous variable indicating whether the individualhas dined at an upscale ethnic restaurant, wi is the wealth of the consumer,and zi is a vector of the consumer’s characteristics. Also, let c be the averagecost of dining at an upscale ethnic restaurant, then economic theory positsthat the consumer is satisfied with dining at an upscale ethnic restaurant if

Ui

(yi = 1, wi − c, zi

) ≥ Ui

(yi = 0, wi, zi

)(1)

Even though the consumer’s decision is straightforward, the analyst doesnot have sufficient information to determine whether the individual is sat-isfied dining at an upscale ethnic restaurant. Instead, the analyst is able toobserve the consumer’s characteristics and choice, using them to estimatethe relationship between them. Let xi be a vector is of the consumer’s char-acteristics and wealth, xi = (wi, zi) and then equation (1) can be formulatedas an ex-post model given by:

yi = f(xi) + εi (2)

where εi is the random term. If the random term is assumed to have a logis-tic distribution, then the above represents the standard binary logit model.However, if it is assumed that the random term is normally distributed, thenthe model becomes the binary probit model (Ben-Akiva & Lerman, 1985;Maddala, 1993).

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The decision to dine at an upscale ethnic restaurant in New Zealand ishypothesized to be a function of seven variables and demographic charac-teristics. The variables are service quality, food quality, dining experience,social status, marketing communications, religious food options, and valuefor money. The demographic characteristics include gender, age, ethnicity,qualification, occupation, household composition, and household income.A logit model was used to analyze the data in this study because of conve-nience (Maddala, 1993). The proposed empirical model can be written underthe general form:

UETNRCH = f (SQ, FQ, DE, ST, MC, RF, VM, GEN, AGE, ETH,

QUA, OCC, HC, HI, ε)(1)

where:UETNRCH = 1 if the respondent is an upscale ethnic restaurant goer; 0

otherwiseSQ (+) = Service QualityFQ (+) = Food QualityDE (+) = Dining ExperienceST (−) = Social StatusMC (+) = Marketing CommunicationsRF (+) = Religious Food OptionsVM (−) = Value for Money

Demographic Characteristics:GEN (+/−) = Dummy variables for gender; 1 if respondent is a male;

0 otherwise

AGE (+/−) = Dummy variables for age groupAge group 1; 1 if respondent is between 18 to 35 years

old; 0 otherwiseAge group 2; 1 if respondent is between 36 to 55 years

old; 0 otherwiseAge group 3; 1 if respondent is 56 years old and over;

0 otherwise

ETH (+/−) = Dummy variables for ethnicityEthnicity 1; 1 if respondent is New Zealand European;

0 otherwise

QUA (+/−) = Dummy variables for qualification

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Qualification 1; 1 if respondent completed low-level qual-ification (up to high school certificate, seventh formcertificate); 0 otherwise

Qualification 2; 1 if respondent completed medium-levelqualification (diploma, trade qualification); 0 otherwise

Qualification 3; 1 if respondent completed high-levelqualification (bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree);0 otherwise

OCC (+/−) = Dummy variables for occupationOccupation 1; 1 if respondent is white-collar (pro-

fessional, tradesperson, clerical, sales/service, self-employed, management); 0 otherwise

Occupation 2; 1 if respondent is retired; 0 otherwise

HC (+/−) = Dummy variables for household compositionHousehold composition 1; 1 if respondent’s household

composition is couple without children at home (mar-ried without children at home, partner without childrenat home); 0 otherwise

Household composition 2; 1 if respondent’s householdcomposition is couple with child(ren) at home [marriedwith child(ren) at home, partner with child(ren) athome]; 0 otherwise

Household composition 3; 1 if respondent’s householdcomposition is others (single-person household, single-parent family, living with flatmate, living with parents,other); 0 otherwise

HI (+/−) = Dummy variables for household incomeHousehold income 1; 1 if respondent has low-level

income (under $25,000–$49,999); 0 otherwiseHousehold income 2; 1 if respondent has middle-level

income ($50,000–$ 99,999); 0 otherwiseHousehold income 3; 1 if respondent has high-level

income ($100,000 and over); 0 otherwise

ε = Error term

The discrete dependent variable, UETNRCH, measures a choice of an upscaleethnic restaurant. The dependent variable is based on the question asked inthe mail survey: “Have you dined at an upscale ethnic restaurant in thepast twelve months?” The independent variables include service quality,food quality, dining experience, social status, marketing communications,

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religious food options, and value for money. The demographic characteristicsare: gender, age, ethnicity, qualification, occupation, household composition,and household income.

The data used in the analysis of this study was obtained through amail survey to 1,300 households in Christchurch, New Zealand. Names andaddresses for the survey were randomly selected from the 2006 New Zealandcensus. A total of 402 useable surveys were returned from the initial mailingwithin 15 days, representing a useable response rate of 30.9%. The ques-tionnaire gathered information on consumers’ perceptions of their restaurantchoice. The mail survey was designed and implemented according to theDillman Total Design Method (1978), which has proven to result in improvedresponse rates and data quality.

In order to help develop a suitable questionnaire, two focus groupswere conducted consisting of six participants, 18 years and older. The par-ticipants had either dined or not dined at an upscale ethnic restaurant in thepast 12 months. The participants were asked to identify the factors that influ-enced their decision to dine/not dine at an upscale ethnic restaurant. Theparticipants were encouraged to discuss any factors they considered impor-tant, and also to comment on any factors mentioned by other participants.Subsequently, the participants were asked to determine the factors that weremost important to them when choosing an upscale ethnic restaurant.

The questionnaire was designed specifically for this study and useda variety of measures. The questions were phrased in the form of state-ments scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree (1) tostrongly disagree (7). For several of the questions, the scales were reversedcoded as the items were posed in a negative manner. Demographic itemswere measured by asking respondents to tick the box that best describedthemselves.

All items in the questionnaire were inspected by two experts in hos-pitality marketing and two expert practitioners in the restaurant industry inorder to ensure they were an adequate and thorough representation of theconstructs under investigation. A pre-test of the questionnaire was also con-ducted to assess the reliability of the items used in the survey. The purposeof the pre-test was to obtain feedback from customers and restaurateurs totest the readability, comprehensibility, wording, order effects, and any ambi-guity of the questions. Following this process, some minor changes weremade to the survey questions.

EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Descriptive Statistics of Respondents

Table 1 presents the profile of the respondents. From the total of 402 usablequestionnaires, 80.8% (325) of respondents had dined at an upscale ethnic

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4310

.743

13.2

N/A

N/A

2–3

times

am

onth

133.

213

4.0

N/A

N/A

more

than

3tim

esa

month

102.

510

3.1

N/A

N/A

Tota

l32

580

.832

510

0.0

N/A

N/A

Mis

sing

N/A

7719

.20

0.0

N/A

N/A

Tota

l40

210

0.0

325

100.

0N

/A

N/A

Din

ing

Occ

asio

nVal

idN

orm

aldin

ing

out

103

25.6

103

31.7

N/A

N/A

Busi

nes

s-or

Work

-rel

ated

123.

012

3.7

N/A

N/A

Gat

her

ing

with

frie

nds/

fam

ily13

433

.313

441

.2N

/A

N/A

Spec

ialocc

asio

n&

cele

bra

tion

6917

.269

21.2

N/A

N/A

Dat

ing/

Intim

ate

din

ing

71.

77

2.2

N/A

N/A

Tota

l32

580

.832

510

0.0

N/A

N/A

Mis

sing

N/A

7719

.20

0.0

N/A

N/A

Tota

l40

210

0.0

325

100.

0N

/A

N/A

Gen

der

Val

idM

ale

189

47.0

151

46.5

3849

.4Fe

mal

e21

353

.017

453

.539

50.6

Tota

l40

210

0.0

325

100.

077

100.

0

(Con

tin

ued

)

425

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TAB

LE1

(Con

tin

ued

)

Tota

lRes

ponden

tsU

psc

ale

Eth

nic

Res

taura

nt

Goer

sU

psc

ale

Eth

nic

Res

taura

nt

Non-g

oer

s

Var

iable

sN

Freq

uen

cy(N

o.

ofre

sponden

tsper

optio

n)

%

Freq

uen

cy(N

o.

ofre

sponden

tsper

optio

n)

%

Freq

uen

cy(N

o.

ofre

sponden

tsper

optio

n)

%

Age

Val

id18

–25

102.

59

2.8

11.

326

–35

4010

.031

9.5

911

.736

–45

6816

.963

19.4

56.

546

–55

9924

.683

25.5

1620

.856

–65

9924

.682

25.2

1722

.166

+86

21.4

5717

.529

37.7

Tota

l40

210

0.0

325

100.

077

100.

0

Eth

nic

ityVal

idN

ZEuro

pea

n32

981

.826

882

.561

79.2

NZ

Mao

ri13

3.2

72.

26

7.8

Pac

ific

Isla

nder

30.

72

0.6

11.

3Euro

pea

n21

5.2

185.

53

3.9

Asi

an22

5.5

195.

83

3.9

Aust

ralia

n3

0.7

30.

90

0.0

North

Am

eric

an7

1.7

61.

81

1.3

Oth

er4

1.0

20.

62

2.6

Tota

l40

210

0.0

325

100.

077

100.

0

Qual

ifica

tion

Val

idU

pto

hig

hsc

hoolce

rtifi

cate

7919

.760

18.5

1924

.7Se

venth

form

certifi

cate

4711

.734

10.5

1316

.9D

iplo

ma

8220

.469

21.2

1316

.9Tra

de

qual

ifica

tion

5313

.241

12.6

1215

.6B

achel

or’s

deg

ree

6516

.256

17.2

911

.7Post

grad

uat

edeg

ree

6716

.757

17.5

1013

.0O

ther

41.

03

0.9

11.

3To

tal

397

98.8

320

98.5

7710

0.0

Mis

sing

−999

51.

25

1.5

00.

0To

tal

402

100.

032

510

0.0

7710

0.0

426

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ded

by [

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ute

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re]

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201

4

Occ

upat

ion

Val

idPro

fess

ional

112

27.9

9930

.513

16.9

Tra

des

per

son

143.

511

3.4

33.

9St

uden

t20

5.0

144.

36

7.8

Cle

rica

l28

7.0

247.

44

5.2

Labore

r4

1.0

30.

91

1.3

Sale

s/Se

rvic

e23

5.7

195.

84

5.2

Unem

plo

yed

133.

212

3.7

11.

3Se

lf-e

mplo

yed

6115

.250

15.4

1114

.3M

anag

emen

t38

9.5

3310

.25

6.5

Ret

ired

7919

.752

16.0

2735

.1Com

munity

work

er4

1.0

30.

91

1.3

Oth

er4

1.0

30.

91

1.3

Tota

l40

099

.532

399

.477

100.

0M

issi

ng

−999

20.

52

0.6

00.

0To

tal

402

100.

032

510

0.0

7710

0.0

House

hold

Com

posi

tion

Val

idM

arried

with

outch

ildre

nat

hom

e16

240

.312

237

.540

51.9

Mar

ried

with

child

(ren

)at

hom

e12

531

.111

033

.815

19.5

Par

tner

with

outch

ildre

nat

hom

e33

8.2

288.

65

6.5

Par

tner

with

child

(ren

)at

hom

e7

1.7

61.

81

1.3

Singl

e-per

son

house

hold

5012

.441

12.6

911

.7Si

ngl

e-par

entfa

mily

153.

711

3.4

45.

2Li

ving

with

flat

mat

e(s)

61.

53

0.9

33.

9Li

ving

with

par

ents

20.

52

0.6

00.

0O

ther

10.

21

0.3

00.

0To

tal

401

99.8

324

99.7

7710

0.0

(Con

tin

ued

)

427

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4

TAB

LE1

(Con

tin

ued

)

Tota

lRes

ponden

tsU

psc

ale

Eth

nic

Res

taura

nt

Goer

sU

psc

ale

Eth

nic

Res

taura

nt

Non-g

oer

s

Var

iable

sN

Freq

uen

cy(N

o.

ofre

sponden

tsper

optio

n)

%

Freq

uen

cy(N

o.

ofre

sponden

tsper

optio

n)

%

Freq

uen

cy(N

o.

ofre

sponden

tsper

optio

n)

%

Mis

sing

−999

10.

21

0.3

00.

0To

tal

402

100.

032

510

0.0

7710

0.0

House

hold

Inco

me

Val

idU

nder

$25,

000

317.

719

5.8

1215

.6$2

5,00

0–49

,999

8721

.661

18.8

2633

.8$5

0,00

0–74

,999

8821

.976

23.4

1215

.6$7

5,00

0–99

,999

6415

.953

16.3

1114

.3$1

00,0

00–1

24,9

9943

10.7

3912

.04

5.2

$125

,000

–149

,999

369.

031

9.5

56.

5$1

50,0

00–1

74,9

999

2.2

72.

22

2.6

$175

,000

–199

,999

112.

711

3.4

00.

0$2

00,0

00+

194.

719

5.8

00.

0To

tal

388

96.5

316

97.2

7293

.5M

issi

ng

−999

143.

59

2.8

56.

5To

tal

402

100.

032

510

0.0

7710

0.0

428

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restaurant in the past 12 months, whereas 19.2% (77) of the respondentshad not dined at one. Among the upscale ethnic restaurant goers, 42.2%(137) dined out at an upscale ethnic restaurant three to six times a year, 24.6%(80) once or twice a year, 13.2% (43) once a month, 12.9% (42) seven toeleven times a year, 4% (13) two to three times a month, and 3.1% (10) morethan three times a month. The main dining occasion was gathering withfriends/family, which accounted for 41.2% (134), followed by normal diningout at 31.7% (103). Other occasions of dining at an upscale ethnic restaurantincluded special occasion and celebration at 21.2% (69), business- or work-related at 3.7% (12), and dating/intimate dining at 2.2% (7).

The salient aspects of the demographic characteristics of the sampleare as follows. The total sample respondents consisted of 53% females and47% males. The dominant age groups were 46 to 55 years (24.6%) and56 to 65 years (24.6%). New Zealand European made up the major ethnicgroup, accounting for 81.8% of the respondents, and 20.4% and 19.7% of therespondents reported their highest qualification as diploma and up to highschool certificate levels, respectively. The dominant groups of the respon-dents worked as professionals (27.9%) and were married without childrenat home (40.3%). The dominant annual household income levels included$50,000 to $74,999 (21.9%) and $25,000 to $49,999 (21.6%).

Empirical Analysis

Due to the limited number of empirical studies on ethnic restaurant choicefactors, exploratory factor analysis was used to validate the decision factorscompiled from the focus group discussions and the literature review. Thetest results satisfied all the requirements of factor analysis. Principal compo-nents factor analysis was conducted on all of the 33 items representing therestaurant choice factors.

A varimax and oblimin factor rotation was performed on the data setand produced a similar structure of factor loadings. However, the varimaxrotation produced a better structure in terms of content validity of the factors.Therefore, the final factor structure was based on the factor loadings fromthe varimax rotation.

The items used to measure each construct were tested for reliabilityby using a Cronbach’s coefficient alpha value of 0.60 as the cut-off point.A value of 0.60 or more indicates satisfactory internal consistency reliabilityin exploratory studies (Churchill, 1979). The scores of the items (questions)representing each construct were totaled, and a mean score was calculatedfor each construct (see Table 2). Using these means, together with the demo-graphic characteristics, the logit equation was estimated via LIMDEP.

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TABLE 2 The Reliability Test for the Upscale Ethnic Restaurant

Constructs ItemsCronbach’s

alpha

Service Quality 22. An upscale ethnic restaurant has attentive staffthat pay attention to my personal needs.

20. Restaurant service staff at an upscale ethnicrestaurant are competent and have a goodknowledge of the menu.

15. The service staff at an upscale ethnic restaurantare polite and have good interpersonal skills.

0.901

18. An upscale ethnic restaurant provides a promptservice and does not keep me waiting for a longtime.

16. An upscale ethnic restaurant has a well-allocatedseating order.

21. An upscale ethnic restaurant charges meaccurately.

14. The invoices at an upscale ethnic restaurant areaccurate.

Food Quality 7. The food served at an upscale ethnic restaurant ismade of authentic ingredients and has uniquetaste of the cuisine.

9. I go to an upscale ethnic restaurant because thereis a wide variety of food on the menu.

3. An upscale ethnic restaurant offers severalinteresting food choices on the menu.

0.824

5. The food served at an upscale ethnic restaurant isnicely presented.

11. I like the appearance of the food at an upscaleethnic restaurant.

6. The food served at an upscale ethnic restaurant ishealthy.

4. I like how an upscale ethnic restaurant offersnutritious food choices.

DiningExperience

19. The atmosphere in an upscale ethnic restaurantinfluences my decision when selecting arestaurant.

17. The authentic design of an upscale ethnicrestaurant is important.

25. I go to an upscale ethnic restaurant because itoffers me a unique experience.

0.802

35. I go to an upscale ethnic restaurant when I wantto try a different dining experience.

28. Going to an upscale ethnic restaurant is a greatway to experience a different culture.

34. The cultural experience I get from dining at anupscale ethnic restaurant gives me the impressionthat I am in that particular country.

Social Status 31. I go to an upscale ethnic restaurant because it ispatronized by people of a similar class to mine.

37. I choose an upscale ethnic restaurant whoseimage reflects my self-image.

0.711

29. An upscale ethnic restaurant offers a wideassortment of beverages.

24. I go to an upscale ethnic restaurant that sells thebeverages that I normally drink.

(Continued)

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TABLE 2 (Continued)

Constructs ItemsCronbach’s

alpha

MarketingCommunications

23. When my friends/family recommend an upscaleethnic restaurant to me, I try it.

30. I go to an upscale ethnic restaurant because myfriends/family like to go there.

32. I choose an upscale ethnic restaurant that I haveheard about through advertising.

0.636

26. I choose an upscale ethnic restaurant where I canget a discount (e.g., from vouchers, loyalty card).

36. Positive comments about an upscale ethnicrestaurant from publicity encourage me to dine atone.

Religious Food 10. I go to an upscale ethnic restaurant that servesfood that is in accordance with my religiousbeliefs.

0.870

2. An upscale ethnic restaurant offers food choicesthat are prepared according to the requirementsof my religion.

Value for Money 33. I get good value for the amount of money I paywhen dining at an upscale ethnic restaurant.

0.786

27. I am satisfied with the price I pay for a meal at anupscale ethnic restaurant.

Empirical estimates of the logit model via maximum likelihood assurelarge sample properties of consistency, efficiency, normality of the parameterestimates, and validity of the t-test of significance. The estimated results arepresented in Table 3. In general, the model fitted the data quite well. Thechi-square test strongly rejected the hypothesis of no explanatory power, andthe model correctly predicted 79% of the observations. Furthermore, SQ, FQ,DE, SS, and VM are statistically significant, and the signs on the parameterestimates support the proposed relationships discussed earlier.

The estimated coefficients indicate that Service Quality, Food Quality,and Dining Experience positively influence a decision to dine at an upscaleethnic restaurant. Social Status and Value for Money were found to negativelyaffect the probability of dinning at an upscale ethnic restaurant. However,Religious Food Options, Marketing Communications, and the demographicvariables do not to influence the respondents’ decision to dine at an upscaleethnic restaurant.

The marginal effect for each of the estimated coefficients in the modelwas calculated to determine the most important factors influencing the deci-sion to dine at an upscale ethnic restaurant. The results of the marginal effectshows that Dining Experience is the most important factor that influencesconsumers’ choice of an upscale ethnic restaurant when compared to all ofthe marginal effects for the other factors listed in Figure 1. The marginal effectof Dining Experience indicates that a unit increase in Dining Experience

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TAB

LE3

Est

imat

ion

Res

ults

Num

ber

ofobse

rvat

ions:

402

Log

likel

ihood

funct

ion:

−11.

5018

4Res

tric

ted

log

likel

ihood:

−196

.357

5Chi-sq

uar

edst

atis

tics:

369.

7114

Deg

rees

offr

eedom

:14

Sign

ifica

nce

leve

l:0.

000

%Pre

dic

ted

righ

t:79

Coef

fici

ents

Std.er

ror

t-st

atis

tics

Mar

ginal

effe

cts

Const

ant

−13.

2776

8519

5.53

1600

5−2

.400

−.10

7781

6115

E-0

2SQ

3.42

4252

340

1.18

4366

72.

891∗

.277

9636

889E

-03(

2)R

FQ2.

7817

2821

51.

0245

082

2.71

5∗.2

2580

6792

0E-0

3(3)

R

DE

5.26

9130

527

2.38

1363

62.

213∗

.427

7216

785E

-03(

1)R

SS−4

.867

6765

722.

2204

362

−2.1

92∗

−.39

5133

6531

E-0

3(4)

R

MC

−.35

4738

4479

.982

6166

3−.

361

−.28

7958

9404

E-0

4RF

.118

1414

503

.468

0512

3.2

52−.

9681

4786

93E-0

4(5)

R

VM

−1.8

2940

2087

.898

3494

6−2

.036

∗−.

1485

0171

71E-0

3A

geG

roup

2−2

.948

3065

422.

5701

462

−1.1

47−.

2617

5793

19E-0

3A

geG

roup

3−.

6634

1886

062.

2589

143

−.29

4−.

5341

6573

61E-0

4O

ccupat

ion

1−.

2693

6622

18E-0

1.8

8363

472

−.03

0−.

2186

5803

46E-0

5O

ccupat

ion

236

5430

5825

E-0

1.8

8419

161

.041

.296

6382

809E

-05

House

hold

inco

me

1.5

1458

6901

7.9

0339

814

.570

.417

7159

252E

-04

House

hold

inco

me

3−.

5197

8000

28.9

0348

575

−.57

5−.

4219

3142

51E-0

4

Not

e:∗ d

enote

sst

atis

tical

lysi

gnifi

cantat

0.05

leve

lofsi

gnifi

cance

.Rden

ote

sra

nki

ng

ofm

argi

nal

effe

cts.

Rden

ote

sra

nki

ng

ofm

argi

nal

effe

cts.

432

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results in an estimated 0.043% increase in the probability of choosing anupscale ethnic restaurant.

Service Quality has the second highest impact on an upscale ethnicrestaurant dining decision, with an estimated 0.028% probability that con-sumers will choose an upscale ethnic restaurant. Furthermore, a unit increasein Food Quality also results in an estimated 0.023% probability of selecting anupscale ethnic restaurant. The results for Social Status suggest a unit decreasein Social Status results in an estimated 0.040% probability that consumers inthe goer group will choose to be in the non-goer group, or choose not todine at an upscale ethnic restaurant.

The marginal effect of Value for Money suggests that a unit decrease inValue for Money leads to an estimated 0.015% of probability that consumersin the goer group will choose to be in the non-goer group, or choose not todine at an upscale ethnic restaurant. Value for Money ranks as the fifth mostimportant factor that influences an upscale ethnic restaurant choice.

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, FUTURE RESEARCH

The findings of this research confirm positive relationships between ServiceQuality, Food Quality, Dining Experience, and dining at an upscale eth-nic restaurant. The findings are consistent with Chow et al. (2007), Soriano(2002), Kivela et al. (2000), Namkung and Jang (2007), Tian (2001),Sukalamala and Boyce (2007), and Sulek and Hensley (2004). The nega-tive relationship between Social Status and Value for Money and dining at anupscale ethnic restaurant also support the findings of Cheng (2006), Peters(2005), Myung, McCool, and Feinstein (2008), and Soriano (2002).

Dining experience, in the context of this study, includes different diningexperiences, cultural learning, restaurant atmosphere, and authentic restau-rant design. These factors can be controlled, to a large extent, by restaurantmanagement. Ethnic restaurants have the advantage of offering exotic din-ing experiences that can satisfy consumers who want to escape from theirordinary routines (Kim, 2000). For example, ethnic restaurant operators candesign their restaurants to reflect and maintain an ethnic authenticity in orderto give diners the impression that they have been exposed to a different din-ing experience. The incorporation of traditional artwork, music, staff dress,and/or other ethnic features is a way to communicate ethnic and culturalidentity. These features of the physical environment may also provide theadditional benefit of making diners feel as if they were transformed into anexotic land.

Service quality in this study includes service staff behavior, waiting time,and accuracy of billing. Restaurant employees that are well trained, have agood knowledge of the menu, and possess excellent interpersonal skills arevital for customers forming favorable perceptions of their restaurant diningexperience (Pratten, 2003; Sulek & Hensley, 2004). Therefore, restaurateurs

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should place a strong emphasis on staff training to ensure they have a ser-vice mindset and are willing to deliver a high-quality service. Good servicealso depends on waitstaff having a thorough knowledge of the ethnic menuitems so they are able to clarify any unfamiliar menu items or ingredients forconsumers. Restaurateurs also need to supply a sufficient number of staff toensure prompt and efficient service, especially during peak times, and man-agement must have an effective reservation system to reduce waiting times.An accurate check is among the most critical service-related factors that din-ers use in their evaluation of dining experience (Heung et al., 2000; Kelly& Carvell, 1987). The staff that are responsible for billing should be trainedto provide their customers with an accurate invoice, thoroughly checkedfor correct orders and prices. Management should be cognizant of theseobjectives and establish, maintain, and review staff performance guidelinesaccordingly.

The results of this study indicate that ethnic restaurant patrons selectrestaurants that prepare tasty dishes with high-quality, fresh ingredients andappealing presentation. Patrons also prefer a variety of choices on the menu,including healthy food options. Ethnic restaurants have the advantage ofoffering exotic dishes with distinctive flavors, as opposed to the conven-tional restaurants that serve dishes that usually can be prepared at home(Robinson, 2007). The ethnic restaurateurs should emphasize their usageof authentic ingredients on the menu. However, these ingredients need tobe described clearly (e.g., written on the menu or verbally conveyed bythe waitstaff), so that consumers do not avoid trying ethnic meals they arenot familiar with. Additionally, to meet the current trends and demand of ahealthy lifestyle, ethnic restaurants should offer healthy food choices suchas vegetarian, gluten-free, and/or low-fat meals. Ethnic restaurants can alsooffer special dishes and change the specials regularly to satisfy adventurousdiners who enjoy trying new flavors.

The findings for Social Status as an influential factor are consistent withthe studies of Peters (2005) and Cheng (2006), who highlighted that restau-rant patrons associated dining out with social status and esteem. Restaurantmanagement can opt for a trendy and classy image to attract those con-sumers who are concerned about their personal image when dining out.For example, a restaurant that has stylish furnishings and interior design,professional-looking waitstaff, and quality tableware may attract diners whoare looking for a fine dining environment that can boost their self-esteem.Furthermore, the restaurant should offer a wide range of beverages as manydiners view drinking as an important part of their dining-out experience.An extensive wine list, especially one that includes mid- to higher-rangevintages, is another feature restaurants can use to attract classy and sophis-ticated consumers who seek extraordinary dining choices. Ethnic restaurantsmay also offer imported drinks to attract consumers who look for specialtybeverages that are not commonly found in conventional restaurants in orderto add an additional level of exclusivity to the dining experience.

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Furthermore, upscale ethnic restaurant management needs to ensureconsumers perceive that they have received a good value from dining at theirrestaurants, and remember that it is not just the price of the meal that reflectsvalue (Mill, 2007). Indeed, upscale restaurant goers are likely to perceivevalue for money from the combination of other offerings such as specialtymeals, a high level of service quality, and a pleasant atmosphere (Oh, 2000).Upscale restaurant management needs to be aware of how important it is thatconsumers perceive a pleasurable experience that meets their expectations.For example, consumers should be accommodated for their special needs,such as food allergies and the preferred level of spiciness. In addition, anyservice-related or food-related defects should be resolved promptly and withcare, as dissatisfied customers are likely to spread negative word-of-mouth(Mangold et al., 1999; Susskind, 2002).

As this study focuses solely on upscale ethnic restaurants, the resultsmay not be directly applicable to those restaurants not offering ethnic food.Consumers may consider different factors when choosing to go or not go toa non-ethnic restaurant, and the factors may vary in importance from thosein the current study. The sample was drawn in New Zealand, and consumersresiding in a different demographic region may have different perceptions ofthe factors (and their importance) that influence their restaurant decisions.

Future researchers could use the information derived from this studyto help determine the choice factors for other restaurant types. In addition,future researchers could undertake a comparative study between differentcultures to test for any cultural influences on the ethnic restaurant choice fac-tors. Moreover, as the food-service industry is dynamic, the ethnic restaurantchoice factors may vary in degree and importance over time. A longitudinalstudy could capture any changes than have occurred in the choice factors.

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choice of upscale ethnic restaurants

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