Consumers' Choice Factors of an Upscale Ethnic Restaurant

Abstract

The demand for ethnic foods has increased worldwide, due to the influences of ethnic diversity, globally sourced food, cultural experiences, and media exposure. Despite the importance of restaurant choice criteria and a growth in the popularity of ethnic foods, published research on consumers' restaurant selection behavior that focuses on the ethnic restaurant segment is sparse. This research aims to fill this gap in the literature by empirically identifying the factors (and their relative importance) that influence consumers to dine at an upscale ethnic restaurant.

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

Keywords:

• upscale ethnic restaurant
• ethnic foods
• food-service industry

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Zhaohua Li, Lincoln University, for her valued advice.