Food safety risk for restaurant management: use of restaurant health inspection report to predict consumers’ behavioral intention

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of inspection reports on consumers’ restaurant selection behavior. This study used scenario approach questionnaires to generate protection motivation in participants. The protection motivation theory (PMT) was employed to measure positive relationships between PMT variables: vulnerability, severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and protection motivation. Results suggest respondents’ vulnerability, severity, response efficacy, and self-efficacy positively influence their protection motivation. Results also showed that protection motivation was positively related to behavioral intention to dine at a restaurant that has good food safety practices. Findings of this study contribute to the current literature by indicating PMT is useful in explaining the impact of health code violations on consumers’ choices of where to eat.

Keywords:

• Restaurant
• consumer behavioral intention
• protection motivation
• food safety risk
• inspection reports

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.