Dine and Dash: An Exploratory Application of Three Criminological Theories

ABSTRACT

In this exploratory study, we tested the relevance of social learning, rational choice, and social control theories as explanations of “dining and dashing,” an act that has substantial financial implications for the restaurant industry yet one that has received almost no empirical attention. Dine and dash is defined as people using a food and/or beverage service that is expected to be paid for and leaving the premises with no intention of returning to pay. Using a survey sample of 358 undergraduate and graduate students from a Canadian university, we found partial support for social learning and rational choice theories. Individuals who knew someone else who had dined and dashed were more likely to dine and dash themselves (social learning theory) (OR = 17.85, p < .001). When a person thought they would suffer consequences (e.g., paying a fine), they were less likely to dine and dash (rational choice theory) (OR = 0.76, p < .001). Those who considered the benefits of dining and dashing were more likely to dine and dash (OR = 1.24, p < .01). No variables drawn from social control theory were related to dining and dashing.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Jennifer Schulenberg, Dr. Vanessa Iafolla, Dr. Kate Henne, Dr. Martin Cooke, and Dr. Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme for providing comments during the research process.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest related to this research.

Notes

¹ Searches of Google Scholar, Sage Journals, JSTOR, Proquest, and Scopus databases using the terms “dine and dash,” “dining and dashing,” “unpaid restaurant bills,” “restaurant theft,” “dine and ditch,” “food fraud,” and “eat and run” on January 19, 2020 turned up no relevant articles.

² This exceeded the minimum number of imputations suggested by the process outlined in von Hippel (2018).

³ Definitions were included in the analysis under SCT (as ‘beliefs’) and not SLT. This was due to the major theoretical overlap with the belief element of SCT.

⁴ Due to theoretical overlap, the benefits variable from rational choice theory and the reinforcement variable from social learning theory have some survey items in common. However, these measures never appeared in the same regression model together.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was directly associated with this research.

Notes on contributors

Ashley L. Ryan

Ashley L. Ryan is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on peer influence and offending.

Owen Gallupe

Owen Gallupe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses mainly on peer influence, social networks, and offending. His recent work has been published in venues such as the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, and Justice Quarterly.