A Dining Career Ladder: Customers’ Motivation of Visiting Internet-Famous Restaurants

ABSTRACT

Customers visiting internet-famous restaurants enjoy unique dining experiences. However, few studies have explored customers’ motivation for visiting internet-famous restaurants. Integrating different motivational theories, this study proposes a dining career ladder to conceptualize customers’ initial motivations to visit internet-famous restaurants, and their (un)varying motivations when they gain increasing experience. With reflections from 27 participants, we found that dining career ladder consists of four levels, from the primary level of physiological needs (dine out and relaxation, gourmet food), to stimulation and novelty (curiosity and novelty seeking, effect of unique atmospherics, and restaurant online reputation), belongingness and socialization (social occasions and bandwagon effect), and self-esteem and recognition (fear of missing out). Customers have multidimensional motivations for going to restaurants initially, but they show a descending pattern of motivations moving from higher level of needs to lower levels by concentrating on physiological needs when they accumulate negative experiences. Dining companions play a role in customers’ motivations to visit internet-famous restaurants.

摘要

光顾网红餐厅的顾客可以享受到独特的用餐体验。然而，很少有研究探讨顾客去网红餐厅的动机。结合不同的动机理论，本研究提出了一个用餐生涯阶梯的概念来概括顾客访问网红餐厅的初始动机，以及当他们获得越来越多的体验时，他们的动机变化（或不变）。通过对27名参与者的用餐反馈调查，我们发现用餐生涯阶梯由四个层次组成，从生理需求的初级层次(外出就餐和放松，美食)到刺激和新奇层次(好奇心和求新，独特氛围的影响，餐厅的网络声誉)，归属感和社会化层次(社交场合和从众效应)，自尊和认可层次(害怕错过)。顾客去餐厅的动机起初是多维度的，但当他们累积过多负面体验时，他们的动机表现出从高层次需求到低层次的下降模式的转变，而最终主要集中在生理需求上。顾客同伴在顾客去网红餐厅的动机上有一定的作用。

KEYWORDS:

• Dining experience
• motivation
• internet-famous restaurant
• dining career ladder
• consumer experience

关键词:

• 用餐体验
• 动机
• 网红餐厅
• 用餐生涯阶梯
• 顾客体验

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Macao University for Tourism Research Fund (grant number 309/DP/2021).

Notes on contributors

Zhaoyu Chen

Zhaoyu Chen is Lecturer in Faculty of Creative Tourism and Intelligent Technologies at the Macao University of Tourism, Macao SAR, China. Her research interests include cultural tourism, heritage conservation, event studies and destination marketing (E-mail: [email protected]).

Irene Cheng Chu Chan

Irene Cheng Chu Chan is Lecturer in Faculty of Innovative Hospitality Management/Faculty of Creative Tourism and Intelligent Technologies at the Macao University of Tourism, Macao SAR, China. Her research interests include social media communication, technology management, and hospitality management (E-mail: [email protected]).