Food neophilics' choice of an ethnic restaurant: The moderating role of authenticity.

Abstract

This study attempts to identify the salient factors affected by food neophilia and its interaction with demand authenticity in the choice of an ethnic restaurant. By undertaking a series of multivariate and univariate analyses between these two predictors and five key dining attributes: food quality, service quality, FLEs attitude, atmosphere, and price, it is revealed that restaurant customers consider different factors in their buying decision process, depending on individuals' food neophilia level, needs for authenticity, and demographic characteristics. The results show that authentic quality of food, authentic atmosphere, friendly and prompt service encounters are the most important factors. The findings further suggest that price sensitivity is higher in the market with a low to moderate need for authenticity. Cultural backgrounds, on the other hand, seem to influence how customers embrace roles and professional skills of the frontline staff rather than customer-employee relationship. Given the lack of research in examining food neophilia in the ethnic restaurant selection empirically, this study allows a better understanding of this market segment which contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of food consumption and preferences as well as offers useful insights for ethnic restaurant businesses.