Use of Menu Design Techniques: Evidences from Menu Cards of Restaurants in Alanya

Abstract

This study aims at identifying the existence of menu design techniques in actual menu cards, and to question whether use of those techniques is intentional. In total, 86 menu cards were collected from restaurants located in Alanya which is a tourist resort in Antalya, Turkey. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed. First, content analysis was utilized to categorize the qualitative data, and second logistic regression was conducted to test the prescribed relations between menu variety and existence of techniques. Findings from qualitative analysis revealed that restaurant operators rarely use menu design techniques intentionally for boosting sales of high-price menu items. Subsequently, the quantitative analysis showed that existence of a technique on the menu card is not predicted by menu variety. This finding confirms the view that use of menu design techniques was unintentional. Theoretical and practical implications of findings were also discussed along with the limitations of current study and recommendations for future research.