Chinese Restaurants Research Articles

A Qualitative Study on Local Individual- or Family-Owned Casual Chinese Restaurants Marketing Communication Strategies

A qualitative study was conducted to examine individual- or family-owned casual Chinese restaurant’s marketing communication strategies. Findings revealed that the owners of individual- or family-owned casual Chinese restaurants are highly aware of the importance of advertising for their business. They have adopted at least one marketing strategies to promote their business. Three external factors and one internal factor were found to influence those Chinese restaurant owners’ selection of marketing strategies. In addition, the Chinese restaurant owners’ personality shapes food and service quality. The findings also suggested that advertising on new media is easier for business owners to measure its effectiveness.

Perceived risks and restaurant visit intentions in China: Do online customer reviews matter?

Drawing on risk and communication theory, this study examines the moderating effects of online customer reviews in the Chinese restaurant context. In particular, we examine how review trustworthiness may moderate the relationship between two types of risk (performance risk and financial risk) and restaurant visit intention. After reviewing the sample criteria and excluding surveys with missing values, the final sample comprised 520 respondents from the context of Chinese restaurants. We tested the proposed hypotheses using hierarchical moderated regression and found that financial risk negatively impacts both restaurant visit intention and responses to two- and three-way interactions. More specifically, the negative effects diminish when positive trade-off effects increase. This analysis strongly supports the two-way interaction effects of review trustworthiness while showing that the three-way interactions effects of review trustworthiness depend significantly on different levels of review skepticism.

Use of Rapid Online Surveys to Assess People's Perceptions During Infectious Disease Outbreaks: A Cross-sectional Survey on COVID-19.

BackgroundGiven the extensive time needed to conduct a nationally representative household survey and the commonly low response rate of phone surveys, rapid online surveys may be a promising method to assess and track knowledge and perceptions among the general public during fast-moving infectious disease outbreaks.ObjectiveThis study aimed to apply rapid online surveying to determine knowledge and perceptions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the general public in the United States and the United Kingdom.MethodsAn online questionnaire was administered to 3000 adults residing in the United States and 3000 adults residing in the United Kingdom who had registered with Prolific Academic to participate in online research. Prolific Academic established strata by age (18-27, 28-37, 38-47, 48-57, or ≥58 years), sex (male or female), and ethnicity (white, black or African American, Asian or Asian Indian, mixed, or “other”), as well as all permutations of these strata. The number of participants who could enroll in each of these strata was calculated to reflect the distribution in the US and UK general population. Enrollment into the survey within each stratum was on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants completed the questionnaire between February 23 and March 2, 2020.ResultsA total of 2986 and 2988 adults residing in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, completed the questionnaire. Of those, 64.4% (1924/2986) of US participants and 51.5% (1540/2988) of UK participants had a tertiary education degree, 67.5% (2015/2986) of US participants had a total household income between US $20,000 and US $99,999, and 74.4% (2223/2988) of UK participants had a total household income between £15,000 and £74,999. US and UK participants’ median estimate for the probability of a fatal disease course among those infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was 5.0% (IQR 2.0%-15.0%) and 3.0% (IQR 2.0%-10.0%), respectively. Participants generally had good knowledge of the main mode of disease transmission and common symptoms of COVID-19. However, a substantial proportion of participants had misconceptions about how to prevent an infection and the recommended care-seeking behavior. For instance, 37.8% (95% CI 36.1%-39.6%) of US participants and 29.7% (95% CI 28.1%-31.4%) of UK participants thought that wearing a common surgical mask was “highly effective” in protecting them from acquiring COVID-19, and 25.6% (95% CI 24.1%-27.2%) of US participants and 29.6% (95% CI 28.0%-31.3%) of UK participants thought it was prudent to refrain from eating at Chinese restaurants. Around half (53.8%, 95% CI 52.1%-55.6%) of US participants and 39.1% (95% CI 37.4%-40.9%) of UK participants thought that children were at an especially high risk of death when infected with SARS-CoV-2.ConclusionsThe distribution of participants by total household income and education followed approximately that of the US and UK general population. The findings from this online survey could guide information campaigns by public health authorities, clinicians, and the media. More broadly, rapid online surveys could be an important tool in tracking the public’s knowledge and misperceptions during rapidly moving infectious disease outbreaks.

Unequal Interdependency: Chinese Petty Entrepreneurs and Zimbabwean Migrant Labourers

Exploring the cultural politics of diasporic entrepreneurs and migrant labourers through an examination of Chinese restaurants in Johannesburg, this article presents what I call the “intra-migrant economy” amid everyday racialized insecurities in urban South Africa. I use the term “intra-migrant economy” to refer to the employment of one group of migrants (Zimbabwean migrant workers) by another group of migrants (Chinese petty capitalists) as an economic strategy outside the mainstream labour market. These two groups of migrants work in the same industry, live in the same city, and have established a sort of unequal employment relation that can be hierarchical and interdependentat once. Chinese migrants are socially marginalized but not economically underprivileged, which stands in contrast to Zimbabwean migrants, who remain economically underprivileged even though they speak local languages. Their different socioeconomic positions in South Africa are profoundly influenced by their nationality and racialization. Thisanalysis of their interdependency focuses on the economic and political structures that shaped the underlying conditions that brought Chinese and Zimbabwean migrants to work together in South Africa.

Between the Sacred and Secular: The Role of Chinese Popular Deities in Creating Thirdspaces in Chinese Restaurants of Santiago de Chile

Material manifestations of the Chinese popular deities, Guanyin and Guan Gong, are ubiquitous in Cantonese-Chinese restaurants globally. Yet studies of Chinese popular religion among overseas Chinese have seldom focused on the diverse significance of these deities to Chinese migrants, nor the use of restaurant-spaces to house these deities. This article examines the presence and powers of such deities in Chinese restaurants of Santiago de Chile. We seek to understand how the presence or absence of Guanyin and Guan Gong figures specifically shapes migrant Chinese restauranteurs and workers’ experience of the restaurants as particular kinds of protected, sacred/secular spaces, and how these deities might also affectively shape the restauranteurs’ ways of being and inhabiting the restaurants. Based on semi-structured interviews with Chinese shopkeepers and workers, observation and photography of the spatial organization of 26 restaurants and the aesthetics of their deities, we argue that these restaurants are more than just their primary sources of livelihood. We argue that they approximate Soja’s “thirdspaces” (1996), which on the one hand mediate their interactions with the city and its other residents, and on the other hand mediate relationships between humans in the earthly world and deities in the “other” parallel world.

How ethnic cultures influence practice-based learning

PurposeThis paper aims to report on a study that used the practice theory lens to understand how Chinese ethnic culture influences restaurant workers' learning through engagement in everyday work practices.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case study approach was used. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and site observations. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify how workers learnt the sayings, doings and relatings in their workplaces.FindingsThe findings show that the ethnic culture of the participants influences and enriches their learning in practice settings such as small Chinese restaurants.Research limitations/implicationsThe understandings presented here need to be verified through more research in different regions and nations. In addition, cross-cultural studies on other ethnic restaurants may contribute to deeper understandings of the influences of ethnic culture on practice-based learning.Social implicationsThe research contributes to understanding the influence of ethnic culture on practice-based learning.Originality/valueThe understandings gained from the findings of this study form a useful basis for curriculum development and instructional design of training programmes for practice-based as well as work-integrated-learning components of vocational curriculum. Furthermore, awareness of the strengths of the ethnic culture is of interest to owner/managers of small Chinese restaurants to afford supportive learning environments for workers.

Application of extended theory of planned behavior model to ecological behavior intentions in the food and beverage service industry

ABSTRACTThis study examined the relationships between environmental concern, the three main constructs of theory of planned behavior (TPB), two extended constructs (psychological ownership of the company and sense of responsibility) and employee behavioral intention to implement environmental measures. A questionnaire designed for restaurant employees was used to measure identified indicators. Structural equation modeling was chosen for hypothesis testing. Our results indicated that the three TPB constructs and one psychological trait (sense of responsibility) mediated the relationship between environmental concern and behavioral intention. Employee psychological ownership of a company was verified to exert a positive effect on employee behavioral intention. However, the findings cannot be applied to F&B settings in general since the study was restricted to Chinese restaurants identified.

Apologies in Chinese Restaurants' Responses to Negative Online Reviews and Rapport Management-A Cross-cultural Perspective

The present study, drawing upon Spencer-Oatey’s (2008) Rapport Management framework, presents an analysis of restaurants’ apologies to customers in Chinese CMC. 100 responses by restaurants to customers’ negative reviews on Dianping.com(a Chinese independent third-partyreviewing website similar to TripAdvisor) have been collected for our study, and the method of RhetoricalMove Analysis has been used to identify Apologies and accompanying moves in our data. It is revealedthat apologies, along with other accompanying moves such as Thanks, Explanations, Repairs, Openings,Closings, Invitations etc., serve as remedial responses to restore rapport or harmony. Considering thepublic nature of the open online communication, the linguistic domain of apology (including apologyexpressions, intensification, repetition, honorifics, endearing addressing terms, pronouns, and selfreferringexpressions) and content of apology (Accepting or not accepting responsibility) are properlydesigned and managed by the restaurants’ response writers in order to repair the relationship with theunsatisfied individual customer on the one hand, while maintaining and protecting the restaurants’good reputation with the overhearing audience online on the other hand. We also compared our Chineseonline apologies with those in English and Japanese as studied by Morrow & Yamanouchi (2020) in orderto reveal some cross-cultural similarities and differences. The findings are expected to provide someinsights into the area of cross-cultural studies of online apologies, as well as to be valuable to businessprofessionals who increasingly interact with consumers cross-culturally on the internet.

Guan Yu: The Religious Afterlife of a Failed Hero by Barend J. ter Haar

Reviewed by: Guan Yu: The Religious Afterlife of a Failed Hero by Barend J. ter Haar Philip Clart Guan Yu: The Religious Afterlife of a Failed Hero by Barend J. ter Haar. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. xv + 285. $105.00 cloth, $104.99 e-book. This book was long in the making, having its beginnings in archival research done by the author as a graduate student in Japan from 1982 to 1984. It had been quietly simmering on a back burner since then, being visited every now and then when the author came across new publications or had the opportunity to visit field sites. In Chinese mythology, long gestation periods typically herald the miraculous births of saintly or divine beings. So a certain sense of heightened expectation has been building over the years as Professor ter Haar’s colleagues waited for his study of Guan Yu 關羽 (d. 219 or 220) to finally see the light of day. They will not be disappointed by the result. The figure of Guan Yu, or Lord Guan (Guan gong 關公) as his divine persona is more properly referred to, is the one deity in Chinese popular religion that the average person outside of China is by far the most likely to encounter in his or her daily life. In many Chinese (and Vietnamese) restaurants, Lord Guan’s characteristic red-faced figure is to be found in a little corner shrine—a deity worshipped to protect the [End Page 520] business and promote its prosperity. As it turns out, this function of Lord Guan as a god of wealth is a very recent addition to his repertoire: the first mention of him in this function dates back only to the eighteenth century (p. 184). However, Ter Haar frankly admits that he is not able to trace or outline this development in any detail. In the end, he speculates that the unpredictable nature of earlier gods of wealth, such as the Wutong 五通, reflects the unstable nature of an early money economy (as shown by Richard von Glahn), while the adoption of more predictable deities, such as Lord Guan and Bi Gan 比干, reflects a more mature stage of economic development (p. 187).1 Ultimately, this argument based on economic determinism is not really satisfactory. It jars with Ter Haar’s own approach elsewhere in the book that uses narratives as key evidence in the development of religious cults. Lord Guan’s role as god of wealth is very visible in modern practice, as well as in historical descriptions about some (especially northern) regions of China. But for some reason, this role does not seem to exist in the stories people tell about Lord Guan. Stories represent ideas held by people about gods and their connection with institutions, such as temples and shrines. When, for example, they are retold on stone stelae in commemoration of building or restoration projects, they show that these ideas were held by enough people in a location to initiate collective action requiring a significant outlay of capital. So, if we do not have stories about Lord Guan as god of wealth, Ter Haar’s methodology can gain no purchase on this aspect of his cult, and he is left to admit that it “is indeed difficult to come up with a satisfactory explanation” (p. 187). Thus, this issue remains a loose end, which the author takes no pain to hide. I start with this loose end not to pose a criticism but, quite to the contrary, to show that Ter Haar is admirably transparent about his methods and his aims, and he is not afraid to acknowledge their limits when and where he meets them. But now let us change perspective and address what the book does do (rather than what it does not). This book follows the development of Lord Guan’s cult up to, but not including, the post-1949 period, using as its primary evidence narratives that reflect beliefs held by local people. These narratives reflect local conceptions and initiatives, which Ter Haar regards as key elements in shaping and moving [End Page 521] the cult’s development. This approach argues against earlier views that considered the popular cult...

Customer satisfaction with sommelier services of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong

PurposeThe abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of sommeliers’ value-adding performance in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants has not been examined. To address this gap, the SERVQUAL framework is adopted to examine the influence of sommeliers’ service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachThe survey method is used to collect data from 302 units of the population of interest, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the links between constructs.FindingsFour of the seven dimensions of sommeliers’ service quality, namely, empathy, tangibles, credibility and assurance, have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas the impact of perceived value and responsiveness on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is positive but only marginally significant. Reliability has a weak and non-significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsExamining a small number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong limits generalisation of the findings to other contexts. Replication of the research in different contexts will enhance generalizability. In terms of implications, the discussion highlights the importance of sommeliers’ service performance on customers’ SQ perceptions SQ, CS and loyalty, all of which are important variables for restaurateurs.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of the quality of sommelier’s SQ on CS and loyalty in upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Given the lack of attention to this service role in the literature, the study contributes theory from which further understanding can develop.

The making of top fine-dining Chinese restaurants: Evidence from domestic and International customers in Australia

ABSTRACTThis study examines critical factors for the success of Chinese fine-dining restaurants overseas. Using visualized analysis method of customers’ comments, the study found that high-quality food, overall experience (good ambience, attentive staff, appropriate pricing), and good business management are among the top critical success factors, although domestic and international customers perceive restaurant experience differently. The study makes an important contribution to ethnic fine-dining restaurant literature by identifying critical success factors for fine-dining Chinese restaurants overseas and by enriching the concept of food authenticity.

Review: Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada's Chinese Restaurants, by Ann Hui

Review: Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada's Chinese Restaurants, by Ann Hui

A Brief Analysis of Shannxi Cuisine’s English Translation - Taking Menu Translation as an example

Dissemination of Chinese culinary culture is important for Chinese culture to go global. Shannxi, a western province of China, features abundant cuisine which is representative of Shannxi local’s lifestyle. However, there are many spelling mistakes and other translation mistakes in some time-honoured Chinese restaurants’ English menu. Appropriate translation strategies, including domestication, foreignization and Pinyin, a phonetic transcription system for Chinese characters,should be adopted to explore practical and feasible translation of the culinary culture.

Labour trafficking in Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands and the role of Dutch immigration policies. A qualitative analysis of investigative case files

Scholars have found that many migrants are vulnerable to exploitation and that there are many immigrants among victims of extreme forms of labour exploitation. In the Global North, empirical studies have scrutinized the link between irregular migration and labour trafficking, yet empirical studies that focus on labour schemes involving regular migrants remain scarce. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of 8 investigative police files of labour trafficking involving regular migrants in the Chinese catering industry in the Netherlands, this study investigates the mechanisms through which exploitation comes about and is sustained. It is concluded that exploitation is the result of the ways in which both the employers and the victims manoeuvre the space provided by immigration policies. Employer-bounded residence and work permits emerged as an especially important contributor to the initiation and continuation of exploitative situations. Policymakers should be highly aware of the vulnerabilities of temporary labour migrants’ positions created by such policy arrangements. Future research is needed in order to create a better understanding of how exploitative work situations develop and are sustained, and the role different factors such as immigration policies play in such processes.

Morphological characterization and chemical composition of PM2.5 and PM10 collected from four typical Chinese restaurants

AbstractIt is widely known that cooking contributes particulate matter (PM) to outdoor and indoor air. To research the morphology and chemical composition of PM10 and PM2.5 in cooking fumes, four C...

Sinophile Consumption: Chinese Restaurants and Consumer Culture in Turn-of-the-Century American Cities

ABSTRACTThe “chop suey craze,” the moment at the turn of the twentieth century when Chinese restaurants enjoyed unprecedented mainstream popularity in the United States, has received much attention in the literature on the American history of Chinese food. Much of this scholarship has attributed the craze primarily to the advent in the late nineteenth century of chop suey, and to the 1896 visit of Li Hongzhang to New York, while other works have emphasized new consumption imperatives stemming from the shift to a culture of empire at the turn of the century. This article seeks to intervene in this literature by shifting analytical focus away from these explanations and instead argue that the chop suey craze formed part of a larger resurgence in periodic American enthusiasm for China and Chinese cultural products, which I term Sinophilia, engendered by the emergence of an American empire in the Pacific in the 1890s.

Von Tsingtau nach Qingdao

Qingdao is a thriving port city in the Shandong Province of the People’s Republic of China, located on the shores of the Yellow Sea. Between 1897 and 1914, the city was a so-called German mandated territory, named Tsingtau. In 2018, Qingdao's population numbered approximately 9 million. The city is an important industrial centre in China and one of the ten biggest ports in the world. It is a centre of advanced maritime sciences and technology research and development, a UNESCO city of film, a much-favoured tourist city and, not to forget, the production site of the famous Tsingtao beer, offered in Chinese restaurants all over the world. The German history of the city is still visible and is well protected. In contrast to many other cities in China, the old city centre of Qingdao has been fully preserved. The “German” conservation area along the beach is an attractive place for local citizens as well as for Chinese honeymooners and tourists from overseas.

‘White on the outside but red on the inside’: Switzerland and Chinese intelligence networks during the Cold War

ABSTRACTUsing previously classified archival records, this article discusses how Chinese diplomatic staff operated a variety of intelligence networks from Switzerland during the Cold War. As the site of China’s first diplomatic mission in central Western Europe and the location of the United Nations’ European headquarters, Switzerland was uniquely suited as China’s intelligence hub in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. Chinese officials established and ran a variety of European and even global intelligence networks out of Switzerland, whose members included Chinese officials; Taiwanese diplomats; Chinese, Taiwanese, and Chinese Indonesian scientists and students; owners and staff of Chinese restaurants; Communists and communist sympathisers; and businessmen.

Occupational exposures of flour dust and airborne chemicals at bakeries in Taiwan

Walk-through surveys were carried out for bakeries in this study to determine the environmental characteristics of bakeries in Taiwan. Questionnaires were administrated to discover whether job-related asthma-like symptoms occurred among workers. Air sampling and analysis were also performed. The results show that the levels of inhalable flour dust ranged from 0.01–0.83 mg m−3 with an average of 0.27 mg m−3. Among the samples collected, 23% of them had concentrations higher than the ACGIH TLV-TWA (0.5 mg m−3), which indicated that inhalable flour dust was an important air pollutant for bakery workers in Taiwan. Airborne chemicals such as diacetyl, acetoin, 2,3-pentanedione, 2,3-hexanedione, 2,3-heptanedione, furfural, and acetaldehyde were also found in various levels in this study. The concentrations of acetaldehyde measured in these bakeries were 37–83 times higher than what have been reported from other studies for residential areas and Chinese restaurants. In addition, the concentrations of total VOCs in the working areas of the bakeries were over 21 times higher than the levels determined in the non-working areas. Based on our results, there appears to be a need to improve the air quality of the working environments of bakeries in Taiwan.

Restaurant Management’s Perspective on Halal Certification: An Exploratory Study in Surabaya, Indonesia

As the world’s largest Moslem population of the world, Indonesia has been practicing halal principles in all aspects of the country’s life. In foodservice business sector, halal accreditation acts as the assurance of food and beverage safety and quality that is legitimized by the government or the relevant Moslem religious bodies. This paper aims to examine the knowledge and attitudes of restaurant business operators in Surabaya toward halal certification. The study was exploratory in nature, applying in-depth interviews to eight informants who are owners or managers of the Chinese food restaurants in Surabaya. The findings showed that despite the positive attitude towards halal certification, the level of managers’knowledge about halal certification was still very low due to lack of information they officially received from the relevant organizations regarding the certification.