Small Independent Restaurants Research Articles

Can food ordering apps help combat food fraud through providing food safety information? Consumer responses to gutter-oil-free claim on Koubei

The illegal use of gutter oil (GO) as cooking oil is a serious food fraud problem in China and has raised widespread concerns. With the popular use of internet, Koubei, a food ordering app, launched a campaign that every restaurant could pledge on the platform that it is GO free. This paper evaluates whether consumers value the GO-free feature reflected on their willingness-to-pay (WTP) to the claim. Results show the GO-free claim receives a positive WTP, and consumers are even more sensitive to the GO-free pledged by small businesses and independent restaurants. For policy implications, results confirm the advantages that the online platforms have in providing food safety information and alleviating the market failure caused by asymmetric information. It will complement the governments’ efforts in preventing GO use and other fraud behaviors in food markets.

Clean safety message framing as survival strategies for small independent restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic

Although Korea is considered as being successful in controlling the coronavirus disease without a lockdown, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to enormous changes in Korean restaurant operations. This study was designed to document the impact of clean safety food message framing as a survival strategy for small independent restaurants on customer repurchase intention and actual sales. Results indicated that customer intention to repurchase menu items to which message framing were applied significantly improved sales performance of specific restaurant menu items identified in this study. Such positive effects remained stable, which in turn confirmed that clean safety message framing can be a highly efficient sales promotion strategy for small, independent restaurants, specifically during pandemic such as COVID-19. These findings can be employed by restaurants to achieve sustained competitive advantages through the development of more appropriate types of clean safety message framing targeted to consumers who are skeptical to dine-in or order from restaurants.

The Case of the Tower Cafe: Identifying the Right Technology for A Small Independent Restaurant

The Case of the Tower Cafe: Identifying the Right Technology for A Small Independent Restaurant

Social media marketing management: an application to small restaurants in the US

PurposeThis study aims to use a social media management framework and strategic orientation framework to explore how small restaurants manage social media.Design/methodology/approachThe authors content-analyzed social media activity and interviews with 14 managers of social media in small independent restaurants in the northeast region of the USA that employed fewer than 20 employees.FindingsThe results of the study show that most small restaurants can be classified as anarchic, hierarchical and conservative defenders, and that they mainly focus on promotional activities on social media. The majority use social media also to drive traffic to a restaurant and, thus, act as calculative pragmatists. Very few use social media strategically or creatively in any of the social media management stages, and very few monitor or use social media information to improve their operations.Research limitations/implicationsThis study shows that the adopted theoretical framework in this study for social media management helps analyze social media operations in small restaurants, points to the strategic orientations applied in small restaurants, shows the intricacies of each stage and helps show what small restaurants do well and how they can improve. Future research may use larger samples, investigate frameworks particularly relevant to small restaurants, such as the resource-based view (RBV) framework, and may focus on creative and diverse strategic approaches toward social media management for small establishments.Practical implicationsAs customers continue shifting to social media and review sites, more restaurants may want to invest in developing more creative approaches toward social media and do it in more structured, integrated and continuous ways. The study describes a process they may want to follow and specific tactics that could be implemented to use social media more strategically in all stages of social media management.Social implicationsNot only are small business establishments the backbone of the restaurant industry, but they also appeal to customers more than large chains. This study shows how these small businesses can utilize social media to attract more customers, engage them, learn about them and their competitive environment to market and improve their operations.Originality/valueThe authors focus on the supplier side of social media for restaurants, a perspective lacking in the literature, and specifically small restaurants that receive less attention in prior research. Few studies exist that explore how social media is incorporated in all stages of social media management. The study points to the unique challenges that small restaurants experience in the process of using social media for marketing, monitoring and using social media to improve their operations. The study uses a relatively large sample of qualitative interviews conducted with managers of small restaurants and a content analysis of their actual social media activity.

Understanding the Density and Distribution of Restaurants in Los Angeles County to Inform Local Public Health Practice.

IntroductionTo describe the potential reach of restaurant-based strategies that seek to improve the healthfulness of menu options, it is important to understand the local restaurant environment, including the extent to which restaurants subject to policy mandates are located in communities disproportionately affected by diet-related diseases.MethodsThis cross-sectional study examined the restaurant environment in Los Angeles County, a large jurisdiction with diverse geographic and socioeconomic characteristics, specifically 1) the number and characteristics of restaurants; 2) the association between neighborhood sociodemographics and restaurant density; and 3) the association between neighborhood sociodemographics and restaurant characteristics, including chain status (large chain, small chain, independent restaurant). Data sources were 1) industry data on restaurant location and characteristics (N = 24,292 restaurants) and 2) US Census data on neighborhood sociodemographics (N = 247 neighborhoods). We conducted descriptive and bivariate analyses at the restaurant and neighborhood level.ResultsCountywide, only 26.5% of all restaurants were part of a large chain (a chain with ≥20 locations). We found positive associations between restaurant density and neighborhood proportions of non-Hispanic white residents and residents with more than a high school education. We found limited support to suggest a greater density of large chains in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status.ConclusionResults highlight the potentially limited reach of strategies targeting chain restaurants and point to the importance of including small chain restaurants and independent restaurants in public health efforts to improve the healthfulness of restaurants. Understanding where restaurants are in relation to priority populations is a critical step to planning strategies that address diet-related disparities.

Characteristics Associated with Household Purchases of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in US Restaurants.

Objectives:To describe beverages purchased in restaurants among a nationally representative sample of U.S. households.Methods:Data were obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey, 2012–2013. Survey-weighted multiple regressions assessed correlates of purchasing a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB), low-calorie beverage, and per capita beverage calories and grams of sugar among purchases from U.S. restaurants (n=14,669).Results:Dining at a top fast food chain (OR =1.9 [95% CI=1.6, 2.3] vs. small chain or independent restaurants) and ordering a combination meal (2.8 [1.3, 3.3]) or from the kids’ menu (2.1 [1.2, 3.4]) were positively associated with purchasing a SSB. Age (young adult and adolescent vs. older adult; 0.7 [0.5, 0.9] and 0.4 [0.3, 0.7], respectively), race (White vs. Black; 0.4 [0.3, 0.6]), ethnicity (Non-Hispanic vs. Hispanic; 0.8 [0.6, 0.9]), and household food security (high vs. very low; 0.7 [0.5, 0.8]) were associated with purchasing a low-calorie beverage. Caloric beverage purchases contained the most calories and grams of sugar per capita when purchased by Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Black adolescents.Conclusions:U.S. households purchase a considerable amount of SSBs from the nation’s largest chain restaurants, particularly when combination meals or kids’ menu items are ordered, and there are disparities by age, race/ethnicity, and household food security.

Characteristics of small business leadership from employees’ perspective: A qualitative study

Leadership is a much-studied topic, and yet, the topic still attracts researchers. As an essential factor in every organization, however, leadership contributes significantly to a business failure, especially in small independent restaurant businesses and this could be due to the unique operations of the industry and the lack of leadership studies on small hospitality businesses. This study aims to fill the gap by exploring the ideal characteristics for small independent restaurant leaders to become an effective leader using a qualitative approach from their employees’ perspectives. Qualitative data were collected through four focus groups and one dyadic interview. The findings of the qualitative data analysis revealed nine themes: respectful, compassionate, effective communicator, experienced, effective delegator, gives recognition, sociable, emotionally controlled, organized. The paper discussed implications of the findings for small independent restaurant businesses and the hospitality industry in general as well as implications for theory.

Marketing Strategies for Independent Restaurants in Philadelphia, USA

Although the restaurant industry is the second biggest employer in the United States, 67% of restaurant owners fail during the first 3 years of operation. This study aims to identify marketing strategies used by small independent restaurants in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Twelve semi-structured interviews were used from three restaurants for this study. NVivo 10 was used to analyze the data and generate themes. Two marketing strategy themes emerged: blogging and using the point of sale system; employee engagement and upselling. Implications for positive social change such as business development opportunities were created. Results from this study show small, independent restaurant owners must develop stakeholder strategies to support annual strategic initiatives and assist in accomplishing opportunities for growth.

Human Capital, Organizational Orientations and Performance: Evidence From the Restaurant Industry

ABSTRACTThe study examines how human capital combines with and influences organizational orientations to determine performance. Specifically, this study investigates small restaurant businesses’ ability to effectively exploit intangible resources and capabilities, rather than tangible resources, in order to produce sustainable competitive advantage. A structured questionnaire was used to survey owners/managers of small independent restaurants in the United States. The results demonstrate that human capital, market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation serve as intangible resources and capabilities that can augment the competitive position of independent restaurants, and thereby improve performance. Human capital also combines with and influences the adoption of market orientation and subsequent performance.

The hospitality business in Nigeria: issues, challenges and opportunities

Purpose This paper aims to advance cooperation and collaboration as solutions to problems in the Nigerian hospitality industry. The issues and challenges plaguing the hospitality industry in Nigeria are discussed in the context of the case company, a small independent restaurant in Lagos. Design/methodology/approach Phenomenological research strategies guided the approach to this study. The authors identified a specific problem and gathered information, primarily through one-on-one interviews and a focus group, to learn how individuals within a defined industry experienced the ramifications of the phenomenon. Findings The operating environment of the hospitality sector in Nigeria has an effect on the supply of skills and the financial performance of the case restaurant and similar hospitality businesses. To improve overall performance of the industry, private-public partnerships between government agencies, hospitality colleges and hospitality businesses, strategic partnerships between expert hospitality institutions and business schools, cooperation among hospitality business owners and improvement in managerial practices could be strategic moves for an industry operating under heavy institutional hindrances peculiar to Nigeria. Research limitations/implications The authors analysed the environmental trickle-down effect that could impact the profits of the restaurant. Organisational qualities such as leadership styles, the psychology of employment and the operations or policies of the company are not viewed in this context. The issues of the restaurant and a few hospitality businesses in Lagos were flagged as a representation for the industry in Nigeria. Practical implications Predisposing factors contributing to the attributed negative trickle-down effect on the enabling business environment for the industry, strategic partnerships, attaining high standards for curriculum development at educational institutions and enhanced training, with the goal of assuring creditable skills within the hospitality industry. Originality/value This paper is among the first to examine the critical issues, challenges and opportunities facing the hospitality industry in Nigeria.

Food for thought: obstacles to menu labelling in restaurants and cafeterias.

Menu labelling is recommended as a policy intervention to reduce obesity and diet-related disease. The present commentary considers the many challenges the restaurant industry faces in providing nutrition information on its menus. Barriers include lack of nutrition expertise, time, cost, availability of nutrition information for exotic ingredients, ability to provide accurate nutrition information, libel risk, customer dissatisfaction, limited space on the menu, menu variations, loss of flexibility in changing the menu, staff training and resistance of employees to change current practice. Health promotion specialists and academics involved in fieldwork must help restaurateurs find solutions to these barriers for menu labelling interventions to be widely implemented and successful. Practical support for small independent restaurants such as free or subsidised nutrition analysis, nutrition training for staff and menu design may also be necessary to encourage voluntary participation.

Developing a solution for small businesses

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the process of developing, implementing and evaluating an innovative solution to enhance food safety and promote Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based food safety management techniques in small independent restaurants. It is the fifth article in a Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes theme issue presenting a comprehensive government strategy for improving food safety management standards across the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach – This article outlines the essential design principles that were established by Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority for creating a food safety management system (FSMS) for independent restaurants, following international benchmarking and extensive in-depth local research. It charts the process of designing and approving the documents and records that make up the system, and identifies a methodology for implementation and evaluation. Findings – Salamt Zadna, the FSMS developed, conveys risk-based food safety requirements through photographs communicating simple, practical steps. It minimises record-keeping with a picture-based diary and has an implementation strategy involving inspector support, after an extensive period of capacity building. Originality/value – The article demonstrates an effective model for creating an FSMS for small businesses, along with the main components required and their impact on industry. It also includes details of a phased implementation strategy for achieving success in practice, utilising trained government inspectors. It will be of value to practitioners, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.

Who's kicking whom? Employees' orientations to work

Despite the renowned poor employment practices across the hospitality industry recent analysis of the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey reported higher levels of job satisfaction among hospitality employees than those in other industries. This paper presents a collective case study of hospitality employees across four small independent restaurants to shed light onto why this situation might exist. The paper discusses the influence an employee's orientation to work has and demonstrates how orientations underpin individual attitudes and behaviour. In presenting four different orientations to work, how individuals manage work and life for personal satisfaction and gain, is illustrated. Indeed, this individualistic ideology contributes to the levels of job satisfaction reported.

Matching Strategy with Performance

A survey of small independent restaurants investigated the link between a restaurant's business strategies and its performance. The results suggest that successful restaurants are less aggressive than are low-performing ones. Less-successful restaurants devote a large percentage of their resources to increasing short-term economic gains and customer counts (e.g., by using coupons and discounts) versus developing long-term business. High performers place great importance on problem solving and they have a long-term perspective that is strategic rather than routine and operational. They are more proactive, more innovative, and more committed to delivering quality service than are their less successful counterparts.

Attitudes of Restaurant Site Selection Executives Toward Various People Magnets

This study considers which types of traffic generators or magnets are preferred as site locations for various types of restaurants. Data collected from corporate executives responsible for site location of major restaurant franchises were subjected to statistical analysis regarding basic benefits and levels of service. The findings determined that restaurants prefer to locate near people magnets offering benefits and levels of service to consumers similar to their own offerings. In addition, various types of restaurants rank people magnets differently. The results of this study should be used as a practical guide to small independent restaurant entrepreneurs wishing to gain insight into the magnet preferences of the major chain franchises.

Networking and Information Sources of Independent Restaurateurs

Relationships between types of informal networks, business characteristics of small independent restaurants, and demographic descriptions of the owners/managers of these businesses were investigated.Data were gathered by mailed questionnaire from a responding sample of 135 owners/managers of independent restaurants. Information regarding networking behavior, suchas whom restaurant owners/managers contacted and how frequently they contacted these sources, owner/manager demographic data, and business information concerning size, number of years in operation, financial performance, and type of restaurant was gathered.The study indicated that relationships exist between networking behavior and demographic characteristics of managers, and between networking behavior and certain business characteristics.