Health and well-being have become one of the most important topics in organizational research. The Covid-19 pandemic has compounded the stress levels in all sectors across the world. The current environment has created unprecedented levels of employee turnover, in what economist have been calling the "Great Resignation," where individuals are not only quitting but are questioning their career choice and choosing to leave their profession altogether. This research utilized Conservation of Research (COR) theory and the Buffer Hypothesis (the notion that social support protects individuals from the negative impacts of workplace stress) to investigate occupational stress and well-being (i.e., burnout and job satisfaction) in the full-service restaurant segment. Prior research on occupational stress has investigated the buffering effect of support by focusing mainly on social support in general (support from friends and family), organizational support, supervisor support, and coworker support. This research is one of the first to conceptualize workplace support to include the role of customer-initiated support as well as organizational support, supervisor support, and coworker support in the occupational stress literature, specifically in the restaurant industry. Additionally, this study simultaneously investigated intention to stay with the employer and intention to change careers/career turnover. The results indicated that workplace stress positively impacts both dimensions of burnout: exhaustion and job disengagement. Subsequently, burnout was found to decrease job satisfaction, which was found to be an important driver of retention. Interestingly, job satisfaction was not significantly related to career turnover, suggesting overall job satisfaction is not enough to prevent career turnover and the buffering hypothesis was not supported. Results suggest that workplace support, including customer-initiated support, may play a different role in the occupational stress, burnout, turnover path. A discussion of the results, implications, and recommendations for future research are provided.

Divestiture activity within the restaurant industry has increased in the last twenty years, however there is a dearth of research investigating the subsequent effects of the phenomenon. In particular none of the studies in the literature, have specifically examined the effects of restaurant firms' brand diversification strategies and systematic risk on shareholder wealth when controlling for divestiture completions. This research extends the knowledge from previous work on corporate unbundling and brand diversification strategies to the unique restaurant industry. Drawing on agency theory, the long- and short-term effects of the resulting brand diversification levels on firm shareholder wealth following a divestiture is examined. In addition, the effect of systematic risk on shareholder wealth following a divestiture is investigated. The study is applied to one of the leading U.S. restaurant firms, Brinker International, Inc., since the company has completed a number of divestitures that have resulted in a reduction of its brand diversification. Time series data from 1994 to 2013 is used in the study. The Wharton Research Data Services database and Brinker International, Inc.'s Securities and Exchange Commission annual and quarterly filings are utilized in acquiring the data for the study. Data analysis for the study consists of a cointegration error correction model. Specifically, the study's methodology includes unit root tests, cointegration, vector error correction, and causality tests for the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between shareholder wealth, brand diversification, and systematic risk. In addition, a short-term positive relationship exists between Brinker's level of systematic risk and divestiture completion. In addition, a negative short-term relationship is found between Brinker's brand diversification and shareholder wealth with divestiture completion. However, no statistically significant relationships are found between brand diversification, systematic risk, and shareholder wealth for Brinker in the short term. Overall, the study's model for the short-term explains 23.63% of the variance in Brinker's shareholder wealth. This study provides various theoretical and managerial implications for the restaurant literature, as well as, provides a catalyst for future studies to expand on the relationships between brand diversification, systematic risk, and shareholder wealth for restaurant firms when considering divestitures.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate application of the contemporary business model of pop-up, or temporary, business locations in the food and beverage industry. Currently, entrepreneurs are using this business model to enter into the market without committing significant resources typically required when creating a permanent business. Despite the emerging popularity of this business strategy, the literature on this phenomenon remains sparse and there is a lack of theoretical cohesiveness when describing the pop-up food-related business model and where it fits within the entrepreneurship process. Thus, it is important that researchers identify how and why entrepreneurs utilize the pop-up business model, whether it is effective, and how others can use this process when pursuing their own business venture. This study used a grounded theory research design to achieve the research objectives. A total of 26 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with current and past pop-up food and beverage entrepreneurs were conducted to ascertain the challenges, benefits, and opportunities derived from using the pop-up business model. Based on the data collected, this study offers several implications. First, a framework, including themes and sub-themes, was developed to explain how the pop-up food and beverage business is used as a business model. Second, this dissertation found that food and beverage entrepreneurs use pop-up businesses differently than do other industries. Third, an organizational life cycle of the pop-up business model was developed, which deviates from organizational life cycle studies in other industries. From a practical perspective, this dissertation's framework provides current and future entrepreneurs with best practices for using the pop-up business model. Overall, the findings of this study provide a unique perspective of firm creation that can potentially reduce the negative perceptions of opening a food-related business in the hospitality industry.

Innovation in technology has been growing rapidly in recent years. Many restaurants have been utilizing different types of self-service technologies (SSTs) to enhance their operations and customer satisfaction. Despite, the rapid spread of SSTs in the restaurant industry, very limited empirical research has been conducted to evaluate the influence of SSTs type on customer dining experience. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to examine the SSTs values that influence restaurant customers' satisfaction and their decision to continue to reuse SSTs. More specifically, this study utilized the Theory of Consumption Values (TCV) to examine consumers' perception of the SST values across different types of restaurant proprietary SSTs (kiosk, tabletop, restaurant mobile app, and web-based SSTs). In order to examine the hypothesized relationships, a quantitative research approach was utilized with the survey research method. An online self-administered questionnaire was developed in Qualtrics for each type of SSTs. The questionnaires were distributed utilizing Amazon mechanical Turk (MTurk). Data was collected in May 2019 from restaurant customers who previously used/experienced one of four SSTs. A total of 619 questionnaires were usable and retained for the data analysis procedures. PLS-SEM and PLS-MGA were utilized to evaluate the conceptual model. The results revealed that emotional values were the most significant SST values that influence customer satisfaction with the restaurant SST experience and continuance intention. SSTs customization features were positively related to customer satisfaction across all the SSTs included in this study. The theoretical and practical implications of the results were discussed as well as the limitations of the study and future research directions.

Celebrity endorsement is a global billion-dollar business used by food, beverage and restaurant companies to influence dietary behaviors that may contribute to overweight and obesity. Evidence suggests that existing government policies and industry self-regulatory programs in the United States (US) do not adequately protect young Americans from celebrity endorsement that promotes energy-dense and nutrient-poor food and beverage products. This PhD dissertation describes four studies that examine the nature, extent, and perceived influence of celebrity endorsement used by business firms and non-profit organizations to promote branded food and beverage products or branded campaigns to American children, adolescents and millennial young adults to inform future research and policies to promote healthy food environments. Study one created a database of US celebrities (n=732) involved with food and beverage group, brand or product endorsements (1990-2017) to examine celebrity profiles and their endorsement relationships, company partnerships, the nutritional profile of products and brands. Evidence was analyzed using Python version 3.5.5 and SPSS version 24. Study two examined celebrities associated with the Partnership for a Healthier America's Fruits and Veggies (FNV) Campaign (2015-2016). Evidence was analyzed using data visualization tools supported by Python and SPSS, and results informed the FNV Campaign. Study three used Q methodology to explore the views of Millennials, born 1981-1994 (n=40) at Virginia Tech about celebrity endorsement of food and beverage products and brands. Participants sorted 48 celebrity images depicting brand and product endorsements on a normal distribution (+4 to -4) based on celebrity trustworthiness and complete a post Q-sort questionnaire. Data analysis used PQMethod 2.35 statistical software program, centroid factor analysis, and qualitative interpretation of unique factor arrays for sorters. Study four identified relevant evidence about US celebrity endorsement of food and beverage products (2000-2019), used an accountability framework to evaluate the adequacy of accountability structures, and suggested future policies and action needed for diverse stakeholders to use celebrity endorsement to promote healthy food environments. Future research should explore the trend of celebrity endorsement used in the US marketplace and examine the influence of this marketing strategy on young people's food preferences and choices based on more representative experimental research. / Doctor of Philosophy / Celebrity endorsement is a marketing strategy that represents a person who uses public recognition to promote the sales, use or consumption of a brand, product, or service. Celebrity endorsement has been used by food, beverage and restaurant companies to influence eating behaviors that may contribute to overweight and obesity. Evidence suggests that existing government policies and industry self-regulatory programs in the United States (US) do not adequately protect young Americans from celebrity endorsement that promotes energy-dense and nutrient-poor food and beverage products. This PhD dissertation describes four studies that examined the nature, extent, and perceived influence of celebrity endorsement used by business firms and non-profit organizations to promote branded food and beverage products or branded campaigns to American children, adolescents and millennial adults to promote healthy food environments. Study one created a database of US celebrities (n=732) involved with food and beverage group, brand or product endorsements (1990-2017) to examine celebrity profiles and their endorsement relationships. Evidence was analyzed using Python data visualization tools and SPSS statistical software. Study two examined celebrities associated with the Partnership for a Healthier America's Fruits and Veggies (FNV) Campaign (2015-2016). Evidence was analyzed using baseline celebrity data (n=82) provided by the campaign initiator, and results informed the FNV Campaign. Study three used Q methodology to explore the views of Millennials, born 1981-1994 (n=40) at Virginia Tech about celebrity endorsement of food and beverage products and brands. Participants sorted 48 celebrity images depicting brand and product endorsements based on celebrity trustworthiness and complete a post Q-sort questionnaire. Data analysis used PQMethod 2.35 statistical software to generate shared viewpoints. Study four identified relevant evidence about US celebrity endorsement of food and beverage products (2000-2019), used an accountability framework to evaluate the adequacy of accountability structures, and suggested future policies and action needed for diverse stakeholders to use celebrity endorsement to promote healthy food environments. Future research should explore the trend of celebrity endorsement used in the US marketplace and examine the influence of this marketing strategy on young people's food beverage preferences and choices based on more representative experimental research.

Childhood (ages 2-9 years) and adolescence (ages 10-19 years) make up important periods of human life. Food preferences and dietary behaviors are developing during this time, and health status can impact noncommunicable disease (NCD) risk in adulthood. Many of the behaviors associated with developing NCD are modifiable and include dietary behaviors. Globally, children and adolescents are impacted by NCD, and obesity prevalence is growing among this population. One of the recommendations for combating obesity is to promote the consumption of healthy foods and beverages and the reduction of sugar-sweetened beverage intake. In order to assess beverage patterns, the Healthy Beverage Index (HBI) was created for adults. This tool provides a score from 0-100, with higher scores indicating better adherence to evidence-based beverage recommendations. Because many beverage recommendations for children and adolescents differ from those for adults, the purpose of this thesis was to develop the HBI for U.S. Children and Adolescents (HBI-CA). National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data was used to calculate HBI-CA scores among a sample of U.S. children and adolescents. The HBI-CA resulted in scores similar to the adult HBI and provides a reference of beverage pattern quality in this population. Significant differences in scores were found among males and females and certain races. Evaluation of the HBI-CA demonstrated its construct validity and reliability. The HBI-CA still needs to undergo predictive validity tests. Overall, the HBI-CA provides a method to assess beverage pattern quality in clinical, public health, and research settings for this important population. / Master of Science / Children (ages 2-9 years) and adolescents (ages 10-19 years) makeup an important population for the implementation of dietary interventions because they are still developing their food preferences and dietary behaviors. The rise of obesity among these age groups indicates that their dietary behaviors may not be aligned with recommendations. Beverages can easily be overlooked as a dietary component, but they currently constitute a large portion of daily energy intake. In order to assess beverage pattern quality in this population, the Healthy Beverage Index for U.S. Children and Adolescents (HBI-CA) was developed based on the HBI for adults. This tool provides a score from 0-100, with higher scores indicating better adherence to evidence-based beverage recommendations. The HBI-CA also provides a resource of comprehensive beverage recommendations for these age groups, which was previously limited in the literature. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data was used to calculate HBICA scores among a sample of U.S. children and adolescents. The HBI-CA resulted in scores similar to the adult HBI and provides a reference of beverage pattern quality in this population. Significant differences in scores were found among males and females and certain races. Evaluation of the HBI-CA demonstrated its ability to reliably and consistently measure beverage pattern quality. Future evaluation of the HBI-CA should include examination of the relationship between HBI-CA scores and dietary-related health outcomes. Overall, the HBI-CA provides a method to assess beverage pattern quality in clinical, public health, and research settings for this important population.

Chiu Chung-Bun. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 85).

by So Mei. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 59). / Abstract --- p.i / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / The Company Background --- p.1 / Market Outlook --- p.3 / Step Into the Largest Consumer Market --- p.4 / Behind the Story - Protectionism Policies of Central Government --- p.5 / Scope and Objective --- p.7 / Chapter II. --- METHOD --- p.7 / Chapter III. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.8 / Chapter IV. --- SITUATION ANALYSIS --- p.18 / Business Potential --- p.19 / Government Intervention --- p.20 / Chapter V. --- STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING A CHINA BRAND : RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.21 / Business Objective --- p.22 / Business Strategy --- p.23 / Brand Portfolio Vision of Coke --- p.23 / Chapter VI --- .CHINA BRAND DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY --- p.24 / Process Overview --- p.28 / Research --- p.28 / Brand Proposition --- p.33 / Brand Architecture --- p.34 / Brand Positioning --- p.35 / Brand Characteristic --- p.39 / Brand Components --- p.40 / Brand name --- p.40 / Product --- p.41 / Packaging & Pricing --- p.42 / Launch Strategy --- p.43 / Building the brand --- p.43 / Product strategy --- p.45 / Packaging & pricing strategy --- p.45 / Distribution strategy --- p.46 / Sampling --- p.50 / Consumer promotion --- p.51 / Trade promotion --- p.52 / Future Plan --- p.53 / Chapter VII. --- CONCLUSION --- p.53 / Chapter VIII. --- APPENDIXES --- p.55 / Chapter IX. --- BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.59

This study analyzes the economic and demographic drivers of household demand for at-home consumption of nonalcoholic beverages in 1999. Drivers of available intake of calories, calcium, vitamin C, and caffeine associated with the purchase of nonalcoholic beverages also are analyzed. The 1999 ACNielsen HomeScan Panel, purchased by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, is the source of the data for this project. Many different classifications of beverages were analyzed including milk(whole, reduced fat, flavored, and non-flavored), regular and low-calorie carbonated soft drinks, powdered soft drinks, isotonics(sports drinks), juices(orange, apple, vegetable, and other juices), fruit drinks, bottled water, coffee(regular and decaffeinated), and tea(regular and decaffeinated). Probit models were used to find demographic drivers that affect the choice to purchase a nonalcoholic beverage. Heckman sample selection models and cross tabulations were used to find demographic patterns pertaining to the amount of purchase of the nonalcoholic beverages. The nutrient analysis indicated that individuals receive 211 calories, 217 mg of calcium, 45 mg of vitamin C, and 95 mg of caffeine per day from all nonalcoholic beverages. A critical finding for the nutrient analysis was that persons within households below 130% of poverty were receiving more calories and caffeine from nonalcoholic beverages compared to persons within households above 130% of poverty. Likewise, persons in households below 130% of poverty were receiving less calcium and vitamin C from nonalcoholic beverages compared to persons in households above 130% of poverty. Price and cross-price elasticities were examined using the LA/AIDS model. Methodological concerns of data frequency, beverage aggregations, and censoring techniques were explored and discussed. Own-price and cross-price elasticities for the beverages were uncovered. Price elasticities by selected demographic groups also were investigated. Results indicated that price elasticities varied by demographics, specifically for race, region, and presence of children within the household. The information uncovered in this dissertation helps to update consumer demand knowledge and nutritional intake understanding in relation to nonalcoholic beverages. The information can be used as a guide for marketing strategists for targeting and promotion as well as for policy makers looking to improve nutritional intake received from nonalcoholic beverages.

The importance of management in the food and beverage sector as well as managing food and beverage service employees are crucial aspects that influence quality service delivery. The food and beverage sector is a large service orientated segment of the greater tourism industry, and effective management of employees is therefore necessary since employees are regarded as the primary resource through which establishments deliver services. One might further argue that an employee is “the service” that customers pay for, and that the employees make the intangible service, tangible by their efficiency. The food and beverage sector is however burdened with many challenges such as long working hours, poor remuneration and unskilled employees that influence the overall working conditions of employees and furthermore their overall job satisfaction. The job satisfaction experienced by employees is closely related to Quality of Work Life, which enables employees to design their own level of job satisfaction that will contribute to improved perceived service delivery and productivity. Investigating the needs of employees and how they perceive their own service delivery and productivity is a very important consideration as these contribute to job satisfaction. The rational is that Quality of Work Life contributes to the perceived service delivery and performance of employees as satisfied employees tend to be more hardworking, more productive and will offer better quality services, especially in a service-orientated sector such as the food and beverage sector. The primary goal of the study was to determine the perceived service delivery and productivity in the food and beverage sector, by investigating how commercial food and beverage service employees in Potchefstroom, North-West Province of South Africa, perceive their own service delivery and productivity. In order to reach the goal of the study a self-administrated questionnaire was distributed among food and beverage service employees at various types of establishments such as hotel restaurants, family restaurants, restaurants, fast food outlets, bars, coffee shops and commercial caterers. A total of 224 questionnaires were obtained and included in the statistical data analysis. The data was captured and analysed in the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS), while Amos was utilised for the Structural Equation Model (SEM). The statistical analysis used in this study consisted of three (3) stages. Firstly, the profile of the respondents, the work life domains and the employees’ business environment was compiled with the help of two-way frequency tables and illustrated with the help of Figures and Tables. Secondly, an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was done on the work life domains and Finally a Structural Equation Model was performed to indicate the relationship between the work life domains and the influence thereof on perceived service delivery and productivity. The Principal Axis Factor analysis identified seven factors namely job attributes, social attributes, esteem attributes, actualisation attributes, creativity and aesthetic attributes, organisational support and employee commitment and perceived service delivery and productivity. Service and productivity business environment attributes scored the highest mean value (4.00) and this was followed by the esteem work life domain (3.68). Structural Equation Models were performed to indicate the relationship between the work life domains, business environment attributes and the influence thereof on perceived service delivery and productivity. The correlations between the factors in the final SEM indicated that though there exists correlations between organisational support and employee commitment and actualisation attributes, between actualisation and job attributes, and between organisational support and employee commitment and job attributes. Creativity and aesthetic attributes and job attributes indicated correlations, while, organisational support and creativity and aesthetic attributes correlated. Actualisation and creativity and aesthetic attributes correlated as well. This indicates that food and beverage managers have to improve the working conditions of employees as well as provide the appropriate level of recognition to the hardworking employees. Management should consider the recommendations that are made in terms of job satisfaction of food and beverage service employees, as it possesses the ability to influence organisational performance and success. This research was the first study conducted among employees in the commercial food and beverage sector. It made a considerable contribution to literature as, there is to date, limited research available on the influence that Quality of Work life has on the perceived service delivery and productivity of employees in the food and beverage sector. Furthermore, this research provides valuable insights into the job satisfaction and perceived service delivery and productivity of South African food and beverage employees and how best to manage these employees with South African working conditions in mind. There is, however, ample opportunity to expand this type of research in many other tourism industries or sectors, to understand the degree to which employees’ perceptions of their own service delivery and productivity might influence organisational performance. Expanding this research will therefore be invaluable as organisational performance is the main objective of all commercial establishments as it contributes to the improvement of the sector and its competitiveness and profitability. / Thesis (MCom (Tourism Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013