Driven
by a growth of single-person households and individualized lifestyles, solo
dining in restaurants is an increasingly recognizable trend. However, little is
known about solo diners’ motives and preferences in on- and off-premises
restaurant dining and the subsequent behavioral intentions. In order to enhance
the understanding of solo diners’ motives, preferences, and behavioral
intentions in restaurant dining, this dissertation proposed and completed three
studies related to solo (vs. group) diners’ menu-decision making process, solo
(vs. group) diners’ service mode-decision making process, and a restaurant
scale development for solo diner friendliness. Specifically, Study 1 examined
the effect of dining social context (solo vs. group) on healthy or indulgent
menu item decisions using self-control dilemmas and temporal construal theory
as a theoretical framework. Findings revealed that solo diners showed less
preferences for indulgent menu items because of a more utilitarian (i.e., less
hedonic) consumption orientation than group diners, and that solo diners showed
more preferences for healthy menu items than group diners when the menu
included nutrition information such as calories, fat, and sodium. Study 2
examined the effect of dining social context (solo vs. group) on off-site over
on-site dining intentions based on three mediators and the moderating role of
self-determination using the self-determination theory. Findings revealed that,
in the self-determined condition, solo diners showed more preferences for
off-premises dining than group diners via greater convenience-seeking and
polychronicity-seeking tendencies and lower anticipated enjoyment of on-premises
dining. In the context-determined condition, solo diners showed more
preferences for off-premises dining than group diners only via
polychronicity-seeking and anticipated enjoyment of on-premises dining, and the
effects were smaller. Lastly, Study 3 developed and validated a Solo Diner
Friendliness (SoDF) scale that measured restaurant menu and service dimensions important
for solo diners’ enjoyment as well as restaurant revisit intentions. The SoDF
scale provided nine items under three factors, namely, <i>Inconspicuousness</i>,
<i>Proper Service</i>, and <i>Healthy Menu Items</i>, that are valid and
reliable measurements for future research and restaurant operators. Altogether,
this dissertation offered theoretical and practical implications regarding how solo
diners differed from group diners on various motivational and behavioral perspectives
in on- and off-premises restaurant dining.<br>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/12268523 |
| Date | 07 May 2020 |
| Creators | EunSol Her (8811905) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/Solo_Diners_Motives_Preferences_and_Behavioral_Intentions_in_Restaurant_Dining/12268523 |
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