A multilevel investigation of China’s regional economic conditions on co-creation of dining experience and outcomes

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how the presence of other customers in restaurant social settings becomes a resource (referred to as “customer-to-customer interaction” or “C2CI”) to co-create an escape dining experience and stimulate dining outcomes, namely, food attachment and dining frequency. The relationships are further tested under the effects of regional economic conditions. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by using a multi-step approach. The first data set was obtained through a personally administered survey, which included a sample of 356 Chinese tourists who dined at fine Western (i.e. Portuguese) restaurants in Macau. The second data set concerned economic statistics and was obtained from the statistics departments of mainland China and Taiwan. A multilevel design with hierarchical linear modeling was used to test the proposed model. Multilevel mediating and moderating effects were also examined. Findings The results suggest that customer escape dining experience significantly mediated the relationship between C2CI and food attachment, while food attachment fully mediated the relationship between customer escape experience and dining frequency. The multilevel effect of regional economic conditions played a significant role in moderating the C2CI–escape experience relationship in which the effect of C2CI was more salient for tourists from less economically developed regions in China. The experience–food attachment relationship was also contingent on the regional economic conditions in which the relationship was stronger for tourists from less economically developed areas. A multilevel mediating effect was also presented in the study. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on experience co-creation in restaurant dining by exploring and testing the possibility of the presence of other customers to become a resource of experience co-creation, which is currently overlooked in the restaurant dining literature. The study advances the concept of co-creation by including the presence of other customers and restates the active role of diners in creating experiences. It also considers the existence of structural patterns in individualized experiences.

Cocreation of the hospitality brand experience: A triadic interaction model

“…This shift of customers’ roles is able to help expand ways in which they could better enjoy the customer journey through enhanced experiences (Huang and Hsu, 2010; Kim and Choi, 2016). In fact, customers are not merely consuming a service, but they are also sharing a range of resources to others (Martin and Pranter, 1989) and hence, cocreating experiences for a given brand (Ji et al, 2018; Makkonen and Olkkonen, 2017). That is, consumers are indeed a critical part of the service delivery process as they often act as ‘partial employees’ who assist and express care for one another in a way that even goes beyond service staff (Bettencourt, 1997; Kim and Choi, 2016).…”

“…The customer experience has taken center stage in the literature on the hospitality industry since competing on product and service attributes may not be sufficient in ensuring customer loyalty (Ji et al, 2018; Morosan and DeFranco, 2019). As customers experience a brand, they are exposed to various brand attributes such as brand design, service setting, employees, and customers they interact with (Brakus et al, 2009; Ding and Tseng, 2015).…”

Smartphone Users’ Satisfaction and Regional Aspects:Factors that Emerge from Online Reviews

“…Studies on customer satisfaction have considered regional and transnational differences in their models to investigate the influence of such differences in loyalty and satisfaction (Morgeson et al, 2011;. Such studies analyzed regional characteristics and determining individual aspects in user and costumer behavior intention with the premise that individual experiences and perceptions are subject to structural influences (Ji et al, 2018). Thus, the economic development of a region can play as a satisfaction precedent (Zhang, Zhang, & Law, 2013;.…”

“…Some studies have shown that individuals from more developed areas tend to be more demanding and attribute lower satisfaction levels when reviewing products and services when compared to individuals from less developed areas (Zhang, Zhang, & Law, 2013;Xu et al, 2019). Such conclusion may be due to the fact that individuals with a higher economic status have higher expectations about products and services; therefore, they are more critical when reviewing their consumption or use experience (Morgeson et al, 2011;Ji et al, 2018). Fudge and Van Ryzin (2012), for example, investigated the influence of individual characteristics, such as socioeconomic factors, ethnics, gender, and political positioning, on the use of government websites.…”

“…They concluded that economic status and population density affect individuals' satisfaction. Similarly, Ji et al (2018) studied the influence of regional differences in customers' experience in Chinese restaurants using a model that considered disparate economic and sociocultural indicators.…”