Beyond local food consumption: the impact of local food consumption experience on cultural competence, eudaimonia and behavioral intention

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationships among local food consumption experience, cultural competence, eudaimonia, and behavioral intention. Building upon acculturation theory, need hierarchy theory and self-determination theory, the current study develops a conceptual model of local food consumption as international tourists’ acculturation process. Design/methodology/approach This study collects data from 305 Chinese outbound tourists and uses partial least squares-structural equation modeling to examine the developed model. Findings The findings reveal a significant effect of the local food consumption experience, consisting of novel, authentic, sensory and social dimensions, on cultural competence, which subsequently evokes eudaimonia and behavioral response toward local food. The mediating effect of cultural competence is also confirmed. Practical implications Destination marketers and restaurant managers should recognize local food consumption as a meaningful tool that contributes to tourists’ cultural competence and eudaimonic well-being during travel. They should strive to craft an indigenous consumption setting and provide employee training on the history and culture of local food, helping tourists understand local food customs and embrace different food cultures. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, very few studies have attempted to examine the meaningful consequences of local food consumption through the theoretical lens of acculturation. This study dives into international tourists’ local food consumption and pioneers a conceptual model to capture how local food consumption experience provokes their eudaimonia and behavioral desires through the mechanism of cultural competence.

Coffee and gastronomy: a potential ‘marriage’? The case of Vietnam

“…Associated with this proposition, a first theoretical implication relates to the need to consider these three dimensions when seeking to learn about or ascertain the harmonisation between local products and the broader hospitality and tourism settings of a country or region. Importantly, local food consumption contributes to visitors’ cultural competence (Lin et al , 2022) and increased knowledge of the destinations’ food culture (Hsu et al , 2022). The second theme, which evaluated the “marriage” between coffee and Vietnamese gastronomy more closely, is mainly discerned through the coffee-based innovation and the illuminating-engaging dimensions.…”

“…Firstly, coffee tourism relates to the consumption of coffee as well as the products, culture, history and traditions of a destination (Jolliffe and Bui, 2006), while gastronomic tourism relates to "the place of food in the culture of the host" (Ellis et al, 2018, p. 253). Coffee tourism includes visitation to coffee farms or cooperatives of small coffee growers, where visitors learn about coffee and the history of coffee (Lyon, 2013).…”

Components of tourists' palace cuisine dining experiences: the case of ottoman-concept restaurants

“…In today's world, food can be considered a significant way of experiencing the local culture (Badu-Baiden et al , 2022; Cifci et al , 2022a, b; Qian et al , 2020). Therefore, destination practitioners, who are aware of this situation, have started focusing on local food to increase the attractions of destinations (Lin et al , 2023; Park and Widyanta, 2022).…”

Typographic design of outdoor signage, restaurant authenticity, and consumers’ willingness to dine: extending semiotic theory

“…In today's restaurant business, authenticity is considered as a key business competency (Aksenova et al, 2022;Soltani et al, 2021). Scholars (e.g., De Vries and Go, 2017;Lin et al, 2022) have been emphasizing the significant role of restaurants' internal and external environment in shaping customers' authenticity perception as it often reflects the business culture. However, little empirical support is available on the association between the restaurant's external environment (e.g., external façade and signage) and customers' authenticity perception of restaurants (Magnini et al, 2011;Song and Kim, 2022), and the dominant literature focuses on the internal environment, such as food, décor, music, and staff ethnicity (Mohamed et al, 2020;Richards, 2021;Song et al, 2019;Yang et al, 2022).…”

“…In today’s restaurant business, authenticity is considered as a key business competency (Aksenova et al , 2022; Soltani et al , 2021). Scholars (De Vries and Go, 2017; Lin et al , 2022) have been emphasizing the significant role of restaurants’ internal and external environment in shaping customers’ authenticity perception, as it often reflects the business culture. However, little empirical support is available on the association between the restaurant’s external environment (e.g.…”