Factors affecting choice and image of ethnic restaurants in Serbia

With the expansion of dining out, visiting ethnic restaurants is becoming one of dominant trends worldwide. Given the fact that ethnic restaurants involve a number of peculiar elements that are not present when visiting regular “local” restaurants, the purpose of this paper is to identify the key determinants of choosing a particular ethnic-themed restaurant, as well as factors that have an impact on an ethnic restaurant’s perceived image.

Research was done by conducting two separate studies. The first study identified factors that were generally the most significant to respondents when making a choice of an ethnic restaurant in which to dine. For the second study, a new sample of respondents – consisting of those who had just visited such an establishment – was used in order to determine which factors have the most significant impact on creating an image of ethnic restaurants. The research was therefore directed toward those restaurants where the customers can experience a unique atmosphere and ambiance that are synonymous within a given culture.

The results obtained from the first study show that quality of food and price are the two most significant factors that determine which restaurant will be visited. On the other hand, the interior and exterior ranked as the two least important factors. In addition, the second study revealed that following the visit, the strongest impact on the restaurant’s image was its interior. Following interior, service quality surfaced as the most important antecedent of perceived image, while the impacts of price and exterior were weaker, but still statistically significant.

The study itself was done in two stages. In the first stage the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) model was used for ranking factors significant for choosing an ethnic restaurant, while in the second stage, structural equation modeling (SEM) model was used to identify triggers of perceived image after a visit to an ethnic restaurant. Future research should utilize both models to determine antecedents of the variables used. Apart from this, it is recommended to employ new variables that further explore the uniqueness of the ethnic restaurants.

One of the main contributions of this work is related to combining of the AHP and SEM models, with the objective of completing a comparative results analysis, identifying in the process the positive aspects of both models and building a foundation for their coordination in terms of future use. This is significant, given that only a few prior studies have used such synergy.