Managerial Implications

The findings from this research offer ethnic restaurant operators valuable information and insights with which to assess their operation, improve their competitiveness and assist them in developing more efficient marketing and operational strategies to attract and retain customers. The results identify Dining Experience, Social Status, Service Quality, Food Quality, and Value for Money as the significant factors that influence consumers to dine at an upscale ethnic restaurant.

Moreover, the results of the study indicate that certain factors are more important than others in influencing consumers’ decision on an upscale ethnic restaurant. The results have implications for determining how restaurant management should allocate their efforts and resources. Resource allocation can be prioritised based on the relative importance of the choice factors. For example, the results show that Dining

Experience is the most important choice factor in influencing consumers’ decision. Ethnic restaurant operators should therefore pay extra attention to create a pleasurable dining experience for their existing and potential customers.

This study clearly identifies Dining Experience, which includes different dining experiences, cultural learning, restaurant atmosphere, and authentic restaurant design. These factors can be controlled to a large extent by restaurant management. Ethnic restaurants have the advantage of offering exotic dining experiences which can satisfy consumers who want to escape from their ordinary routines (H. Kim, 2000). Ethnic restaurant operators can design their restaurants to reflect and maintain the ethnic authenticity in order to give diners the impression that they have been exposed to the different dining experience. The whole restaurant experience including settings, atmosphere, and restaurant staff can be designed to boost the ethnic theme. The incorporation of traditional artwork, music, staff dress and/or other ethnic features is a way to communicate ethnic and cultural identity, which may also provide the

additional benefit of making diners feel as if they were transformed into another exotic land.

The findings of Social Status as an influential factor are consistent with the study of Peters (2005) and Cheng (2006) who highlighted that restaurant patrons associated their dining out with social status and esteem. Restaurant management can opt for a trendy and classy image to attract consumers who are concerned about their personal image when dining out. For example, a restaurant that has stylish furnishing and interior design, professional-looking wait staff, and quality tableware may attract diners who are looking for a fine dining environment that can boost their self-esteem. Further, the restaurant should offer a wide range of beverages as many diners view drinking as an important part of their dining out experience. An extensive wine list, especially one that includes mid- to higher-range vintages, is another feature restaurants can use to attract classy and sophisticated consumers who seek

extraordinary dining choices. Ethnic restaurants may also offer imported drinks to attract consumers who look for specialty beverages that are not commonly found in conventional restaurants in order to add an additional level of exclusivity to the dining experience.

In addition, the results indicate that Service Quality significantly influences a choice of an upscale ethnic restaurant. The literature review and results of factor analysis identified service staff behaviour, waiting time, and accuracy of billing as components of Service Quality in this study. Restaurant staff who are well-trained, have a good knowledge of the menu, and possess excellent interpersonal skills are vital for customers’ perceptions of restaurant dining experience (Pratten, 2003; Sulek & Hensley, 2004). Therefore, restaurateurs should place a strong emphasis on staff training to ensure they have a service mind and are willing to deliver high-quality service. The standard performance assessment of staff can be set with these qualities in mind and reviewed regularly. It is particularly important for ethnic restaurants that wait staff have a good knowledge of the menu items, so that they are able to clarify any unfamiliar menu items or ingredients to consumers.

Another aspect of service quality that restaurateurs should not overlook is the

accuracy of the billing process. An accurate check is among the most critical service- related factors that diners use in their evaluation of dining experience (Heung et al., 2000; Kelly & Carvell, 1987). Staff who are responsible for billing should be trained to take extra care when calculating the total bill by rechecking the diners’ list of orders and prices. In addition, restaurants need to supply a sufficient number of staff to ensure a prompt and efficient service, especially during busy times, and have an effective reservation system to reduce waiting times.

The results also indicate that ethnic restaurant patrons prefer restaurants that prepare tasty dishes of high quality with fresh ingredients and appealing presentation and also offer a variety of choices on the menu including healthy food choices. Ethnic

restaurants have the advantage of offering exotic dishes with distinctive flavours, as opposed to the conventional restaurants that serve dishes which can usually be prepared at home. The ethnic restaurateurs should emphasise their usage of authentic ingredients on the menu. However, these ingredients need to be described clearly (e.g. written on the menu or verbally by the wait staff), so that consumers do not shy away from the meals that they know nothing about, especially for the dishes that have foreign names. Additionally, to meet the current trends and demand of a healthy lifestyle, ethnic restaurants should offer healthy food choices such as vegetarian, gluten-free or low-fat meals. Ethnic restaurants can also offer special dishes and

change the specials regularly to satisfy adventurous diners who like to try new flavours.

Furthermore, upscale ethnic restaurant management needs to ensure consumers perceive that they have a good value from dining at their restaurants. Unlike consumers of the lower-price restaurants, it is not just the price of the meal that reflects the value at upscale restaurants. Instead, upscale restaurant goers are likely to perceive value for money from the combination of other offerings such as specialty meals, a high level of service quality, and a pleasant atmosphere (Oh, 2000). Again, upscale restaurant management needs to make sure consumers perceive a pleasurable experience. For example, consumers should be accommodated for their special needs such as food allergies and the preferred level of spiciness. Any service-related or food-related defects should be resolved promptly and with care as dissatisfied customers are likely to spread negative word-of-mouth (Mangold et al., 1999; Susskind, 2002).