Ivan-Damir Anic, Natasa Kurnoga and Blazenka Knezevic
This paper aims to detect the patterns of food-related lifestyles of university students, identify the groups of individuals based on these lifestyles and investigate their…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to detect the patterns of food-related lifestyles of university students, identify the groups of individuals based on these lifestyles and investigate their tendency to adopt innovative food products.
Design/methodology/approach
The data collected from university students in Croatia (n = 641) were analysed using factor and cluster analyses and a chi-squared test.
Findings
The findings revealed 11 food-related lifestyles and four groups of university students: “Convenience-oriented”, “Conscious consumers”, “Adventurous eaters” and “Family-oriented Cooks”. Adventurous eaters are the most interested in buying innovative food products, and many of them are food innovators (20%). Sampled individuals are open to new foods, and only a tiny percentage are reluctant to try new and unfamiliar foods.
Practical implications
The study provides recommendations on how marketers and food producers might target these consumers more efficiently and boost the sales of innovative food products.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by (1) revealing food-related lifestyles among university students in Croatia, (2) developing the typology of consumers based on their lifestyles and (3) providing new knowledge of how food-related lifestyles affect the adoption of innovative food products.
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This study aims to test whether a) differences existed in dissent expression between women in management and nonmanagement positions and b) the differences varied between white…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test whether a) differences existed in dissent expression between women in management and nonmanagement positions and b) the differences varied between white women and women of color.
Design/methodology/approach
Responses from 1,011 employed women in the US were analyzed for the study.
Findings
Results revealed that in management vs nonmanagement status, women employees were more likely to express upward dissent and employ dissent strategies that signified both influence and lack of influence in organizations. However, race-based differences existed in the expressions of some forms of dissent.
Originality/value
Research has shown that employees in management vs nonmanagement status express more upward dissent and employ dissent strategies that signify influence in organizations. However, can this be the case for women employees? Although previous research has explored dissent expression extensively in US organizations, women employees' dissent expression has not received much attention in social-scientific studies. In these studies, gender and race were treated as mere demographic variables to describe sample compositions despite these variables being influential factors in organizational life. Through an intersectional approach to identities, this study’s findings call upon organizations to address iniquities that limit dissent expression based on identity hierarchies.
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Ihor Rudko, Aysan Bashirpour Bonab, Maria Fedele and Anna Vittoria Formisano
This study, a theoretical article, aims to introduce new institutionalism as a framework through which business and management researchers can explore the significance of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study, a theoretical article, aims to introduce new institutionalism as a framework through which business and management researchers can explore the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) in organizations. Although the new institutional theory is a fully established research program, the neo-institutional literature on AI is almost non-existent. There is, therefore, a need to develop a deeper understanding of AI as both the product of institutional forces and as an institutional force in its own right.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors follow the top-down approach. Accordingly, the authors first briefly describe the new institutionalism, trace its historical development and introduce its fundamental concepts: institutional legitimacy, environment and isomorphism. Then, the authors use those as the basis for the queries to perform a scoping review on the institutional role of AI in organizations.
Findings
The findings reveal that a comprehensive theory on AI is largely absent from business and management literature. The new institutionalism is only one of many possible theoretical perspectives (both contextually novel and insightful) from which researchers can study AI in organizational settings.
Originality/value
The authors use the insights from new institutionalism to illustrate how a particular social theory can fit into the larger theoretical framework for AI in organizations. The authors also formulate four broad research questions to guide researchers interested in studying the institutional significance of AI. Finally, the authors include a section providing concrete examples of how to study AI-related institutional dynamics in business and management.
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Jinhong Gong, Xinhua Guan and Tzung-Cheng Huan
This study aims to explore the key attributes of robot chef restaurants and their influencing factors from the perspective of customers and analyzes how these key attributes…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the key attributes of robot chef restaurants and their influencing factors from the perspective of customers and analyzes how these key attributes affect customer perceived value.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods research design was used in this study. Using 473 online reviews and ratings (Study 1), the research summarized customers’ evaluations on three types of attributes (environment, service and food) and identified the key attributes along with their influencing factors. Subsequently, through field questionnaires (Study 2) involving 269 actual customers, structural equation modeling was used to analyze how the identified key attributes and their influencing factors impact customer perceived value.
Findings
This study reveals that customers in robot chef restaurants prioritize food attributes, particularly valuing food authenticity alongside food quality. In contrast to traditional restaurants, customers’ evaluations of food attributes in robot chef restaurants are significantly influenced by the competence of robot chefs. Notably, customers’ negative attitudes toward robots diminish the positive effects on both food quality and food authenticity.
Practical implications
To enhance customer perceived value, robot chef restaurants should concentrate on food attributes. They can achieve this by fostering a high-quality, authentic food experience through the elevation of robot chefs’ competence and by providing customer education.
Originality/value
This study expands research on the customer experience in robotic restaurants by proposing an integrated model determining factors that affect the perceived customer value.
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Hyunsu Kim, Sungwoo Choi and Hyejo Hailey Shin
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly involved in idea generation and production processes. To understand AI’s pivotal roles in the back-of-house operations of restaurants…
Abstract
Purpose
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly involved in idea generation and production processes. To understand AI’s pivotal roles in the back-of-house operations of restaurants, this study aims to examine the effects of AI involvement in recipe creation and food production on consumers’ willingness to order food.
Design/methodology/approach
We conduct three experiments in the context of casual dining restaurants. The authors examine the main effect of AI involvement in recipe creation and food production on the willingness to order food in a hypothetical restaurant (Study 1) and a real restaurant (Study 2). In addition, the authors also investigate the mediating role of uniqueness neglect. The authors explore whether the negative effect of AI involvement in recipe creation is attenuated in the presence of cues of uniqueness consideration (Study 3).
Findings
We demonstrate that AI involvement in food production does not elicit negative responses to a menu but that consumers show unfavorable responses when AI is involved in recipe creation. The authors also identify the mediating role of uniqueness neglect. Furthermore, the authors reveal a way to mitigate the negative perceptions of AI involvement in tasks requiring intuition and instinctive decision-making (i.e. recipe creation) by incorporating cues that emphasize uniqueness considerations.
Originality/value
We deliver causal evidence for the significant impacts of AI involvement in recipe creation and food production, using multiple experimental designs involving both hypothetical and real restaurants. The findings, thus, can tackle an ongoing challenge in the tourism and hospitality industry – the deficit of human resources in back-of-house operations.
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Marie Claire Custodio, Jhoanne Ynion, Matty Demont and Hans De Steur
This paper aims to analyze and compare consumers’ acceptance and valuation of brown, colored and low glycemic index rice and identify the factors that influence their willingness…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze and compare consumers’ acceptance and valuation of brown, colored and low glycemic index rice and identify the factors that influence their willingness to pay (WTP).
Design/methodology/approach
A stated-preference survey was conducted among 600 middle-class urban consumers in the Philippines, using a contingent valuation approach with a between-subjects design. The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple linear regression.
Findings
Consumers accepted healthier rice types, but they discounted them relative to premium white rice, despite receiving product-specific information on health benefits. Consumers’ household income, attitude toward healthy eating and their diet quality had significant effects on WTP. Snack occasions could serve as entry points for healthier rice rather than targeting the substitution of white rice during main eating occasions. Generic information on nutritional benefits of healthier rice products was insufficient to nudge consumers’ intentions toward integrating these products into their diets.
Practical implications
The empirical contribution provides insights for breeding programs on the design of rice target product profiles that incorporate nutritional attributes.
Originality/value
The current study addresses the gap in consumer preference studies by evaluating nutrition-related attributes of rice. Measures of attitude toward food-based dietary guidelines and indicators of diet quality were included in the set of predictors that may influence WTP. The results provide insights for designing nutrition education programs to promote healthier rice in the context of healthy eating habits and to enhance the health benefits of consumers’ current diets. Future studies should further explore different types of nutrition nudges that encourage consumers to eat healthier rice-based dishes and test nutrition communication strategies that move from a narrow product focus to a broader emphasis on dietary diversity by promoting healthier dishes based on healthier rice products.