The effects of atmospherics on the visitation motives of users in casual dining restaurants

Abstract

As restaurants are not just places for eating out, previous research showed that users’ need for restaurant consumption is driven by various motivations. Very few studies also revealed that the assessment of restaurant attributes differ across these visitation-motives. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of non-food restaurant attributes on user preferences and their visitation-motives in the casual dining restaurant context. Based on an extensive literature review, five dimensions of restaurant atmospherics were selected: interior colors, lighting, ambience, furnishings and layout. A field study approach was used and a total of 172 participants from four casual dining restaurants in Ankara were recruited. Although further research needs to be done, this study shows the cues of potential relationship between restaurant attributes and visitation-motives.