Executive Summary
This study considers providing healthful food options and nutrition information as strategies for creating healthful eating environments at restaurants, and aims to develop a theoretical explanation of consumer reactions to such actions that incorporates perceived corporate social responsibility.
The results show that customers perceive restaurants to be socially responsible when they are provided with healthful foods and nutrition information; highly health-conscious customers react more strongly to provision of healthful foods than their counterparts.
Consequently, customers have favorable attitude toward and high willingness to visit restaurants providing healthful foods and nutrition information. Restaurateurs should consider taking such initiatives to entice more customers and develop a socially responsible image.
Research Notes
- The survey was conducted by giving questionnaires to college students and faculty/staff at a large Northeastern university. After excluding incomplete questionnaires, answers from 162 students and 115 faculty/staff were analyzed. Most respondents were female (64%), 18-24 years old (61%), and had obtained or were working toward a bachelor’s degree (73%).
- Previously it was shown that the CSR actions of tourism companies (Nicolau, 2008) and the environmental and philanthropic actions of manufacturing companies (Mohr and Webb, 2005) positively changed customers evaluations of products and companies.
Full Report
Instructions to access the full report of: Perceived CSR by Providing Healthful Foods and Nutrition Information
Publication Date
2014/02/01
Publication
International Journal of Hospitality Management
Author(s)
Kiwon Leea, Martha Conklin, David A. Cranage, Seoki Lee