Past Experience and Self-Image in Fine Dining Intentions

The purpose of this study is to explore fine dining restaurants'performance factors and their differential effects on behavioral intentions of novice (i.e., first time) versus experienced (i.e., repeated) customers. In addition, a moderating role of self-image, which was held by the customer, for restaurant performance is investigated to increase restaurant marketers' understanding of how fine dining customers decide to repatronize a restaurant. Results confirm that enhanced performance in service and product quality and physical environments increases the customer's perceptions of overall restaurant performance and customer behavioral intentions. However, the customer's perceptions of restaurant performance appear to have different implications for either his/her intention to repatronize or to recommend, respectively. Understanding the customer's self-image perceptions and past dining experiences is shown to be useful also in developing positioning strategies for fine dining restaurants.