What makes diners return to farm-to-table restaurants? An emotion- centred stimulus-organism-response model from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Farm-to-table (FTT) restaurants drive sustainable dining in emerging markets, yet little empirical evidence clarifies how specific service stimuli evoke the emotional states that sustain customer loyalty. Drawing on the stimulus- organism-response (SOR) model and cognitive appraisal theory, this study examines how four FTT stimuli, namely communication, practices, employee behaviour and atmospherics shape emotional responses and revisit intentions in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Survey data from 290 diners were analysed via PLS-SEM to test direct and indirect effects. Results show FTT practices exert the strongest influence on emotional response, followed by atmospherics, communication and employee behaviour. Emotional response, in turn, is the dominant predictor of revisit intention and significantly mediates the stimulus-revisit relationship. These findings indicate core FTT practices are disproportionately more potent than peripheral cues in shaping customer emotion. By embedding cognitive appraisal theory in the SOR model, this study challenges traditional rational choice models, validating an affective-cognitive paradigm for sustainable consumption. Practically, the study offers scalable blueprints for edutainment technologies, sustainable HR management and cross-industry applications, extending emotion-centred service research into an underexamined Southeast Asian context.