▼ Due to the fact that brand equity has received significant research attention, brand image in the customer-based brand equity framework, has been recognized as an important concept in marketing and consumer behavior research. While an increasing number of studies have focused on conceptualizing brand image, empirical research on brand image in the restaurant industry has been consistently criticized for deficiencies of theoretical grounding and conceptual rigor. Therefore, there is an urgent need to investigate ways in which brand image can be empirically measured so that researchers can effectively analyze the key variables related to it. The current study attempted to bridge this existing gap by developing an effective brand image measurement and model. Grounded in the foundation of marketing and hospitality literature as well Keller’s customer-based brand equity framework, this study developed a conceptual model that explains the relationships between the antecedents and consequences of brand image. The objectives of this research are: 1) to develop reliable and valid scales to measure brand image in a restaurant context; 2) to propose an integrated model of the causal relationship between the antecedents and consequences of brand image, by relying on Keller’s customer-based brand equity framework. Based on the proposed model, nine hypotheses were developed with six latent variables. Through focus group interviews and a pretest, the measurements were refined and the questionnaire used for the main study was developed. Data was analyzed using the 417 surveys. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in AMOS 17.0 were employed to evaluate the measurement model, to measure the model fitness of data and to test the research hypotheses and relationships among the latent constructs. The results from the main study revealed a significant relationship between mostly all constructs in the model except the relationship between brand image and attitudinal brand loyalty. The findings clearly showed the primary effect of brand awareness and brand familiarity as the antecedents to brand image. It was concluded that brand awareness drivers brand image, customer satisfaction, brand trust and attitudinal brand loyalty. Moreover, the results indicated the critical mediating effect of brand image between its antecedents and consequences. The study also highlighted the importance of customer satisfaction and trust in order to establishing a customer’s attitudinal brand loyalty. From a theoretical perspective, this study developed a brand image scale and proposed an integrated model of brand image in customer-based brand equity framework in a casual dining restaurant context. The study also provides several managerial implications for chain restaurant managers and marketers by stressing the importance of brand image in the hospitality industry with a view to enhancing the marketers’ understanding of the factors that may dilute or enhance brand image and thereby provide insights into brand equity management. Advisors/Committee Members: Kandampully, Jay.

▼ With the increasing awareness of global climate change and natural disasters, environmental protection is an issue of high topicality and relevance. Companies across all sectors try to develop products and practices with minimized environmental effect as part of socially responsible practices, but also in order to establish themselves in a new niche for consumers with environmental concerns. This is also true for the hospitality and tourism industry where businesses often rely on the integrity of the environment. However, while a number of studies exist for the lodging sector, there has been done almost no research on green practices in the food service industry. Given the large number of restaurants in the U.S. and the consumer’s common habit of frequently eating out, there is a high need for restaurants to engage in green practices. In fact, restaurants who exhibit strong interest in environmental issues and actively participate in eco-friendly practices could distinct themselves from other businesses, hence creating a significant competitive advantage. Therefore, the purpose of this study is twofold: to explore consumer attitudes towards various areas of green practices in restaurants and consumers’ willingness to pay for green restaurants, and to predict attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control leading to the likelihood of consumers to actively seek and visit green restaurants. Ajzen’s (1985) Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a theoretical foundation to examine the influence of consumers’ demographic characteristics on attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control toward green practices in restaurants as well as the influence of those three constructs on consumers’ intention to dine in such restaurants. Data was collected with the help of a structured survey questionnaire that consumers of casual dining restaurants were asked to fill out while waiting for their food. The study sample was 455. Descriptive statistics were obtained in order to answer the exploratory questions and the hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regressions. The analyses revealed that a majority of consumers perceived the area of “green action” as very important, and many consumers were willing to pay up to ten percent more for green restaurants. Furthermore, several demographic characteristics were related with the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior, and attitudes and subjective norm were good predictors of intention to dine at a green restaurant. A collection of qualitative data gave further inside into consumers’ thoughts and values. Advisors/Committee Members: Kandampully, Jay.

▼ This dissertation examines the impact of natural disasters and five types of community resources or capital stocks (social, economic, physical, human, and natural capital), on three measures of hospitality industry survival (the impact on restaurant and hotel units; number of jobs; and annual payroll) at the county level of analysis using population level data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The investigation and explanation of the effects of natural disasters on restaurants and hotels in the hospitality industry form the core purpose of the research. The secondary purpose is to understand the impact of community resources on industry resilience. Research in this area has been limited and produced confounding results. Researchers in the hospitality industry embrace different approaches to recovery and resilience hospitality when analyzing the effects of natural disasters. There is an understandably heightened concern for the safety and protection of guests during extreme hazard events, so that recovery and resilience almost always refers to the evacuation of guests to safe shelters and the preservation of life. This research however is interested in the effects of natural disasters on the survival of businesses that comprise the hospitality industry sector, restaurants and hotels, in the North Central region of the United States. This question has not been posed or answered before with population level data for the hospitality industry. This research also purports that businesses do not exist in isolation but, rather, in relationship with the communities in which they reside, so that what happens to the community also impacts businesses in the community. As such, the second research question investigates aspects of the community that may impact hospitality industry resilience. This research takes on the empirical challenge of merging multiple public use data sets. The data used for the analysis of industry resilience were counties in the North Central region of the U.S. from 1998 to 2000 (n=983). The major obstacle to this and similar analyses has been lack of complete data. This obstacle was overcome by merging data sets using Federal Information Processing system (FIPS) codes. Datasets included the Census County Business Patterns (CBP) which provided industry data; the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development provided social capital data; the Cooperative Regional Research Project NC 1030, partially supported by the U.S.D.A., provided human, economic, physical and natural capital data; and the University of South Carolina’s SHELDUS dataset provided disaster data. The analysis may increase our understanding of why some hospitality and tourism firms recover from natural disasters and others do not, referenced as firm resilience in the current research. The primary dependent variable is the change in the number of establishments; the change in the number of jobs; and the change in the annual payroll of hospitality and tourism establishments at the county level in the 11 states of the North Central region of the U.S. Our predictor variables are county-level measures of social, human, physical, economic, and natural capital as developed by Mayunga, 2007. We conduct SPSS and regression analysis to understand the role of community resilience on hospitality and tourism industry resilience. The model that best predicts outcomes on the hospitality industry indicates that community capitals are significant indicator variables for industry resilience in the North Central region of the U.S. Indirect effects of natural disasters explain a greater proportion of the change in hospitality industry resilience than do direct effects. Advisors/Committee Members: Stafford, Katherine.

▼ Americans are gaining weight. As such, the issue of obesity has received theincreased attention. One of the most recent concerns is how the food industry is contributing to the problem of obesity and related health problems; increased consumption of food away from home, food which often contains high levels of calories and fats, may be worsening the problem of obesity. Thus, while restaurants make an effort to develop and introduce healthy food, the government has also addressed the problem by introducing The Menu Education and Labeling Act (MELA), which requires restaurants to present nutritional information on the menu. Such legislation has been proposed or passed in several cities and states. Accordingly, the importance of and the interest in nutritional information disclosure has increased. A thorough examination of the effects of nutritional information disclosure is required in order to achieve the benefits of nutritional information disclosure for restaurateurs, consumers, and policy makers. The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding of how consumers process nutritional information in a restaurant and which factors influence consumers’ nutritional information processes and food choices. More specifically, this study sought to determine the effect of providing nutritional information on a menu, as well as the moderating effects of several factors such as nutritional menu context, motivation to process nutritional information, and nutritional knowledge. In order to achieve this purpose, an experimental design method was employed to collect data. An experimental design was developed using three key variables: nutritional information level, nutritional level of target items, and nutritional level of menu context. Using the results of two pilot studies, favorable menu items available in restaurants and six important nutrient contents were selected; levels of nutritional values for the six nutrient contents were selected for each menu item. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses, and significant results were found. First, the presence of nutritional information had a negative effect on consumer food evaluation and decisions, regardless of the healthiness of the item at hand. Additionally, the healthiness of other alternatives on the menu significantly influenced consumer food decision processes as well as the effect of nutritional information disclosure. Thus, it was concluded that the placement of menu items on the menu is very important in promoting healthy item choices. It is important to educate and encourage consumers to process nutritional information accurately because motivation to process enhances the effects of nutritional information disclosure. The results of this study provide useful information not only for restaurateurs, who may be able to develop more efficient marketing strategies using nutritional information, but also for consumers, who will be able to make better choices when eating foods away from home. Advisors/Committee Members: George, R. Thomas.

▼ Previously, most substance use research on workplace alcohol and drug problems have focused on four aspects: social control, norm, availability and stress. Due to the prevalence of substance use problem in the food service industry, this study investigates food service employee involvement with alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drug using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 cohort. Self-selection is first examined using a multinomial logistic regression model. Then availability theory, norm theory, and stress theory are extended and tested by a number of job-related risk factors to predict employee substance use, using OLS models. Results show some evidence of self-selection: previous binge alcohol users and marijuana users had a greater likelihood to work in the food service industry. After controlling for previous substance use and individual backgrounds, bartending, tip earning, and holding multiple jobs were the major risk factors for employee alcohol or illicit drug use in the food service industry. Implications for practitioners are discussed and future research opportunities are then presented. Advisors/Committee Members: Tews, Michael.