Suzana Marković – University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Primorska 42, Opatija, Croatia
Jelena Dorčić – University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Primorska 42, Opatija, Croatia
Dora Rašan – University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Primorska 42, Opatija, Croatia
Bruna Bucić – University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Primorska 42, Opatija, Croatia
Marko Blažić – University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Primorska 42, Opatija, Croatia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/EMAN.2021.381
5th International Scientific Conference – EMAN 2021 – Economics and Management: How to Cope With Disrupted Times, Online/Virtual, March 18, 2021, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia; ISBN 978-86-80194-43-1, ISSN 2683-4510
Abstract:
The Michelin Guide is considered by many to be the hallmark of global fine dining and
quality cuisine. For five years now, renowned and selected Croatian restaurants have been included
in the worldwide Michelin Guide. In the latest edition of Michelin Guide, seventy Croatian restaurants
were included. Nowadays, to find the ideal restaurant, diners are increasingly using TripAdvisor and
reviews on social media. Online reviews are a great source for capturing unique customer experiences.
The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the components of restaurant guest experiences. The
most recent online reviews on TripAdvisor of 17 Croatian Michelin guide listed restaurants (7 one-star
restaurants and 10 Bib Gourmand) were analysed. This study follows a content analysis approach. Simple
frequency counts were performed on the number of positive, negative and neutral comments. The
empirical results showed that the overall customer satisfaction in the analysed restaurants was positive.
The content analysis revealed that customers mainly focused on the food, menu offerings, ambiance,
and service in the online reviews. This study contributes to the customer experience literature by applying
data mining techniques and content analysis of online reviews to understand customers’ views of the
restaurant experience. The findings of this study also provide practical implications for restaurateurs
by identifying the key determinants in customer reviews of restaurants.
Keywords:
Online customer experience, Online review, Content analysis, Michelin Guide, Restaurant.
REFERENCES
Bekar, A. (2017). The Effects of Aesthetic Value in Food and Beverage Businesses on the Aesthetic
Experiences and Revisit Intentions of Customers. The Journal of Academic Social
Science Studies International Journal of Social Science, 54(1),373-388. http://dx.doi.
org/10.9761/JASSS6915
Bilgihan, A., Seo, S., & Choi, J. (2018). Identifying restaurant satisfiers and dissatisfiers: Suggestions
from online reviews. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 27(5),
601–625. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2018.1396275
Canny, I. U. (2014). Measuring the mediating role of dining experience attributes on customer
satisfaction and its impact on behavioral intentions of casual dining restaurant in Jakarta.
International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 5(1), 25–29. https://doi.
org/10.7763/IJIMT.2014.V5.480
Correia, A., Moital, M., Da Costa, C. F., & Peres, R. (2008). The determinants of gastronomic
tourists’ satisfaction: a second-order factor analysis. Journal of Foodservice, 19(3), 164-https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4506.2008.00097.x
De Pelsmacker, P., van Tilburg, S., & Holthof, C. (2018). Digital marketing strategies, online
reviews and hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 72, 47–
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.01.003
Di Dio, C., & Vittorio, G. (2009). Neuroaesthetics: a review. Current Opinion in Neurobiology,
19(6), 682-687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2009.09.001
Hegarty, J. A., & Barry O’Mahony, G. (2001). Gastronomy: A phenomenon of cultural expressionism
and an aesthetic for living. International Journal of Hospitality Management,
20(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4319(00)00028-1
Holmlund, M., Van Vaerenbergh, Y., Ciuchita, R., Ravald, A., Sarantopoulos, P., Ordenes, F. V.,
& Zaki, M. (2020). Customer experience management in the age of big data analytics: A
strategic framework. Journal of Business Research, 116, 356–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jbusres.2020.01.022
Horng, J. S., & Hsu, H. (2020). A holistic aesthetic experience model: Creating a harmonious
dining environment to increase customers’ perceived pleasure. Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Management, 45, 520–534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.10.006
Johnson, C., Surlemont, B., Nicod, P., & Revaz, F. (2005). Behind the stars: A concise typology
of Michelin restaurants in Europe. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly,
46(2), 170–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010880405275115
Johnston, R. (2005). Service operations management: From the roots up. International
Journal of Operations and Production Management, 25, 1298–1308. https://doi.
org/10.1108/01443570510633666
Kandampully, J., Zhang, T., & Jaakkola, E. (2018). Customer experience management in hospitality:
A literature synthesis, new understanding and research agenda. International
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1), 21–56. https://doi.org/10.1108/
IJCHM-10-2015-0549
Li, H., Ye, Q., & Law, R. (2013). Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry:
An Application of Online Review Analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research,
18(7), 784–802. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2012.708351
Li, J., Xu, L., Tang, L., Wang, S., & Li, L. (2018). Big data in tourism research: A literature
review. Tourism Management, 68, 301–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.03.009
Liu, B., & Zhang, L. (2012). A Survey of Opinion Mining and Sentiment Analysis. In C. Aggarwal
& C. Zhai (Eds.), Mining Text Data (pp. 415–463). https://doi.org/https://doi.
org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3223-4_13
Liu, Y., & Jang, S. C. (Shawn). (2009). Perceptions of Chinese restaurants in the U.S.: What affects
customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions? International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 28(3), 338–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2008.10.008
Loporcaro, G., Campo, R., & Baldassarre, F. (2017). The Effects of Food aesthetics on consumers.
Visual stimuli and food marketing. DIEM: Dubrovnik International Economic Meeting,
3(1), 553-565. https://hrcak.srce.hr/187411
Mehraliyev, F., Kirilenko, A. P., & Choi, Y. (2020). From measurement scale to sentiment scale:
Examining the effect of sensory experiences on online review rating behavior. Tourism
Management, 79, 104096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104096
Mudambi, S. M., & Schuff, D. (2010, March). What makes a helpful online review? A study of
customer reviews on amazon.com. MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems, 34,
185–200. https://doi.org/10.2307/20721420
Nakayama, M., & Wan, Y. (2019). The cultural impact on social commerce: A sentiment analysis
on Yelp ethnic restaurant reviews. Information and Management, 56(2), 271–279.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2018.09.004
Nicoli, N., & Papadopoulou, E. (2017). TripAdvisor and reputation: a case study of the hotel
industry in Cyprus. EuroMed Journal of Business, 12(3), 316–334. https://doi.org/10.1108/
EMJB-11-2016-0031
Oh, M. (Moon), & Kim, S. (Sam). (2020). Dimensionality of ethnic food fine dining experience:
An application of semantic network analysis. Tourism Management Perspectives, 35,,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100719
Raajpoot, N. A. (2002). TANGSERV: A multiple item scale for measuring tangible quality in
foodservice industry. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 5(2), 109–127. https://
doi.org/10.1300/J369v05n02_08
Ryu, K., Lee, H. R., & Kim, W. G. (2012). The influence of the quality of the physical environment,
food, and service on restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer sat
isfaction, and behavioral intentions. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 24(2), 200-223. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596111211206141
Ryu, K., & Shawn Jang, S. (2008). DINESCAPE: A scale for customers’ perception of dining
environments. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 11(1), 2–22. https://doi.
org/10.1080/15378020801926551
Şahin, A., Çolakoğlu, Ü., & Özdoğan, O. N. (2021). A research on customer experiences and
perceptions for Michelin starred restaurants, Journal of multidisciplinary academic tourism,
6(1), 61-72. https://doi.org/10.31822/jomat.835486
Santayana, G. (1896). The Sense of Beauty. NY, Charles Scribner’s Sons
Snyder, W., & Cotter, M. (1998). The Michelin Guide and Restaurant Pricing Strategies. Journal
of Restaurant & Foodservice Marketing, 3(1), 51–67. https://doi.org/10.1300/j061v03n01_04
The Michelin Guide – news. (2019). Retrieved from The MICHELIN Guide, TripAdvisor and
TheFork Launch an International Strategic Partnership website: http://www.somersetcottage.
co.nz/blog/810/Michelin-Guide
Tian, G., Lu, L., & McIntosh, C. (2021). What factors affect consumers’ dining sentiments and
their ratings: Evidence from restaurant online review data. Food Quality and Preference,,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104060
Vidal, L., Ares, G., Machín, L., & Jaeger, S. R. (2015). Using Twitter data for food-related
consumer research: A case study on “what people say when tweeting about different eating
situations.” Food Quality and Preference, 45, 58–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.
2015.05.006
Wakefield, K. L., & Blodgett, J. G. (1999). Customer response to intangible and tangible service
factors. Psychology and Marketing, 16(1), 51–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-
6793(199901)16:1<51::AID-MAR4>3.0.CO;2-0
Wooley, S. C., & Wooley, O. W. (1973). Salivation to the sight and thought of food: a new measure
of appetite. Psychosomatic Medicine, 35(2), 136–142. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-
197303000-00006
Wu, C. H. J., & Liang, R. Da. (2009). Effect of experiential value on customer satisfaction with
service encounters in luxury-hotel restaurants. International Journal of Hospitality Management,
28(4), 586–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2009.03.008
Xie, K. L., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, Z. (2014). The business value of online consumer reviews and
management response to hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management,
43, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.07.007
Yu, B., Zhou, J., Zhang, Y., & Cao, Y. (2017). Identifying restaurant features via sentiment analysis
on yelp reviews. ArXiv, 1–6.