Food represents a critical tourism resource that facilitates tourists’ engagement with and understanding of a destination’s unique cultural identity. Experiencing local cuisine as a manifestation of regional culture allows tourists to deepen their...
Food represents a critical tourism resource that facilitates tourists’ engagement with and understanding of a destination’s unique cultural identity. Experiencing local cuisine as a manifestation of regional culture allows tourists to deepen their appreciation and positive emotional responses. Positive emotions create attachment to a specific object or place, motivating people to return to that area, and ultimately have a positive impact on behavioral intentions such as repeat visits or positive word-of-mouth.
In particular, Korean dessert cafes situated within the historical city of Gyeongju can strengthen the region’s cultural identity and offer distinctive experiential opportunities, thereby contributing to its tourism competitiveness.
Accordingly, it is imperative to investigate the underlying mechanisms through which the physical environment and experiential value of Korean dessert cafes foster the formation of place attachment.
Therefore, this study seeks to empirically examine the relationships among the physical environment, experiential value, place attachment, emotional responses, and behavioral intentions in Korean dessert cafes in Gyeongju, with particular attention to the moderating role of menu reputation.
The purpose of this study is 1) To investigate the relationship between the physical environment and place attachment, 2) To investigate the relationship between experiential value and place attachment, 3) To investigate the relationship between place attachment and emotional responses, 4) To investigate the relationship between emotional responses and behavioral intentions, 5) To empirically investigate the moderating role of menu reputation in the relationship between emotional responses and behavioral intentions.
To accomplish this objective, a structured questionnaire was developed drawing upon previous studies, and a total of 510 questionnaires were distributed to participants. After excluding 12 incomplete or invalid responses, 498 valid questionnaires were retained for the final analysis.
The results of the study are as follows.
First, the results indicate that the physical environment of Korea dessert cafes exerts a significant and positive influence on place attachment.
Second, the results indicate that the experiential value of Korean dessert cafes exerts a significant and positive influence on place attachment.
Third, the results indicate that place attachment exerts a significant and positive influence on emotional responses.
Fourth, the results indicate that emotional responses exert a significant and positive influence on behavioral intentions.
Fifth, the results indicate that menu reputation serves as a significant moderating variable in the relationship between emotional responses and behavioral intentions.
Building upon these findings, this study offers strategic implications for strengthening the competitive advantage and promoting the sustainable growth of Korean dessert cafes within an increasingly competitive marketplace.
This significance of this study lies in establishing theoretical foundations for understanding and predicting consumer behavior by empirically verifying the interrelationships among place attachment, emotional responses, and positive behavioral intentions.