MOTIVATION, ATTITUDES, AND MENU LABEL USE AND THEIR EFFECTS ON HEALTHY MENU SELECTION AMONG CUSTOMERS IN RESTAURANTS

Sunny Ham 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2016 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2016 No.7

Obesity has become a major health concern among the public, and menu labeling was mandated in many countries several years ago as an intervention to reduce obesity. Although the pursuit of healthy foods is apparent, research indicates that majority of restaurant customers do not use nutritional information for menu selection. The present study investigated customer attitudes and behaviors regarding menu labeling; specifically, the relationships among customer motivation, attitudes, menu label use, and healthy menu selection. Data were collected from a survey of 509 restaurant customers in South Korea. The findings indicated a positive effect of motivation on attitudes, menu label use, and healthy menu selection, respectively. Attitudes also positively influenced menu label use and healthy menu selection. Regarding the relationships among the variables in the proposed model, the strongest relationship was found between menu label use and healthy menu selection. In addition, attitudes serve as a mediator in the relationships between motivation and menu label use, and between motivation and healthy menu selection. Menu labeling use also mediates between attitudes and healthy menu selection. These findings can help governments or industries improve customer use of menu labels and therefore help reduce public obesity. This study is valuable in that it investigates restaurant customer use of menu labels since the menu labeling initiatives were mandated several years ago. It is academically important in that it examines various customer attitudinal and behavioral variables together regarding menu labeling.

대학급식 영양정보 표시에 대한 태도 및 이용동기가 이용의도에 미치는 영향

함선옥 ( Sunny Ham ),김영신 ( Youngshin Kim ),정윤희 ( Yunhui Jeong ),박신혜 ( Shinhye Park ),조미영 ( Meeyoung Joe ) 대한영양사협회 2017 대한영양사협회 학술지 Vol.23 No.1

A menu labeling initiative is a lawful regulation with an aim to promote public health by providing customers the right to make informed menu choices. As college years are a critical period in which students form dietary habits, which are sustained throughout their lives, provision of nutritional information at the university dining services is important to students` health and life. Due to the lack of research on menu labeling at university dining services, the purpose of this study was to examine college students` attitudes and motivations toward menu labeling at university dining services, as well as their use intentions toward nutrition information at university dining services. Data were collected from a self-administered survey distributed to 484 college students who had experienced university dining services. Motivations of university students toward menu labeling were categorized into `knowledge pursuit` and `health pursuit`. Students` attitudes toward menu labeling had a positive effect on their intention to use menu labeling at university dining services. The findings of the study indicated that female students, or those who frequently used nutrition information, tended to have higher attitudes, motivations, and use intentions toward nutrition information. The study results suggest that facilitation of healthy eating environments at university dining services by offering nutrition information, and nutrition and health education is necessary.

대학 급식에서의 영양정보의 이용의도

함선옥(Ham Sunny),정진이(Jeong Jin-Yi),김성진(Kim Seong-Jin),김어지나(Kim Eojina) 한국호텔외식관광경영학회 2014 한국호텔외식경영학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.2014 No.12

Menu labeling has received an attention from industry and government since 2010 due to the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, enacted by U.S. Congress. Similar to U.S. policies, the Korea government enforced the legislation of Special Act on Children’s Food Safety and Nutrition for provision of nutritional labeling in chain restaurants. This study examined students’ use intention of nutrition information on the menus at university dining services. A survey was conducted from university students. Lesser students have seen nutrition information on the menus at university dining services than they have seen at commercial food services. The biggest reason why students consider nutrition information should be provided at university dining services is customers’ rights to know it followed by health maintenance. The degree to which students would like to use nutrition information at university dining services was a little bit higher than medium. The motivators for university students to use nutrition information on the menus include health and value pursuit. The two motivators were higher both for male and female students. The findings of the study would offer university administrators and contract food service management companies the directions in terms of provision of menu labeling at university dining services.

캠핑 이용자의 소비행동 분석

함선옥(Ham, Sunny),김혜지(Kim, Hye-Ji),김학준(Kim, Hak-Jun) 한국관광레저학회 2018 관광레저연구 Vol.30 No.10

한식뷔페 레스토랑 고객의 외식동기, 메뉴만족, 고객만족도 간의 관계

함선옥(Ham, Sunny),문혜영(Moon, Hye-Young) 한국호텔외식관광경영학회 2017 호텔경영학연구 Vol.26 No.4

대학급식 영양정보 표시에 관한 대학생의 인식 조사

함선옥 ( Sunny Ham ),정진이 ( Jinyi Jeong ),김성진 ( Seongjin Kim ) 한국식생활문화학회 2015 韓國食生活文化學會誌 Vol.30 No.4

외식 영양정보 표시의 이용과 속성에 대한 소비자 인식

함선옥 ( Sunny Ham ),이호진 ( Ho-jin Lee ),김서영 ( Seoyoung Kim ),박영민 ( Youngmin Park ) 대한영양사협회 2017 대한영양사협회 학술지 Vol.23 No.1

The purpose of this study was to examine restaurant customers` use of menu labeling and their perception of menu labeling attributes. Further, the study investigated relations of menu labeling use behavior, and perception of menu labeling attributes with behavioral intentions toward menu labeling. Using a self-administered survey conducted for 2 weeks from the 2nd week of October, 2015, data were collected from restaurant customers who were exposed to menu labeling over 3 months at the time of the survey. A total of 426 respondents completed the survey. Respondents were asked about use of menu labeling, usefulness, ease of understanding, accuracy, and demographic information. There was a difference in menu labeling use behavior according to age, whereas respondents aged 50 years or over showed significantly higher use of menu labeling than those in 20s (P<0.001). Perceptions of menu labeling attributes positively affected behavioral intentions towards menu labeling. While all three menu labeling attributes, `usefulness`, `ease of understanding`, and `accuracy`, were positive factors for behavioral intentions towards menu labeling, usefulness was the biggest attribute explaining behavioral intentions (P<0.001). The study findings offer implications that can be applied to academics, the foodservice industry, and government in an attempt to nurture a healthy eating environment through provision of nutritional information at restaurants.

외식 영양표시에 대한 소비자 태도, 이용의도와 건강관심도의 관계 연구

함선옥(Ham, Sunny),정진이(Jeong, Jin-Yi),김영신(Kim, Young-Shin) 한국관광레저학회 2016 관광레저연구 Vol.28 No.1

NUTRITION INFORMATION DISCLOSURE: WHICH BRAND SHOULD BE MORE NERVOUS? MCDONALD'S OR SUBWAY?

Meeyoung Joe,Sunny Ham,Seoki Lee 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

The purpose of this research was to examine simultaneously health halo and health horn effects across two fast food restaurant brands that have healthful or unhealthful images (i.e., McDonald's and Subway). Specifically, we investigated the moderating effects of nutrition information disclosure and dietary restraint on behavioral intention of four menus from the two brands. Two menus from the McDonald’s and two menus from the Subway, respectively, had been selected as stimuli, and each menu represented health halo confirmation (the Roast-Chicken sandwich) / disconfirmation (the Italian-Spicy sandwich), and health horn confirmation (the Big Mac burger) / disconfirmation (the McSpicy-Cajun burger), respectively. This study employed a mixed factorial design: 2 (nutrition information: present vs. absent) X 2 (dietary restraint: restrained eater vs. unrestrained eater) X 4 (menu type: a health halo or a health horn (for the Subway and the McDonald’s with objective healthfulness). The survey was conducted on October 11- 17, 2016, by a research company, Macromill EMBRAIN in Korea, which possessed more than 1 million panel members. Cell sizes were 149 and 146 for the between-subjects factor. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the nutrition information disclosure experimental conditions (either present or absent) and presented with all four menus. The results showed that the behavioral intentions of all three menus, except health horn disconfirmation menu, were decreased. In particular, the effect size of health halo disconfirmation menu (decrease in behavioral intention) was the greatest. There was no difference in the behavioral intention of four menus between the restrained eater and unrestrained eater. Thus, brands positioned as healthy should well manage the expectation levels of their customers. A brand positioned as healthy, such as the Subway, has to manage the health expectation of its customer not get too high, or the brand has to continuously strive to satisfy its client's expectations. A brand positioned as unhealthy (eg, McDonald’s) needs to actively develop low-calorie menus, healthy menus or similar side dishes. Although indulgent menus would account for the majority of the revenue, existence of healthy menus / side dishes would lessen the guilty feelings of the customers of the restaurant and the brand. This is the first study which identified both the health halo effect and the health horn effect on restaurant brand image. The results of this study confirm the need to provide nutrition information on dining out menus and would help consumers choose healthy menus.

Food service industry in the era of COVID-19: trends and research implications

Seoki Lee,Sunny Ham 한국영양학회 2021 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.15 No.S

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new type of respiratory disease that has been announced as a pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak has changed the way we live. It has also changed the food service industry. This study aimed to identify trends in the food and food service industry after the COVID-19 outbreak and suggest research themes induced by industry trends. This study investigated the industry and academic information on the food and food service industry and societal trends resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. The most noticeable changes in the food industry include the explosive increase in home meal replacement, meal-kit consumption, online orders, take-out, and drive-through. The adoption of technologies, including robots and artificial intelligence, has also been noted. Such industry trends are discussed in this paper from a research perspective, including consumer, employee, and organizational strategy perspectives. This study reviews the changes in the food service industry after COVID-19 and the implications that these changes have rendered to academia. The paper concludes with future expectations that would come in the era of COVID-19.