A mixed method approach to understanding the role of emotions and sensual delight in dining experience

Purpose – This paper aims to use a mixed method approach to understand the role of emotions and sensual delight in influencing satisfaction and intention. The setting for the study is restaurants. Three types of restaurants form the basis of investigation: fine dining, family dining and fast food restaurants. Using three categories of restaurants affords the opportunity to understand the differential impact of sensual delight and emotions in these settings. Furthermore the mixed method approach helps to validate the quantitative findings and also to offer additional insight in consumption emotions. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a concurrent, two‐studies design where quantitative and qualitative data are both collected (concurrently or sequentially) and analyzed separately. Four independent investigations are reported in this paper. The first three investigations (fine dining, family dining and fast food dining) are based on quantitative modeling using LISREL. The last investigation provides a richer narrative using phenomenological approach. Findings – The quantitative findings show a strong influence of sensual delight and emotions in affecting satisfaction and intentions. The qualitative findings show how managers may enhance the dining experience and customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – Caution is advised in extrapolating the results beyond the issues investigated in the study. Practical implications – The findings provide a framework for managers in creating a delightful dining experience. Originality/value – There are several important contributions from this study. First the role of emotions in various dining aspects is new in this study. It has not been investigated in dining situations. Next, while the role of sensual delight in hedonic situations is understandable, it has not been systematically investigated using causal models. Third, this study uses a mixed method approach. The quantitative study is followed by a qualitative study to add further insights that will help understand drivers of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Thus it is a very comprehensive study on sensual delight in the restaurant industry.