Serving indigenous dishes in hotels: An inquiry into the conative response of menu decision makers

Abstract

Indigenous cuisines – in many developing economies – play a central role in the celebrations, cultural practices and festivals of the local people, but their presence on hotel food service menu is often insignificant. Yet, little is known about the determinants of menu decision making with regards to the inclusion of indigenous dishes on the hotel menu. Using a survey of menu decision makers from 184 small and medium sized hotels, this study explores the factors affecting menu decision-makers’ attitudes and intention to place more variety of indigenous dishes on the hotel menu. Findings shed intriguing insights into the role of antecedents like normative beliefs, perceived benefits to business, perceived difficulties in production and service of indigenous dishes as well as customer patronage. Among other implications for theory and practice, the findings foray into the debate on the relevance of attitude in driving behavioural intention in workplace situations