The Persuasiveness of Menu Item Descriptions: The Influence of Language on Consumer Menu Choice in Kenyan Casual Dining Restaurants
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Abstract
This study investigated the influence of descriptive language on consumers' menu item choices in casual dining restaurants. The study was anchored on the stimulus-organization-response theory. The study focused on customers who patronize casual dining restaurants in Kenya and adopted a cross-sectional survey design. A cluster sampling method followed by simple random sampling methods was used to select respondents from the target population. Four hundred and fifteen participants (n = 415) were drawn using simple random sampling from five Kenyan universities. The data collection tool included a questionnaire with a response rate of 69.1%. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study results demonstrated that consumer item choice is influenced by various factors. The results showed that there was a weak association (r = 0.36, p < 0.05) between descriptive language and consumers' menu item choices. The F-value (F (1) = 48.308, p < 0.05) implies that the way menu items were described had a significant effect on which item a consumer chooses. R-square = 0.32, meaning the model is not a perfect predictor of the menu item choice. The study recommends that restaurant owners should focus on creating unique menu descriptions and using new technologies in restaurant menu development.