Identification of Delighters and Frustrators in Vegan-friendly Restaurant Experiences via Semantic Network Analysis: Evidence from Online Reviews

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of vegan-friendly restaurant customers’ experiences by investigating the “delighters” and “frustrators” characteristics. A qualitative approach is used to examine the semantic networks of vegan-friendly restaurant customers’ online reviews. Results indicate that salient factors which delight vegan-friendly restaurant customers relate to the attributes of vegan food and menus, social interaction, and unique characteristics of a vegan-friendly restaurant. By contrast, factors that frustrate vegan-friendly restaurant customers associate with perceived overpriced vegan foods, poor restaurant staff attitudes/negative service encounters, and hygiene issues. The results of this study have academic and practical implications through the use of an attribute performance model to understand the experiences of vegan restaurant customers. This research is an initial empirical attempt to thoroughly understand vegan-friendly restaurant experiences using big data.