Restaurant diners' self-protective behavior in response to an epidemic crisis

Area of Science:

• Consumer Behavior
• Epidemic Preparedness
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Understanding consumer behavior during health crises is crucial for businesses.
• Previous models often lack empirical validation in real-world epidemic scenarios.
• Restaurant industry resilience depends on adapting to public health emergencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and empirically test a theoretical model of self-protective behavior among restaurant diners during epidemics.
• To classify diners into distinct stages of self-protective behavior adoption.
• To identify factors influencing these behaviors and their evolution over time.

Main Methods:

• Utilized ten-year longitudinal survey data from restaurant diner club members in Taiwan.
• Applied Weinstein's five-stage Protection Motivation Process (PMP) model as a theoretical framework.
• Analyzed data to verify the stage-based model and identify associated demographic and attitudinal factors.

Main Results:

• The proposed stage-based model for self-protective behavior was empirically validated.
• Marital status and risk attitude significantly correlated with adopted self-protective behaviors.
• Diners demonstrated progression in self-protective behavior adoption across multiple epidemics (SARS to H7N9).

Conclusions:

• The study provides a validated stage-based model for understanding diner self-protective behaviors during epidemics.
• Managerial strategies can be developed based on diner risk perception and demographic profiles.
• Longitudinal data reveal adaptive changes in public health protective behaviors over time.