Tracing knowledge evolution flows in scholarly restaurant research: a main path analysis

Restaurant research has received significant attention globally. This article aims to examine the evolution and the knowledge structure of restaurant research over the past decades. We also investigate the restaurant research hotspots and knowledge diffusion paths based on 1489 articles extracted from the Web of Science database. Furthermore, we conduct a keyword co-occurrence network analysis and four different types of main path analyses to scrutinize the historical formation of the restaurant research. Results revealed that restaurant research mainly focused on five research themes: consumer behavior, consumer satisfaction, social media, green restaurants, and authenticity. While consumer behavior has been the mainstream topic, the focus of this line of research has recently shifted from traditional to luxury and ethnic restaurants. Furthermore, our analysis has detected several recent changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By examining the knowledge structure of restaurant research, we reveal its knowledge diffusion paths and provide avenues for future research in this vast and interdisciplinary research field.