Asian cuisine : do consumers benefit more from an all-you-can-eat concept than an à la carte concept?

(1)

Asian Cuisine: Do consumers benefit

more from an all-you-can-eat concept

than an à la carte concept?

Name:

Fa’izah Razab-Sekh

Student number: 10750789

Faculty:

Faculty of Economics and Business

Programme:

BSc Economie en Bedrijfskunde

Specialisation: Economics

Date:

26/06/2018

(2)

2

Statement of Originality

This document is written by Fa’izah Razab-Sekh who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document.

I declare that the text and the work presented in this document are original and that no

sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of

completion of the work, not for the contents.

Abstract

This thesis researches the benefits of the all-you-can-eat concept compared to the à la carte concept regarding Asian cuisine restaurants in the Netherlands. A public survey was

conducted amongst residents of the Netherlands in which 134 respondents participated. Both, consumers who had experience with the all-you-can-eat concept as well as consumers who had never tried the all-you-can-eat concept before were included in the survey. A side-by-side price comparison was made from restaurant Genroku in Amsterdam as this restaurant serves both all-you-can-eat and à la carte menus. The average price of the most ordered dishes from this restaurant were used together with the results of the survey to reach a conclusion. The results indicated that for most types of consumers the all-you-can-eat concept bears more financial benefits than the à la carte concept. However, consumers who eat less than the average consumer and consumers who are price-quality sensitive, both benefit more from the à la carte concept. Last but not least, the indifferent consumers benefit equally from both the all-you-can-eat and à la carte concept.

(3)

3

1. Introduction

All-you-can-eat Asian cuisine, sushi specifically, became a hype in the Netherlands to the point where it ousted the ‘bitterbal’ (a meat-based snack that is a traditional Dutch delicacy) according to a news article published in Volkskrant back in 2013. As stated by many sources, the all-you-can-eat concept was introduced by Herbert "Herb" Cobb McDonald, a Las Vegas publicity and entertainment manager in 1946 and has lately been implemented all over the world. From a consumer’s point of view this seems like the ideal concept, because they can eat all they want for a fixed price, but is it really?

According to Siniver and Yaniv (2012) the all-you-can-eat buffet entry price constitutes a sunk cost that should be ignored when consumers decide how much to eat, only incremental costs and benefits matter. They argue that an in order to derive the pleasure the consumer’s gain from an all-you-can-eat concept, the average price per unit of food must be reduced down to (at least if not below) the price of a competing unit offered elsewhere in a fast food counter or an à la carte restaurant.

And even though a lot of research has been done on all-you-can-eat buffets and restaurants, mostly on the disadvantages e.g. overeating, no scientific research has been done on the benefits of the all-you-can-eat concept. But in order to understand the benefits of such a concept, it needs to be compared to an existing other well-known concept as mentioned by Siniver and Yaniv (2012). Which is why this thesis researches whether consumers benefit more from an all-you-can-eat concept than from an à la carte concept. Since both concepts are used worldwide in various types of cuisines, this thesis focuses specifically on Asian cuisine restaurants in the Netherlands.

(5)

5

2. Literature review

As mentioned before, a lot of research has been done on all-you-can-eat buffets and restaurants in the past few years. In 2011, Just and Wansink published their article which examines the relationship between the price of an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet and the amount of pizza consumed. They conducted a field experiment at Pizza Garden, an all-you-can-eat restaurant, in Illinois, United States of America. They randomized subjects into the control and treatment group. The control group paid the regular price ($5.98) and the treatment group was given a coupon for 50% off this regular price ($2.99). They conducted this experiment specifically only during lunch when no menu was provided to order à la carte. Their results showed that the customers who were given the 50% discount coupon, consumed 27,9% less pizza than those who did not receive a discount coupon. They also did a second analysis which indicated that consumption is negatively related to individual evaluations of taste within the treatment. They interpret their results as individuals in an all-you-can-eat setting may consume the amount that enables them to get their money’s worth rather than consuming until their marginal utility of consumption is 0. Though several limitations apply to their results, they provide insight into the consumers that choose to eat at all-you-can-eat restaurants.

In 2012, Siniver and Yaniv worked together to write a paper that offered a rational-choice model for addressing an individual’s eating dilemma in an-all-you-can-eat buffet, incorporating the motivation of getting-one’s-money’s-worth as a behavioral constraint on eating. They conducted an experiment in collaboration with a sushi restaurant in Israel at their university campus that normally only serves à la carte sushi meals at the average price of NIS 2 per unit. In the experiment, they offered the students an all-you-can-eat sushi lunch buffet for NIS 45. However, when students showed up at lunch, Siniver and Yanic randomly selected two-thirds of the students and told them that they would actually be charged lower prices, NIS 30 or NIS 20. This way they created three groups. Their results showed a statistically significant decline in sushi consumption from the NIS 45 group to the NIS 30 group, but only a minor and statistically insignificant change across the lower price groups. Their results therefore support their theory that at relatively low buffet prices, participants would already get their money’s worth before reaching fullness.

In 2014, Just and Wansink collaborated with Siğirci to conduct another field

experiment to assess how consumers their taste evaluations change based on how much they paid for an all-you-can-eat buffet. This time they chose a different all-you-can-eat restaurant namely Aiello’s Italian Restaurant in New York, United States of America to conduct their experiment. Again they randomized subjects into the control and treatment group. The control group was given a flier that promoted an $8 buffet while the treatment group was given the same flier but were informed that the buffet costs $4 (meaning the participants in the treatment group were likely to consider the price on the flyer as the true price of the buffet). They were fascinated to find that pricing has little impact on how much one eats, but a huge impact on how you interpret the experience. They came to the conclusion that

consumers who pay less for an all-you-can-eat experience may face the unintended

(6)

6

enjoy. Though the previous experiment conducted by Just and Wansink (2011) was limited, the results from this experiment explicitly confirm that pricing can influence taste

evaluations. This conclusion can also be found in the papers of Andaleeb and Conway (2006) and Kim et al. (2006). Most of the empirical researches conducted find that higher prices induce higher quality perceptions (Rao and Monroe 1988; Lichtenstein et al. 1993; Volckner and Hofmann 2007; Veale and Quester 2009; Kirchler et al. 2010).

Though the researches mentioned till now mainly focus on how consumers deal with all-you-can-eat buffets regarding the quantity eaten and taste, the primary literature within an all-you-can-eat setting focuses on eating behavior and the potential for overeating and its contribution to society (Just et al., 2014, p. 363).

(7)

7

3. Methodology

This research will be carried out through a comparison of prices between the all-you-can-eat and à la carte menus and a survey to understand preferences and behaviors of consumers.

3.1 Preparatory data collection

Data collection on similar Asian cuisine restaurants in the Netherlands that serve both all-you-can-eat and à la carte menus for dinner:

All-you-can-eat adult diner prices (excl. drinks) Restaurant Place Mon-Wed Thu-Sun & holidays

Genki Amsterdam € 28,95 € 28,95

Genroku Amsterdam € 26,95 € 28,95

Ken-Ichi Amsterdam € 26,50 € 28,50

Miu Amsterdam € 27,95 € 29,95

Mojo Amsterdam € 27,95 € 29,95

Royal Fook Long Amsterdam € 27,50 € 29,50

Merlina Breda € 26,50 € 26,50

Shibuya Den Haag € 23,80 € 25,80

Okami Groningen € 23,50 (incl. Sunday) € 25,50

Mojo Helmond € 24,50 (incl. Thursday) € 26,50

Mojo Hilversum € 26,95 € 28,95

Shinto Rotterdam € 26,50 € 27,50

Mojo Tilburg € 24,50 € 26,50

Zinnia Utrecht € 25,50 € 27,50

All these restaurants use a maximum of 5 dishes that can be ordered each round by each person with a maximum of 5 rounds. Ordered dishes that are not eaten are considered a waste of food, consumers are fined an amount per dish they waste. A noticeable remark is that Amsterdam is the most expensive city when it comes to all-you-can-eat menus. Even Mojo, a restaurant which is located in 4 cities, uses different prices for their all-you-can-eat menus in the different cities.

3.2 Research design

The original research plan was to conduct a survey in as many of these restaurants as possible in order to get an understanding how many and which consumers choose all-you-can-eat and à la carte menus on average, how many rounds are ordered on average and why they choose their respective menu. Next, a comparison between the all-you-can-eat price and à la carte price would be made through pricing each dish on the all-you-can-eat menu according to the à la carte menu for each restaurant. With the data obtained from the survey, an overview of consumer behavior, averages and most ordered dishes can be given. A financial conclusion

(8)

8

can be reached through calculating the à la carte prices of the most ordered all-you-can-eat dishes. An overall economic conclusion can be reached through understanding the consumer behavior and preferences.

For the sake of convenience and due to limited time and budget to carry out the research, only restaurant Genroku was chosen to research. Unfortunately, this restaurant keeps no data on their dishes or customers at all. So to get an understanding of consumer behavior regarding Asian Cuisine all-you-can-eat restaurants, a public survey targeted at current residents of the Netherlands was conducted to ensure that the research is unbiased and valid. The first question “Have you ever eaten at an all-you-can-eat Asian cuisine (sushi/grill/steam/stir fried) restaurant in the Netherlands?” split the participants up in two groups: those who have and those who have not. Afterwards, both groups received a different set of questions. The entire survey can be found in the Appendix (Appendix 1).

(9)

9

4. Results

4.1 Results from price comparison at Restaurant Genroku

In the first column, the names of the dishes given, which were literally transcribed from the all-you-can-eat order card, the original order card is included in the Appendix (Appendix 2). On the order card, it is indicated which dishes are recommended, vegetarian or spicy. The employee said from experience that the recommended dishes are the most ordered dishes as well. There are three dishes that are not indicated as recommended on the order card, but according to the employee these three dishes are most ordered dishes as well. These are under the section “Special order” and their names are “mango salmon roll (3pcs)”, “tempura ebi maki (3pcs)” and “salmon sashimi (3pcs)”. The most ordered dishes are highlighted in yellow in the table.

In the second column, the à la carte price of the dish is mentioned. Unfortunately, not all dishes on the all-you-can-eat menu are available on the à la carte menu. The prices of those dishes are left out. These dishes are also excluded when calculating benefits and averages in order to reach truthful conclusion.

In the third and final column, the estimated all-you-can-eat price is calculated according to the à la carte prices. Most dishes are the same, their estimated all-you-can-eat prices therefore remain the same as their à la carte prices. Some dishes are served in different quantities in the all-you-can-eat menu than in the à la carte menu, the prices of these dishes are calculated according to the à la carte price per piece. A few dishes are served in smaller size in the all-you-can-eat menu. The employee showed the relative sizes of the dishes and estimated how much larger the dish is in the à la carte menu. Given his information and estimation, the relative all-you-can-eat price estimation was calculated.

At the end, the average prices per dish section are given. These are calculated through summing up the known estimated prices of the respective dishes and then dividing the total by the respective number of dishes of which the prices are known. The average price of the most ordered dishes is given as well, this is calculated the same way as the dish section, only with the known prices of the most ordered dishes.

(10)

10 à la carte price estimated price Nigiri tuna €1,40 €1,40 salmon €1,25 €1,25

sweet water shrimp €1,25 €1,25

shrim €1,30 €1,30 snapper €1,25 €1,25 scallop €1,75 €1,75 squid €1,10 €1,10 mackerel €1,10 €1,10 surf clam €1,25 €1,25 octopus €1,10 €1,10 eel €1,75 €1,75 crab stick €1,00 €1,00 sweet omelet € ,00 €1,00 sweet bean curd €1,10 €1,10

tobiko €1,25 €1,25 wasabi tobiko €1,25 €1,25 seaweed €1,10 €1,10 tuna salad - Handroll eel handroll €3,00 €3,00 shrimp handroll €2,50 €2,50 tobiko handroll €2,50 €2,50 california handroll €2,80 €2,80 tuna special handroll €3,05 €3,05 salmon handroll €3,05 €3,05 crab stick handroll €2,25 €2,25 vegetarian handroll €3,00 €3,00 à la carte price estima-ted price Maki futo maki (3 pcs) €3,75(4 pcs) €2,81 california maki (3 pcs) €3,75 (4 pcs) €2,81 spicy tuna maki (3 pcs) €6,00 (8 pcs) €2,25 tuna maki special (3 pcs) €6,50 (8 pcs) €2,44 avocado salmon maki(3pcs) €6,50 (8 pcs) €2,44 vegetarian maki (3 pcs) €4,80 (8 pcs) €1,80 tuna maki (3 pcs) €3,60 (6 pcs) €1,80 salmon maki (3 pc €3,45 (6 pcs) €1,73 cucumber maki (3 pcs) €3,15 (6 pcs) €1,58 pickles maki (3 pcs) €2,40 (6 pcs) €1,20 avocado maki (3 pcs) €3,15 (6 pcs) €1,58 Salad california €4,00 €4,00 chuka wakame €4,00 €4,00 yasai €4,00 €4,00 gyu - seafood - sui mono - ginger - Kushi Yaki yakitori €4,00 (2 pcs) €2,00 tebysaki €4,00 (2pcs) €2,00 fish ball €4,00 (2 pcs) €2,00 gyu €4,00 (2 pcs) €2,00 courgette - eggplant -

(11)

11 à la carte price estimated price Warm Dishes edamame €4,00 €4,00 curry pasties (3 pcs) €4,00 (6 pcs) €2,00 spring rolls (3 pcs) €4,00 (6 pcs) €4,00 yasai potato (3 pcs) €4,00 (3 pcs) €4,00 ika furai (3 pcs) - octopus balls (3 pcs) €4,00 (3 pcs) €4,00 sesame balls (3 pcs) €4,00 (3 pcs) €4,00 custard bun (2 pcs) €4,00 (2pcs) €4,00 deep fried banana

(2pcs) - meat gyoza (2 pcs) €4,00 (3 pcs) €2,67 vegetable gyoza (2pcs) €4,00 (4 pcs) €2,00 agedashi tofu €4,00 €4,00 vegetable tempura - potato tempura(5pcs) - deep fried chicken

(3pcs) - tori katsu - teriyaki chicken teriyaki sake - usuyaki (2 pcs) - yaki yasai

Soup & Noodles

miso soup €3,00

(2x larger) €1,50 genroku udon soup €12,50

(4x larger) €3,13 chilli tori udon soup €11,50

(4x larger) €2,88 yasai udon soup -

gyu glass noodlesoup yaki yasai udon €8,50

(4x larger) €2,13 yaki gyu udon -

Rice beef rice €10,50 (4x larger) €2,63 seafood rice - fried rice €4,95 (2x larger) €2,48 white rice €2,50 (2x larger) €1,25 à la carte price estima-ted price Dessert

green tea ice cream €2,50 €2,50 sesame ice cream €2,50 €2,50 vanilla ice cream €2,50 €2,50

lychees €2,50 €2,50

fruitmix €2,50 €2,50

milk pudding -

Dinner only

raw fish with rice -

ebi furai roll (3 pcs) €10,00 (6 pcs) €5,00 cheese salmon rol(3 pcs)

rainbow roll (3 pcs) €12,50 (6 pcs) €6,25 crispy tuna rol (3 pcs) €12,50 (6pcs) €6,25 special crispy roll(4 pcs) €10,50 (6 pcs) €7,00

lamb -

squid -

chicken meatballs(3 pcs) -

deep fried prawns(2 pcs) €4,50 (2 pcs) €4,50 prawn tempura (2 pcs -

fish tempura (2 pcs) - chicken wings (2 pcs) - butter gold corn -

fish cake - butter mushroom - garlic beef - spicy prawn (5 pcs) - teriyaki beef €13,50 (3x larger) €4,50 drumstick - mushroom pork - black pepper beef €13,50

(3x larger) €4,50 black pepper chicken -

sliced beef -

Special order

mango salmon roll(3pcs) - flamed beef roll (3 pcs) - tempura ebi maki (3 pcs) -

(12)

12 à la carte price estimated price Extra cost (+ €2,00) tuna sashimi €8,50 €8,50 snapper sashimi €7,00 €7,00 scallop sashimi €4,00 €4,00 octopus sashimi €7,00 €7,00 mackerel sashimi €6,00 €6,00 surf clam sashimi €7,00 €7,00 genroku maki (3 pcs) -

dragon maki (3 pcs) €12,50 (6 pcs) €6,25 spider maki (3 pcs) €12,50 (6 pcs) €6,25 tepanyaki hotate-gai -

Average prices per section: Nigiri: €1,25 (cheap section) Handroll: €2,77

Maki: €2,04 (cheap section) Salad: €4,00 (expensive section) Kushi Yaki: €2,00 (cheap section) Warm dishes: €3,27

Soup & Noodles: €2,41 (cheap section) Rice: €2,12 (cheap section)

Dessert: €2,50 (cheap section)

Dinner only: €5,43 (expensive section) Special order: €4,20 (expensive section) Extra cost dishes: €6,50

The average price of the most ordered dishes is €3,38.

4.2 Results from the public survey

The survey gained 134 respondents (all of them currently residing in the Netherlands) from which 120 respondents (89,6%) had eaten in an Asian Cuisine all-you-can-eat restaurant in the Netherlands before (see Fig. 1).

(13)

13

Of these respondents, most ordered 4 rounds on average (see Fig. 2).

Figure 2

The most answered amount when asked how much the respondent pays on average, was €30 (34 respondents), while most answers were between €25 and €30 (71 respondents) (see Fig. 3).

(14)

14

When asked if the respondents feel that the all-you-can-eat option is cheaper than the à la carte option and why, 81 answered yes with the main reason being able to eat as much as you want. 33 answered no with the main reason being that they do not eat much and some explaining that even though in price all-you-can-eat may be cheaper but in quality à la carte is better so qua price-quality ratio they find à la carte menus cheaper. 3 answered that it depended on how hungry they are, while the remaining 3 said they do not know (see Fig. 4).

Figure 4

From the 14 respondents that had never eaten in an Asian Cuisine all-you-can-eat restaurant in the Netherlands before, 9 of them answered that they had never eat at an all-you-can-eat Asian cuisine restaurant (see Fig. 5).

(15)

15

Of these 14 respondents, 4 said that they would like to try all-you-can-eat on a Thu-Sun explaining that they would have more choices. These answers induced the realization that the survey introduction and question may not have been specific enough. From the answers that were given, it seems like respondents think that the reason why all-you-can-eat menus are more expensive on Thu-Sun is because the menu has more choices. The introduction or the question should have explicitly mentioned that the same all-you-can-eat menu has two different prices based on the day.

Of the 14 respondents, 9 said that they would not eat at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. However, when these respondents were asked if they would be better off eating at an all-you-can-eat Asian cuisine restaurant than at a normal Asian cuisine restaurant and why, some interesting answers were given: 2 said yes, explaining that they could try more dishes without paying more. The remaining 7 respondents said no, explaining that they either do not eat much or do not eat everything offered in the all-you-can-eat menus. One even mentioned explicitly that he is vegan and opposes all-you-can-eat restaurants, while two others mentioned that they value the food in a normal Asian cuisine more as they feel it is fresher than the food served in all-you-can-eat restaurants.

4.3 Analysis of results

From a financial point of view, the all-you-can-eat menu is cheaper when the maximum of 5 dishes are ordered in the 5 rounds. However, as can be seen from the survey, most people order 4 rounds. However, another question that should have been asked in the survey as well is if the respondent orders the maximum amount of dishes each round. Because it is not known if people use their maximum amount of dishes each round, the research becomes compromised. To prevent this, the employees of Genroku were kind enough to tell that the average amount of dishes based on their experience is 18 which correspond to three and a half rounds. Hypothetically, if an average person were to order 18 of the most ordered dishes, the à la carte price would be €60,84 (18 x €3,38 (average price of the most ordered dishes)). In this case, the average person benefits more from the all-you-can-eat menu than the à la carte menu. The break-even amount of dishes that need to be ordered to reach the average all-you-can-eat price of €30 is 9 dishes (€30/€3,38), which correspond to around 2 rounds.

But, as can be seen from the results of the survey, there are many types of consumers, each with their own preferences and behavior. Based on those results, consumers can be categorized in five main categories namely: consumers who care more about the quality of the food rather than the price, consumers who are considered small eaters, consumers who are considered normal eaters, consumers who are considered big eaters, indifferent consumers.

Consumers who care more about the quality of the food rather than the price personally benefit more from an à la carte menu than from an all-you-can-eat menu. They feel that the food from the à la carte menu is fresher and of more quality than the food from the all-you-can-eat menu. Some research has been done previously regarding this matter, for instance the one by Just, Siğirci and Wansink (2014) as mentioned in the literate review. This, again, proves that consumers tend to associate price with quality, the higher the price, the better the quality must be. So, even if the all-you-can-eat food is as fresh as the à la carte

(16)

16

food, to this category, they will almost always benefit more from an à la carte menu due to their perception.

Consumers who eat 8 dishes or less are considered small eaters. Because these consumers are small eaters, it is only reasonable to assume that they prefer the cheap sections as these sections contain dishes of smaller quantities. Therefore these consumers benefit financially (most of the times) more from an à la carte menu than an all-you-can-eat menu. Unless they order at least 6 dishes from the “Dinner only” section, at least 7 dishes from the “Special order” section, 7 dishes from the “Salad” menu, or dishes combined from all three sections as these are the most expensive sections.

Consumers who are considered normal eaters eat between 9 and 19 dishes. Since it is difficult to quantify how much a normal consumer eats and which sections they prefer, it is hard to make a financial overview for this category. If they prefer dishes from the cheap sections, they will financially benefit more from an à la carte menu in most cases, unless they order more than 13 dishes. If they prefer dishes from the expensive sections, then they will financially benefit more from an all-you-can-eat menu.

Consumers who are considered big eaters (eat 20 dishes or more) benefit financially more from an all-you-can-eat menu than an à la carte menu. Because they not only crave more food, but larger dishes as well, the all-you-can-eat menu is the financially the best for them.

Consumers who are indifferent could benefit from both menus as they do not care about financial benefits. These consumers are either indifferent from both type of menus or are indifferent about the prices. Some like the way the all-you-can-eat concept is set up, others prefer the simplicity of the à la carte concept; it all depends on the consumer itself.

Another category of consumers, though a small one was not taken into account in this research, are pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans. Due to limitations on the dishes that they can eat, they probably benefit more from an à la carte menu than an all-you-can-eat menu, however not enough research was done on this category so it is impossible to reach a valid conclusion for this category.

(17)

17

5. Conclusion

Many studies have already been conducted on all-you-can-eat buffets, but since not much research has been done on all-you-can-eat menus vs. à la carte menus, this subject remains scientifically interesting and relevant, not only economically but psychologically as well.

This thesis focused on the question if consumers benefit more from an all-you-can-eat concept than an à la carte concept regarding Asian cuisine restaurants in the Netherlands. Through side-by-side price comparison of both menus and a public survey, an attempt has been made to reach a conclusion. However, the question cannot be answered with a simple answer. There are many types of different consumers, therefore the answer depends on the consumer itself. Based on the results from the survey, consumers have been divided into four main categories. Consumers who are price-quality sensitive, overall benefit more from an à la carte menu as they would rather pay more for (according to them) more fresh and qualitative food. Consumers who are considered small eaters benefit more from an à la carte menu as well, as they cannot reach the minimum amount of dishes needed to beat the all-you-can-eat price, unless they eat dishes from the expensive section. Consumers who are considered big eaters financially benefit more from an all-you-can-eat menu, they always exceed the average amount of dishes eaten. The last group, consumers who are considered normal eaters, is a hard one to reach a conclusion for. Financially, they could benefit more from an all-you-can-eat menu, but if they all-you-can-eat just enough to reach the all-you-can-all-you-can-eat price it does not matter which menu they choose. Lastly we have the indifferent consumers, it is completely up to them which menu is more beneficial for them as they do not care about the concept or the price.

(18)

18

6. Limitations and further research

A few limitations that were already mentioned in the thesis were time and budget constraints. An aspect that was not considered, was to specifically ask respondents how many they dishes they ordered on average from a maximum of 25 dishes. If there were to be researched further into this comparison, restaurants from most cities in the Netherlands could be taken into account. Customers could be surveyed throughout a year in order to really understand the different types and to ensure if seasonality is involved. People who have never been to an you-can-eat restaurant can be interviewed as well so that the customers that do choose for all-you-can-eat restaurants can be understood better. Deeper research could be done on the different days of the week as well and then a broader conclusion could be reached for the different types of consumers depending on the day. Last but not least, the research could include all types of all-you-can-eat restaurants and not just Asian Cuisine restaurants. This way, the conclusions can be generalized and externally valid.

(19)

19

References

Andaleeb, S. S. and Conway, C. (2006). Customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry: An examination of the transaction-specific model. Journal of Services Marketing, 20 (1), pp. 3-11

van Dinther, M. (2013, 2 mei). Hoe sushi in Nederland de bitterbal verdrong. de Volkskrant. Retrieved from: https://www.volkskrant.nl/

Just, D. R., Siğirci, Ö. and Wansink, B. (2014). Lower buffet prices lead to less taste satisfaction. Journal of Sensory Studies, 29, pp. 362-370. doi:10.1111/joss.12117

Just, D. R. and Wansink, B. (2011). The flat-rate pricing paradox: conflicting effects of “all-you-can-eat” buffet pricing. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 93 (1), pp. 193-200 Kim, W. G., Lee, Y. and Yoo, Y. (2006). Predictors of relationship quality and relationship outcomes in luxury restaurants. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 30 (2), pp. 143-169

Kirchler, E., Fischer, F. and Hölzl, E. (2010). Price and its relation to objective and subjective product quality: Evidence from the Austrian market. Journal of Consumer Policy, 33 (3), pp. 275-286

Lichtenstein, D. R., Ridgway, N. M. and Netemeyer, R. G. (1993). Price perceptions and consumer shopping behavior: A field study. Journal of Marketing Research, 30 (2), p. 234 Rao, A. R. and Monroe, K. B. (1988). The moderating effect of prior knowledge on cue utilization in product evaluations. Journal of consumer research, 15 (2), pp. 253-264 Siniver, E., Mealem, Y. and Yaniv, G. (2013). Overeating in all-you-can-eat buffet: paying before versus paying after. Applied Economics, 45 (35), pp. 4940-4948

Siniver, E. and Yaniv, G. (2012). All-you-can-eat buffet: entry price, the fat tax and meal cessation. The B. E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 12 (1), Article 16. doi: 10.1515/1935-1682.3161

Veale, R. and Quester, P. (2009). Do consumer expectations match experience? Predicting the influence of price and country of origin on perceptions of product quality. International Business Review, 18 (2), pp. 134-144

Volckner, F. and Hofmann, J. (2007). The price-perceived quality relationship: A meta-analytic review and assessment of its determinants. Marketing Letters, 18 (3), pp. 181-196

(20)

20

Appendix

Appendix 1: Public Survey

Asian Cuisine: all-you-can-eat vs. à la carte

Hi there! Thank you for agreeing to take part in this survey (and helping me graduate!). For my economics bachelor's thesis at the University of Amsterdam I chose to research whether consumers benefit more from an all-you-can-eat concept than an à la carte concept. More specifically on restaurants that serve Asian cuisine such as sushi, grill, steam or stir fried in the Netherlands. Definitions:

- All-you-can-eat: An all-you-can-eat buffet or restaurant is a buffet or restaurant at which you pay a fixed price, no matter how much or how little you eat (an unlimited amount of food for a fixed price).

- À la carte: An à la carte menu in a restaurant offers you a choice of individually priced dishes for each course.

This survey should take around 3 minutes to complete. Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary and all of your responses are anonymous. The responses will only be used for statistical research purposes and will be reported only in aggregated form.

Question 1: Have you ever eaten at an all-you-can-eat Asian cuisine (sushi/grill/steam/stir fried)

restaurant in the Netherlands?

If answer to question 1 is yes:

Question 2: How many rounds do you order on average? Question 3: How much do you pay (per person) on average?

Question 4: Do you feel that the all-you-can-eat option is cheaper than the à la carte option? Why? If answer to question 1 is no:

As mentioned before, all-you-can-eat restaurants offer an unlimited amount of food for a fixed price. However, these types of restaurants use different prices depending on the day. All-you-can-eat Asian cuisine dinner from Monday-Wednesday usually costs around €27 and from Thursday-Sunday (and holidays) it costs around €29. Bearing this information in mind, please answer the following questions.

Question 2: Would you eat at an all-you-can-eat Asian cuisine restaurant?

Question 3: Do you think you'd be better off eating at an all-you-can-eat Asian cuisine restaurant

than at a normal Asian cuisine restaurant? Why? Characteristics

What is your gender? What is your age?

In which country do you live (country of residence)? What is your nationality?

Do you consider yourself a small, normal or big eater? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING!

(21)

21

Appendix 2: Original order card of Restaurant Genroku

(22)

22

Asian cuisine : do consumers benefit more from an all-you-can-eat concept than an à la carte concept?