Effect of social status signaling in an organic restaurant setting有机餐厅背景下社会地位信号的影响

Despite the popularity of organic consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic, little research has examined how organic service experience predicts brand-related outcomes. To examine how organic restaurant service providers benefit from signaling social status the authors examine identification, evaluation, and revisit intention as the key consequences. Using data from 204 American customers, the results of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) show that social status signaling has a positive effect on identification and evaluation of restaurant brand. Also, mediating role of identification and evaluation in the relationship between social status signaling and revisit intention is found. However, signaling of social status alone is not enough to elicit positive behaviors from customers. Multigroup analysis identifies that customers’ trust has a significant moderating effect on the association of the proposed relations. This empirical evidence contributes to the application of the signaling theory and provides managerial guidelines for organic restaurant service providers.