162146

Investigating Chain and Independent Restaurants’ Facebook Presence: A Step Forward Towards Measuring their Online Image

Article

Last updated: 04 Jan 2025

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Abstract

Facebook can be marked as an opportunity or as a curse for any business working these days. Social media concerns were a priority for many business managers. This empirical study aimed to examine the chain and independent restaurants' Facebook usage to contribute in measuring their online image. The study developed an assessment tool to evaluate the contents of restaurants' Facebook pages, Facebook groups, and Facebook accounts. A sample of sixty-seven restaurants (twenty-eight independent restaurants and thirty-nine chain restaurants) in ten college towns were assessed. Pizza restaurants were selected based on their growing & well-known performance. This study exposed some significant findings, e.g., the majority of independent restaurants did not have official Facebook page, but there was a very limited number of  them that presented a superior presence. On the other hand, chain restauants used Facebook tools more efficient than the independent restaurant. The research outcomes revealed the gap in performance between independent and chain pizza restaurants at different  aspects of the Facebook world. The findings  highlighted various best practices, which can help Pizza restaurants to develop their Facebook presence and to gain more profits. Although the sample represented a sizeable homogenous group of Pizza restaurants, generalizability limited to empirical studies. Thus, the assessment tool of this study is recommended in future studies. When it comes to practical implications, restaurant Facebook developers should consider launching one official Facebook page and dynamically linking it to the restaurant's website. This should contribute towards strengthening restaurant image and was considered as an unpaid promotional tool. The study was designed to contribute at the research area of Pizza restaurants' Facebook usage, where there was a paucity of research and to guide restaurants to efficiently act towards their online image and presence.

DOI

10.21608/jaauth.2021.67275.1151

Keywords

social media, facebook, Pizza restaurants, Online image, Chain and Independent Restaurants

Authors

First Name

Yousery

Last Name

Elsayed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt, College of Business, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah Almukarammah, Saudi Arabia

Email

yousrynabil@yahoo.com

City

Makkah Almukarammah

Orcid

0000-0002-4385-4896

First Name

Mhamed

Last Name

Hefny

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech University, Virginia, USA,

Email

mhefny@vt.edu

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Mahmood

Last Name

Khan

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech University, Hospitality and Tourism Management Department, Falls Church, Virginia, USA

Email

mahmood@vt.edu

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Mostafa

Last Name

Marghany

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt, Swansea University, UK,

Email

mostafamarghany1990@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Ahmed

Last Name

Radwan

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

ahmed.mohammedali@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Nirmeen

Last Name

Elmohandes

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

niroelmo@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

20

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

25105

Issue Date

2021-06-01

Receive Date

2021-03-10

Publish Date

2021-06-01

Page Start

130

Page End

147

Print ISSN

1687-1863

Online ISSN

2682-4612

Link

https://jaauth.journals.ekb.eg/article_162146.html

Detail API

https://jaauth.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=162146

Order

8

Type

Original Article

Type Code

997

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality

Publication Link

https://jaauth.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Investigating Chain and Independent Restaurants’ Facebook Presence: A Step Forward Towards Measuring their Online Image

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023