Saving Local Restaurants: The Impact of Altruism, Self-Enhancement, and Affiliation on Restaurant Customers’ EWOM Behavior

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many restaurants faced a shift from a dine-in based service model to a takeout-based model. As a result of the qualitative differences between dine-in and take-out experiences, there was a corresponding change in customers’ electronic word of mouth (EWOM) behavior. While pre-pandemic EWOM behavior relied on dine-in specific factors such as décor, lighting, and employee interactions, take-out dining relies less on these types of atmospheric elements to drive post-consumption evaluations. Accordingly, the purpose of this research was to explore the drivers of take-out dining EWOM by examining the effects of altruism, self-enhancement, and restaurant affiliation. Using the psychological framework of Underdog Theory, the results showed that both self-enhancement and altruistic motives result in positive EWOM, but that this relationship was moderated in important ways based on whether the restaurant was independently owned or part of a chain.