The impact of online reviews on choosing a restaurant of Thai millennial internet users.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between online restaurant review and Thai Millennial’s decision making on choosing a restaurant and to identify the factors that influence their decision. The focus is on 4 independent factors (electronic word of mouth (eWOM), source credibility, information usefulness and attitude toward a certain restaurant affected by online review) that are antecedents of decision on choosing a restaurant. The data collected derived from 203 online questionnaires which were distributed to young Thai people age between 15 and 36 or Thai Millennial internet users. The data collected from the questionnaires were then analyzed using descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and oneway ANOVA analysis. The results reveal that the key factors that significantly influence positive relationship between online reviews and decision on choosing a restaurant are eWOM and attitude toward a certain restaurant affected by online review. The results of this research would help restaurant owner, digital marketer and people in restaurant industry to understand Thai Millennial better and set strategy that suit their behavior.