An Application of the Experience Economy and Strategic Management in the Restaurant Industry

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“BEYOND GOODS AND SERVICES”: AN APPLICATION OF THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY

A qualitative study of restaurant professionals

Alexia GROGA-BADA & Estelle LARROUQUET

Department of Business Administration Managerial Perspectives on Strategy, People, Projects and Processes Master's Thesis in Business Administration I, 15 Credits, Spring 2020 Supervisor: Siarhei MANZHYNSKI

Abstract

“In a world saturated with largely undifferentiated goods and services, the greatest opportunity for value creation resides in staging experiences” (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. ix). This observation is more than ever actual. Nowadays, organizations must face intense competition and struggle to differentiate themselves. The saturation of the market is due to the decline of the industrial and service economy. This decline is a synonym of high competition and announces the emergence of the next economy, which is, in this case, the experience economy. In the experience economy, experiences are economic offerings, in the same way as products and services.

The theory of the experience economy is new. It has influenced some theories and concepts but remains understudied. This idea is the starting point of our research gaps. For now, most of the studies concern the hospitality and tourism industry. However, no study deals with the restaurant industry. Besides, most of the research focuses on customer perception of experience. None studies have adopted a management and strategic perspective. That is why we explore the link between strategic management an experience economy through the specific case of restaurants. The purpose of our study is to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of staging experiences on a restaurant’s strategic management. In this way, we conduct qualitative research in which we interview six restaurant professionals. These interviews help us to understand how restaurants adapt themselves to the emerging experience economy. We also gain substantial knowledge about the advantages and drawbacks of the experience economy. To interpret our results, we use a thematic network analysis that generates four themes: coherence, business strategy, management and leadership, and customer relationships.

Our findings confirm that customer experience is a strong competitive advantage for restaurants. However, entering in the experience economy necessarily affects the strategic management of the restaurant. Managers must make several strategic choices at different levels of their restaurant. In this way, we found that consistency is a crucial factor when staging experiences. All the decisions and choices, whether in terms of management, food, decoration, marketing, music, and staff, must be in line with the restaurant strategy. The findings also show that the relationship between the manager and the employees can positively or negatively affect customer experiences. Managers must have some leadership skills to foster a respectful and trusting work environment. Lastly, we find that in the experience economy, customer relationship is essential and participate in building a sustainable competitive advantage for the restaurant. The relationship between customers and the staff can have an impact on the experience. Yet, we found that if the experience is successful, customers are likely to talk about it. In this way, they become ambassadors of the restaurant.

The four themes that we identified and described are the key elements to stage experience from a strategic management perspective successfully. In this way, our findings suggest that experience economy cannot exist without good strategic management.

Acknowledgements

We want to begin by thanking Siarhei MANZHYNSKI, who was our supervisor for this thesis. His honesty, criticisms, and watchful remarks helped us a lot during the writing process of this thesis. His commitment and availability also allowed us to fulfill research of quality.

We would also like to thank the people who answered our questions. We want to thank them for the time they devoted and for the completeness of the information they provided.

Umeå

May 25, 2020

Alexia Groga-Bada & Estelle Larrouquet

Table of contents

1. Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Subject Choice ...... 1 1.2 Problem Background ...... 2 1.3 Theoretical Background and Research Gap ...... 3 1.4 Research Question and Purpose ...... 3 2. Theoretical framework ...... 5 2.1 The Experience Economy Theory ...... 5 2.1.1 Definition of the experience economy ...... 5 2.1.2 Main opposition to the experience economy ...... 6 2.1.3 Attributes of experience in the experience economy...... 7 2.1.4 Implications of the experience economy ...... 9 2.2 The Meal Experience Theory ...... 11 2.2.1 Definition of the Meal experience ...... 11 2.2.2 The consumer perspective ...... 12 2.2.3 The restaurant perspective ...... 13 2.2.4 Gustafsson’s Five Aspects Meal Model ...... 14 2.3 Strategic Management in the field of hospitality and tourism ...... 16 2.3.1 Hospitality industry ...... 16 2.3.2 Context and definition of strategic management in the hospitality industry ..17 2.3.3 Strategic management process ...... 18 2.4 Relationship between experience economy, meal experience, and strategy ...... 20 3. Methodology ...... 23 3.1 Theoretical methodology ...... 23 3.1.1 Ontology ...... 23 3.1.2 Epistemology ...... 24 3.1.3 Research approach ...... 24 3.1.4 Research design ...... 25 3.1.5 Preconceptions ...... 26 3.1.6 Literature search ...... 27 3.1.7 Choice of theories ...... 27 3.2 Practical methodology ...... 28 3.2.1 Qualitative data collection ...... 28 3.2.2 Interview guide ...... 29 3.2.3 Sampling technique and access ...... 30 3.2.4 Conducting the interviews ...... 32 3.2.5 Transcribing ...... 34 3.2.6 Qualitative analysis ...... 34 3.2.7 Ethical considerations ...... 35 4. Qualitative empirical findings ...... 37 4.1 State of the restaurant industry ...... 37 4.2 The experience economy ...... 39 4.3 Meal Experience ...... 42 4.4 Strategic Management ...... 44 5. Thematic network analysis and discussion ...... 47 5.1 Emerging themes ...... 47 5.2 Coherence ...... 48 5.3 Business strategy ...... 49 5.3.1 Differentiation ...... 49 5.3.2 Renewal ...... 49 5.3.3 Art of appealing customers ...... 50 5.4 Management & leadership ...... 50 5.4.1 The role of staff ...... 50 5.4.2 Hands-on manager ...... 51 5.5 Customer relationship ...... 52 5.5.1 Creating a good relationship ...... 52 5.5.2 Personalized experience ...... 53 5.5.3 Social networks vs. word of mouth ...... 54 5.6 Summary of qualitative findings ...... 55 6. Conclusion ...... 56 6.1 General conclusion ...... 56 6.2 Theoretical contribution ...... 56 6.3 Practical contribution ...... 57 6.4 Societal implication ...... 58 6.5 Limitations and suggestions for further research ...... 59 7. Truth criteria ...... 60 Reference list ...... 62 Appendix 1: Interview guide ...... 66

List of tables and figures Figure 1. The progression of Economic Value………………………………………….. 5 Figure 2. The Four Realms of an Experience…………………….……………………... 8 Figure 3. The Enactment Model…………………………………………...…………... 10 Figure 4. The Five Aspects Meal Model…………………………………………….… 14 Figure 5. Relationship between strategy, experience economy, and meal experience… 21 Table 1. Table of interviewees………………………………………..………………... 34 Figure 6. Procedure of analysis...……………………………………………………… 47 Figure 7. Summary of qualitative findings…………………………………………….. 55

1. Introduction In this chapter, we aim to introduce the reader to our research topic. In this way, we explain our motivation behind the choice of the presented research topic. Then, we outline the main theories surrounding our research before highlighting our research gap.

1.1 Subject Choice We are two exchange students studying Business Administration at Umeå University. Both of us are interested in culture, tourism, and hospitality. That is why, from the beginning, we wanted to conduct research related to one of these sectors. We are also interested in understanding social phenomena and their impacts. In one of our courses, we participated in a consultancy project for a restaurant in Umeå. This mission inspired us in the choice of our subject. Indeed, we realized that restaurants tend to propose more authentic and distinctive experiences. For example, in Sen Street Kitchen (located in Umeå), one can eat Asian street food (www.senstreetkitchen.se). But the restaurant goes even further. It tries to recreate the ambiance of Asian streets by the decoration, the room configuration, and even the staff clothes. In this way, customers are engaged in culinary and cultural travel during their meal. Based on this example, and on other ones that we experienced, we consider that the restaurant industry is evolving towards something more experiential. Restaurant managers establish strategies to enhance experiences in restaurants. As those thoughts were personal assumptions and observations, we wanted to investigate this phenomenon more closely.

Many scholars agree on the idea that people are no longer going to restaurants to eat (Finkelstein, 1989; Hemmington, 2007). Indeed, when they decide to eat in a restaurant, people are whether eating by necessity or by pleasure. In this last case, they are looking for new experiences that will allow them to escape from their daily routine, to relax, to enjoy and to socialize (Gustafsson, 2006, p. 85). To better understand this phenomenon and its implications for management, we worked with three main theories: the experience economy, the meal experience, and the strategic management in the field of hospitality and tourism. First of all, the experience economy was introduced by Pine & Gilmore in 1998. They stated that the experience economy was a new economy following the agrarian, the industrial, and the service economy. In the experience economy, the experience occurs when organizations intentionally engage customers in a memorable and personal way to create memories in their minds (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 99). The experience itself becomes a marketable product or service. The experience occurs when organizations intentionally engage customers in a memorable and personal way to create memories in their minds (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 99). This process of engaging customers is often referred to as “staging experiences”. In the restaurant industry, the theory of the experience economy seems close to the concept of the meal experience. The meal experience relies on the idea that eating out does not only rely on the food but many different and interrelated factors (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 11). In this way, Gustafsson's five aspects meal model allows identifying the factors besides the food that compose the experience of eating out: the room, the meeting, the product, the atmosphere, and the management control system (Gustafsson, 2004). The experience economy, as well as the meal experience, places great importance on strategy and management as two conditions for successfully delivering experiences to customers (Pine & Gilmore, 2011; Gustafsson, 2004). Therefore, the last theory that we present is strategic management in the hospitality and tourism sector. This sector is composed of numerous sub-industries such as lodging, theme park, bar, and restaurants. Strategic management refers to all the choices and

processes established by an organization to gain a sustainable competitive advantage (Okumus et al., 2010, p. 5). Strategic management within the hospitality industry obeys almost the same rules as classic strategic management while considering the specificity of the sector, such as seasonality and globalization (Okumus, 2017, p. 269).

1.2 Problem Background According to Pine & Gilmore (2011, p. ix), “goods and services are no longer enough to foster economic growth, create new jobs, and maintain economic prosperity.” In other words, goods and services are not suitable for the proper functioning of the economy anymore. The commoditization of goods and services threat businesses (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 15). Therefore, If they want to evolve and to grow, organizations must go beyond goods and services. Nowadays, it is difficult for organizations to provide differentiated products and services as the competition is very intense (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 8). The experience economy seems to be the solution to get out of this commoditization process. It deals with “experientializing” services and products (Pizam, 2010, p. 230) to increase profit and to foster customer loyalty. For example, Starbucks succeeded in transforming the action of purchasing a coffee into a unique social experience, which allows them to charge a premium price (Pizam, 2010, p. 230). The restaurant industry is composed of “commercial dining and drinking establishments such as restaurants, bars, cafeteria, ice cream parlors and cafés” (Enz, 2010, p. 29). The restaurant industry is often divided into quick-service (limited menus, low prices, and fast service) and full-service (eat-in service, more expansive menu, low to high prices). In this study, we will only focus on full-service restaurants.

In the restaurant industry, the concept of experience is relevant for three main reasons: first, according to Edwards & Gustafsson (2008, p. 85), customers do not only go to restaurants for the food but an experience. They state that a restaurant visit is a social and cultural activity and that people go to restaurants with certain expectations. Secondly, the experience of eating out not only relies on the food. It also includes numerous factors, such as the atmosphere or the restaurant’s overall management. Finally, as part of the service industry, the restaurant industry is highly competitive. According to Stringam & Partlow (2016, p. 73), this is because the entry barriers are relatively low in the restaurant industry. To address those challenging issues - the need for experiences and the competitiveness of the sectors - we consider that restaurants need to go further by providing new, unique, and authentic customer experiences. In recent years, we, as customers, observed the multiplication of restaurants with specific concepts or themes. For example, thanks to globalization, there are more and more ethnic restaurants (Italian, Korean, Indian, Mexican, African…ect) in big cities—those kinds of restaurants, transport customers into another universe. The decor, the ambiance, the food, and the personnel participate in creating a unique experience. Such experiences can positively influence the customer decision process and its intention to come back. In this way, experiences can be a strength and a competitive advantage for restaurants (Morgan et al., 2010, p. 220). However, good strategic management must support experiences.

We are aware of the difficulty of managing a restaurant, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, the hospitality industry is greatly affected as many restaurants, bars, and hotels had to shut down around the world. In Sweden, restaurants, bars, and hotels are still open with some restrictions such as social distancing, which considerably changes the room configuration and the service. However, the hospitality sector in Sweden still must face a drop in attendance. Due to the strong impact of the pandemic on restaurants,

we decided to consider it in our study. We think that this pandemic modifies experiences in restaurants, but we also believe that experiences might be able to help restaurants after and even during the pandemic.

1.3 Theoretical Background and Research Gap The concept of the experience economy is relatively new. It was introduced in 1998 by Pine & Gilmore. Since then, the authors have continued to strengthen their theory (1999;2011;2013). The experience economy has influenced many subjects, such as experiential marketing, customer experience, digital experience, co-creation, and meal experience (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. xiii). We also noticed the influence of the experience economy in the hospitality and tourism industry. Scholars often quote Pine & Gilmore whether to support the importance of experiences in this industry (Enz, 2010, p.180) or as a model to manage customer experiences (Mossberg & Eide, 2013, p. 1187). Most of the research conducted, explore the experience economy within a particular sector such as hotels, casinos, festivals and tourism (Oh et al., 2007; Shim et al., 2017; Manthiou et al., 2014; Song et al., 2015). However, we noticed that there is no study in the restaurant sector so far. The only concept that could be assimilated to the experience economy in the restaurant industry is meal experience, but the two fields evolved separately despite their similarities. That is why we decided to apply the experience economy to restaurants.

Moreover, all the existing studies focus on the customer’s perception of the experience economy. Yet, Pine & Gilmore argue that what happens in the backstage is essential for experiences. Indeed, Pine & Gilmore (1999) consider that in the experience economy: “business is a stage and work is a theatre,” as mentions the title of their first book. Businesses are arenas where people - employees, managers - enact a specific role. They used the universe of theater as a model for their theory. In this model, strategy - drama- and its implementation - script, theater, performance - have a critical role (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 166). But for now, all the studies mainly focused on the customer perspective. That is why we decided to explore this research gap. We consider that any organization can provide the best experience to customers, but if it does not have a good strategic management, it is pointless. It is especially true for restaurants, where customer experiences are essential. However, no articles study the impact of customer experiences on strategic management in the restaurant industry so far.

1.4 Research Question and Purpose The experience economy is an actual phenomenon that one needs to understand to handle it better and take advantage of it. But entering in the experience economy has a price. It can affect the whole organization, its strategy, its plan, its management. That lead to two research questions:

● How do staging experiences affect restaurants’ strategic management? ● How do restaurants adapt their strategic management to offer a strong customer experience?

Through those questions, we aim to have a deeper understanding of the impact of staging experiences on an organization’s strategic management. The choice of focusing on one particular industry allows having a more practical study. From a theoretical perspective, our study highlights how experiences can positively or negatively impact an organization. Meanwhile, from a practical standpoint, this study gives specific directions to restaurant

managers for staging experiences based on the know-how of restaurant professionals who succeeded in entering the experience economy or who worked in restaurants with strong customer experience.

2. Theoretical framework In this chapter, we give an overview of the previous research connected to the phenomenon under study. First of all, we introduce the concept of the experience economy, which is the main topic of our study. Then we get more specific about the restaurant industry as we present the concept of the meal experience. To finish, we focus on strategic management applied to the hospitality industry, which includes the restaurant industry.

2.1 The Experience Economy Theory

2.1.1 Definition of the experience economy In 1998, Pine & Gilmore introduced to the world the theory of the experience economy. Their starting point was the observation that consumers were more and more sensitive to experiences and that businesses responded to this desire by designing and promoting them (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 97). According to Pine & Gilmore (1998, p. 97), the shift toward this economy was inevitable as it is the result of a natural economic progression consisting of four phases: Agrarian Economy, Industrial Economy, Service economy, and Experience economy (see Figure 1). Pine & Gilmore argue that an economy is defined by its predominant economic offering, in other words, what a buyer gains from a seller in exchange for money (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 25).

Figure 1. The progression of Economic Value (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 98)

In the agrarian economy, the predominant offering is a commodity. It deals with essential products which are fungible. Therefore, products cannot be differentiated. Then, in the 19th century, the industrial revolution led to a shift toward the industrial economy (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 10), where manufacturers transform raw materials into tangible and storable items. Those are sold to a wide range of anonymous customers thanks to new processes such as standardization and mass production. However, process innovation led to a reduction in the number of workers, while the production and accumulation of goods increased. It let the demand rise for services and service workers around 1950. Pine & Gilmore define the service economy as “intangible activities customized to the individual request of known client” (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 12). In other words, it refers to a realization of a task by a service provider at the request of a client (e.g., a haircut). The experience economy is the fourth stage of economic progression. For Pine & Gilmore (1998, p. 98), an experience occurs “when a company intentionally uses services as the

stage, and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event.” Indeed, the experience economy relies heavily on the abilities to personally engage the customer to create memories in his or her mind. “If commodities are fungible, goods are tangible, and services are intangible, experiences are memorable” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 98).

Moreover, we identify two attributes of experiences in the experience economy. First, it can engage the customer on an “emotional, physical, intellectual or even spiritual level” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 99). It means that it is an internal process, unlike the previous offerings. Secondly, an experience is always unique as each experience is the result of an interaction between “the staged event and the individual’s state of mind” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 99). Yet, as each individual is unique, nobody can have the same experience. The second book of Pine & Gilmore (2011, p. ix) dealing with the experience economy builds upon the idea that “goods and services are no longer enough to foster economic growth, create new jobs, and maintain economic prosperity.” The industrial economy and service economy are no longer efficient. Selling experiences is the only opportunity for value creation in a world saturated with undifferentiated goods and services (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. i). Therefore, switching to an experience economy is a necessity for organizations. Pine & Gilmore (1998, p. 98) argue that this switch will not be easy, especially for established companies, but it is required to ensure their survival.

2.1.2 Main opposition to the experience economy Pine & Gilmore use the theater universe as a background for the experience economy. The first book they published is called “The experience economy, work is a theatre, business a stage” (1999). This title can lead to confusion. Even though the experience economy seems to concern only the entertainment sector, Pine & Gilmore argue that every company, regardless of the industry, is concerned. As long as the organization engages customers in a personal way, they are in the experience economy (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 99).

Pine & Gilmore’s work is the most relevant and reliable resources about the experience economy. As previously said, the theory is still understudied. However, Pine & Gilmore’s books are not easy to understand. They choose theater as a basis for their model. They use a lot of theater vocabulary, which is confusing. They also give many examples, but most of them aim to support their arguments and to show the benefit of the experience economy. More practical examples are needed, especially when it comes to the business model they proposed. Lastly, Pine & Gilmore focus only on the bright side of the experience economy and do not consider its possible drawbacks. Those elements may explain why some researchers struggle with this theory.

Indeed, some researchers state that the use of theater vocabulary is useless, confusing, and inappropriate. Pine & Gilmore present the experience economy as a “theatrical model of the enterprise” (Pine & Gilmore, 1999, p. 104). Holbrook (2000, p. 183) states that this is a “dramaturgical metaphor” disconnected from the reality of business. He blames them particularly for not explicitly referring their not-so-new theory (Holbrook, 2000, p. 180) to others’ work, concepts, and ideas.

Some previous works indeed predicted the growing importance of experience. In 1970, Alvin Toffer (1970, cited in Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 23) already talked about an “experience industry” arising after the service industry. Unlike Pine & Gilmore, Toffer

considered the experience as a proper industry, not an entire economy consisting of numerous sectors. But, in the business field, it is Holbrook & Hirschman (1982, p. 139) who promote a more experiential and hedonic approach of consumer behavior. Before that, scholars did not consider the feelings and emotions of consumers (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982, p. 139). Holbrook & Hirschman state that the behavior of consumers is complex and cannot be analyzed regardless of the actual consumer experience (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982, p. 139).

For Holbrook (2000, p. 180), experience has always existed. He states: “In other words, I believe that every consumption event provides some form of experience(s) and that this has been true since the time of (say) Adam and Eve.” For him, purchasing a commodity, a good or service is an experience; in that case, the theory of Pine & Gilmore has no reason for being. We are aware that it can be challenging to understand the perception of Pine & Gilmore about the experience economy. Due to this reason, we are going to outline the main criteria of experiences in that particular context in the following sections.

2.1.3 Attributes of experience in the experience economy In this section, one is going to analyze to what extent experience in the experience economy is different from a casual experience. First, the difference between purchasing a commodity, a good or a service, and purchasing an experience seems to rely on the intentionality of action. Indeed, Pine & Gilmore insist on the fact that businesses “deliberately design engaging experience” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 98) and they state that experience occurs when an organization intentionally engages the customer in “a personal and memorable way” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 99). That means that customer engagement is essential. When the intention of the restaurant is not to engage the customer, it is not an experience as the authors perceive it (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 99).

Moreover, the experience itself is the economic offer (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 100). It means that customers are not paying for a good or a service but for the experience itself. Pine & Gilmore encourage organizations to charge for the experience they provide, as long as the experience is worthy (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 31). The best example is Disneyland, which charges for an admission fee but still sells goods and services through the shops (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 101). It seems that Holbrook and Pine & Gilmore do not talk about the same experience. Holbrook refers to the customer experience, which occurs during any purchase as Pine & Gilmore refer to the experience as value creation.

Secondly, the experience economy always engages the customer in a certain way. The publication of The Experience economy: work is a theater, every business a stage (Pine & Gilmore, 1999) has created much excitement. This book fostered the development of three different fields: experiential marketing, which aims to use the experience as a marketing tool to build demand, customer experience management (CEM) which refers to the interactions between customers organizations and digital experiences (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. xii). Pine & Gilmore do not deny the effectiveness of these emerging fields, but they state that it is still far from their vision of the experience economy. These fields consider experience as a way to reach customers. Yet, in the experience economy, the experience is the output (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. xii). Due to this misunderstanding of the initial definition raised by Pine & Gilmore, there is much confusion about the experience economy. Pine & Gilmore provide a set of characteristics as well as a framework to understand it better.

An experience is consisting of two dimensions: customer participation and the connection between the customer and the experience. Customer participation can be passive (the customer does not affect the experience) or active (the customer participates in the creation of the experience). The connection can be absorptive or immersive (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 102). An absorptive experience occupies a person’s attention; meanwhile, an immersive experience requires the physical or virtual participation of the person (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 46). Based on that distinctions, the authors came up with a framework called “The Four Realms of an Experience” (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. The Four Realms of an Experience (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 102)

This framework allows the identification of four experience types: entertainment experience, education experience, escapist experience, and esthetic experience (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 102). Entertainment experience refers to experience where the customer is passive and absorbed (e.g., watching television, attending a concert). The educational experience calls for active participation but an absorption (e.g., taking a class lesson). Escapist experiences involve active participation and an immersion (e.g., acting in a play). Finally, an aesthetic experience deals with passive participation and a great immersion, such as visiting an art gallery (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 102). An experience that can encompass the four realms is called “the sweet spot.” Going to Disney World and Las Vegas are considered as the best examples of it (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 102). This framework has been used a lot in the literature and more precisely in the hospitality and tourism field. So far, those industries have usually relied on the experience economy theory and the Four Realms of the experience framework. It is the most common way of studying and applying the experience economy. Oh et al. (2007) applied the framework to the bed-and-breakfast industry through a mixed study. Shim et al. (2017) applied the framework to Casinos in South Korea using a qualitative method to understand the perception of customers to casinos. Manthiou et al. (2014) also applied the four realms of the experience economy to festivals. Furthermore, Song et al. (2015) analyzed the impact of the four realms on tourists’ satisfaction in the context of temple stays. There are also some studies on wine tourism (Quadri-Felitti, 2012). Other sectors such as cinema, catering, bar, restaurant, and many others are unexploited so far. All the previous research conducted, focus on consumer perception and the Four realms of the experience framework. It is maybe because Pine & Gilmore’s works (1998; 1999; 2011) do not deliver enough direction for managers. The four realms of the experience

are detailed and well-explained, but when it comes to their business model, the use of the theater model and the lack of practical example does not facilitate the comprehension.

Thirdly, the experience must be consistent. Pine & Gilmore provide a set of principles for designing an experience. Those principles can help us to identify more attributes of the experience economy. First, the organization must have a “concise and compelling theme” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 103). The theme must drive all the design elements of the organization and give the brand consistency (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 103). Secondly, organizations must create impressions by displaying “cues that affirm the nature of the experience to the guest” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 103). Each cue is supposed to support the theme. Thirdly, Pine & Gilmore (1998, p. 103) recommend eliminating any cues that are not participating in the creation of the impression. They are useless and “diminish, contradict or distract from the theme” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 103). It is like nothing should be left to chance. Then, for Pine & Gilmore, an organization that has a specific theme displayed through the use of consistent cues, should be able to sell memorabilia to consumers (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 104). Indeed, if consumers like the experience, they will be willing to buy memorabilia to remember it. The last principles involve the use of the five senses. “The more senses an experience engages, the more effective and memorable it can be” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 104).

Therefore, we identified five attributes that will help us to determine whether an organization is in the experience economy. This framework will allow us to analyze restaurants’ participation in the experience economy. The five attributes are the choice of a consistent theme which is well displayed and recognizable by the customer, the engagement of the consumer (whether passively or actively), the engagement of all five senses, the ability to sell memorabilia or derived product, the ability to foster a connection (whether absorptive or immersive) between the customer and his or her environment.

2.1.4 Implications of the experience economy The experience economy had far-reaching managerial as well as strategic implications that every business in that field should consider. Pine & Gilmore (2011, p. 164) provide a model where "business is a stage and work as a theater." This model is called "The Enactment Model" (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 164) (see Figure 3). Based on Schechner's (1988, cited in Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 164) performance theory, Pine & Gilmore argue that there are four steps in staging experiences: drama, script, theatre, and performance. Each step corresponds to a specific activity in the mainstream strategic management literature. "Drama" refers to strategy (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 164). It deals with what the organization is and does and takes the form of "strategic visions, mission statement, business plans, competitive imperatives" (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 164). In other words, it is what gives the organization a specific direction. "Script" deals with processes that are "codified approaches that an enterprise uses to enact its strategy" (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 164). Processes are the activities staged to apply the strategy. Even though they are "codified," processes can be adapted to provide the best possible performance or rather experience to the customer. In that context, Pine & Gilmore insist on the fact that the employees must perfectly know processes. That leads us to the third step: "theatre," which points out the performance of the employees. They play a vital role as they connect the strategy and the process by staging a performance that preferably engages the customers. That is why Pine & Gilmore say that work is theater (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 165). Work is a space where employees perform a required role for customers. That implies for the experience economy that employees need to be part of the stage, they need to act.

More importantly, Pine & Gilmore recommend that employees work in a way that engages customers (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 29). The last stage is "performance." It deals with all the emotions and events that happen between the performers and their audience. In the corporate world, performance refers to the offering, and thus, the economic value that businesses create for customers (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 166).

Figure 3. The Enactment Model (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p. 164)

Secondly, Pine & Gilmore encourage mass customization (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 28). Customization facilitates the delivery of customized goods, services, or experiences to the individual customer. However, unlike goods and services, experiences are an internal process. It involves more than ever the emotions, sensations, and impressions of the customer (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 28). That is why the experience economy customization is essential (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 28). But if one thinks strategically and financially, customization can be costly, that is why Pine & Gilmore (2013, p. 28) promote mass-customization. The idea behind this concept is to “break apart a company’s offerings into modules that then can be brought together in different ways for different customers” (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 28). It is like giving numerous choices to customers (it can be in terms of color, shape, duration, meal, service) and let them choose what they want, how they want it, and in which order. The challenge here is to provide enough possibilities and choices to customers (mass) to let them shape their own experience (customization).

Thirdly, the experience economy also suggests that consumers are more and more sensitive to authenticity (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 30). Pine & Gilmore argue that customers want something “real” and that authenticity is becoming a source of competitive advantage (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 30). In business terms, authenticity refers to the relationship between the experience proposed and one’s self-image (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 30). If both variables match, the experience is authentic (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 28). It means that consumers purchase based on the extent to which the experience fits their personal needs and wants. Companies must be aware of it.

2.2 The Meal Experience Theory

2.2.1 Definition of the Meal experience Food and cuisine have always been important in our society, and restaurants have gained importance over the years and decades. However, the concept of experiencing food is relatively new. Finkelstein (1989) conceptualized it by highlighting the fact that people are not going to a restaurant to eat food anymore. She considers that the “physical appearance of the restaurant, its ambiance, and décor, are as important to the event of dining out as are the comestibles” (Finkelstein, 1989, pp. 3-5). For her, people express themselves when they dine out. It allows them to differentiate from others and to show their preferences and personality.

The meal experience concept is possible because food has a strong position in our life. According to Bessière (1998, p. 21), food has lots of benefits for the mind. It is a factor of imagination, a sign of communion with the environment, and an indicator of class. It is part of the culture of a particular geographical area and can be an emblem for specific regions. Warde & Martens (2000) were the first ones to theorize the difference between people dining out for necessity and for pleasure, which is the premise of looking for experience when dining out.

A few years later, Gustafsson, accompanied by a team of researchers started to conceptualize the meal experience per se through several articles and a book chapter (Gustafsson, 2004; Gustafsson et al., 2006; Hansen et al., 2006). They tried to understand how customers act when dining out and what factors have an influence on that process. The authors showed that people are going to a restaurant to have an experience that exceeds the food itself. They want a place where they can relax and socialize with others. Restaurateurs have to be aware of it when developing their menu, and thereby, should consider that visiting a restaurant is a social and cultural operation, where customers expect to fulfill their desire (Gustafsson et al., 2006, p. 85).

From the customer’s perspective, the experience in a restaurant translates as the mental impact generated by their visit to the restaurant. The experience manifests through the feelings and the memories of the customers’ visit to the restaurant. Everyone has a different perception of the design, the light, the scent, or the sound (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1187). People also interact with the personnel, the food, other consumers, and the experiencescape, which is the place where people go when they want to live an experience and to escape from reality (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, pp. 1186-1187).

This notion of escapism, which was introduced by Pine & Gilmore (1999, p. 102), has also been applied to the tourism sector. Three main reasons are explaining why people want to escape (Oh et al., 2007, p. 122). At first sight, people want to escape from their daily routine, no matter what it is, they want to avoid everyday life, and they look for something new, to return refreshed. Secondly, people want to go to a particular destination, no matter the reasons, to flee from their daily life. Thirdly, when people are looking for a specific activity regardless of the destination, they are interested in the activity only (Oh et al., 2007, p. 122). These three reasons for escaping are also applicable to the restaurant industry. These types of behavior are part of the meal experience theory.

Eating out is a wide-ranging activity. There is a difference in the customers’ expectations depending on the reason for the meal. People might eat out from necessity, for example,

to avoid cooking or for the lunch break, or they can dine out for pleasure, like meeting friends or a romantic diner. Consequently, their evaluation of the experience will differ as well (Wood, 2013, p. 3). It is essential to consider this distinction when analyzing the meal experience, not only the elements specific to the restaurant are of importance, but also the customers’ expectations. This idea can be linked to the experience economy developed by Pine & Gilmore (1999) and to its application to the hospitality industry. For Hemmington (2007, p. 749), customers of the hospitality industry “do not buy service delivery, they buy experiences; they do not buy service quality, they buy memories; they do not buy food and drink, they buy meal experiences.”

Nordic countries have shown a particular attraction for the experience economy, and lots of companies tend to develop meal experience concepts to attract a new branch of consumers who are looking for an extraordinary experience (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1185).

2.2.2 The consumer perspective In a restaurant and during the whole meal experience, the consumer is the key element as this person determines the variable one. When dining out for pleasure, people look for amusement, fantasy, enjoyment, and they are looking for stimulation through their senses (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982, p. 139). In the end, they go to a restaurant to eat food while having fun (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1185). For Story et al. (2008, p. 260), transparency regarding the consumer is essential. Moreover, detailed information about the meal, and the menu increases consumers’ consciousness (Story et al., 2008, p. 260). They are more aware of all the components, and they might trust the restaurant even more. Mossberg & Eide (2017, p. 1187) consider that a meal is a combination of lots of elements put together. As soon as the restaurant can communicate its offer clearly and in the right way, it becomes more attractive for consumers. The consumers might be willing to be part of the story, and to create their own experience. Consumers need to be involved in the activity to remember their visit. They have to be players in their experiences and to have the possibility to influence the story. Most of the time, people have different stories in mind that they want to experience. Customers must have the option to play a part and co-create their unique value (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1188). For the consumers to be deeply immersed, the experience should happen in an enclave with a particular theme (Carù & Cova, 2007). This enclave should contrast to daily life and should be out of the ordinary. Thus the experience is even more substantial (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1188). Indeed, the exceptional nature of the activity gives more weight to the experience.

As the act of going to a restaurant is very broad, the difference between eating out from necessity or dining out for pleasure is essential. Consumers will evaluate a restaurant differently depending on the situation, and their price expectation will change as well (Pavesic, 1989, p. 45). For example, if they go to a restaurant for a lunch break while working, the price will be a significant factor. On the contrary, if they are meeting friends, which is social interaction, they will be less price-conscious, and they will favor the present time (Pavesic, 1989, p. 45).

Attention should be drawn to the fact that highly involved consumers play a decisive role in change (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1196), and particularly these consumers set new food trends. By reading about the latest trends, attending food festivals, and looking for the most sophisticated restaurants, they influence the population through social networks mostly. That also has consequences for the restaurateurs.

2.2.3 The restaurant perspective In restaurants, the primary variable is the consumers, and the restaurateur has no power over it. However, the restaurateur can play on certain factors that will make the restaurant attractive. The restaurateur has to adapt to the customers and has to know very well the different components and the processes used in the restaurant. For example, restaurants have to avoid a widespread problem in the tourism industry, which is the ease of copying good ideas. A solution to that issue would be to open a restaurant linked to the region or the owner's family. Thus, it is way harder to copy (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1194).

Warde & Martens (2000) describe the meal experience with four different aspects that relate to access, delivery, enjoyment, and modes of provision. Access represents how easy it is to reach the restaurant. Delivery means the delivery of service that happens when the customer enters the restaurant and starts interacting with the staff. Enjoyment is an element by itself as eating out for pleasure is supposed to be an enjoyable time (Warde & Martens, 2000, p. 189). Modes of provision correspond to the eating establishment. There are three different modes of provision in restaurants: commercial, institutional, and communal.

The commercial mode is the most common one. The customer pays the total amount of money for every meal. In the institutional mode, a part or the total amount of the meal is subsidized. The communal mode is visible when no money is exchanged at all (Hansen et al., 2006, p. 136). Andersson & Mossberg (2004) led research, where they found that five key factors play the role of satisfiers for customers. These factors are cuisine, restaurant interior, service, company, and other guests.

The relationship to the customer has to be dealt with carefully as it is the first and the last interaction that they will remember. As a result of this, Zeithaml & Bitner (2000) pointed out five dimensions related to service quality in their research for the GAP model: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. A GAP model refers to the gap between what customers expect from services and what the service provides (Hansen et al., 2006, p. 137). A restaurant is having a good service quality if the customers are satisfied with its services. The interactions with other people in a restaurant are generally well remembered. Hansen et al. (2006, p. 142) showed in their research that a customer- customer relationship often consists of politeness, attention, and esteem. In turn, a customer-staff relationship consists of attention, complaint handling, and trust (Hansen et al., 2006, p. 142).

The previously mentioned engagement of some very involved consumers (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1196) has to be dealt with carefully by restaurateurs. Restaurants must follow the current sustainability trend and use local food if they do not want to be criticized by leaders of various food debates (Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1196). For Bowen and Morris (1995), the menu should suit the overall style of the restaurant. That adds more credibility and a natural atmosphere to an eating establishment. Besides, suggestions from the staff regarding the menu, influence the decision process of customers and leads to a sales increase. For example, loud colors are not suitable for 'à la carte' restaurants while they could fit better for a sandwich bar (Hansen et al., 2006, p. 142). Additionally, Areni (2003, p. 183) pointed out that music has a high impact on consumers' enjoyment, and good background music can notably increase their amusement. However, it should not be repeated many times (Areni, 2003, p. 183).

From a strategic point of view, Mossberg & Eide (2017, p. 1194) suggest that restaurants follow the experience staging literature explained by Pine & Gilmore (2013), and engage the consumer symbolically with offerings when they have the opportunity.

In the end, a range of elements needs to be taken into account when creating a valuable meal experience. On the one hand, the atmosphere, the environment, the waiters' skills have a significant influence on the customer's overall experience. On the other hand, the core product - featuring food and beverage - stays the most important one (Hansen et al., 2006, p. 145). For Gustafsson (2004, p. 12), who defined the five key aspects of meal experience, the consumers themselves create the atmosphere in a restaurant. They are players of their own experience.

2.2.4 Gustafsson’s Five Aspects Meal Model The five aspects meal model theorized by Gustafsson (2004) is the dominant model that facilitates a better understanding of the meal experience. Her model highlights the key elements of the meal experience. Moreover, the author develops the idea that “meals consist of much more than the food to be eaten” (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 11). In this way, her model functions as a valuable tool. It helps to effectively use the different aspects necessary for producing commercial meals and for giving the guests the best meal experience possible (Gustafsson et al., 2006, p. 90). Figure 4 below summarizes the Five Aspects Meal Model.

Figure 4. The Five Aspects Meal Model (FAMM) (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 11)

Each rectangle represents one aspect of the five aspects meal model. The first rectangle includes the three core elements: the room, the meeting, and the product. The room refers to the physical setting of the meal. It takes into account the configuration of the room and how people use this room. These elements are connected to each other because they are used at the same specific time. That implies that they are part of a unique time frame (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 11). The room is considered as an entirety in the model.

The meeting refers to the interpersonal relations between the guests themselves and between the guests and the staff. It also includes how the employees manage their relations with the guests, considering that they all have different identities and different requirements (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 11). The staff should be able to make a rapid analysis of the consumer identity and, thus, act suitably to ensure the consumer’s satisfaction. Moreover, the choices of the consumer concerning the menu depend on their identity and the reason for their visit. The meeting aspect described in the model also concerns the relationships between the staff working in the kitchen - cooks, and chefs. Gustafsson

(2004, p. 12) states that these relations need to be positive as well because they participate in producing a friendly environment in the restaurant.

The product refers to the food and drinks served and the combination of the two product categories. It is the job of the chef to transform and assemble the ingredients to create an appetizing course. The chef uses his or her experience and theoretical knowledge about cooking. The theoretical knowledge is important because if a dish fails, they know exactly how to handle it and how each ingredient will react (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12). Waiters have the expected knowledge to advise the consumers concerning, among others, a delicious wine that will fit their meal. Naturally, the purpose is to satisfy the guest. Thus the waiting staff uses their capability to interpret the guests’ character and adapt suggestions to satisfy them. The product is considered as an entirety as well because the whole process needs craftsmanship from the chef’s practical knowledge and science to be completed successfully (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12).

All these three core elements - room, meeting, and product - are gathered in a rectangle that designates the atmosphere. Contrary to what one might think, the atmosphere is not created by the staff but by the guest (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12). Even though creative skills may help, the consumers are still the major players in the atmosphere. The previously presented elements also have a significant impact. When people feel comfortable and relaxed, it is a good atmosphere. Verbal communication is a key player for it, and the relations between the guests and between the guests and the staff determines the atmosphere of the restaurant (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12).

The management control system encompasses the atmosphere. It gathers all the administrative tasks that are needed to manage the restaurant from an economic and legal perspective (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12). It is also necessary to consider the rules for the treatment of food, wine and spirits, for the staff, and all other small duties. Another crucial aspect is food logistics. One must understand the difference between food logistics at home, in a canteen, and in a restaurant (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12). At home, the cooker knows how many people will attend the diner and also knows everyone personally, which reduces the chances of dissatisfaction. In a canteen, the consumers choose their meal and directly take it on the counter. The purpose is to have lots of meals served in a short amount of time. The logistics system of a restaurant is way more complicated. The chef knows at the last moment what meal the consumer wants, and sometimes a table can order many different courses at the same time. It puts much pressure on the chef (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12). Moreover, the chef has to guess which courses will be the most demanded according to the previous days, to avoid waste. If the chef fails in predicting, the quantity of food ordered to the suppliers may not match the amount of food served during the day. That leads to food waste.

Staff management is also an essential point in the management control system. The chefs, who are preparing food in the kitchen, can be managed easily because they usually acquired cooking skills in specific schools (Currie, 2013, p. 4). Supervising food service can be more challenging. First of all, waiters receive fragile training, supposing that they trained. Yet, they need technical skills in service. They also need knowledge about the product, as well as interpersonal skills (Pratten, 2003, p. 832). For example, product knowledge can be developed through daily explanations of the menu, as this equips one with basic information. Technical skills should be learned at the beginning of employment and extended with more practice over time. Concerning interpersonal skills, they should

better be part of the waiter’s personality than result from training. However, they will improve as employees’ confidence increases (Currie, 2013, p. 4).

Another aspect of the management control system is marketing. An evaluation can be completed by new restaurants to understand better the consumers who are more likely to visit them. In that way, they can adapt their product to the needs of these customers, and attract them with well-targeted marketing efforts. For example, it can be through advertisements in the newspapers, an attractive website, or flyers distribution (Currie, 2013, p. 3). However, according to Mangold et al. (1999, p. 80), the positive word of mouth (PWOM) from previous visitors is still the most remarkable marketing tool. That is why the meal experience of a guest in a restaurant needs to be at least equal or even higher to their original expectations (Longart, 2010, p. 123). According to Longart (2010, p. 126), marketing efforts should also focus on creating uniqueness. However, it is still essential to keep in mind that the core product - presenting food and beverages - is more powerful than any external marketing. That leads to restaurateurs’ greater motivation to work on the main elements of their establishment instead of focusing their attention on marketing efforts. To conclude, restaurants should have an effective management control systems to be able to respect the laws and regulations and to make possible that all the aspects of management work together (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12).

Generally speaking, the five aspects meal model is not perceived in the same way by all customers. Some will be more sensitive to the meeting or the atmosphere. Some will focus on food. Usually, the management control system, which is working backstage, is less perceived by the consumers (Gustafsson, 2004, pp. 12-13).

2.3 Strategic Management in the field of hospitality and tourism

2.3.1 Hospitality industry The hospitality industry is an essential part of our research. Restaurants are hospitable establishments. So even if not all the theories of the sector apply to our topic, we can find information that will help us. The world is getting smaller, as traveling is easier today. In turn, this has a significant impact on the inflow of guests to the diverse hospitality companies on this globe. In his chapter of the book Key concepts in Hospitality management, Brotherton (2013, pp. 2-3) defines hospitality according to two perspectives: the behavioral perspective and the industry or provider view. The behavioral definition of hospitality is quite similar to the one that people use in daily life, but there are some nuances. The definition usually written in dictionaries asserts that hospitality is the fact to be kind when welcoming guests, or just the point to welcome people (whomever they are) and to take care of them (Brotherton, 2013, p. 2). This notion of hospitable behavior is to consider, and it is the necessary attitude for hospitality management to exist. Also called 'hospitableness' (Brotherton, 2013, p. 2), a hospitable behavior is a crucial requirement in this industry because other elements of hospitality might be viewed as ordinary by the consumers. However, hospitable behavior is not the only component that makes hospitality possible. Some physical features are needed, as well. Brotherton (2013, p. 2) points out that "most people would associate hospitality with a place where one can find food, drink, or accommodation. He gives some examples like dining in a friend's house, having a drink in a bar, or eating in a restaurant (Brotherton, 2013, p. 2). However, he contrasts these situations with the illustration of a canteen in

prison, where are all the tangible components of hospitality, but none would claim it is a hospitable environment. Therefore, both physical elements associated with hospitality and hospitable behavior are necessary for hospitality to occur (Brotherton, 2013, p. 2).

The industry or provider definition of hospitality focuses on the physical elements of hospitality. However, it thereby considers a broad industry sector and, thus, makes a hospitality organization hard to define (Brotherton, 2013, p. 3). Nonetheless, this dimension of hospitality better reflects the concept that we want to explain in this research. Several aspects are taken into consideration. The first one is a hospitable behavior, as described earlier. Then the tangible products such as food, drink, or accommodation are mentioned. There is also a spatial dimension as the hospitality experience happens within a specific location, as well as a temporal dimension as it occurs for particular occasions (Brotherton, 2013, p. 3). Human interactions happening during the hospitality operation can make a difference as well. As there is no transfer of ownership, hospitality is a rental transaction. Brotherton (2013, p. 3) explains that "the recipient is given temporary permission to occupy a physical locality, for example, a seat in a restaurant or someone's home, or a hotel bedroom within which they receive the behavioral and physical elements of the hospitality being provided and pay 'rent' to the owner of the space – this rent being, for example, the room rate or restaurant bill in a commercial context, and the obligations of reciprocity in a non-commercial context."

Considering all these dimensions, we can conclude that hospitality is a voluntary delivery- consumption exchange generating benefits and obligations for its participants and happening temporarily within the context of a determined location and occasion. The physical products comprising food, drinks, and accommodations that are accompanied by a hospitable behavior are the factors that characterize the hospitality industry compared to other types of businesses (Brotherton, 2013, p. 3).

2.3.2 Context and definition of strategic management in the hospitality industry Okumus et al. (2010, p. 5) define strategic management as "a process through which firms define their missions, visions, goals, and objectives, as well as craft and execute strategies at various levels of the firms' hierarchies to create and sustain a competitive advantage."

The emergence of strategic management in the hospitality and tourism field dates back to the '60s. Initially, it was about applying strategic management research to the sector of hospitality (Okumus et al., 2010, p. 7; Okumus et al., 2002, p. 107). That is why the mainstream strategic management literature influenced strategic management in hospitality and tourism (Harrington et al., 2014, p. 779). However, researchers insist on the fact that existing strategic management literature does not consider "the uniqueness of individual industries" (Köseoglo, 2019, p. 691). Each industry has its rules and its specificity that one cannot ignore when studying or designing a strategy (Okumus et al., 2017, p. 269; Köseoglo, 2019, p. 691). Hospitality and tourism are sectors evolving in a very dynamic and complex environment (Okumus, 2010, p. 30). Moreover, these sectors are particularly vulnerable to macro trends such as political crises, technological development, and social-cultural trends (Okumus, 2010, p. 30). Not to mention other factors, such as seasonality and globalization (Okumus, 2017, p. 269). A perfect example could be the complicated current situation with COVID-19. Finally, this sector heavily relies on services (Okumus et al., 2017, p. 269). All of that argues for a different approach to strategic management, as also emphasized by Okumus et al. (2017, p. 269).

The research field is substantial. We noticed a will to move away from the generic and mainstream literature and to establish new tools, concept, and framework proper to the hospitality and tourism industry. For example, in the hospitality management field, some scholars see strategic management as a plan aiming to achieve the perfect "fit" between the organization's external and internal environment. This concept is called "co- alignment" (Okumus et al., 2000, p. 107). Harrington (2001) focused on environmental scanning in hospitality and more precisely in the restaurant industry. Meanwhile, Okumus (2002) and Okumus & Roper (1999) tried to develop a strategy implementation framework for hospitality and tourism organizations. However, one will see in the following section that strategic management within the hospitality and tourism field still highly relies on the mainstream strategic management literature.

2.3.3 Strategic management process In the hospitality and tourism sector, the strategic management process consists of the following phases: situation analysis, strategic direction, strategy formulation, and strategy implementation (Enz, 2010, p. 15; Okumus, 2002, p. 107). Scholars agree that these phases are overlapping and should not be viewed as a linear process, let alone considered separately (Okumus, 2002, p. 107).

First, the situation analysis refers to the constant scanning of the internal and external environment of the organization. Indeed, knowing its external and internal environment is vital if the organization wants to gain a sustainable competitive advantage (Okumus, 2010, p. 30). In this way, the internal environment concerns internal stakeholders such as employees, top managers, but also organizational resources and capabilities. Meanwhile, external stakeholders deal with forces linked to the organization's activities, including competitors, customers, suppliers, and local communities. During this phase, Enz (2010, p. 16) recommends the use of tools such as SWOT analysis and Porter's five forces model to grasp the threats and the opportunities of the environment (Enz, 2010, p. 16). One can relate the situation analysis to what Johnson et al. (2011, p. 12) called the strategic position. Indeed, they argue that identifying the strategic position of an organization requires an analysis of "the macro-environment, the industry environment, the organization's strategic capabilities, the organization's stakeholders and the organization's culture" (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 12).

Secondly, the strategic direction allows the organization to define its purpose (Enz, 2010, p. 17). Johnson et al. (2011, p. 7) provide four ways for organizations to define their purpose: the mission statement, which states with clarity what the organization is fundamentally doing; the vision statement, dealing with how the organization sees itself in the future; the statement of corporate values, which describes the organization's core values and states how organizations should operate; and the objectives, which refer to the statement of a specific outcome. (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 7).

Thirdly, the strategy formulation deals with planning strategies and is divided into three levels: corporate-level strategy, business-level strategy, or functional-level strategy (Enz, 2010, p. 18). In the mainstream strategic management research, strategies exist at the same three levels within an organization (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 10). First, the corporate- level strategy deals with the scope of an organization (Enz, 2010, p. 18). At this level, managers can decide to engage their organization into different strategies such as concentration, related or unrelated diversification, vertical or horizontal integration, mergers, acquisition, or restructuring. Concentration refers to the focus of an organization

in one industry. Concentration for organizations aims to be the leader in that industry or in a segment of that industry (Woods, 2013, p. 154). Diversification is a strategy in which an organization decides to extend its activity to other market shares. There are two types of diversification: the related diversification in which the organization expands into products or services linked to its existing business (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 244) and the unrelated diversification in which the organization diversifies into products or services not linked to its existing business (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 244). Vertical integration is a strategy where the organization becomes its supplier (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 253) at various levels of the supply chain, upstream and downstream (Woods, 2013, p. 154). Meanwhile, horizontal integration concerns only one level of the value chain (Woods, 2013, p. 154). The possible choice for decision-makers in the hospitality industry is similar to those in the general literature. Other options imply mergers that represent the combination of two previously separate organizations to form a new company. In addition to that, an acquisition refers to buying a majority of shares from another organization. Restructuring refers to "selling underperforming assets" (Woods, 2013, p. 154).

Secondly, the business-level strategy - also called competitive strategy - refers to the way businesses compete in a given market (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 10). At a business level, managers decide which strategy to engage in gaining a competitive advantage. At this stage, the hospitality industry also relies on generic strategies proposed by Porter (1980, cited in Woods, 2013, p. 155; Enz, 2010) that include cost leadership, differentiation, focus, and best value strategies. Indeed, according to Porter (1980), firms create value for customers by providing basic and cheap services or products or by offering products or services at a relatively high price. In practice, that gave birth to two main strategies. The first one points to the cost leadership strategy where firms provide goods and services at a lower cost than their competitors (Enz, 2010, p. 168; Johnson et al., 2011, p. 211). Secondly, the so-called differentiation strategy requires the organization to distinguish its products or services based on specific attributes such as "higher-quality product features, location, the skills, and experience of employees, technology embodied in design, better service, or intense marketing activities" (Enz, 2010, p. 168). There is also a third generic strategy named focus strategy, which relies on competitive segmentation. Indeed, this strategy aims to target and to focus on a narrow segment or domain of activity, whether based on prices (cost focus strategy) or based on differentiating attributes (differentiation focus strategy) (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 211). Another strategy is the best value strategy or a hybrid strategy. It involves combining different Porter's generic strategies (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 211). The strategy consists of enhancing the elements that customers value more and reducing cost, where it is less important. The challenge here is to reach a good balance (Woods, 2013, p. 156).

Third and last is the functional level, where managers make sure that business and corporate-level strategies are applied by providing resources, processes, and people required for the success of the overall strategy (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 10). That means that every level of strategy must align with the others. This level implies the mobilization of numerous resources and the participation of all departments of the organization (Woods, 2013, p. 156; Enz, 2010, p. 289). According to Enz (2010, p. 290), the functional level may imply marketing, human resources, and operations. Those three elements are supposed to support the organization's strategy. According to Johnson et al. (2011, p. 109), marketing refers to a set of mean established by an organization to interact with consumers to make them aware of a product or a service. The strategy of the firm may influence marketing decisions. For example, Enz (2010, p. 294) states that when it comes

to differentiation strategy, marketing must "price and distribute the product or service in ways that capitalize on the differentiation" and "advertise and promote the image of difference." In other words, marketing must correspond to the organization's overall strategy. Human resources are also essential for organizations as they are made up of people continually interacting (Enz, 2010, p. 289). It allows coordinating the different roles between the organization and its employees. Human resources imply recruitment, management, training, development, and rewards (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 109). At this stage, leadership skills are also fundamental (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 469). Indeed according to Johnson et al. (2011, p. 470), leadership allows influencing an organization to achieve a goal. It means that leadership is essential in an organization. Effective leadership gives people a clear purpose and motivation to achieve a goal. (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 470). Moreover, displaying leadership skills foster organizational identity and trust environment (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 471). Two major elements in organizations. Indeed organizational identification refers to the psychological attachment to a company (Abrams & Randsley de Moura, 2001, p. 134). Organizational identification positively affects turnover intention (Abrams & Randsley de Moura, 2001, p. 134). In other words, the more the employees feel attached to their organization, the more they are willing to remain in the organization and to cooperate with the organization. Tyler (2001, p. 158) also adds that pride and respect towards employees make the relationship between employees and managers easier. If employees feel respected by the organization, they will be more motivated to work in a way that will benefit the organization. Organizational identification is also related to trust. According to Kramer (2001, p. 168), the awareness of a sharing identity among the members of the same organization enhances their willingness to trust each other. Lastly, operations refer to all the tasks designed by the manager to create the organization's products and services. At this stage, managers must be consistent toward the organization's overall strategy and its capabilities (Enz, 2010, p. 296).

Strategy implementation is the fourth and the last process associated with the strategic management process in the hospitality and tourism industry. It involves the management of stakeholders and resources to foster the success of the strategies chosen (Enz, 2010, p. 20). One would say that this is the actual application of the strategy.

2.4 Relationship between experience economy, meal experience, and strategy In this part, we aim to highlight the link between the concepts that we discussed earlier. To begin with, we observed many similarities between Pine and Gilmore's enactment model (strategy, processes, work, offering) (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 164) (see Figure 3) and the strategic management process (situation analysis, strategic direction, strategy formulation, and strategy implementation) proposed by Okumus (2002, p. 107) and Enz (2010, p. 15). Pine & Gilmore do not mention anything close to "situation analysis," but what they called "strategy" or "drama" in the enactment model refers to: "strategic visions, mission statement, business plans, competitive imperatives" (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 164). That corresponds to the second and third steps of the strategic management process: strategic direction and strategy formulation. Strategic direction consists in defining the organization's purpose through mission and vision statement, corporate values, and objectives (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 7). Meanwhile, strategy formulation deals with all the strategic choices made at the corporate, business, and functional levels to achieve the organization's goals. It includes "business plans and competitive imperatives" (Pine &

Gilmore, 2011, p. 164). Processes and work correspond to the strategy implementation phase. In the experience economy, processes refer to all the activities participating in the staging of the experience, meanwhile work mainly deals with employee management. Yet, Enz (2010, p. 20) described strategy implementation as the management of stakeholders and resources to foster the success of the strategies chosen. The parallel between the two processes shows the importance of strategic management.

When it comes to restaurants, especially, one would say that meal experience is an application of the experience economy. However, if the experience economy seems closer to strategic management, meal experience is more about the restaurant's daily life. The meal experience encompasses issues such as the room configuration, the relationships between the staff and the customers and between the customers themselves, the food and beverages served, the decoration as well as the management control system (administrative tasks, quality control, food logistic, staff management, marketing) (Gustafsson, 2004). Those activities are concerned about the management of the restaurant's daily life. They can be linked to the last step of the strategic management process (strategy implementation) as well as to the two final parts of the enactment model (work, offering). Indeed, at these stages, it is about gathering the necessary resources and taking actions (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 10). One of the significant roles of the manager is to make sure that any tasks or activities are in line with the restaurant's overall strategy. Lastly, offerings deal with the economic value that businesses create for customers (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 166). In a restaurant case, offering refers to the service and everything that it implies (e.g., the staff, the food, the room). We consider that when staging experiences, the enactment model processes, and the strategic management processes are executed in parallel and simultaneously. One can visualize our analysis in Figure 5 below:

Figure 5. Relationship between strategy, experience economy, and meal experience

For now, there is not any scientific article or book dealing with a combined view on the experience economy, the meal experience, and strategic management. However, we noticed that scholars used to quote Pine & Gilmore whether to support the fact that experience is more and more important or as a strategic or management model. For example, Enz (2010, p. 180) refers to the experience economy to emphasize the difference between services and experiences. She states that “staging experiences is not about entertaining customers but engaging them” (Enz 2010, p. 180). She also admits that there

is a behavioral shift among customers pushing them to look for unique customer experiences (Enz 2010, p. 180). Only Mossberg & Eide (2013, p. 1187), argue that restaurants could follow Pine & Gilmore’s experience staging literature from a strategic point of view.

To conclude this theoretical framework, one must remember some aspects that result from previous research. The experience economy consists of creating memorable events for customers. In the experience economy, the product is the experience itself. The four realms of experience present four different types of experience: entertainment, educational, esthetic, and escapist. Moreover, there are five conditions to fit the experience economy: having a consistent and well-displayed theme, engaging the customer (whether passively or actively), engaging all five senses, being able to sell souvenir or derived product, and being able to create a connexion between the customer and its environment. In the meal experience concept, the physical appearance of the restaurant, its ambiance, and décor are as important to the event of dining out as are the comestibles. As in the experience economy, the customers have to be players of their experience. There is a difference to consider between eating out from necessity and eating out for pleasure. Moreover, the five aspects meal model presents the elements that influence customers’ experience in restaurants: room, meeting, product, atmosphere, control management. Another aspect that is important to study is hospitality as it encompasses the restaurant industry. It is also very vulnerable to the external environment. As each industry has its specificity, they all need a specific approach. Thus, studying the hospitality industry was necessary. Strategic management is the root of a lot of other managerial aspects such as coherence of the concept, business strategy, general management and leadership, and customer relationship. Strategic management spreads out on three levels: corporate level, business level, and functional or operational level. All this information from previous theories helps us to analyze the data that we collected. We used a precise method to collect and analyze data.

3. Methodology The methodology chapter describes the methodology process used for this thesis. It is divided into two parts. First, the theoretical methodology describes the theoretical and philosophical stances adopted for the thesis and how we proceeded for the literature review. Then the practical method focuses on the data collection method and the data analysis.

3.1 Theoretical methodology In this chapter, we will present the scientific method that we followed for our research. We will first explain our ontological and epistemological stances. Then we will display our research approach and our research design, where we describe the philosophical point of view followed while conducting the research. Finally, we present the method that we used for our literature search, and we clarify why we chose the theories used.

3.1.1 Ontology Ontology is a philosophical assumption that considers the nature of reality (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 130). Ontology helps to understand what reality consists of and how it is constructed. The question is to know if there is a social reality and if our social reality exists outside ourselves. In other words, ontology focuses on the question of social entities, if they should be considered as objective entities that exist independently from social actors, or if they should be viewed as elements built from the perceptions and actions of other actors (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 131).

There are two main paradigms for business research: positivism and interpretivism (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 44). These paradigms are not independent concepts, but they are the extreme points of a linear. For positivists, there is only one reality, and everyone has the same sense of reality. They consider that social reality is objective and external to the researcher (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 46). Interpretivists consider that there are multiple realities, and everyone has their sense of reality. For interpretivists, social reality is subjective as it is socially constructed (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 46).

The assumption we embrace from an ontological point of view is interpretivism. We are leading a qualitative study, and our purpose is to have a deeper understanding of how restaurants adapt their strategy to reach the experience economy. The different answers that we had to our questions were dependent on the restaurateur and to the restaurant corresponding. Restaurants differ from their offer, their location, their staff, and even the customers that visit it. The restaurateurs that we interviewed have different realities, depending on all these factors and on their experience as a restaurateur. Moreover, the restaurant industry is continually changing as it is highly sensitive to economic and social phenomena like economic crises or trends. Also, customers' reality when experiencing a diner in a restaurant depends on extrinsic factors like who accompanies them and on intrinsic factors like customers' moods. Therefore, we consider that the restaurant industry and what people experience in a restaurant are affected by social factors, which makes sense because if there were no social factors affecting elements, there would be no point in analyzing it. Adopting a positivist paradigm would be meaningless because it implies that social reality is objective, while this is not the case for restaurant professionals that we interviewed.

3.1.2 Epistemology The epistemological assumption refers to what we accept as valid knowledge (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 132). It involves examining the relationship between the researcher and the topic under research. The main issue with this philosophical assumption is to know if the social world can be approached with the same methods and techniques as natural sciences (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 134). Then, to determine our epistemological philosophy, we need to know how we gain knowledge of the world around us, and what scientific principles and processes we should use. There are four different philosophies in epistemology: positivism, realism, interpretivism, and pragmatism (Saunders et al., 2012, pp. 134-137).

For positivist researchers, we can gain knowledge from a social phenomenon by applying mainly methods used in natural sciences (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 134). From the positivist point of view, only phenomena that are observable and measurable are valid knowledge. The research is unbiased and value-free as the researchers are independent and separated from the topic under investigation (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 134). Positivists create new theories by testing hypotheses. Realism is a similar approach to positivism, where there is an external reality independent from the researchers. Realist researchers apply methods and techniques from natural sciences. However, realists think that objective reality can be interpreted in different ways as people have their perspectives (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 136). Then, interpretivists believe that knowledge comes from subjective proof from the participant in the phenomenon and that the researchers interact with the research topic (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 47). That is why the methods used in natural science do not apply to social entities. Researchers cannot be objective when they are part of the studies, and people have different beliefs depending on their preconceptions (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 137). Finally, pragmatism, which is the last philosophical assumption of epistemology, is not on the same linear scale as the first three ones. Researchers use pragmatist philosophy when positivism, realism, or interpretivism do not allows answering the research question (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 130). It corresponds to a combination of several philosophical positions, or when the ontological and epistemological approaches diverge (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 130).

Considering that the research question is the most important element to determine the epistemological standpoint, we have to take it into account. The main goal of our research is to have a deeper understanding of how experiences affect restaurants’ strategic management, and how restaurateurs adapt their strategy to propose a strong experience to customers. Restaurateurs and their restaurants are indissociable of their realities. Therefore, knowledge comes from subjective evidence from participants, and we, as researchers, have to interpret their claims. That leads us to adopt an interpretivist philosophy. We cannot use methods that are made for natural sciences as we have to interact with the phenomenon. That is why we do not follow the positivist nor the realist paradigms. We will also be careful to consider the interpretivist paradigm while analyzing our results.

3.1.3 Research approach Three research approaches exist to relate theories and empirical data: deductive, abductive, and inductive approaches (Saunders et al., 2012, pp. 143-145). Working with a deductive approach means that researchers first consider existing literature and analyze it. They deduce hypotheses from this literature and test it thanks to empirical data (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 144). The data is then analyzed to support or reject the

hypothesis. The purpose of a deductive approach is to test hypotheses from existing theories, while our goal is to have a deeper understanding of the restaurant industry and customer experience. Therefore, we will not take this direction.

Following an inductive approach means that the researchers first collect data to explore a phenomenon and generate a theory after (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 145). Contrary to the deductive approach, which draws conclusions from a generally large number of participants, the inductive approach gives generalizations from a small number of observations. The purpose is to build generalizations from observing social phenomena and from finding specificities. The researcher draws conclusions from an individual phenomenon, basing the study on general theories (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 145). An inductive approach is generally associated with qualitative researches as it gives information from numerous topics, contrary to quantitative research, which offers finite information.

Abduction is a combination of both induction and deduction approaches, where the researcher goes back and forth between both (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 147). The purpose is first to collect data to examine phenomena and explain patterns to create or modify existing theories, as the inductive approach recommends. The second step is to test these theories with another phase of data collection, as in the deductive approach (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 145). The aim of abduction is that researchers consider an individual case and find hypothetical theories to explain this case (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 147). Our research is only a qualitative research, but we could have studied the phenomenon more deeply with more time.

As our study is from a qualitative nature, we adopt the inductive approach. We consider existing theories, and we have research expectations, but we have to go further from it. The generalizations come from particular cases that we extend to general cases. We study the case of a few specifically chosen restaurants, and we analyze their actions and strategy to create theories about customer experience. We introduce themes from existing theories and relate them to the literature.

3.1.4 Research design There are two main types of research designs in business research: quantitative and qualitative research (Saunders et al., 2012, pp. 159-161). Both designs do no have the same approach, whether in terms of connecting theories and empirical data or in terms of ontological and epistemological assumptions. A qualitative approach usually analyzes people’s sayings and focuses on the meaning of words, contrary to natural sciences. That is why the qualitative approach and inductive approach are often connected. (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 163). In qualitative research, researchers analyze a reduced number of cases deeply.

In contrast, in quantitative research, a large number of participants give restricted opinions through closed questions or with a scale (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 130). Quantitative research is often linked to a deductive approach, and researchers design hypotheses before collecting data and test them afterward (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 162). However, the research approaches do not always correspond to specific research designs. One can use an inductive approach for a quantitative study and a deductive approach for a qualitative study (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 52). If these two research designs are the most popular, researchers can use mixed-methods where the central design can be either

quantitative or qualitative. Triangulation is a classic design for researches that use multiple sources of data (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 71).

The main thing when choosing the research design is that it should fit the research question. Regarding our research question and its purpose, qualitative data is the research design that fits the best. With qualitative research, we will be able to focus on a few cases of restaurants that we will choose carefully, and we will be able to analyze the question of customer experience in restaurants deeply. By associating this research with an interpretivist paradigm, we will be able to understand and contextualize data, and the study will have a higher degree of validity (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 130). Qualitative data need to be understood within a specific context, so background information will be necessary to consider (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 130). We did not choose a quantitative data collection because testing hypotheses with a large number of participants is not the purpose of our research, and this would not fit our research question.

3.1.5 Preconceptions Preconceptions are what the researchers already know about the topic under research and how they consider it. It is essential to be aware of one’s preconceptions as it can bias the potential knowledge that can be acquired (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 196). At the same time, preconceptions are to take into consideration because they are the explanation of the researchers’ interests (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 196). Preconceptions also indicate the researchers’ opinions, which also illustrates how researchers approach a problem or choose which theory to use. Moreover, the researchers’ personal experiences are part of preconceptions so they can have an impact on the researchers’ point of view considering the study. In the end, they can affect the results of the research. That is why preconceptions are essential to be aware of and to consider.

As students with an international background, we had different preconceptions of the topics under research. Although we studied in a similar country, due to our countries of origin and the different experiences that we could have, we have different preconceptions of the world. However, as students from Umeå University following the same Master’s program, we had previous knowledge that we used to choose our topic. We chose our subject based on the knowledge that we had of earlier courses, but most of all because it interested us. It came from discussions of our topics of interest, and we both agree that this was a matching point. We were both curious about the restaurant industry, and more broadly about the hospitality industry, and we also wanted to apply the theory of experience economy, which is an emerging topic focusing on people more than on products.

Practical preconceptions should be considered as well because one of us has worked in several restaurants as a waitress, as well as in a hotel, which is part of the hospitality industry. It might affect this researcher’s assumptions of the restaurant industry in any way and can bias the results if the participants’ claims differ from the researcher’s past experiences. Therefore, it is important to be as objective as possible (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 196), even if, as interpretivists, we are interacting with the topic under research.

Another aspect to consider is the situation of the year 2020 with COVID-19. This situation was not topical yet when we chose the subject, and when we started our research. It is imperative that we consider it as the restaurant and the tourism industry are the most affected sectors of the economy. Because of this, on the one hand, it was hard to find

restaurants that agree to participate, and on the other hand, their answers were very coronavirus-oriented.

3.1.6 Literature search The theoretical framework of our study is reporting the theories and generalizations found in previous researches that will help us in leading our study. We were careful to use not only particular theories but broader generalizations that can cover the whole sector (Saunders et al., 2012, pp. 73-77). That is why we don’t focus on restaurants only, but we include the hospitality sector in our literature review. Researchers need to examine the reliability and validity of the sources that they use, as this has an impact on the results of the research (Collis & Hussey, 2014, pp. 52-53). We tried to analyze the literature with a critical view, and we considered it as an entirety, to avoid bias that could affect the quality of the research.

Concerning our searching methods, we mainly used databases provided by Umeå University library, such as Emerald, Sage, or Business Source Premier (EBSCO). We also used databases where we had indirect access, such as Taylor & Francis, as well as articles that we found in Google Scholar. When we took articles from the internet, we took care to ensure that the articles were cited much time, which is a proof of reliability, and we tried to use only peer-reviewed articles. Our primary literature for this study is a book theorizing the experience economy in a detailed manner that we borrowed at Umeå University Library.

Looking for literature was made in an evolutive way. We first started to read the book to become experts in the experience economy, and we looked for implications of the experience economy in the industries of restaurants, tourism, and hospitality. Following this research, we found the concept of the meal experience. Then we looked for the implication of strategy to the restaurant industry and the sector of hospitality. We also studied a few articles depicting case studies to know what can be found in specific cases. We used keywords such as experience economy, dining experience, customer experience in restaurants, restaurant strategy, strategy in hospitality management, restaurant management, meal experience, staging experience, strategy, or business strategy.

When we found a good source, we screened the reference list. It allowed us to know who the authors were involved in specific research topics. We saw that some articles appeared many times in different reference lists, so we concluded that it was worth reading and exploiting these articles. We took advantage of this literature search, and we used it to increase our knowledge, so we can use it later when analyzing the data collected.

3.1.7 Choice of theories The aim of making a theoretical framework is to present to the reader all the previous work that has been done on a specific subject and to give more value to the research (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 603). Since we are doing qualitative research, it is crucial to be able to link the data with the context (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 130). This background information, which we find with theories from previous researches, allows the researchers to interpret the data better.

We started our literature review by introducing the main topic of our research, which is the experience economy. The experience economy is the starting point of our study as it is the theory that we wanted to apply from the beginning. As Pine & Gilmore (1999, p.

99) describe it, the experience economy is a new economy following the agrarian, the industrial, and the service economy, so it is an emerging topic that is worth being studied. Pine & Gilmore are the precursors and the leading theoreticians of the experience economy. They wrote an entire book about the experience economy in 1999 and revised it in 2011. They define the experience economy as a new form of economy where organizations sell experiences as a product itself. In the experience economy, the experience is different from any experience that we can have in our everyday life. In the experience economy, experiences occur on purpose, and they are prepared in advance by the organization to create memories in the mind of the customers (Pine & Gilmore, 1999). The experience economy is different from the customer experience, which is the relationship between the organization and the customer. In the experience economy, the experience is the product itself. The organization sells experience (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. xii). This theory was a bit delicate to present as it should not be confused with what we call in marketing the customer experience. Therefore, it was crucial to be clear when writing the theoretical framework.

The second theory we chose to study is the meal experience. We consider that the meal experience is the practical application of the experience economy to the restaurant industry. Even if we found existing theories and researches about the meal experience, it was necessary to explore first the theory of the experience economy in a general context. Thus, we could better understand the different implications. Gustafsson is one of the significant authors of the meal experience, and we used several articles from that she wrote. She theorized this concept, and she introduced the five aspects meal model, which is the major framework of this theory.

Then, we inserted the concept of strategic management in the field of hospitality in our theoretical framework. We decided to talk about the hospitality industry as it encompasses the restaurant industry. When we look for previous literature about the restaurant industry, we often end up finding data about the hospitality sector. Okumus (2002, 2010) and Enz (2010) explained many concepts about the hospitality industry and the strategy within this sector. They state that the hospitality industry is a particularly vulnerable economy, which is subject to phenomena like seasonality or globalization. When we address the issue of strategic management, we have to bear in mind that each industry has its rules and its specificity and that then all need a different approach. Therefore, one cannot ignore these differences when designing a strategy (Okumus et al., 2017; Köseoglo, 2019). These arguments display that a specific approach is needed to study strategic management in the field of hospitality.

3.2 Practical methodology In this part, we explain in detail the methods that we used concerning the whole process of collecting and analyzing data. First, we explain our data collection method. We present the interview guide. Then we will clarify how we chose and how we accessed the participants for our research. We also detail how we conducted the interviews and transcribed them. Secondly, we define our method for qualitative analysis, and we finish by dealing with the ethical considerations in the last part.

3.2.1 Qualitative data collection In data collection, there is a distinction between primary and secondary data (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 304). Primary data refers to new data collected specifically for the current research (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 304). Secondary data corresponds to data collected

previously and already used for another research (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 304). Both primary or secondary data can be either quantitative or qualitative (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 304). Even if it is not collected specifically for the research, secondary data have advantages. It is less time consuming and usually cheaper than primary data (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 317). However, a common drawback is that as it is data from another research, the questions answered and the concepts approached might not suit exactly the research question (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 319). Considering this information and the topics we want to study, primary data seems to be the most appropriate method. Indeed, we want to have a deeper understanding of the issues under research. Moreover, the experience economy, the restaurant industry, and strategy have no link with previous data collection. Therefore, a primary data collection will allow us to answer our research question. We didn’t find any secondary data that was strong and detailed enough to help us satisfyingly answer our research question.

We collect qualitative primary data collection through interviews where we explore the managers’ point of view. The interview is one of the methods for collecting qualitative data. Other methods include critical incident technique, focus groups, protocol analysis or verbalization, diary methods, and observation (Collis & Hussey, 2014, pp. 133-150). Several types of interviews exist structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 133). In a structured interview, all the questions are prepared in advance and asked in the same order. It is often connected to the adoption of a positivist paradigm (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 134). On the contrary, for unstructured interviews, the questions are not prepared at all, and the researchers ask questions in keeping with what the participants have just said (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 134).

Unstructured interviews mainly use open-ended questions. The participant needs to think before answering, and the answer will be way more exhaustive than a closed question, which can be answered by yes or no (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 134). The method we decided to adopt is semi-structured interviews. It follows the same rules as unstructured interviews apart that the researchers have questions prepared in advance to encourage the participants to come up with the subjects of study. At the same time, they can improvise questions to explore the answers of the participants deeper (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 133). We did not choose unstructured interviews because it is too restrictive, and we could not have collected such varied information. With semi-structured interviews, the participants are freer to talk about the subjects they feel comfortable with, and we can have broader information. We also renounced unstructured interviews because it is harder to refocus on the topics we want to explore than with an interview guide. Therefore, semi- structured interviews are the best way for us to get answers to how restaurants can adapt their strategy to meet the experience economy.

3.2.2 Interview guide When running semi-structured interviews, researchers usually use an interview guide that they can follow (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 134). The interview guide is a list of questions that researchers can ask the interviewees. It is generally open questions that the interviewee can answer with a longer and developed answer (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 133). The principle of semi-structured interviews is that researchers can ask to follow up questions to look at an issue in more depth (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 136). These questions are called probes, and they can help to have a more detailed understanding of clarity, relevance, depth, dimension, significance, comparison, or bias (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 136). There are questions that we decided to ask all participants and others that

we chose to adapt depending on what they answered. Asking the same major questions to the participants allows detecting possible patterns in our analysis (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 389). Concerning the questions that we asked all participants, we tried to use the same wording and the same tone, so the interviewees perceive it similarly and are not biased (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 389).

We took care to ensure that the questions are in a logical order in our interview guide, so it is easier for participants to follow it (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 136). Collis & Hussey (2014, p. 136) highlight that it is preferable to move from general to specific topics. Thus, we took the main concepts that we presented in the theoretical framework. We started by asking the participants to present their restaurant and their background. Then we moved to the experience economy, which is the main topic of our research. Following this, we explained and asked questions about the meal experience, and we finished by asking a few complementary questions about strategy. In the end, we always asked them if they had anything to add that could be beneficial for our research. When formulating the questions, we made sure that we asked open questions, so the respondents are not oriented to a specific answer (Saunders et al., 2012, pp. 391, 393). Our interview guide is in Appendix 1, p. 55.

3.2.3 Sampling technique and access The purpose of our study is to get a deeper understanding of the strategy adopted by restaurateurs to satisfy customer experience. Thus, we decided to interview restaurants’ managers or owners as they are the most familiar with the strategy. Interviewing specific people instead of random people, can help to answer the research question (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 281). Hence, we decided to use a non-random sampling technique instead of a random sample (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 281). Using a non-random sampling method means that the researchers select the participants according to specific criteria. In our case, we selected the participants according to several criteria that they had to meet. These criteria are the attributes that we identified in our theoretical framework, and that helps to determine whether an experience is in the experience economy or not. The five factors that the restaurants should meet are the following ones: the choice of a consistent theme which is well displayed and recognizable by the customer, the engagement of the consumer (whether passively or actively), the engagement of all five senses, the ability to sell memorabilia and/or derived product, the ability to foster a connection (whether absorptive or immersive) between the customer and his or her environment. We know that it is hard to find organizations that meet all these five attributes, so we determined that we wanted our participants to meet at least three of these five factors. According to these preconditions, we started analyzing restaurants in Umeå and selecting some of them.

Saunders et al. (2012, p. 216) state that it is preferable to have a strategy to access participants. Moreover, researchers need to be well prepared concerning the presentation of the research topic as it can help to gain access (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 217). It can also be easier to make use of existing contacts to facilitate access (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 219).

The situation in which we had to gain access was very particular as it happened during the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, we were not able to go to restaurants. Our initial plan was to visit the selected restaurants in person and to present our topic in a very well prepared way so they would agree to participate quite easily. However, due to the situation, we could not apply this strategy. We had to access the restaurants either by

email, telephone, or via their Facebook page. It was not the easiest way to access them, and we had a very low rate of answers. Some restaurateurs told us that they did not have time due to the current situation, and a lot just did not answer. We also have a few people who agreed to participate and then never responded again.

Because of this situation, we had to extend our research to restaurants from other countries. We managed to reach people from Côte d’Ivoire thanks to existing contacts and people from France, even if the majority of the restaurants were closed. Moreover, because of restaurateurs’ unavailability and the difficulty to access them, we extended the interviews to not only restaurant owners, but other players of the restaurant industry. Therefore, instead of interviewing only restaurateurs, we reached four restaurateurs, one cook who studied in a cooking high school to be able to open his restaurant, and one employee who went through all restaurant jobs and who also studied in a cooking school. Initially, we planned to focus our interviews on restaurant managers from Umeå. Finally, the diversity of origins and the diversity in the jobs occupied by the interviewees make our analysis of the phenomenon under research more complete. As our study is qualitative, and we are looking for a deeper understanding of how restaurants cope with customer experience, we expect extensive data, and we count on people talking about very different experiences. With the diversity of participants, the answers will be even more varied. However, the fact of interviewing people who hold different posts in the restaurant industry is harder to interpret because we cannot compare the interviewees’ claims. Nevertheless, we made sure that the two interviewees who do not manage a restaurant were able to answer our questions. We explained to them our research when we asked them for the interviews, and we asked them if they felt comfortable with this subject to be able to answer specific and elaborate questions since they are not restaurant managers. Therefore, we are aware of this risk, and we will ensure to consider it when analyzing the data collected.

According to Saunders et al. (2012, p. 283), there are no rules concerning the number of interviews for a non-probability sample. However, instead, it is the responsibility of the researchers to judge when he reaches data saturation. Data saturation is known as the point when no new information is obtained (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 283). We expected that we had to conduct more interviews, but after six interviews, we considered that we reached data saturation. Nevertheless, the issue of finding new participants was an additional factor to stop with six interviews.

The first restaurant that we interviewed is located in Africa. We reached it thanks to our network. It is a seaside restaurant connected to a hotel, and people from the restaurant can access the pool of the hotel. The restaurant is quite large as it is about 150 seats and it can serve up to 350 meals in one service. The location of the restaurant is their best asset as people come to eat facing the sea. Their clientele is quite varied as they have a lot of working people, but also families and dates. The experience they propose to customers is associated with the theme of the sea. They serve mainly seafood, and everything in the restaurant reminds this theme. The person we interviewed is the chef and the manager of the restaurant. He did not create it, but he took it over a few years ago.

The second restaurant we interviewed is an ethnic African restaurant situated in Europe. It was created at the end of 2018, that is to say, one and a half years ago. It is a big restaurant as it is 200 seats, and is changed location six months ago because the former restaurant was too small. It is located in the center city of a relatively small city, which

makes it easy to access. The theme of Africa, and especially certain countries of Africa, are reminded quite everywhere in the restaurant, through the decoration, the food, the waiting staff. The restaurant organizes events related to the culture of the country regularly. The person we interviewed is the creator of the restaurant. He is the manager and helps the waiting staff and the cook during the service.

The third restaurant interviewed is a luxurious restaurant located in Africa. As the first restaurant we interviewed, it is the restaurant of a hotel. The restaurant is medium-sized and gathers about 100 seats. The location is one of the most important aspects of the restaurant. It is placed on the 14th floor of a tower, and we can see the whole city from it. The restaurant is 360°, and customers can choose the view they want. Given the location, the restaurant positions itself on a luxurious offer. They target well-off customers who come for holidays. They propose local gourmet cuisine typical of the country. The person we interviewed from this restaurant is marketing and commercial director, and development manager. She participated a lot in the luxurious positioning of this restaurant.

The fourth restaurant interviewed is another ethnic restaurant located in Europe. This restaurant focuses on one specific country in Asia. This restaurant is very new as it was created at the end of 2019, so six months ago. This restaurant is relatively small as there are 40 seats. It is located in a city center and is easily accessible. The theme related to the restaurant is the culture of an Asian country. The theme is manifested through the food, the atmosphere, the waiting staff. There are also some events occasionally happening in the restaurant. The experience proposed to customers is to discover a new country by visiting the restaurant. The interviewee is the owner and the manager of the restaurant, and he is also a waiter.

The fifth person that we interviewed is not a restaurant manager but an employee working in the kitchen. He is a student at a cooking high school and learns how to cook and how to create his restaurant. Thanks to that, he knows a lot about the restaurant industry and could answer our questions quickly. He worked in five different restaurants. The main part of his experience is in gastronomic Michelin starred restaurants. He talked a lot about the case of one gastronomic restaurant situated in a big city in Europe. This restaurant is tiny as it is only 20 seats. The theme of the restaurant is modern gastronomic cuisine proposed in a modern and simple atmosphere. The clientele is mainly young middle-class people. The experience offered to customers is a cozy meal with high-quality food.

The sixth and last interviewee is also a catering employee. He learned his job in a cooking school and worked in four different restaurants in several countries. During his professional experiences, he held various positions. He was a waiter, barman, cook, dishwasher, and he also organized events in a restaurant. The restaurant he described the most was an ethnic European restaurant located in a lively district of a big city. The theme was associated with the culture of the country in question. Most of the customers were tourists.

3.2.4 Conducting the interviews As presented below, Table 1 shows the interviews that we conducted, including the duration of each one, and some information describing them. As described earlier, we made sure that all respondents are part of the restaurant industry, and that they were able to answer our questions, including the questions about restaurant strategy. As previously

mentioned, we have interviewed very diverse profiles. Some are restaurant managers, and others held different positions in restaurants. Some have a cooking background, and others have completely different experiences. We have participants who opened ethnic restaurants; some are running a hotel restaurant, others work in a gastronomic restaurant. Thanks to these very different profiles, we can understand more about the phenomenon under research. Moreover, we felt that the interviewees were very interested in the topic, and they all gave much information. Most of them answered with large responses, and the explanations were diverse. The length of the interviews illustrates this as most of them are rather long.

At the very beginning of each interview, as an introduction, we presented ourselves and the study that we are conducting. We also explained to the participant that the interview is anonymous, and we asked if we can record. This step is necessary, so we can gain the respondent’s trust. In this way, the respondent feels more relaxed to answer our questions (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 389). During the interview, we explained the concepts of the experience economy and meal experience, so the participants know what we are talking about.

Concerning the attendance, we decided that we would both attend all interviews. Saunders et al. (2012, p. 398) consider that it is very time consuming, but we think that we could more easily share our ideas and discuss our interpretation of the answers if we both attend each interview. Moreover, we could complement each other with follow up questions.

Saunders et al. (2012, p. 386) state that it is preferable to conduct the interviews in a place where the interviewee feels comfortable. When conducting interviews, a face-to-face meeting is preferable because a real interaction makes the participants more likely to develop and to answer sensitive questions (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 136). Due to the Covid-19 situation, we had to conduct all our interviews through a video call. That is not the best method, but the participants were comprehensive. One of the advantages is that they could choose their location for the interview, not to be disturbed. We conducted the interviews either in English or in French, depending on the respondent’s preference. Indeed, we think it is essential that participants can easily express themselves, and it would be a problem if they get stuck because of the language barrier.

Table 1. Table of interviewees Interviewee Duration Function of the Theme of the restaurant interviewee

1 1h 59 min Restaurant manager Seaside restaurant, serving mainly seafood (150 seats)

2 1h 01 min Restaurant owner Ethnic Restaurant, situated in a city center (200 seats)

3 1h 14 min Restaurant owner Ethnic Restaurant, situated in a city center (40 seats)

4 1h 11 min Marketing and Luxurious panoramic commercial director, restaurant, situated on top of a Development manager tower (100 seats) 5 1h 22 min Cook Gastronomic one star restaurant, modern cuisine (20 seats) 6 41 min Waiter, barman, cook, Touristic ethnic restaurant, event manager situated in a lively district (100 seats)

3.2.5 Transcribing The data collected from interviews is the most important thing of the research as we cannot draw any theory if we miss it. That means that the information received during the interviews should not be underestimated. Therefore, it is beneficial to transcribe the interviews, which means that we wrote down the entire interview (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 550). To be able to transcribe, we had to record all the interviews with a recording device. For each interview, we made sure that the respondent accepts that we record. Thanks to recording, we could avoid taking notes during the interviews, and we could pay total attention to what was said by the respondent. It allowed us to ask the right follow up questions when we thought it was necessary. Transcribing, after the interviews, is a very time-consuming process (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 550). However, it is advantageous since written data is more comfortable to exploit, and it makes the information easier to find. In the end, transcribing increases the quality of the research analysis.

3.2.6 Qualitative analysis For the analysis of semi-structured interviews, a general analytical procedure can be followed (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 162). Collis & Hussey (2014, p. 162) suggest, during the procedure, to give codes to words and to add comments on the data. The authors also propose to identify patterns that can be used to make generalizations. More specifically, Collis & Hussey (2014, p. 162) suggest a seven-step procedure to analyze qualitative data without missing any useful information. Phase one consists of transcribing the records of the interviews into a written document, as previously explained. During phase two, the researchers ensure that all primary and secondary data are well referenced (Collis &

Hussey, 2014, p. 162). The reference should mention who took part in the interview, when it occurred, the context, and the potential implications for the research (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 162). It is also when they get familiar with the data. The third phase corresponds to coding the data. It should be done as soon as possible (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 162). Coding means allocating a specific code to every idea, concept, or theme that can be useful for the analysis. Each code can correspond to a single word or a sentence (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 162). A code can be a word or an expression describing the idea or variable in a significative way. Collis & Hussey (2014, p. 162) suggest using examples when coding because it adds value to the thesis. They also mention that starting with a large number of codes and then merge them into a smaller number can be an easy solution. Phase four consists of grouping the codes into categories, following the different patterns and themes found. It is the most important part of the analysis and the hardest one (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 162). Some categories can correspond to the concepts found in previous literature, and some can reveal new ideas that emerged from the data (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 162). The next step is to write summaries of the findings (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 162). It is useful to clarify the analysis and to understand the concepts better. After that, during phase six, the researchers raise generalizations based on the summaries, and they use these generalizations to build a new theory or to confront existing theories (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 163). This last is extended until the generalizations are solid enough to create or confront theories. We followed this procedure for the analytical part of our research, and once we grouped the data into small categories, we could detect the main concepts of our analysis.

3.2.7 Ethical considerations When conducting a research project, some situations can lead to ethical or unethical issues, and it is crucial to respects ethical considerations (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 150). One of the most basic ethical behavior when conducting interviews is to respect the participants and any other person involved in the research (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 231). It is the responsibility of the researchers to establish a trustful and respectful environment (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 231). Harms of participants can be another issue for a qualitative study, and the researchers should make sure that the risk of harm is reduced. It includes not only physical and psychological harm but also the issues of confidentiality, anonymity, and privacy of the interviewees (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 241). To avoid any harm when conducting the interviews, we made sure to establish a pleasant and trustful environment where the interviewees would feel comfortable to answer our questions. If they asked for it, we could also send them the questions of the interview.

Collis & Hussey (2014, p. 150) mention that it is essential to inform the participants about the purpose of the research. In this way, they are free to decide if they want to be involved in the study or not. The first approach to potential participants should already mention the purpose of the research, and it should state how the interviewees will add value to the project (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 222). We applied this by writing a summary of our study and its purpose in the first email that we sent to restaurants, and we explained it in detail when we accessed them by phone. Accessing restaurateurs by phone was a dilemma because we had to call during working hours. On the one hand, we had to be detailed enough to give information about the project, and on the other hand, we needed to be concise because they did not have much time. We managed to explain our project to all the potential participants we accessed. At the beginning of each interview, we presented our research, so the participants were aware of what they were involved in, and they were more likely to answer our questions.

Saunders et al. (2012, p. 237) are clear with the idea that researchers should pressure potential participants to take part in a project. Researchers must not be pushy and make people uncomfortable to make them accept to participate in a research study (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 237). We took care to ensure that we were not insistent when accessing restaurateurs. We had to send emails and to call restaurants several times when we were not sure that they received the information, but when we received a negative answer, we accepted it and moved to the next restaurant. This situation was ambiguous because we were afraid to be pushy by calling several times. But in the meantime, we had to make sure that they got the information.

Another ethical issue that researchers may encounter is the respect for privacy and confidentiality (Saunders et al., 2012, p. 241). During our interviews, the participants were free to skip a question if they consider it as private information, and there was no pressure to answer the questions. It is an ethical behavior pointed out by Saunders et al. (2012, p. 241). The authors also state that researchers should respect privacy by ensuring that the participants agree to be recorded. Thus, during the interviews, we asked permission if we can record what the participants say, and they all agreed.

The methodology chapter presented the process of searching theories and collecting data. An ontology represents the nature of reality. From an ontological point of view, we decided to adopt the interpretivist paradigm. We consider that reality is different for each restaurant owner, and we dropped the positivist position. Considering epistemology, which refers to what we accept as valid knowledge, we adopted the interpretivist position as well. Concerning the research approach, we decided to follow an inductive approach instead of a deductive or an abductive approach. The research design that we chose is a qualitative study, which allows us to have a deeper understanding of the phenomenon studied. We are also aware of our preconceptions, and we try to interpret them to be objective. From a more practical point of view, our data collection consists of semi- structured interviews, during which we used an interview guide. We selected our interviewees with a non-random sampling technique instead of a random sample, and we chose them according to specific criteria. We had to access them mainly by email, given the complicated current situation, which made it difficult. We conducted six interviews that we transcribed into a written text. When analyzing the data, we followed a procedure that consists of coding the data, grouping them into categories, and then raise generalizations. During the whole process of data collection, we ensured to follow the ethical considerations and to respect the interviewees' privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality. The measures that we took when collecting the data might be the reason for the detailed answers that we got to our questions. The interviewees were rather talkative and gave us much information.

4. Qualitative empirical findings In this chapter, we present the results from the qualitative study that we conducted. We share what the interviewees said regarding our different themes: experience economy, meal experience, strategic management.

4.1 State of the restaurant industry Before getting to the heart of the matter, we asked our participants a brief review of the restaurant industry today. The answers were rather diverse. Interviewee (5) talked about the growth of restaurants: "it is an environment that is growing rapidly as more and more restaurants open every year in France." Meanwhile, interviewee (1) highlighted the diversity of this industry: "in the restaurant industry today, there is something for every taste." Meanwhile, interviewee (4) insisted on the fact that this industry evolves fast: "catering is changing so fast. For example, 20 years ago, we would never have thought of molecular cuisine. it's constantly evolving."

Interviewee (1) and interviewee (5) stated that the price-quality ratio is more and more important: "today, I think that people are looking for a good price-quality ratio and good products" (1); "clients are more and more demanding regarding price and quality." That is why, in Europe, one can observe the raise of bistronomic restaurants: "all the great chefs realized that the margins can't be achieved in star restaurants" (1); "people are going less to gastronomic restaurant or brewery, they are going for something more bistronomic" (5). Interviewee (5) gives more precision about the specificity of bistronomic restaurants: "so today restaurants shift towards bistronomy. There has to be a qualitative and generous meal, contrary to gastronomy where meals are refined." This idea reflects a shift in customer's expectations. Moreover, interviewee (5) also highlighted a change in customer's habits: "the consumer is more and more demanding in his way of consuming, he would prefer short food supply chains and organic foods. Those are very important components for restaurants nowadays."

When we asked the participants about the difficulties they may face as professionals, three of them pointed out the lack of skilled staff. Interviewee (1) stated that people are less and less interested in jobs related to the resaturant industry: "currently, it is the lack of staff. Because today, people no longer want our jobs. I am in contact with my former bosses; everyone has a staff problem." Interviewee (2) also deals with staff problems, to keep his employees, "so this has been a challenge, keeping employees. Because most of the people they apply to a job they get the job, and then they decide to move to another city or to work in another place." There is also a problem of competencies as interviewee (1), and interviewee (4) pointed out: "people neglect training courses (...), there are a lot of people working in the restaurant industry, but there are few employee qualifications" (1); "the big challenge is the staff training" (4). One can explain this by the idea that the restaurant industry is very demanding: "it is a very hard job, it is a very ingrateful environment too, you are making a lot of effort but you are not necessarily going to receive appreciation" (6). That is why interviewee (4) and interviewee (6) argue that to work in the restaurant industry, one need to be passionate about this sector: "I think it is a job we do because we're passionate about it, I think that passion is what keeps us motivated" (6); "To do this work, you must be passionate" (4).

Finally, we asked the participants what are the most important factors for clients when they go to restaurants. According to interviewee (5), the main factors depend on the

customers' expectations and of the context: "in a gastronomic restaurant, people are going to favor aesthetics and taste. They will be less sensitive to prices. However, the more one gets closer to the bottom of the range, the more the quality price-ratio will be important. When it comes to fast food and brewery, prices are the most important. At this last stage, people usually choose restaurants that offer the nicest menu or the best service. The customers' requirements vary depending on the type of establishment. Sometimes it would be the prices, sometimes the quality, sometimes the origin of the product, short food supply chain (...)." Interviewee (1) also talked about the price-quality ratio: "people rely on the price-quality ratio. Today, it is the sinews of war." Interviewee (1) and interviewee (5) also mentioned the importance of the geographical situation: "Our location by the sea is an advantage." (1); "There is also the geographic proximity. It may sound silly, but if I want to eat in a gastronomic restaurant, I don't mind going far, but if I just want to eat out with my friend, we will meet at a place geographically attractive for us" (5). For interviewees (4) and (6), the reception and the accompaniment of the clients are the most important: "the reception of the client (...), you must be sensitive to any reactions of the client. You must support customers and especially the ones that come for the first time" (4); "for the client, I would say you must have a personalized approach to the clients. You have to make them feel unique, to show them that you are there for them, no matter the type of client, and there are many types of clients (businessmen, tourists, families), you need to adapt your service depending on the person. It is one of the first expectations" (6). Finally, only two participants mention the desire to live a particular experience: "in general it's the experiencing because most of the customers come to experience, and to try the food" (2); "I think in many cases it's not only the food that you are going to eat because everyone eats I think quite good food at home as well, but it's also more about the experience because you are not going out by yourself, you go either with your friends, your family, or with your partner. In many cases, it's for a special occasion, it can be your partner's birthday, and you want to celebrate in a special place" (3).

We conducted our study during the COVID-19 pandemic, so we could not avoid talking about it with the participants as the restaurant industry is significantly affected by the coronavirus. However, we noticed that most of the time, the subject arose naturally during the interview. Interviewee (3) pointed out that there is uncertainty about the future of the restaurant industry: "so I cannot predict what can happen but if this satiation continues a few more months half of the restaurants can disappear maybe, even more, it depends on the situation but it's tough for everyone, not for only a specific one but for everyone, it's the whole industry." Interviewee (5) said that small restaurants are threatened: "I think there are a lot of small structures that are going to have to close down or at least to reduce their activity."

This shows the burden of the pandemic on restaurant owners. Interviewee (2) stated that he is losing "90% of his sales." He also adds that it is tough because for every restaurant: "I think for most of the restaurants this is a harsh time, because of the situation; otherwise this is the perfect season to get a lot of customers, this is the time to summer where we usually have more people" (2). In this period, some restaurants try to adapt as interviewee (3): "we try to allow people to take out food, and we as well do home delivery for the type of food that it's easy for people to order for home. We try to introduce and offer that, and we have that option. And this is like to meet a certain problem that we are facing and try to exit."

4.2 The experience economy First, we asked the participant a definition of customer experience. Once again, the answers were diverse. Interviewee (4) related experience to customer satisfaction: "customer experience can be defined as the assessment of the customer's satisfaction. It is very emotional. It is something qualitative and not quantitative." Interviewee (6) linked customer experience to discovery and to memories: "it is the discovery of the characteristics of a restaurant, an establishment and of its services. It is a discovery that leaves memories." Interviewee (5) tried to define customer experience by giving several examples from his professional background: "the customer experience will depend on the establishment and its quality. I have worked in two establishments which are completely different. I worked in a Fish and Chips. The concept of the restaurant was vintage. We tried to put the customers in a fun atmosphere, and the waiters were a little bit crazy. Even in the recruitment process, the restaurant owners made sure that they hire people fitting their concept. The fish and chips restaurant was quite modern, and we did not use frozen products, it was fresh. The breadcrumbs were different. We proposed something different. In Canada, I worked in a brewery where it was very modern, the ambiance was rock'n'roll, there was very loud music, we offered big burgers and big pieces of meat, it was very young with the beer flowing." Interviewee (5) associated customer experience with the restaurant's concept and how it is expressed in the restaurant (ambiance, menu, decoration, music). He also added: "the customer experience is successful if the customers is happy with what he or she has eaten and experienced. If they are happy, it means that they have found what they were looking for in terms of experience, and therefore the experience we tried to develop in a restaurant has worked" (5). Some of the interviewees had some difficulties in understanding what we meant by experience or customer experience. After this question, we used to deliver a definition of experience in the context of the experience economy before going further in the interview. After our explanation, interviewee (1) related the experience economy to an organization's identity stating: "it's like an identity if I understand correctly. It is found in our decorations, on the table, on the staff outfits. It is that whole identity that makes the customer experience".

Secondly, we asked our participants if they noticed a demand for more dining experience. All the interviewees noted the growing importance of offering a unique experience in the restaurant industry. Interviewee (1) admitted that people are coming in his restaurant for numerous reasons but also for new experiences: "I think that people come here for everything we talked about previously (the environment, the culinary quality, the service quality), but they are also looking for experiences". Interviewee (2) argued that people are attracted by the traditional food and dining experience that the restaurant offers "We have a traditional thing when people come to eat here, they have to wash their hands. People become more and more interested and curious. People are asking if it is because of the situation today, and we try to explain that it's not about the situation but this is a tradition in our country. At the restaurant or at home before you eat you just have to wash your hands and we count on the fact that you will be washing your hands once you sit in and then you can be served the food. People come to experience that and also come to experience eating with their hands, and people come to try our traditional food ceremony." Interviewee (5) argued that people are more paying attention to the environment and the ambiance of the restaurant: "the customer first comes to eat, but also values the environment and the atmosphere." He explains this interest in experiences by the idea that it is easy nowadays to feast from home: "customer experience is necessarily important. The customer is looking for this experience because eating well is relatively easy at home" (5). In the same way, interviewee (2) also mentioned that people could

easily eat well at home. Therefore when they go to restaurants, they expect more than the food: "I think in many cases it's not only the food that you are going to eat because everyone eats I think quite good food at home as well, it's more about the experience." Interviewee (6) highlighted the importance of experience by saying: "in my opinion, customer experience is the crux (...). So yes, the customer experience must be worked on. The customer experience begins before entering the restaurant through the image that the company reflects." Lastly, interviewee (2) highlighted that people are looking for differentiating experiences that they can share with other people: "yes I think so, people want to try new experiences. They want to try something new, something that is different, and when the experience is good then you want to talk about it and to share it with your friends." Interviewee (6) also mentioned the relationship with others by saying "for example when you go to a fancy restaurant, you want to impress somebody or to impress yourself." All those elements confirm that there is a growing interest in experiences in restaurants.

Thirdly, we asked the participants how they manage to stage experiences in their restaurant. Most of the interviewees have a specific theme that they try to display as much as possible in the restaurant. Interviewee (1) plays on specific motifs and colors reminding the sea to create consistent decor: "we use some patterns related to our main theme which is the sea. You can find those patterns in the decoration, on the table, on the staff's clothes. From the entry, the customer is immersed in the experience thanks to the external decoration. We even made some masks with our colors. You find the experience at each level." To enhance the experience, interviewee (1) also made some organizational changes: "we have a different organization. One person is exclusively in charge of the reception and the booking. This person is also in charge of taking care of each client." Interviewee (2) has an ethnic restaurant. He proposes traditional food and beverages: "we have a traditional beer that you don't get it in other bars and so on, that is a certain experience as well (...) and the food also is served in a different way, people have never seen a gigantic plate like that and it gives you closeness, this gives more people to come together, to eat from the same plate, this is another unique experience and it gives closure, you come closer to your friends, your colleagues by eating from the same plate." Even the service is made in a special way for some products: "here, we serve our own coffee, we grind the coffee here, we cook it in a traditional way and this is the waiting process that gives the customer more curiosity, to see how the coffee is done. This is like you have the fresh coffee coming from my homeland, you have a traditional way of frame the coffee, grind it in front of them, and then they see the whole process, this gives people more attraction to come and experience it" (2). The room is set up to connote a specific atmosphere: "there are different pictures that when you seat down it gives you a look, you have always something to look at" (2); "we also play music from my homeland here is as well a certain experience because people listen to other different music in other restaurants" (2). Interviewee (3) uses practically the same elements to create a special experience in the restaurant, such as the decoration and the service: "we have a lot of pictures and handicrafts that represent our culture so people look around, they are curious and they feel engaged. Then they see the presentation of the food in a special way and in a specific plate that they have never seen before"; "we also play music from our county and people don't really understand what they say but they like the rhythm" (3). Moreover, interviewee (3) also organizes special events like dance shows in the restaurant: "for example, we organized a dance show, a traditional dance from our country, so we had an actor coming from the capital city of our country to perform the show, it's a very special experience to come and eat and at the same time look at this show

and enter the culture." The fourth interviewee is managing a panoramic restaurant. It is an upscale restaurant: "it is a 360 degrees-panoramic restaurant. There are bay windows, you can see the whole city. It is a warm atmosphere that gives a particular emotion. We have red carpets, a queue piano, an orchestra, and a beautiful decor" (4). Sometimes they organize thematic dinner: "we often have themed dinners and in this case, everyone wears special outfits. For each event, there's a whole universe created." Interviewee (5) stated that the concept of the restaurant where he worked was simplicity and intimacy. That could be felt through several elements: "in the dining room, there was no tablecloth, the dishes were simple, no porcelain dishes, the glasses were beautiful but nothing more, the decoration of the room was very refined. As the concept of the restaurant was intimacy, we had only 8 tables and 20 seats. It was also a warm ambiance. Waiters had to spend time with customers to make them feel at home. There was also very weak music and soft lights" (5). The last interviewee (6) also shared how Italian thematic was displayed in a restaurant where he worked: "there was a very Italian decoration with a lot of empty tomato sauce cans. Many details reminded Italy. The wines were Italian, the dishes where Italian too, we also had liqueurs from Italy." Therefore, the elements most used by restaurants to stage experiences are the decoration, the music, the food, the service, and the organization of events.

We also questioned the interviewees about the difficulties they may face while staging experiences. Only a few of them admitted having difficulties and share them with us. Interviewee (1) said: "there will always be difficulties. When we arrived here, we had to establish a new work habit. They did not work here like this before". Indeed, interviewee (1) bought the facility only a few years ago. When he arrived, he had to reorganize the entire functioning of the restaurant to enhance the customer's experience. Interviewee (2) faced problems related to importation. Indeed, as an ethnic restaurant, he uses food and beverages coming from other countries (spices, wild animal meat, beer). However, deadlines are not always respected: "and the waiting part of it, sometimes you get a delay in getting all the stuff that you ordered, this is always a daily challenge to ask, and we are forced to buy it in a big amount so we don't run out so we have always double invest to make sure that we don't run out. So this has been also an economical consequence for us." This shows that staging experiences also have a cost. Using food from other countries may enhance the experience and make it more authentic, but it also raises other issues related to the importation.

That leads us to the last point, we discussed with the participants. We asked them what the drawbacks of staging experiences for customers could be. Only three participants identified some disadvantages. Interviewee (2) raises the problem of the customer responsiveness: "we had an ethnic drink that was made with spinach that somehow the customers did not like, they didn't want to pay, so we changed it to a mint drink to make it more interesting. It was a healthy drink but there were a lot of customers who wanted a more sugary drink and we were very careful, we did include to all kind of drinks, and we tried to change including customers' needs, then it comes more sugary and with a different taste. We were forced to create and put a mint taste on that, and that worked down at the end, but most of the customers that tried it before don't usually order that. So we were forced to stop it at all." It is difficult to predict customers' reactions, especially when it comes to food they never tasted before. Interviewee (1) stated: "if you listen too much to the client, you will end up doing only what the client wants. In the beginning, they told us that our establishment was too expensive, we did not listen to them but now more and more people are coming here." In other words, it can be tempting to listen and

apply all the recommendations and advice from customers to enhance their experience and to meet their expectations. But according to interviewee (1), it is not always the right path to take. According to the interviewee (5), staging experiences can be risky: "there are risks. If it doesn't work out. If you offer something relatively common as an experience, if you are well located, if the economic context is favorable, if it well studied, etc, it will work out." Interviewee (5) also pointed out that customers may not come back: "on the other hand, if you want to offer a concept that is completely different, an original experience, there is a problem. People can get bored, they will come once, maybe twice and then they will never come back. For example, there is a restaurant where you can eat in the dark, so you have no idea what you are eating. It is all about taste, it is about awakening the senses. So you eat in the dark or blindfolded; okay, it is great, it can be very good, but it is an experience where you go once and you never go back. So this concept can attract a lot of people in the first years. And then after 4, 5, or 6 years, the clientele comes back down." Staging an experience seems to be a relatively hard task. It must be managed wisely and strategically.

4.3 Meal Experience When it comes to meal experience, the first thing we did was to introduce this concept to our participants. We also talked about the five aspects of the meal model - room, meeting, product, atmosphere, management control system. Then we asked them what they thought of those aspects and if one aspect was more important than the others.

First, all the participants confirmed the existence and the importance of those five aspects. Interviewee (2) stated: "they are all important when you have a business you have those five factors because those are the key to your success." Interviewee (3) also argued that "these all things are important because these all together create a good customer experience." Interviewee (4) also pointed out: "all this is important, especially when I go to eat for my leisure. I want to have a good time." However, some of the interviewees said that all the factors are equal. Meanwhile, others identified one aspect more important than the others. In this way, interviewees (2), (4) and (6) argued that it the sum of those elements that creates a good customer experience: "these are your main working elements, you have to put those kinds of points in your head to keep your business running" (2). Interviewee (6) gave examples related to his professional background: "I think it is very well summarized. Most of the time what attracts customers is the room. Secondly, when clients enter, the waiters must approach them. That was very important to establish a relationship with the client. Thirdly, clients are hungry and thirsty. The food must be good. If everything goes well so far, they spend a good time and once they have a good time, they realize that it also comes from the management." Interviewee (4) insisted on the need for balancing all those elements: "it is the balance of the different elements that you mentioned. It's a sauce. It has to be well mixed and well-dosed because, at the same time, you should not go beyond the limits. It is difficult to determine which element is more important than the others, we have seen customers who didn't eat well but who thanked us because they liked the general atmosphere" (4). However, interviewee (4) ended up admitting that still a balance between the five aspects is needed. Maybe the food can be an element more important than the others: "there has to be a balance between all these elements. But the menu, the quality of the meal can indeed be the element that will slightly surpass the others, but I think that if we manage to balance all these elements, we will inevitably arrive at a satisfactory result. It's all a question of management." Interviewee (3) stated that food is very important but it is not everything: "of course food is important because if it is not

what you expect you will feel bad, but if only food is super tasty and other things are missing: there is not a good service, food is late, you are sitting for an hour maybe, some of you are super hungry, it can be very noisy, you are not happy to sit here. It can be a lot of factors, maybe the music is very high you can hardly listen to each other. So I think it's a combination of the food and the service and the environment, which makes it special. So it is not one factor it is a combination of many factors." He also ranked the different factors to show which factor is the most important: "so food is the one thing you must have a super tasty product of food. Then it is the environment, if you have a good environment you feel good to seat if you are on a romantic date or a romantic diner or whatever. And then when you have good management you have a good service, you get everything on time, everything is in your control, so it's something important, not super important you can compromise if food is 10 minutes late and so on, it depends on what the factors are. These all things are important because these all together create a good customer experience but there are always some things that are more important than others" (3). Lastly, interviewee (5) did not refer to the five aspects proposed but argued that the quality of the service is the most important in a restaurant: "as a client and as a future restaurant manager, I would focus on the quality of service. Much more on the quality of service than on the environment. Let me explain. We've all been to a restaurant where it was not particularly beautiful but the quality of the food and the service were excellent. When you leave the restaurant, you always want to go back."

Secondly, we focused on one of the five aspects of the meal experience: management. We asked our participants what they thought was the impact of overall management on customer experience. According to the interviewee (5), management is not essential for the customer experience as the customers do not see it. However, if the management is not good, customers can easily feel it and it can have an impact on their experience: "in the customer experiences, customers do not see the management. But, if the management is good, they do not see it, but if the management is not well-handled, the customers will see it, which is a big difference (...). Customers' experience is extremely important but, the customers will perceive it only if the management is bad." In this way, the interviewees (4) and (6) highlighted the importance of management: "if you do not have a good strategy and good management, this will feel in the plate. I would say that it is very important. It is even the basis, the starting point" (4); "I think that management is the backbone of the restaurant if you have bad management it can impact everything else" (6). Interviewee (1) is more practical. He showed that a delay or disorganization could affect customers' experience and even the overall restaurant: "when there is a bug in the kitchen, automatically there is a problem at the front. The clients will turn to the waiter. Automatically it triggers a discomfort zone, that will affect everything, even the tables that are doing well." Interviewee (2) also gave practical examples illustrating the importance of good management: "of course it is very important because when there is good management there is a good tendency of the customers, there is a good timing when serving food, when there is no management there is a risk that you take an order and you don't remember which table it is or maybe there will be miscommunication and this one orders this and this one orders that and they are changed, and this irritates certain customers because most of the customers do not want to wait long, then they get another plate than what they ordered. This is why management is very important in times of how you receive your customer, who takes the order and who takes care of the customer, in times of drinks coffee and so on" (2).

4.4 Strategic Management First of all, we asked the participants to what extent customer experience could be an advantage. All the participants recognized that customer experience could be an asset for restaurants. For interviewee (4), experiences are a need for every restaurant: “experience is details. If you do not have this today, you can’t be competitive. It is not possible.” Interviewee (3) explained this: “if there is not a specific theme or a specific differentiation then there is nothing attractive for the customer. Actually, all these experiences are based on the unique selling proposition (USP) and that we should be unique. We should be different in the whole branch because of super competition, you cannot survive if you are doing what everyone else is doing (...) because when you have USPs it gives you directly or indirectly a competitive advantage. It’s to be unique, to be different from the competitors. So it’s the main focus of all the business to be competitive, or to be different from our competitors.” Indeed, customer experience allows to differentiate itself from the other restaurants. It is essential as the restaurant industry is very competitive. However, interviewee (6) argued that experience could give a competitive advantage to restaurants but only in a competitive environment: “if there is a lot of competition, it is important to actually differentiate yourself. If there is not too much competition, you do not necessarily have to be innovative, but if you have a lot of competition, you have to appear on the market and you have to bring a unique experience. You have to bring something because otherwise, you are not visible on the market. Unless you have a good location. Some restaurants are well located so they do not particularly need to differentiate yourself. A restaurant on the docks may not have to offer a unique experience, but in certain sectors, in certain places in certain markets you have to bring experience if you want to differentiate yourself and to become a leader.”

Then, we questioned the participants about their external environment. All the participants admitted keeping an eye on their external environment. In this way, interviewee (4) said: “I am always doing a benchmarking and competitor monitoring.” Interviewee (1) stated: “it is always good to look at what is going on elsewhere. It helps to position yourself.” Interviewee (2) confessed that he used to go in other restaurants in order to learn and to see how he can improve his own restaurant: “I do go out myself sometimes for different Swedish restaurants and I do that just to see and learn, because the best way to learn how to run your business is by going out yourself and experience and see the difference between what you are doing right, what you are doing wrong, and you can challenge the restaurants around you by looking and learning. That way you know that you are not always perfect, you always have a way to learn new ideas, new experiences, and become better.” For interviewee (3), looking at his competitors allowed him to create a differentiation strategy in terms of the menu: “for example a lot of other ethnic restaurants they have a very long menu, with maybe 200 different menu items, and you as a customer who is not familiar with this kind of food, you seat and read the menu, it takes a long time and you don’t understand most of the items, and either you order the same that you have eaten a few times before, or you risk something else. Sometimes it’s super tasty and sometimes it’s the opposite, you don’t like it at all. So it takes a lot of time and sometimes you are satisfied, and sometimes you are dissatisfied with your experience. So we made it simple to choose, only 10 items but in these items, you still get different food. (...) If you don’t like all these food items still you are going to like a few of them so your experience will be good, you’re not going to be dissatisfied entirely.” Interviewee (1) also stated that looking at their competitors helps to set prices: “we look at the prices of our competitors to position ourselves. In the beginning, the average prices of our competitors were about 30% lower than ours. We did not double the price because it

would have been too expensive, but we realized after that we could allow us to raise the prices.”

When it comes to pricing, they all have relatively different strategies. Interviewee (2) uses a lot of discounts: “we have four times a year, for example, we have certain discounts and this attracts a lot of customers who want to have a special occasion dinner, We have 10% to all students.” For interviewees (1) and (4), strategies rely on the price-quality ratio. Both also use a system of chef’s suggestion but not with the same purpose. Interviewee (1) uses the chef’s suggestions to increase the margin: “I play on the products and on the menu, we have fixed prices. We play with the chef’s suggestion. We propose something different. The price is a little bit higher and as it is new, the customer will be tempted. The quality-price ratio is a sales force” (1). Meanwhile, for interviewee (4), chef’s suggestions allow on the one hand to have low prices, and on the other hand, to give various choices to the customer: “I make chef’s suggestions. The raw materials used allow to have relatively low prices. We also have a buffet. You have to be able to saturate the customer with products. Give him no chance to go anywhere else.” Lastly, interviewee (5) stated that in the restaurant where he worked, the manager did not have the same price for lunch and for dinner: “he wanted a neighborhood clientele, so in the evening he proposed a gastronomic restaurant with gastronomic prices, and at lunchtime, on the other hand, he did a market analysis and looked at all his direct competitors around his restaurant and he conformed to the prices.” In other words, price depends highly on the experience the restaurant wants to give. In this way, interviewee (5) stated: “so it depends, the experience you want to offer sometimes differs depending on whether it is lunch or dinner. sometimes at lunchtime, we will offer something fast, hearty, good and not too expensive. And then in the same restaurant in the evening we can change the concept and offer something more expensive and more elaborate.”

Lastly, we asked our participants how they promote the experience they offered to customers. All the interviewees recognized the importance of social media. Interviewee (1) argues that "Communication is important. Presence on social networks is not everything, but you have to be there. And when you're there, you also have to make sure that there is no gap between what people see in social media and reality. Otherwise, it is useless." Social media is a must-have in the restaurant industry. However, according to interviewee (1) it must be used wisely as it is costly and time-consuming: “it also depends on what we're looking for, if you want to last over time. Because being on Instagram is good but it has a cost because communication agency are expensive". In this way, most of them stated that word of mouth remains the best communication/marketing tool: So, this is precisely our goal, that when you are coming here, you are super happy, and you recommend it to your friends. This helps us with the marketing because we don't have to focus so much on the marketing, people are doing it and you don't have to talk so much about your own (3). Interviewee (4) also stated: We do a lot of classic communication with poster campaigns, much digital communication, but the best thing is word of mouth. Putting photos on social networks, for example, is good, but talking about your experience has much more impact. Therefore, we see that word of mouth seems to be the best tool for restaurants, which makes the experience more than ever essential.

In this part dedicated to results, we present the answers of the interviewees to our questions. First of all, they described the state of the restaurant industry today and informed us about the difficulties that they usually face. They also gave information about the important factors that impact restaurants, and more specifically, how hard is the current situation with COVID-19. Then they described how they viewed the experience economy. They explained how they managed experiences and what concrete actions they implemented to reach it. They also pointed out some drawbacks of the experience economy. They continued with the importance of customer satisfaction in the meal experience, and the complementarity of the elements composing the meal experience. They finished with talking about their strategy and how it affects the experience. They explained how they manage marketing and prices. Based on this raw information, we have to analyze the different themes that emerge from it to understand more exhaustively the implications for the restaurant industry.

5. Thematic network analysis and discussion Based on the results that we found in the previous section, we could create a thematic network that will help us to analyze the qualitative data from the interviews. First of all, we explain how we came up with these results. Then, we organize our analysis following four primary dimensions: coherence, business strategy, management and leadership, and customer relationship. In these themes, we describe each concept that we deduced from the interviews.

5.1 Emerging themes Thanks to the answers of the interviewees, we were able to raise generalizations about the experience economy in the restaurant industry and to connect it to strategic management. After coding the interviews, we saw a lot of different categories emerging from the raw information. But with combining these categories and analyzing them, we noticed that a few themes were predominant and helped us understand how restaurants are affected by the experience economy and how they adapt their strategic management to offer a strong customer experience. To find these four themes, we first had to code the data from the interviews and to split the coded information according to categories. Then we had to analyze and figure out these categories with a critical view. In the figure below, one can find the progression of our procedure of analysis and the coding structure (see Figure 6). In the first column, we presented the categories taken from the coded information from the interviews. The second column represents the themes emerging from the categories. These themes are an essential part as they are the elements answering how restaurants adapt their strategic management to reach the experience economy, which is our research question. Then the third column shows the mains dimensions according to which we divided the themes. Therefore, the main themes emerging from our analysis are categorized according to four dimensions that are coherence, business strategy, management and leadership, and customer relationship.

Figure 6. Procedure of analysis

5.2 Coherence During the interviews, the participants mentioned several times the notion of the concept of a restaurant, and they described it with different approaches. First of all, the overall offer of the restaurant should correspond to its vision and mission. As mentioned in the theoretical framework, Pine & Gilmore (2011, p. 164) specify that the strategy is composed of “strategic visions, mission statement, business plans, competitive imperatives.” Johnson et al. (2011, p. 4) add that a strategy is the “long-term direction of an organization.” This idea implies that all the decisions and the processes implemented in the organization must be coordinated and aligned with the strategy is successful. From a practical view, when a restauranteur creates the concept of a restaurant, the overall strategy must be consistent and coherent with the vision and mission statement established in the beginning. The strategy should also be in line with the experience proposed to the customers, and the customers should be able to understand the vision and mission statement of the restaurant.

Another idea that arose is that every restaurant should stick to the concept constructed in the beginning. It is a tough task as the restaurant industry is vulnerable to macro trends and economic phenomena (Okumus, 2010, p. 30; Mossberg & Eide, 2017, p. 1196). But restaurants should try to stick to the concept as best possible. They usually create a concept following a specific theme for the whole restaurant, and they offer a vast variety of this theme. The particular theme is manifested through decoration in the room, music, the food itself with an adapted menu, the configuration of the room, or even through a special role played by the waiting staff. We can draw a parallel between physical elements such as decoration, or the configuration of the room and the aesthetic aspect of the experience that Pine & Gilmore (1998, p. 102) explain in their Four Realms or an Experience model. Sometimes, restaurants also organize events such as a dance show from a specific country or an orchestra that performs for a concert. This kind of event shows that a meal experience can also provide the entertainment aspect of the experience, still formulated by Pine & Gilmore (1998, p. 102).

Finally, as stipulated by several of the participants, offering a good experience to the customers is a whole, composed of many elements that need to be coherent with each other. Nothing is left to chance, and every single detail counts. This idea is in line with what Gustafsson (2004, p. 11) claims in the five aspects meal model, which is a tool that helps to understand and to use the different aspects necessary for producing commercial meals and offering to the guests the best meal experience possible. She claims that the five aspects that have an impact on the meal experience of a customer are the room, the meeting, the product, the atmosphere, and the management control system (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 11). It is clear evidence that everything counts and that nothing should be left behind.

All the elements pointed out in this part are connected with one point. They are all connected to the dimension of coherence, even if the interviewees did not directly mention this specific word. In a restaurant offering experience, all the components of this restaurant should be coherent. The strategy adopted should be coherent with the vision and mission statement. The atmosphere, the meal served, and the decoration should be coherent with the experience offered to customers. Everything counts, and all the elements should be in line with each other.

5.3 Business strategy

5.3.1 Differentiation During our interviews, the participants tended to mention a lot that the restaurant should propose a unique concept to stand out from the market. This topic was specially brought up when it was a question of competitive advantage. For restaurateurs who propose a strong experience to their customers, the best competitive advantage is to have an offer that is out of the ordinary. Their purpose is that customers remember the experience and report it to their relatives. This idea agrees with Pine & Gilmore’s claims (1998, p. 99). In the experience economy, an experience occurs when organizations intentionally engage customers in a memorable and personal way to create memories in their minds. It is the case, for example, for ethnic restaurants, where people will discover a new country through the restaurant. In an ethnic restaurant, customers can eat food and observe a culture that they did not know before. Other restaurants hire a fixed orchestra that people listen to when eating. It is a sort of entertainment, which is uncommon in restaurants. That is why it is out of the ordinary as well. As one of the interviewees proposed, the most important is to have unique selling propositions, which are all the things that a restaurant has more than its competitors. It is necessary to bring something more to the customer to be attractive.

This question of uniqueness that most of the participants brought up during the interviews refers to a specific strategic direction called differentiation. The notion of differentiation refers to two strategies proposed by Porter (1980). These two strategies, called differentiation and differentiation focus, are cited in our theoretical framework. On the one hand, a differentiation strategy is when the organization offers something unique to a broad target of customers (Porter, 1980; Enz, 2010). On the other hand, a differentiation focus strategy corresponds to a unique offer targeted to a narrow part of the population (Porter, 1980). The target customers must be determined in advance to adapt the strategy. Concerning the restaurants that we interviewed, they all propose a strong experience to their customers, they all follow either a differentiation strategy or a differentiation focus strategy. Usually, they did not realize it was a major strategy from a famous theoretician. Still, the most important is that they all included the idea of uniqueness and that all their restaurants work very well. Differentiation is often manifested by having a specific theme. It can be reflected through the theme of one particular ethnicity, where people discover a new culture and new products. The theme can also be luxuries, like gastronomic restaurants that propose high-quality products and high-quality service. The theme can also be anything else specific that the restaurant has, for example, it can be located on top of a tower.

However, just as the interviewees say, even if a restaurant has to be extraordinary to differentiate itself from competitors, customers still need to have their bearings. If the concept is too different from what customers are used to, they will be lost, and they will feel uncomfortable. Thus, it is a good thing to be extraordinary and to have an offer that will surprise customers, but restaurateurs still have to adapt to the clients’ way of living and to strike a balance.

5.3.2 Renewal Another argument that appeared from the perspective of strategy concerns the fact that restaurants often change their offer. According to several interviewees, restaurants need to renew the menu and to change little elements in the restaurant. That can be explained

by the fact that when the offer is astonishing, customers who come back are less surprised than the first time and they can be bored. Many restaurants also have regular guests, and it is necessary to make some changes to keep them curious. Moreover, as Okumus (2010, p. 30) and Mossberg & Eide (2017, p. 1196) state that the restaurant industry is particularly vulnerable to trends, so restaurants have to take them into account and continuously adapt.

From a practical point of view, this renewal can be done for example through changing the menu several times in the year, or by having a different proposition during the week and for the weekend. Many restaurants also work with chef’s suggestions. With this offer, they keep their basic menu, and they add one course that is changing every day or every week. This system allows applying lean management, which is a type of management that aims to maximize resources. In the restaurant sector, lean management helps to avoid food waste. It allows at the same time to better manage the regular menu since it changes rarely and to surprise customers with a new course. Renewing the offer regularly is a strategic implementation that is quite hard to manage since it implies a constant adaptation, but the effects are strongly beneficial.

5.3.3 Art of appealing customers Designing and applying a strategy also means that restaurants should make specific efforts to attract customers. We noticed that several restaurants appeal to their customers through small offers that surprise customers. The purpose of it is multiple. It can be to give the most hospitable welcome to the guests, to impress them from the moment they enter the restaurant. It creates a surprise effect in the customers’ minds. According to the interviewees, the moment the customers enter the restaurant is very important because this is their first impression, and they will remember it. So there is a need to take care of the customer from the very beginning. For example, this hospitable welcome can be done through a welcome drink or a ritual before eating. Some restaurants also pronounce a short welcoming speech. Another way of improving the experience through small offers is to give a new dish to taste to customers. It is, for example, to provide an additional small portion of a dish for free. If the customer likes it, the experience is successful, and the customer might order this course the next time. It is also a way to test the menu quickly with the clientele.

Moreover, it is satisfying for customers to know that the restaurant cares about them, and they are more likely to come back. Another way to attract customers is to have some tempting offers. For example, student discounts or reduced prices during a specific period can attract a lot of new customers. These various small touches are usually very efficient in improving the experience in the restaurant. One of the reasons is that it is very uncommon to get things for free today, and getting anything for free makes everyone happy. Moreover, this kind of offer plays an essential role in the experience because it draws the customer’s attention, and it brings something unexpected. Therefore, restaurateurs should make some strategic efforts to attract customers in their establishment.

5.4 Management & leadership

5.4.1 The role of staff All the participants, with no exception, declared that the staff plays a vital role in a restaurant. According to almost all the interviewees, customers can feel the restaurant's

management during their experience. If there is a problem in the management, the customer will detect some discordances that can affect the experience. The overall management of the restaurant includes the management of the staff, and we noticed some ideas that appeared often. The first idea is that respect is very important from and to the staff. There is a need for a trustful and respectful relationship between the staff and the restaurant manager (Tyler, 2001, p. 158). If the manager respects the employees, they show respect as well in return. However, if the staff is not well treated, the employees will not take their work to heart, and it will have an impact on the restaurant. On the other hand, if the employees trust their manager, they will do the impossible for their manager. So, as several participants mentioned, in a restaurant team, everything is a question of mutual respect and trust.

Another essential idea is the quality of the staff and especially of the waiting staff. Several interviewees told us that the quality of the waiting staff needs to be at least as good as the quality of food. Indeed, the waiting staff is the face of the restaurant. They are the first person that customers see when they come in, and they are sometimes even the only people that they see during the whole experience. So their role is incredibly important, and it affects the experience (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 29). This refers to the operational level of the strategy mentioned by Woods (2013, p. 156). The waiting staff must be very well trained to respect the level of quality needed. However, our participants think that it is a challenging task, often skipped because of a lack of time and a lack of means. Moreover, to be able to provide a successful experience, the staff needs to play a specific role corresponding to the theme and the experience targeted, as discussed by Pine & Gilmore (2011, p. 165).

Furthermore, in a restaurant, the waiting staff often explains the menu, details some of the dishes, present the wine in line with it, and sometimes gives information about the restaurant. In this way, the waiting staff has an educational role. This role is in line with Pine & Gilmore's (1998, p. 102) four realms of an experience, where they state that four different types of experiences exist: entertainment experience, education experience, escapist experience, and esthetic experience. For Pine & Gilmore (1998, p. 102), a perfect experience includes the four types of experiences. In the case of a restaurant, by giving any information, the waiting staff provides the educational experience. Therefore, the waiting staff has a significant role, and this is the reason why they must receive adequate training. If the quality of the waiting staff is low, and if for example the menu is not so well explained compared to the next table, or if the staff cannot answer some questions, then the quality of the experience will be reduced as well. That is why staff's training is essential. They need to know their job, and they need to know very well the restaurant as well as the menu. Hence, providing this knowledge is the job of the manager. This notion of staff training is also linked with the notion of trust and respect since managers are more likely to be respectful and trustful if the staff is efficient. The combination of these elements proves that the staff plays a key role in the restaurant, and the experience offered to customers.

5.4.2 Hands-on manager Even though the waiting staff has a flagship position in the restaurant, as they interact with the customers, the managers also play an essential part. According to the participants, managers have an indirect impact and can influence the experience and customer satisfaction. Scholars indicate that the manager operates at a functional level and makes sure that business and corporate-level strategies are applied (Woods, 2013, p.

156). However, for our interviewees, defining and writing strategies is not enough. To implement these strategies, the manager also has to work in the field. It is necessary to understand exactly how things are going in the restaurant. Gustafsson (2004, p. 12) declares that in the meal experience, it is crucial to understand the customer and to guess the customer’s expectations. Although this task is usually the waiting staff’s job (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 12), the manager also needs to be lucid and to understand the customer. In this way, implementations are adapted to improve customer satisfaction. One of the interviewees mentioned that she often takes vocational training about culture, customers, and service quality, to enhance her skills and to know better what happens in her restaurant. For her, vocational training also allows her to get the customers’ reactions and to understand their feelings.

Besides working in the field, some interviewees said that the manager's identity, the relationship between the staff and the manager could influence the quality of the experience. This affirmation is following what scholars say that the manager should also show leadership skills to the staff members (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 469). First of all, leadership skills and especially interpersonal skills help the manager to improve the relationship with the staff members. It helps to create an organizational identity, and a trustful environment (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 471; Kramer, 2001, p. 168), and the staff will be more likely to work hard to satisfy the manager. Therefore, when the staff is more committed to its work, the experience offered to the customers is improved as well. So the manager has to understand that leadership skills are profitable for the management and the overall restaurant. These points prove that the waiting staff might well be in the spotlight; the manager plays a critical role in staging experience and developing strategic management.

5.5 Customer relationship Beyond the strategy that restaurants can implement to offer an intense experience to their customers, customer relationship is a central aspect that restaurateurs must manage carefully. Customer relationship is so meaningful because a good customer relationship increases customer satisfaction. When customers are happy with their experience, they are more likely to come back, and maybe to bring more people.

5.5.1 Creating a good relationship During all the interviews, the relationship with the customers appeared as a core concept of experience in a restaurant. The participants consider that the staff should create a good relationship with the customers. First, it is a necessary element for the customer to have a complete experience. If they are very well welcomed, the customers will remember their visit to the restaurant and the experience will be even stronger. Then, the challenge is to maintain the link created to create customer loyalty.

The first link is created by the waiting staff when they receive the customers. As soon as the customers enter, it is essential to make contact, even if it is during rush hour. In this way, the customers know that somebody will be with them shortly. Then during the meal, there should be closeness between the employees and the customers, with, for example, asking if they liked their dish. The interviewees claimed that human contact is significant in a restaurant. Sometimes, the waiting staff even creates a particular link with regular customers. In other words, the relationship built with the customer should last from the beginning to the very end of the meal, and it can even be a long-term relationship.

Moreover, customer relationship is essential because the customers can be a player in their experience and the whole restaurant. One of the interviewees told us that he used to talk a lot with the clients about what they like to eat and what they expect to find in this kind of restaurant. Customers can make propositions for some dishes, and they will be delighted if these courses are proposed the next time. Thereby, customers become stakeholders of the restaurant.

Therefore, the contact established is one of the essential parts. Gustafsson (2004, pp. 11- 12) highlights this importance in the meeting part of her five aspects meal model. She stated that the staff should quickly analyze the customers and act in a suitable way to make them satisfied (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 11). It is in line with what the interviewees said about the behavior of the waiting staff towards the customers. For the majority of the interviewees, the staff must be attentive to the customers from the very beginning, and this is non-negotiable. Gustafsson (2004, p. 11) also states that the consumers' choices in the menu are variable according to their identity as well as the reason why they are here which is also in line with the fact that the customer's state of mind affects the experience, that was mentioned by two interviewees. The psychological context of the customer is essential, and some customers can arrive and be happy, and others can be in a terrible mood. Hence, the waiting staff has to take this variable into account when welcoming clients.

Finally, another way of creating a link with the customers and improving the relationship is to ask for feedback and asking if anything can be improved. First of all, when the restaurateur asks for feedback, the customer has the chance to give an opinion. Therefore, he may feel esteemed. In this way, asking feedbacks is a means of strengthening the relationship. Moreover, when the restaurateur asks for possible improvement, the customer is more likely to answer directly, instead of potentially writing a bad review. This technique has many benefits: it allows advances in the restaurant, it strengthens the link between the restaurant and the customer, it flatters the customer, and it avoids terrible reviews on social networks. To conclude, creating a good relationship with the customers has only positive impacts: it improves customer satisfaction, more customers come back, and they can bring other guests, and it increases the image of the restaurant.

5.5.2 Personalized experience During the interviews, a new idea connected with customer relationship came up. The participants pointed out that the staff should be very attentive to what customers need and want. They state that the staff should observe the customers' reactions if they are not pleased with the food served and fix it as soon as the problem is detected. Moreover, if some customers come for the first time, they might need an explanation of the menu, so the waiting staff needs to know it. By explaining to the customers who need it, the staff provides a personalized experience to customers. The staff must be attentive to any change in customers' faces to adapt the offer to their expectations and to personalize the experience, as stated by Gustafsson (2004, p. 11).

The notion of personalization of the experience is strongly connected to the fact of creating a strong relationship with the customer explained just earlier. Indeed, it also implies that the staff should analyze the customers and should guess their expectations to act in the right way and to create satisfaction (Gustafsson, 2004, p. 11). The staff needs to bring a customized experience adapted to the clients' expectations. For example, one of the restaurateurs we interviewed mentioned that he chose the premises of his

restaurants according to the arrangement of the different rooms. For him, any restaurant should have a room for all customers because the purpose is that everyone has the experience there. He explained to us that he has a room for families, a room where people who date can have some peace, and even a room for people who want to be in a VIP closed with not any music. Having a room for each type of customer is important to be attractive to everyone. He taught his employees to detect customers' signals and to put them on the right location depending on if they are dating, if it is a family diner, or if they are meeting with friends. For example, if customers come for a date, they want to have a conversation. If the staff put them in the wrong place whereby there are many people with all the discussions around, they do not feel free to talk about what they are supposed to talk about, and their experience might be affected. This notion of customized experience mentioned by the participants can easily be connected with the concept of mass customization approached in the theoretical framework. Mass customization is a core concept in the experience economy. The main idea is to provide a wide range of possibilities for the customers so they can choose and shape their own experiences (Pine & Gilmore, 2013, p. 28).

For some restaurants, personalization of experience can be manifested by drastic changes like a complete modification of the organization of the restaurant. One reason can be adapting the offer to the major clientele of the area. For example, the inside of the restaurant and the design can be modified to attract a new target. In any case, it is important that the customers feel that the restaurant staff is here for them, that they can adapt the offer to their needs, and that they can answer any specific request.

5.5.3 Social networks vs. word of mouth Concerning the role of the customer and the way the restaurants get famous, several participants alluded to social networks as well as the power of word of mouth. Marketing and communication are necessary for any restaurant and should be aligned with the overall strategy (Enz, 2012, p. 290; Johnson et al., 2011, p. 109). People rely more and more on recommendation websites such as TripAdvisor or Google to look at what previous customers have thought. Restaurateurs are aware that everything is digital and that they must be present on social networks like Facebook or Instagram, even though this does not represent the primary communication means. If a customer is not satisfied and had a bad experience in a restaurant, this customer is likely to write a terrible review, and this can strongly affect the business. A lot of potential customers might read this bad review, and they might have a negative image of the restaurant. They might even never come because of this review. Therefore, when a customer is unhappy, the staff must fix it very quickly because everything goes very fast with social networks. Thus, social networks are a must-have, even though they are not the most important communication medium.

Most of the restaurants have a Facebook page or an Instagram page that they use more or less often. However, their marketing communication mostly leans on Word of mouth. As we read in our literature, advertisements can be made through the newspapers, a friendly and detailed website, flyers, etc. (Currie, 2013, p. 3). However, Mangold et al. (1999, p. 80) confirm that the positive Word of mouth from previous visitors is the most remarkable marketing tool. Word of mouth implies that the experience offered to customers needs to be at least equal, even higher to their expectations (Longart, 2010, p. 123). When they reach this level, customers are entirely satisfied, and they will share their experience with their friends or their family. They might even come back with new guests and introduce

the restaurant. The better the experience, the more customers will talk about it. In this way, customers play a significant role in the development of the restaurant, and they are players in it. At some point, the restaurant does not need marketing or advertisement anymore. The customers become the ambassadors of the restaurant.

5.6 Summary of qualitative findings The figure presented below (see Figure 7) shows an illustrated summary of the themes that we mentioned in the analysis. These themes correspond to information that we extracted from the semi-structured interviews and that we interpreted to create generalizations. By connecting the restaurant industry to the concepts of the experience economy and strategic management, we can conclude that a restaurant willing to stage an experience successfully should deal with business strategy, management and leadership, customer relationship, and coherence.

Figure 7. Summary of qualitative findings

In this fifth section, we analyzed the interviews with a critical perspective, and we brought out additional elements to the existing theories. First, coherence is maybe the most crucial concept. Restaurants must be in line with their vision and mission statement, and every detail should stick to their concept. Nothing should be left behind. Then, business strategy is a core concept of strategic management, and we deduced that restaurants who follow the experience economy should adopt a differentiation or a differentiation focus strategy. They should also renew their offer quite often and attract customers with small attractive offers. From a managerial perspective, the role of staff needs to be carefully dealt with as they have a key role in the experience proposed to customers. The manager role is also essential, and managers should have good leadership skills to foster a good working environment, so then a better experience for the client. Customer relationship is another critical concept that arose from the interviews. It is crucial for restaurateurs to create a good relationship with customers and to offer a personalized experience. That leads to increased customer satisfaction and encourages customers to promote the restaurant to the people around them. Indeed, word-of-mouth is the best means of communication, although marketing is necessary. From all these dimensions arise the generalizations that we were able to generate.

6. Conclusion In this chapter, we will first aim to answer our research questions. Then we will highlight our theoretical, practical, and societal contributions. Finally, we will talk about the limitations of our study and provide suggestions for further research.

6.1 General conclusion Pine & Gilmore, the precursor of the concept of the experience economy, argue that experience may allow organizations to gain a sustainable competitive advantage (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 15). But entering in the experience economy has a price. It affects the strategic management of an organization. As a result, we wanted to gain a deep understanding of the impact of staging experiences on restaurants’ strategic management. We also aimed to investigate the benefits and the drawbacks of the experience economy from a strategic management perspective. Lastly, we wanted to identify clear directions to restaurant managers for successfully stage experiences and take advantage of it. Those purposes led us to two main research questions: - How do staging experiences affect restaurants’ strategic management? - How do restaurants adapt their strategy to offer a strong customer experience?

To answer those research questions, we conducted a qualitative study that revealed that providing a consistent and robust experience to customers is a significant competitive advantage for restaurants. However, managers have to make numerous strategic choices to provide such experiences and to take advantage of it. The first essential element when staging experiences is consistency. All the managers have a specific theme and concept that we find in their mission and vision statements. Those are the starting points of any strategy. Managers strive to stick to those mission or vision statements as much as possible in their restaurant. In this way, all the choices they make, whether in terms of decoration, menu, price, staff management, are based on the restaurant mission and vision statement. At a business level, the experience economy requires adopting a differentiation or a differentiation focus strategy, whether in terms of quality, price, or uniqueness of the experience. The aim is to make the customer feel different in a certain way. We also found that management and leadership are more than ever essential when staging experiences. Indeed, restaurant owners or managers must make sure that the strategy chosen is well followed. That is why they are on the field most of the time. Moreover, staging experiences requires employees and managers to enact a specific role for customers. Role enactment implies that employees must perfectly know their role and must be at ease with it. According to participants, trust and respect are the two main elements necessary to foster employee motivation and commitment. Lastly, we would like to point out the importance of customer relationships. Indeed, staging an experience involves providing customized experiences to clients. If the clients are satisfied, they are more likely to talk about it. In this way, we found that in the experience economy, marketing and communication highly rely on the world of mouth. Generally speaking, it seems that entering the experience economy requires a different perspective on strategic management.

6.2 Theoretical contribution Our theoretical contribution to this thesis is manifested through the findings that arise from our research. With these findings, we answer the research gaps expressed at the beginning of our thesis. Our theoretical research gap was that none studies focus on the management perspective, even though Pine and Gilmore also approached strategy and

management (2011, p. 166). Indeed, most of the study about the experience economy focused on customers and how they perceived an experience. That is why we wanted to explore the relationship between strategic management and the experience economy. In our analysis, we found that staging experience necessarily affects numerous fields of an organization, such as marketing, human resources, or strategy. However, to effectively stage experience, good and consistent strategic management is needed. Experience cannot exist without efficient strategic management. In this way, strategic management is the basis of any experience. Both concepts of the experience economy and strategic management are complementary in the sense that when they are connected and work together, they can affect each other. So they are interconnected. However, there is another relation from a different nature between these two concepts. The experience economy is dependent on strategic management, and strategic management is needed for experience economy to occur. Staging an experience cannot happen without strong strategic management. Nevertheless, this dependency is nonreciprocal as strategic management is present in most of the organizations without the need for the experience economy. Therefore, strategic management and the experience economy are interconnected, and the experience economy needs good strategic management to occur. In this way, one can say that in the experience economy, effective strategic management will allow organizations to differentiate themselves and to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. In contrast, poor strategic management will generate failure in staging the experience.

Secondly, our research project is also the first one to study the experience economy in the restaurant industry. In this way, we explore the link between the experience economy and meal experience. Indeed, both concepts are quite similar as we can view the meal experience as an application of the experience economy in the restaurant industry. However, not any research previously studied their connectivity. We found out that there are many commonalities between the experience economy and the meal experience. They both imply that the most important is not the product but the experience that customers live and remember. Indeed, the notion of memories is a core concept of these theories. Both also include that relationships with other people have an impact on the experience and that the organization offering the experience should play a specific role in fostering the immersion of the customer. Therefore, our study contributes to research by showing how both concepts complement each other.

6.3 Practical contribution The purpose of our research was to understand how the experience economy affects restaurants’ strategic management and how restaurants adapt their strategy to stage experience. By answering these issues, we could fulfill our implication gap, as the concept of the experience economy has been studied in various fields such as hotels, festivals, or the tourism industry. However, the restaurant industry has not been exploited yet.

First of all, our research is helpful for restaurant owners and managers because it explains why the experience economy is a good concept to adopt. As Pine & Gilmore pointed out, competition is more and more intense in the service industry, which drives a need to gain a sustainable competitive advantage (Pine & Gilmore, 2011, p. 15). The experience economy is a solution allowing organizations to differentiate themselves. We explain that the experience economy can be a competitive advantage if it is well implemented. Moreover, customers are curious about new experiences, and staging experiences can increase attendance and improve the image of the restaurant. We also highlight the

drawbacks and difficulties of the experience economy. If the concept of the restaurant is too far from what customers know, they might not be satisfied. The relationship created with the customer is another point that should be carefully managed because it can damage the experience and customer satisfaction if it is not well done. Moreover, the experience economy is also a strength in terms of marketing and communication. Indeed, an experience is an internal and personal process. When customers enjoy an experience, they tend to share it with others. Therefore, the promotion of the restaurant occurs naturally, thanks to customers. It shows that providing intense experiences in a restaurant is not only a means to gain a competitive advantage but also a marketing tool.

In addition to this, our study is helpful for managers because it explains how to stage an experience effectively, and it details the necessary strategic and managerial elements to achieve it. First of all, it is imperative that the concept of the restaurant and all its components are coherent, so as not to lose customers. Having a specific theme reminded me that everywhere is the best way to be coherent. Then, the strategic direction to adopt is a differentiation or a differentiation focus strategy. This implies to have a competitive advantage that the customers will remember. From a managerial perspective, a well- trained staff and leadership skills from the manager are the main requirements for a successful experience. To finish, the relationship with the customer can be improved through a personalized experience. This will improve customer satisfaction and then a positive word of mouth. Yet, social networks grow in importance and should not be set aside.

6.4 Societal implication The societal implications are what impact do our research and the theories approached have on society. First of all, we can highlight that the experience economy is beneficial for society. Experience economy implies that people have extraordinary experiences that they might remember for a long time. It creates memories that are beneficial for people's enjoyment and optimism. Moreover, it allows them to learn something new. Depending on the theme of the restaurant, they can discover new cultures. Indirectly, the experience economy increases people's well-being. By sharing cultures, the meal experience reduces borders and fosters globalization.

Staff management and human resources are also critical challenges of the experience economy as the success of the experience rely on employees. Indeed, employees must enact a specific role in line with the experience. That can be difficult for them daily. Our study allows identifying key elements that help to keep employees motivated. The responsibility of managers is to create the right working environment. In this way, the participants pointed out trust and respect as two essential elements to manage staff in restaurants. If managers are fair, respectful, and provide a favorable working environment, enacting a role will be much easier for employees.

Moreover, other kinds of societal implications can appear concerning the strategic management of restaurants. Some organizations and restaurants show a strong commitment to society and the environment by sending a part of their revenue to improve children's education or to protect wildlife species. We did not find any link with the environment in this thesis. However, two of our interviewees said they apply lean management in their restaurant. By avoiding waste of food, lean management reduces the ecological impact of their restaurant. They make sure that there is no nourishment left and they use all the food to create the meals of the following day.

6.5 Limitations and suggestions for further research Our study was conducted in a particular period as it happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis affected our study and, more precisely, the data collection. Even though our research question was not related to coronavirus, many of our interviewees always ended up talking about it. We tried as much as possible to focus the interview on our research questions. However, the restaurant industry is highly affected by the pandemic, so we could not avoid the subject or prevent the interviewees from talking about it. So we consider that some answers would have been different ordinarily. Due to the COVID-19, it was also challenging to find restaurants for our study. We based our choices of restaurants on specific criteria, so we could not choose just any restaurant. But many restaurants closed temporarily or definitively, so it was hard to reach them. That is why we decided to interview some restaurant professionals instead. They were not managers or owners, but they had experiences in this industry, and they have worked in restaurants meeting our criteria. Both of them also studied catering in specific schools. Their contribution was helpful for our study. However, as we interviewed only four restaurant owners/managers, our research is difficult to generalize. Despite some similarities, they are all different in terms of theme, concept, background, and functioning. Lastly, we conducted some interviews in French, so we had to translate the statements of our participants. French is a subtle language, and it is sometimes difficult to translate the nuances and expressions of this language into English. We did our best to stay as close as possible to what the interviewees said by adapting the sentences when translating. Moreover, we interviewed people working in different countries. On the one hand, it enriched our study by the diversity of the answers, but on the other hand, we did not consider the cultural aspect of our research. Yet, management is not perceived the same way everywhere.

For further research, we suggest remaking several studies in different countries during a better period for the restaurant industry. Moreover, future studies should consider the cultural aspect. We also recommend conducting a study about customers’ intention to come back to restaurants staging experiences. Indeed, many managers that we interviewed said that the most important was not to attract customers but to make sure they come back. It would be interesting to see how to experience the economy can positively or negatively affect customers’ intention to go back to a restaurant.

7. Truth criteria In this chapter, we will determine if our study meets the quality criteria by assessing the reliability, the validity, as well as the credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability of our research.

According to Bryman & Bell (2011, p. 394), the quality of any research relies on reliability and validity. The reliability deals with the replicability of the study as well as the accuracy and precision of the collection techniques and analysis procedure (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 52; Saunders et al., 2009, p. 156). In terms of data collection and analysis, we recorded each interview and transcribed them to ensure the accuracy of our data, and to avoid missing any information. However, when it comes to replicability, an interpretive study like ours makes it challenging to reach. Collis & Hussey (2014, p. 52) argue that reliability must be understood and interpreted differently in an interpretivist study. They state that replication is almost impossible in qualitative research. Therefore, emphasis should be on establishing protocols and procedures that one can replicate. In this way, we conducted semi-structured interviews. We created a detailed and well- structured interview guide divided into three distinct parts to facilitate the reflection of the interviews.

The validity is defined by Collis & Hussey (2014, p. 53) as “the extent to which a test measures what the researcher wants it to measure and the results reflect the phenomena under study.” In other words, validity is about making sure that the results are reflecting the studied phenomenon. In this way, we limited ourselves to three concepts that we intensely studied in our theoretical framework. The use of semi-structured interviews allowed us to ask follow-up questions to get more precise. Moreover, before starting our interviews, we always introduced the purpose of our study. We also used to introduce each concept to the interviewees and to give examples to make sure that they understood what we meant. Therefore, we think that their answers reflected well the phenomena we are studying.

Lincoln & Guba (1985, cited in Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 172) provide four criteria to evaluate an interpretivist analysis: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Credibility deals with determining whether the research was conducted in a way that allowed to identify and to describe the subject of the study or not (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 172). Credibility can be reached through several ways as triangulation, the use of different sources and collection methods, or by continuously debriefing with colleagues. In our case, we had various sources. We strived to have much diversity among interviewees. They were not only coming from different countries, but we also had a wide variety of restaurants in terms of quality, number of seats, and theme. We also integrated the vision of cook high school students, which enriches our study considerably.

Transferability refers to the possibility of applying our findings in another situation (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 172). According to Given (2008, p. 886), the author can reach transferability by providing a thick description. A thick description implies that the researchers provide a detailed description of the data collection process (context, participants, research design). We made sure to give as many details as possible in our study concerning our choices, the data collection process, and the analysis process. In this way, we think that our research has reached transferability.

Dependability focuses on “whether the research processes are systematic, rigorous and well documented” (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 172). To ensure the dependability of our research, we tried as much as possible to reach saturation during our theoretical framework and our data collection.

Finally, confirmability focuses on the description of the research process (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 172). To ensure confirmability, we gave as many details as possible in the methodology part to make sure that the reader can follow our reflection and understands how we came up with our conclusion.

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Appendix 1: Interview guide

Introduction : The restaurant owner, the restaurant and its challenges. ● Can you introduce your restaurant (city, type of products, number of seats, location, start date). ● Is it your first experience as a restaurateur ? If not, what is your background in the restaurant business ? ● What do you think of the restaurant business today ? ● What are the difficulties that restaurant managers can face nowadays ? What are the difficulties that you may face ? ● What do you think are the most important things for customers when they go to restaurants? (Do you consider it for your restaurant?)

Experience economy ● What do you think the experience is ? The experience economy is a new form of economy where organizations (shop, restaurant..) sell experiences as a product itself. In the experience economy, experience is different from any experience that we can have in our everyday life (go shopping…). In the experience economy, experiences occur on purpose, and they are prepared in advance by the organization, in order to create memories in the mind of the customers. There are five conditions to fit the experience economy : having a theme, engaging the customer (whether passively or actively), the engagement of all five senses, the ability to sell souvenir and/or derived product and the ability to create a connexion between the customer and its environment. ● What do you think about the demand for customer experience now compared to when you started your business ? ● Do you think you meet the experience economy criteria we outlined earlier ? What particular experience do your customers have when they visit your restaurant and how is it manifested? ● How is your theme reflected in your restaurant ? ● What do you think people want to keep in their mind from your restaurant ? ● What effort have you made to offer a special experience to your customers ? ● What concrete actions have you developed to improve the experience of your customers (have you changed the organisation of the restaurant/have you modified the atmosphere/have you adapted the menu/do you train your staff to have a specific behaviour towards customers?) ● What difficulties have you encountered in implementing these actions ? ● Did you take initiatives that did not work ? What are they ? ● What do you think could be the disadvantages of offering experience? What could be the risks of such practices?

Meal experience The Meal experience is a concept theorised about 40 years ago century which considers that the physical appearance of the restaurant, its ambience and décor, are as important to the event of dining out as are the comestibles. There is a difference in the fact of eating out from necessity (lunch break, avoid cooking,...) and dining out for pleasure (meeting friends, romantic diner,…). When they come in a restaurant and search experience, consumers need to create their own experience and to be players of it. The main theorist about the Meal experience showed that the main elements which have an impact on

customers’ experience in restaurants: room, meeting, product, atmosphere, control management. ● What do you think about these five elements? Do you think that some of them have more impact or do you think that they are all as important? ● How do you manage each of these elements in your restaurant ? ● How do you think that management control systems affect customers, if that’s the case ? (general management) ● We know that staff is permanently interacting with customers, they are the face of the restaurant: how do you manage your staff?

Hospitality and Strategic management ● To what extent can the experience that you offer to your customers be an advantage for your restaurant? ● What strategy have you set up for your restaurant? (strong communication, good quality products, customer immersion, cheap products, etc.) ● What aspects do you take into account when elaborating your strategy? Do you consider elements external to the restaurant? (like competition, current trends, etc.) ● During the current outbreak of covid-19, do you plan to put in place measures to improve the restaurant? ● Following this outbreak, how do you plan to attract customers to the reopening?

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