Attitude of Food

Jae Han Min
Instructor: Dr. Bonnie and Dr. Hsieh

Attitudes of International Students toward University Dining Services

Introduction and purpose
Developments in transportation technology ultimately broke cultural barriers that existed between different countries. As a result, it is more possible to enjoy and experience another nation’s culture today. Through the international food market, people from different countries have been exposed to different foods. Consumers of today have access to many types of foods introduced by migration, internet usage, food-related TV channels and magazines (Lan, 2010). Some British people now eat curry as their favorite food and American people eat sushi or spicy food as their favorite food (Lan, 2010).
The relationship between food and culture has become important for the field of tourism industry. Research shows that food taste preferences of tourists are strongly influenced by their unique cultures (Peri, 2006). Many people prefer to eat food from their own culture. In other words, they like to eat food that they are more familiar with than they have never tried. Some people never want to taste few foods unless the items are at least ever heard before (Cox & Evans, 2008). The Japanese enjoy eating raw horse meats because their culture has thought that raw meat is better for the health (Peri, 2006). Recently, Korea, as a nation, has been interested in its own culture and has been making a lot of effort to discover dishes that best represent Korea as a whole. Kim-chi is one of Korean representative food products widely contributed to the world and it tastes very spicy. Koreans generally enjoy eating spicy cooked meats and side dishes like Kim-chi, but few Americans would want to taste them. Through the developing TV documentaries and cooking show programs, many countries have begun to take pride in their food and culture.
Nowadays, the number of foreign students studying in higher education institutions, including

References: Andaleeb, S.S. & Conway, C. (2006). Customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry: an examination of the transpacific model Bartels, J. & Reinders, M. J. (2010). Social identification, social representations, and consumer innovativeness in an organic food context: A cross-national comparison Cox, D. & Evans, G. (2008). Construction and validation of a psychometric scale to measure consumers’ fears of novel food technologies: The food technology De Búrca, S., Richard, F., & Brown, L. (2004). International Marketing: An SME Perspective French, S. A., Story, M. & Jeffery, R. W. (2001). Environmental influences on eating and physical activity. Annu. Rev. Public Health, 22:309-335. Geisler, M. (2007). Ethnic food market profile. Ag Marketing Resource Center Website, Retrieved from: http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/markets/Food/ethnicfoodsmarketprofile.htm Greetz, C Hofstede. G. (1997). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, London: McGraw-Hill. Heung, V. C. S., Wong, M. Y.&Qu, H. (2002). A study of tourists’ satisfaction and post-experience behavioural intentions in relation to Hamlett, J., Alexander, A., Bailey AR., & Shaw, G. (2008). Regulating UK supermarkets: Anoral-history perspective Lam, S. Y., Shankar, V., Erramilli, K.M. and Murthy, B. (2004). Customer value, satisfaction, loyalty, and switching costs: an illustration from a business- Lan, Y. (2010). Why Food Tourism is Becoming More Important?. Hospitality Net, Retrieved from: http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4037197.html Liang, X., & Zhang, S. (2009). Investigation of customer satisfaction in student food service: an example of student cafeteria in NHH Lewis, R.C., & Shoemaker, S. (1997). Price-sensitivity measurement: a tool for the hospitality industry Mints, S., Moores, R., and Moores, J. (2005). Food in America. University of Houston Digital Library. Nielsen, N.A., Bech-Larsen, T., & Grunert, K.G.(1998). Consumer purchase motives and product perceptions: A laddering study on vegetable oil in three countries Overby, J.W., Gardial, S.F., & Woodruff, R.B. (2004). French versus American Consumers’ attachment of value to a product in a common consumption context: Peri, C. (2006). The universe of food quality. Food Quality and Preference, 17(1-2): 3-8. Ruetzler, T. (2008). Food, beverage, and service quality: Does culture impact satisfaction with university foodservices? Journal of Culinary Science and Technology, Shanka, T., & Taylor, R. (2005). Assessment of university campus café service: the students’ perceptions