Comparative influence of e-word of mouth and professional reviews of restaurants on perceived quality: Focus on TripAdvisor and the Michelin guide

Abstract

The following experiment will explain in detail how a causal exploratory research can be conducted to assess matters related to the food and beverage industry. This research will try to show the impact of recommendation from both e-word of mouth and professional reviews on restaurant’s perceived quality. The case study will focus on the two leader of their category: Tripadvisor and the Michelin Guide. The thesis will discuss the pertinence of this type of review, the impact they have on restaurants and how they affect customer behaviour. The research presents a scientific interest since it can be useful to understand customer thinking and to some extend help restaurant redirect their global strategy. Few experiments have been conducted in this field and it can help clarify the impact and the future of both e-word of mouth and professional reviews. This thesis is customers oriented and is not focus on a peer-to-peer review. I will first establish a literature review on the essays and authors who wrote about this subject and will then proceed to an experience involving test subjects in order to discuss this matters and highlight, as I expect, effective conclusions about the future of food criticism and its impact.