ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

The influence of children in decision making within families is increasing while consumer trends and social interactions are changing in the sphere of food and culinary culture. The choices made by children are influenced heavily by their mothers, and this study examined the preferences of mothers regarding to food choices. The menu choices made by mothers for their children along with their reasons for the selection and satisfaction level were analyzed. This information can be used to develop future children’s restaurant menu items. The research subjects were 350 mothers living in Gyeongsangbukdo who had children between 7∼12 years of age. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that there are three main factors on the mothers’ food culture tendencies, which are pursuing conservative culture, pursuing contemporary and pursuing popular trends. In addition, two different selection motivations could be observed, which are classified as environmental and emotional selection motivations. All factors met the standard by χ2=396.297, GFI=0.900, CFI=0.915, TLI=0.906, RMSEA=0.067, RMR=0.043. SEM (Structural Equation modeling) showed that among the eleven hypotheses suggested by the research model, six of them were significant. Among the mother’s food culture tendencies, pursuing conservative culture and popular trendy types significantly affect the emotional and environmental motivations in children’s restaurant menu selection. The emotional and environmental motivations have significant effects on trust in the menu. The study showed that when developing children’s menus, restaurants should consider the children’s customized service and the preferences of mothers in addition to the food. If children’s menu items are developed in accordance with the study results, children will experience a more diverse range of foods and economical profitability in the child consumer industry should increase through the increased satisfaction levels in the mothers.

키워드