A review of restaurant research in the last two decades: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

The present paper presents the results of a bibliometric analysis of published academic research dealing with restaurants in the fields of hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism. In particular, it aims to identify the structure of relationships between previous and current themes, predict emerging trends and provide a longitudinal perspective on this research, covering the period 2000–2018. This approach provides an exhaustive analysis for the past two decades from over 700 papers. The findings show, for example, that customer satisfaction is the motor theme with the greatest impact and the study of emotions is an underdeveloped theme; interest in healthy eating is witnessing gradual growth; and brand equity, culture and innovation all constitute new research themes. The future of research dealing with restaurants will tend to focus on new emerging technologies, both in the restaurant sphere and in the context of research methodologies.