12 pages., Online via UI e-subscription., The author compiled restaurant sales and unit count estimates for 155 restaurant chains during 1981 through 1998. Unit-level sales and advertising expenditures were calculated by averaging annual system-wide totals by the number of units in operation during the year. Findings supported hypotheses that national advertising does not provide a positive return to advertising for many chain units and a larger proportion of chains exhibit a positive return to advertising at the system level than at the unit level.
15 pages., Via online., In food service settings, researchers assessed whether service familiarity (as rated by employers) moderated the relationship of employee-reported positive emotional displays and coworker ratings of service performance. Findings suggested that, overall, when an employee tended to have one-time encounters with customers or in interaction with a customer who is new to the store, display of positive emotions is especially influential on performance evaluations. However, positive emotional displays by service employees were found less important in contexts where the consumer tended to be more familiar with the emplyee and store.
Online from publisher website. 3 pages., "After a punishing year of food-safety concerns, Chipotle dropped one of its CEOs and prepared to improve its in-store experience as its financial woes bled into 2017." Public health issues facing burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill following outbreaks of E. coli.
