A Study on the Dining-Out Behaviors of Undergraduates Clusters Classified by Differences in the Attributes of Restaurant Choice

대학생의 레스토랑 선택 속성 군집에 따른 외식 행동 차이에 관한 연구

The principal objectives of this study were : 1) to classify groups via cluster analysis for undergraduate's attributes of restaurant choice, and 2) to assess differences in dining-out behaviors among each restaurant choice cluster. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 387 students, and the data were analyzed via frequency analysis, chi-square, one-way ANOVA, factor analysis, reliability analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis. Three clusters were obtained by the attributes of restaurant choice from cluster analysis : Cluster 1 "indifferent style", Cluster 2 "ordinary style", and Cluster 3 "highly interested (careful) style". As for connections between the attributes of restaurant choice and distinctive dining-out behaviors in different undergraduates clusters, an indifferent style was rampant among the male students in their lower academic years. This group of students responded that they ate out only to satisfy their hunger, and stayed in a restaurant for one hour or less. Their friends made the choice of a restaurant on their behalf. The students in the "ordinary style" group spent between 5 and 10 thousand won to dine out, and stayed in a restaurant with their friends for two hours or less. They made the choice of a restaurant on their own, or together with their friends. A highly interested (careful) style prevailed among the female students in the upper academic year. This group of students ate out in order to mingle with their friends or colleagues rather than to satisfy their hunger, and they generally made a choice of a restaurant on their behalf.