Customers’ Acceptance Level Of Smart Restaurant Services In Penang

Nowadays, the world is changing rapidly, with innovative technology, a new set of challenges need to be considered and addressed. The discussions about using technology in restaurants and food service sector only cover some of the main topics such as information system management and integration, automation, data analytics, and guest-facing technology. However, despite the positive prospects of smart technology in the hospitality industries, they have not been adopted widely in Food and Beverage (FB) sectors in some Asian or Middle Eastern countries. This study aims to investigate the core motivations for adopting smart restaurant services in developing countries such as Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the predictors’ variables such as perceived cost, perceived enjoyment, novelty, and customers’ acceptance level of smart restaurant services as a dependent variable. A research framework is developed based on the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI). The quantitative research approach was applied to the empirical part of this study to test the conceptual model. Therefore, to achieve this purpose, a survey was conducted in Penang, Malaysia. The data was collected from 150 respondents and analysed by SPSS statistical software. The research results indicate that perceived enjoyment (PE) is the most significant predictor in customers’ acceptance of a smart restaurant which is followed by perceived cost (PC). However, Implications of the findings is relevant and helpful to both academia and FB operators along with future research opportunities with an industrial standard for restaurant entrepreneurs.