The influence of celebrity chef competencies on customer trust and loyalty: a gender perspective

Purpose: Using cue utilization theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of celebrity chefs’ job and person-related competencies on customers’ trust and loyalty in restaurant settings and explores gender as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 330 questionnaires were distributed to customers at 6 celebrity-chef-run restaurants in South Korea, with 297 completed responses used for final analysis. The survey underwent two pre-testing stages, including interviews with chefs and a pre-survey with 20 customers, to refine its clarity and eliminate biases. Findings: Job-related competencies positively influenced trust and loyalty in males, while person-related competencies had a stronger impact on trust in both genders. Trust significantly predicted loyalty, with stronger effects observed in females. Research limitations/implications: Although this study makes a unique contribution by considering two competencies that are most relevant to celebrity chefs, future studies may want to expand the scope by considering some other competencies. Practical implications: This study reveals that females perceived celebrity chefs’ job-related competencies differently than males, which suggests that marketers should focus on core competencies more when targeting females. Originality/value: This study, based on the cue utilization theory, contributes to the literature by offering an integrated model considering celebrity chefs’ competencies and their effect on customers’ responses. In addition, the study highlights the role of gender in customers’ responses to celebrity chefs’ competencies.