Int. J. Leisure and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 5, No.

4, 2017 351

Complexity, change and the restaurant business:

a case study from Montevideo, Uruguay

Abel Duarte Alonso*

Liverpool Business School,
Liverpool John Moores University,
Redmonds Building Brownlow Hill,
Liverpool L3 5UG, UK
and
School of Business and Law,
Edith Cowan University,
270 Joondalup Dr.,
Joondalup, Western Australia 6027, Australia
Email: a.alonso@ecu.edu.au
*Corresponding author

Sebastián Mariani
Hospitality Consultant,
Rivera 3136 y 2 de Mayo,
Montevideo 11300, Uruguay
Email: sebitama@gmail.com
Abstract: In adopting complexity theory, this study examines the complexity
and changes occurring in the restaurant sector, and strategies needed to achieve
long-term sustainability, based on the perceptions of Uruguayan restaurateurs.
The overall findings align with several characteristics of the theory, including
complexity, globalisation, technology and change. Participants identify
customers’ stronger demands for credit card payment, higher product/service
quality and online reservations; in contrast, least demands are placed on
availability of local products and origin of foods. The findings underline the
strategic importance for restaurateurs to scan their environment, identify
emerging trends and grow awareness of the changes occurring in their industry.

Keywords: change; complexity; complexity theory; restaurants; restaurateurs.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Duarte Alonso, A. and
Mariani, S. (2017) ‘Complexity, change and the restaurant business: a case
study from Montevideo, Uruguay’, Int. J. Leisure and Tourism Marketing,
Vol. 5, No. 4, pp.351–369.
Biographical notes: Abel Duarte Alonso, research interests include micro,
small and medium enterprises, family enterprises, innovation, wine
entrepreneurship, tourism, hospitality, and community development.
Sebastián Mariani, research interests include restaurant entrepreneurship,
culinary tourism, international and traditional gastronomy.

Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

352 A. Duarte Alonso and S. Mariani

1 Introduction

Many hospitality studies emphasise the complex nature of the restaurant sector, thereby
identifying key challenges that restaurateurs face (Chen and Elston, 2013; Duarte Alonso
and O’Neill, 2009; Parsa et al., 2015). Issues such as competition, appropriate location,
revenue management, labour costs, high turnover or red tape threaten the long-term
sustainability of restaurant businesses. In response, some restaurateurs seek to leverage
this complexity, identifying opportunity costs, increasing their knowledge and
preparedness (Duarte Alonso and Krajsic, 2014) or benchmarking to achieve consistent
financial performance (Hua and Lee, 2014).
Over the years, the hospitality literature has significantly focused on North American
and Asia-Pacific regions (Brewster, 2015; Chen et al., 2015). In contrast, and largely, the
restaurant sector in other areas or continents, including in South America, has received
scant attention from contemporary hospitality management research. One of the few
academic investigations conducted in South America to date (Medeiros et al., 2012)
studied human resource processes, with an emphasis on food safety among Brazilian
restaurants. Medeiros et al. (2012) noticed a positive impact of human resource processes
on food safety. A second study (da Silva and Ferreira, 2012) attempted to determine the
significance of different attributes at restaurants among Brazilian visually impaired
restaurant patrons, whereas a third (Erazo et al., 2010) examined second-hand tobacco
smoke in Chilean restaurants.
With over 415 million inhabitants (United Nations, 2015), this South American
continent showcases numerous culinary traditions, critical mass in the number of existing
restaurants, providing employment to millions of citizens. Studying operations in this
continent could therefore provide valuable knowledge to restaurant operators, their
sector, consumers or government stakeholders.
This study makes an important contribution to the limited academic literature on
South/Latin American restaurant entrepreneurship, focusing on a sample of restaurateurs
operating a-la-carte restaurants in Montevideo, Uruguay, a country of 3.4 million
inhabitants (World Bank, 2015). Virtually unnoticed in academic publications in terms of
its restaurant sector, Uruguay has a rich gastronomic heritage, strongly influenced by
waves of earlier immigrant groups.
Estimations suggest that 60% of Uruguay’s population has Spanish, and 40% Italian
ancestors (Arocena, 2009). Not surprisingly, Italian food is ingrained in the local
gastronomy (Arocena, 2009). Barbeque (‘asado’) is Uruguay’s most popular dish (Finzer,
2006), and the country is among the world’s top beef meat exporters (US Meat Export
Federation, 2014). Furthermore, with 1.38 million residents (National Institute of
Statistics, 2015), Montevideo, the capital, boasts a large number of restaurants, with the
travel website TripAdvisor listing over 600.
Essentially, the study will address the following overarching research question:
What are the contemporary issues affecting Montevideo’s restaurant sector,
particularly issues contributing to its complexity? This question is broken down into
various sub-questions.
First, to what extent has the local restaurant sector become more affected by
Technology?
Globalisation?
The speed of change?
Second, regarding change.
 Complexity, change and the restaurant business 353

What have been the most significant changes that have occurred in the local
restaurant sector?
To what extent have consumers changed regarding various aspects of the restaurant
experience, including the way they pay, or make reservations?
Third, what are the main challenges confronting the local restaurant sector?
Fourth, what are restaurateurs’ perceptions regarding future improvements needed in
their sector?
The study also investigates the potential differences in responses based on
demographic characteristics, including participants’ age/gender group and the size of the
restaurant.
As previously suggested, the examination of the above questions could result in
various positive contributions. For example, new information emerging from the answers
to the research questions above could provide relevant insights of contemporary
developments in the studied restaurant sector. In addition, some of the sector’s
stakeholders, particularly restaurateurs and restaurant associations, will benefit from
these findings. For instance, they could make more informed decisions with regard to
consumers’ demands, needs and wants, or concerning technological developments or new
trends. The findings will also contribute to narrowing a knowledge gap in the academic
literature, that is, the dearth of academic research on South American restaurateurs. The
study also makes a valuable theoretical contribution, adopting complexity theory (Levy
and Lichtenstein, 2011; Tetenbaum, 1998). This adoption could encourage more rigorous
reflections, and enhance the understanding of contemporary issues in the restaurant
sector, particularly their complexity and resulting implications.

2 Literature review

2.1 Complexity theory

The many associations between contemporary issues affecting the restaurant sector and
the element of complexity highlight the significance and usefulness of adopting CT in
this study. Several key contributions are identified in the development of this theory,
particularly the work of Tetenbaum (1998). This author explains that CT is a ‘spinoff’ of
chaos theory (Stacey, 1992). The ‘biological model’ of chaos theory considers
organisations as self-organising, living systems, self-adaptive and complex (Tetenbaum,
1998). CT contends that relationships in complex systems, including organisations, are
‘nonlinear’ and made of branching choices and interconnections (Tetenbaum, 1998).
Together, these elements contribute to unpredictability and ‘produce unintended
consequences’ (Tetenbaum, 1998, p.21). The theory is also associated with ‘emergence’,
or emergent phenomena appearing in various types of systems, including global/macro-
level, radical novelty, correlation/coherence, dynamical and ostensive (Goldstein, 1999).
Complexity theory also highlights “that self-organization is the natural default
behavior” (Coleman, 1999, p.34), and further underlines the significance of adaptation to
change. At a macro-level, CT helps explain why systems are difficult to forecast and
understand, let alone manage and control (Levy and Lichtenstein, 2011). This difficulty is
partly illustrated by Tetenbaum’s (1998) argument that, in contrast to the past, in the 21st
354 A. Duarte Alonso and S. Mariani

century, many organisations must contend with the following six major characteristics
affecting their environment:
Technology has had significant implications for humanity and businesses, increasing
consumer power, productivity, efficiency or speed of production (Tetenbaum, 1998).
Furthermore, growing interconnectedness across the world is contributing to more
changes, as information technology has enabled innovative organisational responses, and
new consumer demands to be communicated faster (Coleman, 1999). Trainor et al.
(2014), for instance, highlight the impact of customer-centric management systems and
social media technology in positively influencing firms’ customer relationship-related
performance.
Globalisation has contributed to a more interdependent world, increasing flow of
goods, money or information (Tetenbaum, 1998). However, globalisation processes also
present challenges to how business is conducted (Bond and O’Byrne, 2014), thus
increasing the level of complexity. For instance, the growth of large emerging economies
poses dilemmas to those already developed, particularly “how they can sustain
themselves with increased global competition and pressure” (Bond and O’Byrne, 2014,
p.31).
Competition has been affected by technology and globalisation, and has resulted in
fierce struggle for market share among businesses (Tetenbaum, 1998). As a way of
illustration, Western firms seeking business in emerging economies often compete with
host firms that are recipients of their government’s political and financial support
(Bremmer, 2014).
Change: Tetenbaum (1998) explains that changes are discontinuous, and are taking
place “at a geometric rate” (p.23). Consequently, there is a demand for organisations to
be sufficiently responsive, and “instantly reconfigurable to meet new demands”
(Tetenbaum, 1998, p.23). In this context, Dau (2016) emphasises the importance for
firms to acquire internationalisation, business or institutional knowledge to enhance their
level of responsiveness to changes and institutional processes.
Speed is illustrated in the very rapid pace of technological developments, for instance,
with some firms being able to reduce product life cycles (Tetenbaum, 1998). Regarding
this characteristic, Nylén and Holmström (2015) argue that, because of the fast speed of
digital innovation processes, “current forms of organizing innovation work need to be
transformed” (p.63).
Complexity and paradox: The interconnectedness of the five characteristics above
contributes to the more complex nature of people’s existence, with conflicting conditions
or choices (Tetenbaum, 1998). A similar argument could be made in regard to businesses,
their industry and the environment in which they operate.

2.2 Complexity and the restaurant sector

Very few studies have adopted CT to investigate the restaurant sector, with one of them
(Duarte Alonso and Krajsic, 2014) focusing on restaurant operators in Sydney, Australia.
The study’s findings confirmed areas related to complexity and change, particularly
raising food costs, utilities and rent. Participants perceived that, together, these changes
led to the increasingly complex nature of the restaurant sector (Duarte Alonso and
Krajsic, 2014).
Despite the marginal adoption of CT, numerous academic studies have presented the
element of complexity within the restaurant sector, or even some of the characteristics
 Complexity, change and the restaurant business 355

highlighted by Tetenbaum (1998). For instance, competition has been addressed in a

recent study (Lin et al., 2015). Moreover, given the growing competitiveness within the
sector, restaurateurs need to be strongly customer focused, identifying customers’ needs
to achieve satisfaction or loyalty (Barber et al., 2011). However, addressing these areas
can be a complex process, which requires restaurateurs’ understanding of various quality
dimensions that customers consider most important (Barber et al., 2011), and investing in
such resources as staff training. Image differentiation in response to competition is also
vital to restaurants’ survival; this process demands managing a distinct and consistent
image (Ryu et al., 2012).
Another element adding complexity is the intensive technological changes or
innovation processes, for instance, in many restaurant kitchens (Hjalager, 2010). In
discussing innovation in food service technology equipment, Rogers (2007) refers to
‘defensive’ innovation to explain the significance of better and faster preparations
methods, labour and energy savings or less waste. Despite these potentially beneficial
developments, Rogers (2007) also acknowledges that only seldom do restaurants and
cafes differentiate themselves “through novel technologies in food preparation” (p.902).
However, the need to maintain customers’ interest prompts some restaurateurs to make
steady improvements, focusing on ‘innovation by trial’ (Rogers, 2007).
The social media phenomenon is also significantly affecting the hospitality industry.
In the USA, for instance, social media has become a key vehicle for promotion and
advertising (Kim et al., 2015). However, there is an element of complexity in managing
this phenomenon. In fact, a study conducted among small wineries (Duarte Alonso and
Bressan, 2013) identified limited time and limited human resources as key challenges to
engage in social media. The complexity of this phenomenon is also evident in relation to
customer relationship management (Malthouse et al., 2013), with lack of qualified
manpower and control over message diffusion being the key challenges preventing
stronger involvement. Online reservations, while potentially positive for restaurants, also
entail a degree of complexity for restaurateurs. Moreover, this process demands from
restaurateurs to rethink how they manage their operations, especially as they may
transition from full control over table inventory and distribution (Kimes, 2011) to more
unknown territory.
Regulatory changes, such as smoking bans in hospitality establishments (Pieroni
et al., 2013) further underline the increasing complexity of the hospitality industry, in
particular, through proper and careful compliance, execution and monitoring. Finally, in
an organisational context, Guillet et al. (2013) identify complexity when they compare
the larger diversity of activities in full-versus limited-service restaurants. Indeed, they
refer to earlier research (Kim et al., 2006) to argue that full-service restaurant operations
offer a wider range of menu options, higher quality, and “higher levels of service”
(p.340).

3 Methods

In adopting CT, this exploratory study fundamentally focuses on complexity and change
within the restaurant sector and ways to improve their sector from the perspective of
Uruguayan restaurateurs operating in the capital city of Montevideo. To collect data
among these restaurateurs, several alternatives were considered. Initially, three in-depth,
face-to-face interviews with three restaurateurs operating in the local restaurant sector for
356 A. Duarte Alonso and S. Mariani

over 5 years were conducted in December 2014. This preliminary process helped inform
the research in several ways.
First, key broad issues affecting the local hospitality industry were identified. Second,
the process helped assess the practicality of conducting a fully qualitative study based on
in-depth, face-to-face interviews and site visits. Moreover, collecting data during the
summer season, which runs from December through the end of February, was confirmed
as the main barrier. This challenge was aggravated by the small size of the research team,
with limited resources to locate, travel and interview restaurateurs scattered across the
city. All these issues combined led to the decision to collect data via an online
questionnaire as the most appropriate method; this decision is also in line with earlier
hospitality research (Jun et al., 2014). Third, upon making this decision, the expertise of
the three participants was invaluable in developing and testing the questionnaire tool to
be employed.
At the same time, the knowledge of the local restaurant sector by one of the authors
allowed for compiling the email addresses of 200 a-la-carte restaurants. These businesses
were contacted in March of 2015; this time of the year was chosen as it coincided with
the end of the summer season. The individual email message sent to the attention of the
restaurant owner/manager explained the objectives of the study, and encouraged business
owners and managers to complete the online questionnaire by following a URL link
indicated in the email message.
As many as 12 messages were returned undelivered during the early contact stages;
these restaurants were no longer contacted. Thus, in total, 188 restaurants were contacted.
The questionnaire was divided in various sections. Samples of the hospitality literature
discussing restaurant and revenue management (Duarte Alonso and Krajsic, 2014; Duarte
Alonso and O’Neill, 2009; Hua and Lee, 2014; Parsa et al., 2011) and CT literature
(Tetenbaum, 1998) were consulted while designing the questionnaire content.
One section of the questionnaire focused on various demographic characteristics,
such as age, gender, time since participants have worked at the restaurant and time since
the restaurant had been established. Another section asked participants to indicate their
level of agreement with regard to questions pertaining to various characteristics of CT,
including the extent to which technology, globalisation, speed and change had affected
their industry. These questions were separated to allow for participants’ written/typed
comments. Competition within the restaurant sector is widely discussed by researchers
(Barber et al., 2011; Ryu et al., 2012). However, a decision was made not to include this
element as a stand-alone question in the questionnaire. Moreover, as the competition
element was expected to emerge from participants’ comments, other characteristics of CT
were given priority.
A third section investigated the perceived changes occurring in the restaurant sector;
this section was open-ended, and provided a comment box for participants to write/type.
A fourth section investigated the main challenges affecting the local restaurant sector; as
with changes, this element was also perceived to identify various degrees of complexity.
A final section gathered participants’ written/typed comments regarding any
improvements to be made in their restaurant sector, as ways to achieve sustainability.
Thus, the questionnaire was designed to gather both quantitative and qualitative data.
The questionnaire was available online between April and July of 2015; no incentives
were provided to potential participants. During this time, two reminder messages were
sent to restaurateurs 2 weeks apart. In total, 39 usable responses were obtained, a 20.7%
response rate. This modest percentage aligns with response rates of recent research that
 Complexity, change and the restaurant business 357

employed online questionnaires, namely, to study the demand (Thompson, 2015), and the
supply side (Jun et al., 2014).
The numerical data were exported into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS). Subsequently, independent samples t-tests were used to identify potential inter-
group differences between demographic variables and the scale items of the
questionnaire. Content analysis was used to identify themes and threads emerging from
the qualitative data (Table 1); the data management software NVivo (version 10) was
used to support this process. In the following sections, participants comments are labelled
as P1, P2 (Participant 1, Participant 2) and so forth.

Table 1 Perceived industry- and consumer-related changes

Perceived changes (industry-related)* n %

Consumer dimension
More demand for local food, new spices, fish, vegetables, complex dishes; 7 17.9
less demand for meat
Consumers are more knowledgeable, interested in gastronomy 5 12.8
Consumers are more demanding 4 10.3
People go out more to eat 3 7.7
Technology dimension
More online reservations, food delivery, social media to market, promote 9 23.1
the restaurant
Restaurant dimension
More professionalism, more education among restaurateurs, more quality, 8 20.5
more personalised offer
More diversity of cuisines; more innovative (new) foods on offer 6 15.4
More competition, more establishments 3 7.7
Perceived changes (consumer-related)**
Measured items n Mean Standard
deviation
More demand for credit card payments 39 4.51 0.721
Stronger demand for higher product quality (food/dishes) 39 4.28 0.759
Stronger demand for higher service quality (customer service) 39 4.26 0.677
An increase in online reservations (e.g. using the restaurant’s 39 3.62 0.747
website)
A tendency to consume/demand more vegetable dishes (less meat 39 3.38 0.847
dishes)
More awareness of the origin of the food products (e.g. ‘greener’ 39 3.33 0.927
products, products grown in environmentally friendlier ways)
More interest/demand for ‘fusion’ foods 39 3.15 1.014
More interest/demand of local products (Uruguayan products) 39 3.10 0.940
More interest in learning about the place where the food products 39 2.95 1.099
were grown (e.g. in Uruguay)
*In 10 cases, more than one answer was provided; percentages are calculated out of 39 participants
**Using a scale, where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree
358 A. Duarte Alonso and S. Mariani

3.1 Participants’ demographic information

Most participants indicated a significant level of experience in the restaurant sector, with
67% having worked six or more years, and over half (56%) for four or more years at the
restaurant (Table 2). Nearly, 90% of the participating restaurants employed fewer than 20
employees; thus, these operations fit the small business category in Uruguay (Gatto,
1999). A similar split was noticed between age groups and genders; those participants 36
years of age and older represented 62% of participants, and males 67%.

Table 2 Participants’ demographic characteristics

Characteristics n %
Years working in the restaurant sector
Less than 1 year 0 0.0
Between 1 and 3 years 6 15.4
Between 4 and 5 years 7 17.9
Between 6 and 10 years 5 12.8
11 years or more 21 53.8
Years working at the restaurant
Less than 1 year 5 12.8
Between 1 and 3 years 12 30.8
Between 4 and 5 years 9 23.1
Between 6 and 10 years 5 12.8
11 years or more 8 20.5
Number of employees
No employees 0 0.0
Between 1 and 4 9 23.1
Between 5 and 10 13 33.3
Between 11 and 19 12 30.8
20 and more employees 5 12.9
Respondents’ age group
Between 18 and 25 years 1 2.6
Between 26 and 35 years 14 35.9
Between 36 and 45 years 17 43.6
46 years of age or older 7 18.0
Gender
Male 26 66.7
Female 13 33.3
 Complexity, change and the restaurant business 359

4 Results

4.1 Complexity and the restaurant sector

Given the exploratory nature of the study, and in the absence of previous literature to use
as a reference, restaurateurs were asked separate questions regarding aspects related to
CT; in this process, a Likert-type scale was used, where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 =
strongly agree. For example, asked about the extent to which globalisation had affected
the local restaurant sector, participants’ response was near the level agreement of 4.00
(mean = 3.74). Similarly, a mean of 3.92 was revealed when they queried of the extent to
which technology had affected the local restaurant sector.
Various verbatim comments further emphasised the element of complexity. P1, for
instance, underlined the limitations of the business in terms of size: Small businesses such
as ours demand owners to be involved 100% in the elaboration of products and customer
service… The costs to have consulting or advice in marketing, promotion, technology
usage, or courses to update are very difficult to sustain by the small business…. P1 also
referred to the impact of technology on the business: …we use technology to access
information of new trends in the local gastronomy, and we analyse it. In addition, P2
identified complexity in the form of barriers preventing engagement in innovation:
Unfortunately, because of the potentially significant investment, these [innovation-
related] aspects always remain in the back burner, though some minor investments are
made.
A mean near level of agreement (3.79) emerged when participants were asked to rank
the extent to which they perceived the local restaurant sector to have become more
complex. In this area, one comment (P3) clearly underlined the barriers some
restaurateurs faced, and that represented complexity: the tax burden, added to the
continuous complexity in completing paperwork at the local council...
The initial face-to-face interviews also identified various aspects of complexity.
Moreover, the three restaurateurs interviewed mentioned increasing competition, with
more restaurants, and a large variety of restaurant themes catering for a consumer market
of similar size. In line with P3’s comments, the interviewees also indicated institutional
barriers, with taxation and increasing regulation of their industry significantly affecting
their business. Another participant (online questionnaire, P4) highlighted a different form
of complexity, with implications for operators: There is more demand for local products
and with greater complexity in their elaboration.
Finally, asked about the extent to which changes occurring in the local restaurant
sector were fast, the resulting mean (3.21) suggests a rather marginal perception of such
speed of change. Furthermore, no statistically significant differences were noticed
between the different groups and the four characteristics the Likert-type scales measured.

4.2 Main changes in the industry

An open-ended question sought to capture participants’ perceptions of the various types
of changes occurring in the local restaurant sector. Table 1 shows the most noticeable
threads identified through content analysis. The technology dimension, clearly associated
with CT, emerged as the most prominent, with online reservations, and the impact of
social media being of particular importance among participants.
360 A. Duarte Alonso and S. Mariani

Concerning online reservations, while there are potential advantages of this medium in
terms of speed and convenience, Kimes (2011) emphasises the complexity for
restaurateurs in controlling the distribution of their inventory, as they may have been able
to do in the age of telephone reservations and walk-in customers. With regard to social
media, Kim et al. (2016) suggest the importance for restaurateurs to encourage patrons to
share their dining experiences and feelings in prominent social media sites to generate
‘buzz’, and to learn from potential customers. Nevertheless, as P5, for instance,
recognised, social media has also increased the level of complexity in the way some
restaurateurs operate: Our restaurant brand is over-exposed in the social media
environment; there is a certain level of impunity, with some people making baseless
accusations and criticisms.
Furthermore, the findings revealed the increasing diversity in preferences among
consumers, as well as demands, knowledge, interest and tendency to eat out more (Table
1); these findings are in alignment with contemporary research. First, these findings are
associated with variety seeking, defined in the context of culinary diversity as tendencies
among consumers in their choices of cuisines and associated experiences (Beldona et al.,
2010). Second, an alignment is also suggested concerning the argument that restaurant
consumers have become food-savvier (Namkung and Jang, 2008).
According to Namkung and Jang (2008), in order to compete effectively, restaurants
must provide “tasty food above customer standards” (p.151). These elements represent
opportunities as well as intensified complexity for restaurateurs, for example, in terms of
the resources needed when seeking to address consumer expectations, and successfully
competing with many other restaurants. In line with these findings, in a recent study
measuring factors of overall satisfaction in a buffet-type restaurant operation,
Ramanathan et al. (2016) found that, among various key factors, food quality was the
most influential in positively influencing customer satisfaction.
The characteristic of complexity was also evident in the responses indicating
increasing competition within the local restaurant environment (Table 1). In addition,
while in general there was recognition that the quality of the food on offer has improved,
concerns were articulated regarding the challenge of educating consumers (P6): When
you offer something more elaborated or complex, people immediately ask what it is. If the
meal contains a new ingredient that they never eat, consumers will reject it without even
trying… We have to work a lot with our patrons to convince them to try new dishes;
generally, when they do, they like them…

4.3 Consumer-related changes

Apart from providing an open-ended question to elicit comments of changes occurring in
the restaurant sector, another section of the questionnaire investigated complexity from a
different angle, asking participants the following question: To what extent have
consumers changed regarding various aspects of the restaurant experience? Again, using
a Likert-type scale, various items were provided for participants to indicate their level of
agreement (Table 1). Some of the mean scores were associated with comments
previously gathered among restaurateurs. For example, the mean illustrating demand for
higher-quality products illustrates clear agreement (4.28), and, although to a lower extent,
technology (online reservations, mean = 3.62) also appeared to be a factor of significance
among consumers.
 Complexity, change and the restaurant business 361

Observations conducted during the interview process revealed that, for such reasons
as extensive time to cash in revenues made through credit card sales, and additional
taxation, many restaurateurs did not accept credit card payments. Concerning this issue,
P7 explained, Restaurants lose 4.5% when collecting payments made by credit card, and
the government retains another portion. When we need to make payments, there is less
liquidity… The fact that more consumers demand this payment option presents a degree
of complexity among restaurateurs, particularly in terms of
(a) Deciding to adopt this more habitual payment method.
(b) Learning new technologies associated with this form of payment
(c) Making the needed investments, such as financial, or in terms of time to incorporate
such payment alternative.
Stronger demands for higher product and service quality also illustrated the level of
complexity for restaurateurs to achieve and/or maintain consistency of these vital factors.
Indeed, their importance for hospitality operations has been highlighted in the academic
literature (e.g. Lee et al., 2016; Rauch et al., 2015). Dedeoğlu and Demirer’s (2015), for
instance, found inconsistencies between the perceived level of service received by guests,
and that provided by employees and managers. In a hospitality environment, such gaps
could have very detrimental implications, including the failure to make vital
improvements to change customer perceptions, and resulting poorer competitive
advantage because of low customer satisfaction and loyalty (Dedeoğlu and Demirer,
2015).
In contrast, while comments pointed at increasing demands for ‘healthier’ foods or
dishes, the resulting means suggest that, overall, the level of importance of this dimension
was modest. Moreover, participants did not perceive a significant demand for local
products, or learning about the origin of the ingredients and products. According to news
and government reports (Davies, 2014; INAC, 2015), Uruguay has a traceability system
of its beef meat industry unique in the world. Based on the findings, such system did not
appear to have translated into consumer interest or knowledge to date. However, if such
technologically ground-breaking system could be promoted in terms of its competitive
advantage, it could have significant implications for the restaurant sector. In particular,
the system could enhance consumers’ perceptions of quality, and increased consumption
or demand for Uruguayan beef both locally and overseas.
When a reliability test of all the scaled items was conducted, a Cronbach’s alpha of
0.807 was revealed. Subsequently, to identify any potential inter-group differences
between demographic variables and the items presented in Table 1, independent samples
t-test was run. Several statistically significant differences emerged (Table 3). In all cases,
those participants working for fewer years in the restaurant sector and the participating
restaurant agreed more than their more experienced counterparts did with a number of
aspects. The most noticeable differences were in regard to higher service and product
quality. Participants less experienced in the restaurant sector were seemingly much more
aware of increasing consumer demands. At the same time, the finding suggests that the
more experienced restaurateurs may have observed increasing consumer demands for
over a longer period of time, and therefore may be more familiar or more used to such
demands.
362 A. Duarte Alonso and S. Mariani

Table 3 Inter-group comparisons - perceived consumer-related changes

Measured items Group n Mean Standard deviation Sig.

Stronger demand for higher YRI1* 13 4.77 0.439 0.001
service quality (customer YRI2 26 4.00 0.632
service)
More interest in learning YRI1 13 3.69 0.947 0.002
about the place where the YRI2 26 2.58 0.987
food products were grown
(e.g. in Uruguay)
Stronger demand for higher YRI1 13 4.69 0.480 0.015
product quality YRI2 26 4.08 0.796
(food/dishes)
More awareness of the YRI1 13 3.77 0.832 0.036
origin of the food products YRI2 26 3.12 0.909
(e.g. ‘greener’ products,
products grown in
environmentally friendlier
ways)
Stronger demand for higher YWR1** 17 4.59 0.507 0.005
service quality (customer YWR2 22 4.00 0.690
service)
More interest/demand for YWR1 17 3.59 0.870 0.017
‘fusion’ foods YWR2 22 2.82 1.006
More interest in learning YWR1 17 3.41 1.228 0.019
about the place where the YWR2 22 2.59 0.854
food products were grown
(e.g. in Uruguay)
Stronger demand for higher YWR1 17 4.59 0.618 0.025
product quality YWR2 22 4.05 0.785
(food/dishes)

YRI1*: 5 years or less in the restaurant sector; YRI2: 6 years or more in the restaurant
sector; YWR1*: 3 years or less working at the restaurant; YWR2: 4 years or more
working at the restaurant. Using independent samples t-tests

4.4 Perceived main challenges affecting the restaurant sector

A further section of the study examined participants’ perceptions of the main challenges
affecting the local restaurant sector. Similar to other sections, a list of scaled items was
provided; Table 4 illustrates the mean scores. All these items were close to or above
the level of agreement (mean = 4.00), and clearly illustrate various degrees of complexity
in restaurant management. Indeed, even the last ranked item, location, is identified in
the literature as a key element contributing to the success of a restaurant (Parsa et al.,
2011).
 Complexity, change and the restaurant business 363

Table 4 Perceived challenges and ways to improve Montevideo’s restaurant sector

Perceived challenges - measured items* n Mean Standard deviation

Restaurateurs’ unrealistic expectations regarding the 39 4.31 0.800
industry, such as earning high revenues, low costs
Lack of an in-depth knowledge of the revenue-cost 39 4.05 0.759
relationship
Lack of prioritising customer service quality over 39 4.00 0.795
other aspects of the restaurant
A general inefficiency/incompetency in managing the 39 3.95 0.826
operation
A general lack of experience in managing the 39 3.95 0.686
restaurant
Lack of prioritising product quality (i.e. meals) over 39 3.92 0.839
other aspects of the restaurant
Poor choice of location for the restaurant 39 3.74 0.938
Ways to improve the industry - main perceptions** n %
Government related
The need to pay less tax/utilities 15 38.5
More support for small businesses (restaurants) 3 7.7
Less government intrusion, less bureaucracy 2 5.1
More controls (e.g. of illegally operating establishments) to 2 5.1
lessen unfair competition
Restaurateur - industry related
Improve quality of product/service 8 20.5
Professionalise/increase the professionalisation of the local 8 20.5
restaurant sector
Increase training opportunities for staff/young people 6 15.4
entering the restaurant sector
Disseminate information of the local gastronomic culture, the 5 12.8
‘Uruguay’ brand, diversify culinary offerings, educate
consumers
*Using a scale, where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree
**In 13 cases, more than one answer was provided; percentages were calculated out of 39
participants

A reliability test resulting in a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.724 was followed by running

independent samples t-test. A statistically significant difference was first noticed, with
participants with six or more years of experience in their sector agreeing more (mean =
4.54) than those with five or fewer years (mean = 3.85) with ‘Unrealistic expectations
regarding the industry…’ (p < 0.05). Again, in this case, the experienced restaurateurs
may have noticed such characteristic among industry entrants in the past, as opposed to
less experienced participants.
364 A. Duarte Alonso and S. Mariani

Second, aligned with this last finding, participants aged 36 years or above agreed
more (mean = 4.67) than those 35 years of age or younger (mean = 3.73) regarding the
same item (p < 0.001). Third, participants who have worked fewer years at the restaurant
(mean = 4.29) agreed more than those who have worked four or more years (mean =
3.64) with ‘Lack of prioritising product quality (i.e. meals) over other aspects of the
restaurant’ (p < 0.05). The less experienced participants, having entered their sector more
recently, may be more critical of the existing standards, as opposed to those more
experienced, who may have more positive perceptions about their own performance, or
overall, may have noticed positive changes over the years. Finally, male participants
agreed more (mean = 4.19) than their female counterparts (mean = 3.46) with the item ‘A
general inefficiency/incompetency in managing the operation’ (p < 0.01).

4.5 Perceived future needed improvements

An open-ended question gathered restaurateurs’ perceptions regarding future
improvements needed in their sector; content analysis identified the most recurring
themes (Table 4). Taxes and utility fees appeared to pose a serious burden to participants.
While restaurateurs cannot control this aspect, improving the quality of product/service
standards, the need to continue raising the sector’s professional standards and increasing
training opportunities - all controllable aspects - emerged as the most significant. These
comments align with earlier research (Pratten and O’Leary, 2007), which concludes that
hospitality employers should be involved in training processes, namely, through
schooling, or on-the-job training. Such involvement could help close existing skill gaps,
and have positive impacts on staff retention, and enhance the profession’s image (Pratten
and O’Leary, 2007).
Other comments highlighted the existing complexity for the local restaurant sector, in
making needed improvements. P4, for instance, referred to the current skill shortage, and
subsequent implications for restaurateurs: …the chronic and massive lack of skilled
labour is exacerbated by the current ‘bonanza’ in the restaurant sector [with employees
going] after higher salaries, resulting in people changing jobs almost on a continuous
basis, with little/no loyalty toward the employer. In contrast, P10 stated, “Many
restaurateurs do not look after the welfare of their staff; they do not pay for overtime,
double payment for working during bank holidays, or for working late hours…
unfortunately, no one does anything about it: neither the affected nor the beneficiaries.
Related to this last comment, a study investigating supply and demand among chefs and
cooks (Robinson et al., 2010) highlights the need for the hospitality industry to become
more “serious about retaining its current labour pool” (p.495).
The competitive nature of the local restaurant sector, as well as the unprofessional
attitude of some restaurateurs entering the industry confirmed part of the results (Table
4), and also became evident in some comments (P11): New entrants should be aware that
this industry is not just for people who have a bit of money and would like to experiment.
When this happens, there is a fragmentation of the consumer market in an already very
small local restaurant sector. Due to the resulting increase- and almost simultaneous
openings and closures of restaurants, consumer confidence in the sector is inevitably
affected.
 Complexity, change and the restaurant business 365

6 Conclusion

This exploratory study made several important contributions to the hospitality

management and entrepreneurship literature, first, addressing knowledge gaps of the
restaurant sector, and second, also extending current theoretical knowledge. More
precisely, the study examined complexity in this sector, gathering the perspectives of
restaurateurs operating a-la-carte restaurants. Furthermore, the study adopted CT as the
theoretical framework, focusing on various characteristics, including globalisation,
technology, speed, change and complexity. In addition, the research focused on
restaurateurs operating in Uruguay. To date, restaurant research in this vast continent is
still very limited.
In all, 39 restaurateurs participated in the study; this number was complemented by
three preliminary, in-depth, face-to-face interviews with experienced restaurateurs.
Overall, the majority of the characteristics highlighted by Tetenbaum (1998) emerged
as significant, underscoring the value of CT as a lens through which the restaurant sector
can be examined. Indeed, resulting means from scales measuring different characteristics
of CT were close to the level agreement (4.00), including concerning globalisation,
technology and complexity, while a fourth (speed of change) was found to be rather
marginal. However, five characteristics emerged through the comments participants
provided. In fact, globalisation was identified in the form of new food offerings;
technology in the emergence of social media and online reservations; competition was
emphasised in the increasing number and variation of restaurant offers; finally, change
was illustrated in consumer trends. Furthermore, complexity became obvious in all the
previous four characteristics identified, as well as through the perceived challenges the
local restaurant sector faces. These perceptions include lack of professionalism, skills
shortages, restaurateurs’ unrealistic expectations, lack of revenue management skills or
need for training and enhancing the image of the industry. The findings also identified
various statistically significant differences, particularly based on years working in the
restaurant sector, or at the participating restaurant.

6.1 Implications
Several practical and theoretical implications emerged from the study. For example,
characteristics such as technology, globalisation, changes and competition clearly suggest
the need for restaurateurs to examine their environment constantly. This need is
fundamentally based on the potential complexity resulting from new trends, consumer
behavioural changes, and overall, from new demands that render their sector very
complex, or even unpredictable. Indeed, based on the literature discussing CT and
systems (Levy and Lichtenstein, 2011), these characteristics contribute to difficulties in
understanding, forecasting and controlling systems, which, in context of the present
study, are interpreted as the restaurant environment. Therefore, from a practical
perspective, keeping abreast of changes and complexities could help restaurateurs to
match or excel against competitors in an increasingly challenging restaurant sector.
Coleman (1999) refers to this adaptation process as self-organising, or ‘default
behaviour’, while Tetenbaum (1998) posits that organisations need to be responsive.
Although clearly not a panacea or a way to solve all challenges, self-organising and
responsiveness could include increased use of technological developments, which would
provide fast communication and information gathering to restaurateurs’ advantage, for
366 A. Duarte Alonso and S. Mariani

instance, in terms of payments, website/social media promotion or learning new trends in

consumption, or even new legislation. Self-organising and responsiveness were also
apparent in some restaurateurs’ comments regarding the need to train and educate future
restaurant employees and restaurateurs, as well as consumers. Thus, from a theoretical
angle, CT provides an organised, structured and rigorous means to facilitate reflection
that transcends theoretical underpinnings. Moreover, in this research, CT served as a link
between theory and practice, and contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of
contemporary issues affecting the restaurant sector.

6.2 Limitations and future research

The modest number of respondents from those contacted (39/188) is a fundamental
limitation of the present study. A second limitation is that the study only focused on
restaurants operating in one city (Montevideo), which did not allow for countrywide
comparisons. Third, the time in which the study was conducted, end of summer,
prevented from making comparisons based on the season or time of the year.
Furthermore, only a-la-carte restaurants were contacted in this study; as a result, other
restaurants operating in more informal business settings, such as those only open during
day time, or fast-food outlets, were omitted. Consequently, no comparisons across
restaurant types were made. Finally, the study was conducted only in one country, and
therefore, the analysis does not include comparisons with restaurants in other countries in
the region concerning the areas under investigation.
These acknowledged limitations, as well as the contributions resulting from the
findings, provide significant scope for future research to consider. For example, future
research could expand from this study’s findings, seeking a larger number of participants.
Achieving these objectives could make substantial contributions to practical and
theoretical knowledge, while at the same time narrowing knowledge gaps concerning the
dearth of research on South America’s restaurant sector. Furthermore, future research
investigating complexity in the restaurant sector could provide up-to-date information to
restaurant operators, their sector and other stakeholders, including chambers of
commerce, business associations, government agencies involved in enterprise/firm
development and the research community.
Similarly, future studies could examine the restaurant sector in neighbouring
countries, where gastronomy is also a key cultural asset, and eating out popular, thus,
allowing for cross-country comparisons. Furthermore, gathering data across different
times of the year, across different restaurant types, and in more than one city could add
value and insights. Lastly, the further adoption and refinement of CT in the context of the
restaurant sector could help enhance the understanding of practitioners and academics
regarding the complexities of contemporary restaurant management/entrepreneurship.

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