Eating out : a constructionist take on understanding a consumption phenomenon

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to understand the processes that occur before eating out at a restaurant or a café, in order to shed more light on the complexities of consumption behaviour. The dissertation utilizes symbolic interactionism and other social constructionist theories to understand how participants in three different focus groups make sense of processes prior to eating out and the meanings associated within these processes. Three themes of discussion were prominent during the discussions, and the findings reveal an emergent pattern of processes the participants expressed with each other. Processes that have emerged seem to depend on other processes, which sheds light on reasons behind consumption behaviour and motivation. Also, other/internal-perspectives emerged based on the language the participants used reveal the construction of their reality toward the subject of eating out, and thus, could be helpful to consider when studying other consumption phenomenon.