Skip to main content

Namkung Young

Kyung Hee University · Social Sciences

About the Lab

Professor Namkung Young's research lab specializes in consumer behavior and service management within the hospitality and restaurant industries, with a strong focus on food quality, service fairness, customer satisfaction, and sustainable practices. The lab investigates key drivers of customer loyalty, behavioral intentions, and brand equity through empirical studies using advanced statistical methods such as structural equation modeling and logistic regression. Recent work also explores the role of digital marketing—particularly Instagram—in shaping brand perception and consumer engagement. The lab’s research bridges theoretical insights with practical applications to enhance service quality and sustainability in the foodservice sector.

restaurant service qualitycustomer satisfactiongreen practicesbrand equityservice fairness

Research Overview

Papers
140
Total Citations
5,015
Papers (5y)
28
Primary Field
Social Sciences

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
28total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
172total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|1,025 citations·2008
Perceived quality, emotions, and behavioral intentions: Application of an extended Mehrabian–Russell model to restaurants
SooCheong Jang, Young Namkung
SJR Q1Journal of Business Research
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
2
Article|896 citations·2007
Does Food Quality Really Matter in Restaurants? Its Impact On Customer Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions
Young Namkung, SooCheong Jang
SJR Q1Journal of Hospitality & Tourism ResearchOA

Food quality seems to be accepted as a fundamental component to satisfy restaurant customers; however, it has been often overlooked in restaurant service quality and satisfaction studies. The primary objective of this study was to investigate how food quality is perceived in relation to satisfaction and behavioral intentions in mid- to upscale restaurants. This study also attempted to identify which attributes among food-related qualities are critical in improving satisfaction and heightening re

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
3
Article|311 citations·2008
Are highly satisfied restaurant customers really different? A quality perception perspective
Young Namkung, SooCheong Jang
SJR Q1International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

Purpose This study aims to identify key quality attributes that significantly distinguish highly satisfied diners from non‐highly satisfied diners. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from four mid‐to‐upper scale restaurants: two in a mid‐western city and two in an eastern city in the USA. Logistic regression was used to determine which quality attributes are critical in distinguishing highly satisfied diners from other diners. Findings This study shows that appealing food presentati

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
4
Article|305 citations·2018
The information quality and source credibility matter in customers’ evaluation toward food O2O commerce
Jee-Won Kang, Young Namkung
SJR Q1International Journal of Hospitality Management
Sociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
5
Article|289 citations·2012
Effects of restaurant green practices on brand equity formation: Do green practices really matter?
Young Namkung, SooCheong Jang
SJR Q1International Journal of Hospitality Management
MarketingBusiness, Management and Accounting
6
Article|240 citations·2014
Are Consumers Willing to Pay more for Green Practices at Restaurants?
Young Namkung, SooCheong Jang
SJR Q1Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research

This study examines customers’ willingness to pay more for green practices in restaurants using hypothetical scenarios. The objective of this study is to investigate the characteristics of consumers with a higher willingness to pay more and examine the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of green brand image and their willingness to pay more for a restaurant’s green practices. A total of 334 responses showed that more than two-thirds of restaurant customers would be willing to pay extra

MarketingBusiness, Management and Accounting
7
Article|222 citations·2010
Effects of perceived service fairness on emotions, and behavioral intentions in restaurants
Young Namkung, Soo Cheong Jang
SJR Q1European Journal of Marketing

Purpose This study aims to investigate interrelationships among perceived service fairness, emotions and behavioral intentions in a restaurant context. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from two casual dining restaurants in the USA. The data were analyzed following Anderson and Gerbing's two‐step approach, utilizing both a measurement model and a subsequent structural model. Findings This study shows different roles for each fairness perception in relation to emotions and behaviora

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
8
Article|100 citations·2008
The effects of interactional fairness on satisfaction and behavioral intentions: Mature versus non-mature customers
Young Namkung, SooCheong Jang
SJR Q1International Journal of Hospitality Management
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
9
Article|88 citations·2010
Service Failures in Restaurants
Young Namkung, SooCheong Jang
SJR Q1Cornell Hospitality Quarterly

A multistage approach for restaurant service enables managers to determine and focus on the most critical stage of service failure to reduce customer dissatisfaction and defection. A survey of 491 diners in the United States assessed customer reaction to failures in the follow four service stages: (1) reception, (2) ordering, (3) meal consumption, and (4) checkout. The study found that in both casual dining and fine dining restaurants, service failure in stage 3 (consumption) most strongly dimin

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
10
Article|82 citations·2010
Customer complaints in restaurants: Do they differ by service stages and loyalty levels?
Young Namkung, Soo Cheong Jang, Soo-Keun Choi
SJR Q1International Journal of Hospitality Management
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
11
Article|72 citations·2022
The Effects of Instagram Marketing Activities on Customer-Based Brand Equity in the Coffee Industry
Cho-I Park, Young Namkung
SJR Q1SustainabilityOA

Instagram is used as an effective and visual marketing channel for building brand equity in the minds of consumers. Therefore, this study aims to classify Instagram marketing activities and analyze the associated effects on customer-based brand equity (brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, brand love, and Instagram re-usage intention) formation through Instagram marketing activities. To this end, data were collected from 358 coffee consumers who had visited any of the five coffee bran

Sociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
12
Article|41 citations·2007
Clients’ Safe Food-Handling Knowledge and Risk Behavior in a Home-Delivered Meal Program
Barbara Almanza, Young Namkung, Joseph A. Ismail, Douglas C. Nelson
Journal of the American Dietetic Association
Food ScienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences
13
Article|32 citations·2007
A Grounded Theory Approach to Understanding the Website Experiences of Restaurant Customers
Young Namkung, Seo-Young Shin, Il-Sun Yang
SJR Q2Journal of Foodservice Business Research

Abstract This study establishes coding paradigms for the process of visiting restaurant Websites in order to more fully understand the Website experience of restaurant customers. Applying grounded theory, based on Strauss (1987) coding paradigms of main context, causal condition, action/interaction strategies, intervening conditions, and consequences the study found “Website experience” and “Website usability” emerging as core categories of the main context. “The source of information,” “Website

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
14
Article|31 citations·2009
Identifying the underlying structure of perceived service fairness in restaurants
Young Namkung, SooCheong Jang, Barbara Almanza, Joe Ismail
SJR Q1International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

Purpose This paper aims to examine the applicability of fairness concepts as a lens for evaluating services in restaurants addressing service fairness issues within, as well as outside of, the service failure context. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected from two casual dining restaurants in the USA. In order to identify the underlying structure of perceived service fairness in restaurants, this study proposes and tests the fitness of two competing models – a traditional three‐factor m

Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting
15
Article|28 citations·2021
Instagram Users’ Information Acceptance Process for Food-Content
Hee-Min Lee, Jee-Won Kang, Young Namkung
SJR Q1SustainabilityOA

Taking pictures of food and sharing them on social networking services has now become a general consumer trend. In particular, many companies are interested in Instagram marketing due to the increase in users and word-of-mouth effect generated by using hashtags. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate Instagram users’ food-content acceptance processes by applying the information adoption model. Sample data for this study was collected by an online survey company and a total of 333 valid respon

Sociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences

Research Areas

Cultural StudiesMarketingOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementAerospace EngineeringSociology and Political ScienceNutrition and Dietetics

Dive deeper into Namkung Young's research on Nubint

Open this lab's papers in the app to read with AI, summarize, and cite in your writing.