Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhm Maturity and development of high-quality restaurant websites: A comparison of Michelin-starred restaurants in France, Italy and Spain Natalia Daries ⁎ , Eduard Cristobal-Fransi, Berta Ferrer-Rosell, Estela Marine-Roig Dept. Business Management, University of Lleida, C/Jaume II, 73, CP. 25001, Lleida, Spain ARTICLE INFO Keywords: eMICA Content analysis Michelin Guide Restaurants e-Marketing Gastronomy ABSTRACT High-quality restaurants have become key assets in the economies of many countries and are often considered attractors of tourism in themselves. Therefore, the aim of this study is to propose a model to evaluate the development and maturity of restaurant websites. The model consists of a progressive analysis of the restaurants’ websites, which starts with a content analysis, and continues with the application of the eMICA model to identify each website’s level of maturity. It finishes with a PCA integrating both methods. This model is applied to 980 Michelin-starred restaurants in France, Italy and Spain to determine whether their websites facilitate efficient communication and are adapted to e-commerce. Results show that website maturity and content development are positively related, and that the aforementioned restaurants are not taking advantage of the opportunities that the Internet offers, and show different progress depending on the country where they are located and the ca- tegory. 1. Introduction The emergence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in general and the Internet in particular has influenced the way companies are managed and compete, with the tourism industry being one of those most affected and where the adoption process has been more widespread (Dijkmans et al., 2015). One of the biggest impacts ICTs have had has been on how tourism companies distribute their products (Buhalis and Law, 2008; O’Connor and Frew, 2000). Consequently, and as a result of this new scenario, consumers are increasingly using the Internet as a source of information regarding tourism products and services, such as hotel reservations, car rental, flights or tourism packages (Cristobal-Fransi et al., 2013; Eurobarometer, 2016). At the same time, the proportion of accom- modation and travel contracted via the Internet is also increasing (Hua and Hua, 2016; Litvin et al., 2008). While ICT use has had a particular impact on innovation in the tourism sector, leading to new product research and development (Hjalager, 2010), it must be borne in mind that innovation is not only achieved by incorporating technology, but also by managing it correctly. At the level of tourism service user be- havior, individuals’ buying and consumption habits have also been in- fluenced by new technologies (Filieri and McLeay, 2014; Kim and Fesenmaier, 2008). In fact, the Internet allows the consumer to be more and more demanding and better informed, and therefore to increasingly manage their own travel independently (Law and Bai, 2008). The gastronomy sector is no stranger to this phenomenon. This type of tourism can therefore be considered a form of niche or alternative tourism in the face of an increasingly competitive market, and one that seeks to satisfy travelers’ thirst for new experiences (Du Rand and Heath, 2006). The consumption and enjoyment of food and wine is gaining in importance in the tourism sector (Olivieri and Giraldi, 2015; Santich, 2004) and there are now travelers who consider going to a particular geographical area to eat and learn about the region’s cuisine (Byrd et al., 2016). This can even be a main motivation for food lovers to travel (López-Guzmán and Margarida, 2011). Cooking schools, tradi- tional gastronomic festivals and celebrations, help with the harvest or visiting regional wineries are also considered alternative types of gas- tronomic tourism (Santich, 2004). However, even if food is sometimes not the main reason for travel, it is still considered an important element and therefore one of the fun- damental aspects to be taken into account in promoting a specific geographical area (López-Guzmán and Margarida, 2011). In the Eur- opean Union, those countries with the highest expenditure per capita in terms of dining out are those who consider food as part of their lifestyle. The most notable countries in this sense are France, Italy and Spain. If we focus on restaurants we can say that it is one of the sectors that has been most affected by Internet innovation (Miranda et al., 2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.02.007 Received 9 June 2017; Received in revised form 6 February 2018; Accepted 6 February 2018 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: ndaries@aegern.udl.cat (N. Daries), ecristobal@aegern.udl.cat (E. Cristobal-Fransi), berta.ferrer@aegern.udl.cat (B. Ferrer-Rosell), estela.marine@aegern.udl.cat (E. Marine-Roig). International Journal of Hospitality Management 73 (2018) 125–137 0278-4319/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T