RESEARCH IN BRIEF What drives word-of-mouth in restaurants? Pedro Longart West London College-Business Studies, London, UK Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse variables that influence positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) in restaurants. Design/methodology/approach – An experiential survey was conducted in a restaurant, located in a busy area of London. It was divided into two phases to consumers, as two potential triggers of PWOM were compared. Findings – Satisfaction with food and drink affect PWOM significantly, as does an intangible aspect called “the power of context”. In relation to specific triggers of PWOM, surprises given before customers order have a significant impact on PWOM, but not if offered after the main course is served. Research limitations/implications – The research was conducted in one restaurant. A cross-sectional analysis would have been beneficial, since restaurant type or occasion may affect findings. Future research will focus on what the power of context entails in restaurant settings. Practical implications – Restaurateurs should focus their attentions on offering food and drink of consistent quality and also create something unique or distinctive in their outlets to encourage PWOM. Introducing surprises as a tactic to encourage PWOM will entail a challenging task. Originality/value – It appears to be the first research of its type and practical actions to encourage PWOM are derived from the research. Keywords Consumer behaviour, Restaurants, Promotional methods Paper type Research paper Introduction Restaurants with limited promotion budgets depend mostly on positive word-of-mouth (PWOM). PWOM seems particularly important to the marketing of services (Mangold et al. 1999). This is because services are experiential in nature and difficult to evaluate before purchase (Wirtz and Chew, 2002). In the restaurants context there is little research, with the notable exception of a paper presented by Babin et al. (2005), which explores word-of-mouth (WOM) in a survey of restaurant patrons in South Korea. Owing to this paucity of research, practitioners rely on PWOM investigations in other service environments or the advice of expert consultants. This paper will attempt to contribute in filling this research gap by examining two practical issues related to PWOM in restaurants. The first one explores what aspects of the meal experience are significant for PWOM. The second one concentrates on specific tactics to encourage PWOM. Literature review Conceptual background on WOM phenomena WOM is a form of interpersonal communication amongst consumers (Richins, 1983, cited in Datta et al., 2003). Practical uses of WOM are embedded in the concept of WOM The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm What drives WOM in restaurants? 121 Received 20 May 2008 Reviewed 25 July 2008 Revised 1 October 2008 Accepted 5 October 2008 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management Vol. 22 No. 1, 2010 pp. 121-128 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0959-6119 DOI 10.1108/09596111011013516