A Holistic Model for Sustainable Restaurant Operations using the Business Model Canvas Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University.

Abstract

Providing sustainable food services has become a common practice of many hospitality enterprises around the world. Nevertheless, previous studies focused on a specific aspect of sustainable restaurants and lacked a comprehensive investigation of their overall operations. Therefore, this study aims to apply the Business Model Canvas approach to develop an integrated business model that enable successful operations of sustainable restaurants. A qualitative approach was adopted in this study using the Delphi technique as an instrument for collecting primary data. The process of primary data collection involved three rounds. The first round included administering an open-ended questionnaire that captured the nine aspects of the business model canvas for eco-friendly restaurants. The second round aimed to revise the model that was developed based on the results of the first round, while the third round aimed to establish a consensus on the revised model. A panel of experts including 19 academic and industry experts were recruited in the empirical investigation. The results of the study provided some eco-friendly practices that were incorporated into a holistic model that captures the major operations of sustainable restaurants. Doing so contributes to the hospitality literature by addressing a knowledge gap as well as contributes to the industry through the proposed empirical model.  

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