Innovative Responses to Copycats

Insights From China's Restaurant Industry

Bibliographic Data

ID21653632
AuthorsHe Kai (0000-0003-3683-9601, School of International Business Jinan University Zhuhai Guangdong China), Venessa Chan Lyu (0000-0002-8015-1575, School of Business Macau University of Science and Technology Taipa Macao China), Chan Lyu (Macau University of Science and Technology, corresponding author), Svenja Damberg (0000-0002-4733-074X, Department of Sustainability and Planning, The Technical Faculty of IT and Design Sustainability, Innovation and Policy Aalborg University Copenhagen SV Denmark), Tao Ye (0000-0001-9381-8781, School of Business Macau University of Science and Technology Taipa Macao China), Cornelius Herstatt (0000-0001-5585-1169, Institute for Technology and Innovation Management Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) Hamburg Germany), Yide Liu (0000-0001-9268-3555, School of Business Macau University of Science and Technology Taipa Macao China, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume27
Issue5
Publication date2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Tourism Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1099-2340 • E-ISSN: 1522-1970
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jtr.70103
OpenAlexW4413992394
LanguageEN
References cited55

This study delves into a pressing issue in the restaurant industry: the challenge of catering copycats, which are unauthorized imitations of menu items and services that can lead to lost market share and hinder innovation. Focusing on Chinese restaurants, it employs multi‐wave surveys and analyzes 929 responses to investigate the impact of copycat threats on innovation. The study reveals both linear and nonlinear effects of these threats, highlighting the role of customer and supplier co‐creation as mediators. It underscores the importance of understanding how different types of restaurants vary in their innovative responses to imitation. The research enriches the behavior of the firm theory by demonstrating how restaurants can proactively drive innovation in the face of imitation. It extends the applicability of value co‐creation theory, illustrating the role of interactions with suppliers and customers in shaping innovative strategies, thereby enhancing dynamic capabilities to adapt to market demands and changes

Advertising · Business · China · Hospitality industry · Political science · Tourism · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Organic Food and Agriculture · Wine Industry and Tourism · Marketing

Tools

Open DOI