Science Mapping and Performance Analysis of Restaurant Research: Evidence from the Web of Science Database

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of restaurant research published between 2004 and 2024, based on 411 records retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database. The objective is to explore the intellectual structure, research trends, and collaboration patterns shaping the evolution of restaurant-related scholarship over the past two decades. Using performance analysis and science mapping techniques, the study identifies prolific authors, influential journals, leading institutions, and dominant countries contributing to this field. Data visualization and mapping were conducted using VOSviewer software to generate co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence networks.

Results reveal a significant increase in publication output after 2015, indicating growing academic interest in restaurant-related issues. The United States, China, and the United Kingdom emerged as the most productive countries, while the International Journal of Hospitality Management and Cornell Hospitality Quarterly were identified as the leading publication outlets. The most frequent keywords include customer satisfaction, service quality, consumer behavior, sustainability, and technology adoption. The findings contribute to understanding the evolution of restaurant research, highlighting emerging themes such as digital transformation, sustainability, and consumer experience that will shape future studies in the domain.