Adoptability of solo dining practices in restaurant businesses: a study from the perspective of diffusion of innovations and organizational readiness

Abstract

Solo dining—eating alone in a public restaurant—has gained global visibility, yet most restaurants still design spaces and service flows exclusively around group parties. This monograph explains that gap by reframing solo dining as an innovation-adoption challenge rather than a mere consumer trend. Building on Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovations theory and the Organizational Readiness for Change (ORIC) framework, the authors develop a multi-construct survey instrument and administer it to 328 restaurant operators across seven Turkish provinces. The study tests how five perceived innovation characteristics (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability) and one context factor (spatial adequacy) predict two dimensions of readiness—change commitment and change efficacy—and, in turn, actual adaptation intent. Structural-equation modelling reveals that spatial adequacy and relative advantage are the strongest positive predictors of readiness (β =.42 and β =.35, respectively), whereas perceived complexity exerts a significant negative effect (β = −.29). Readiness accounts for 63 % of the variance in adaptation intent, underscoring its mediating role. Post-hoc multi-group tests show readiness scores differ by restaurant size and service style, indicating that solo-dining roll-outs must be context-specific. The book concludes with (i) a readiness-checklist, (ii) spatial layout templates that minimise seat wastage, and (iii) staff training guidelines to mitigate social discomfort for lone guests. By integrating innovation-diffusion theory with hospitality operations, this work offers the first empirically validated roadmap for restaurants seeking to pilot or scale solo-dining zones.