the effects of voluntary versus mandatory menu calorie labeling on consumers’ retailer-related responses

Restaurants with 20 or more locations will soon be required to disclose calorie information on menus and menu boards. retailers not included in this mandate can choose to voluntarily provide calorie information. to better understand the implications of this major policy change for food retailers, this research examines how consumers’ retailer-related responses are affected by menu calorie labeling. a framework based on the attribution theory and the health halo literatures is developed, and three primary studies, including a field experiment, are used to test the proposed direct, moderating, and mediating effects derived from this conceptualization. findings across the studies show that menu calorie labeling has a positive direct effect on perceptions of the restaurant's concern for customers’ well-being and positive indirect effects on attitudes toward the restaurant and patronage intentions. however, these direct and indirect effects are attenuated when the restaurant is perceived to be more (vs. less) healthful and when menu calorie labeling is mandatory (vs. voluntary). the implications of these findings for retail and restaurant management are discussed.