Ethnic Food Truck Consumers’ Satisfaction: A Combination of PLS-SEM and fsQCA Analysis

Food trucks represent a unique dining option that encompasses elements such as culinary innovation, small business entrepreneurship, and cultural diversity. Grounded in the self-determination theory, this research aimed to examine a framework of ethnic food truck visitors’ satisfaction using symmetric and asymmetric approaches. Drawing from a sample of 416 online respondents, the symmetric analysis revealed that brand image mediated the relationship between the quality concepts (food quality and delivery quality) and satisfaction. In addition, destination image mediated the relationship between authenticity concepts (food authenticity and atmosphere authenticity) and satisfaction. Cuisine type partially moderated the structural model consisting of quality, image, and satisfaction. Through an asymmetric approach, the study identified configurations predicting high and low satisfaction, highlighting the combined effects of multiple ingredients. These insights provide valuable theoretical and managerial implications for understanding customer satisfaction within the food truck industry.