50+ Years of Restaurant Tipping Research Part I: Theoretical Foundations and Significant Research Themes

Tipping is a longstanding yet highly debated component of restaurant service, functioning as both a cultural norm and a compensation mechanism. Despite extensive research across economics, social psychology, and hospitality management, the literature remains fragmented, and theoretical connections across studies are not well integrated. This paper provides the first thematic review of restaurant tipping research published between 1974 and 2024. Using a PRISMA-guided systematic search and thematic analysis,nine major research themes were identified: determinants of tip amounts, individual differences, techniques to increase tips, why customers tip, operational perspectives, tipping systems, employee perspectives, national and cultural differences, and technology. Further, the theoretical frameworks that support these themes are sumarized and highlight where convergence, divergence, and conceptual gaps exist. This review establishes a field-level structure that clarifies how prior work aligns, and provides a foundation for cumulative theory-building. Part II expands this analysis and offers targeted research suggestions.