Authenticity of Craft Brewery Visitor Experience: A Scale Development Study

Abstract

Although craft breweries have grown rapidly over the last decade, previous research has primarily focused on the aspects of marketing and consumer preferences. Little is known about authenticity of visitor experiences or perceptual differences that might exist between local and non-local visitors. Furthermore, a valid scale applicable to craft beer settings and authentic hospitality experiences at large is non-existent. This study addressed these research gaps by developing an authenticity scale for measuring craft brewery visitor experiences using a mixed-methods approach (participant observations, semi-structured interviews among brewery visitors, and two waves of survey data collection). A three-factor scale (Core Product Authenticity, Authenticity of Care, and Authenticity of Ambiance) was developed and validated through thematic analysis, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. No significant differences were found between local and non-local brewery visitors. This study sheds light on visitor experience management at craft breweries.