Abstract Ethnic cuisines have become increasingly popular among travelers. Given people's demand for authenticity in ethnic dining, this research proposes and examines handwriting as a menu presentation strategy that boosts perceived authenticity of menu offerings and in turn enhances purchase intention. To that end, we utilize a mixed-methods approach and investigate the joint effects of menu format (handwriting vs. print) and regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention) in the context of ethnic dining. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, we show that ethnic restaurants using a handwritten (vs. printed) menu may enhance perceived authenticity and subsequently elevate purchase intention. However, such beneficial effects of handwriting only occur among prevention-focused customers, but not promotion-focused customers. Managerial implications for ethnic restaurant operators are discussed.

中文翻译：

---

通过手写表明民族美食的真实性

摘要 民族美食越来越受到旅行者的喜爱。鉴于人们对民族餐饮真实性的需求，本研究提出并检查手写作为菜单呈现策略，可提高菜单供应的感知真实性，进而增强购买意愿。为此，我们采用混合方法，研究了菜单格式（手写与印刷）和监管重点（促销与预防）在民族用餐环境中的联合影响。基于定性和定量数据，我们表明使用手写（与印刷）菜单的民族餐厅可能会增强感知的真实性，从而提高购买意愿。然而，手写的这种有益效果只发生在以预防为重点的客户中，而不是以促销为重点的客户。