Are Asians too polite or is it altruism? Deciphering motivations and positive electronic word-of-mouth of Hipster café dining experience in Malaysia and Indonesia

Despite the popularity of hipster café and the growing importance of electronic word-ofmouth (eWOM) for restaurants' success, there appears to be a lack of empirical data on why customers leave positive eWOM in café, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia. This study attempted to fill this gap by investigating motivational factors for positive eWOM within hipster cafes and examining positive dining experiences driving eWOM. Adopting a qualitative approach, a total of twenty-six participants were involved in the semistructured interviews carried out in both countries, and data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti software (version 9.1.3). In this study, Maslow’s motivational theory was utilized in the context of eWOM marketing within Asian perspectives of the food and beverage sector. The alternative framework suggested positive dining experiences elicited positive emotional responses, which mediated the motivational engagement in eWOM behaviour, specifically in the hipster café context. Herein, when customers experience pleasure and satisfaction from dining, they are more likely to engage in positive eWOM. The findings featured the collectivist nature among Malaysian and Indonesian societies, concerns for others, self-enhancement, and being an information leader as key motivations towards participants’ engagement in eWOM. The findings also showed that the quality of food, service, atmosphere, price, and Instagrammable influenced positive eWOM engagement. Pleasant dining experiences also lead to customer satisfaction and revisit intention. Therefore, the results provided are helpful for hipster cafe owners as a guide to developing satisfaction and encouraging positive eWOM among customers which might help enhance business profitability.