Creativity as a critical criterion for future restaurant space design: Developing a novel model with DEMATEL application

This study investigates the important composition of creativity by examining dimensions of restaurant space design from the expert's perspective. This study presents a novel model of creativity assessment within the context of the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method application, and identified 6 main dimensions of creativity (Novelty, Centrality, Importance, Affect, Interactivity and Resolution). Qualitative and quantitative surveys were used in multiple stages of data collection. The results of the DEMATEL analysis show that the "centrality" dimension had significant influence over other dimensions of creativity, while "affect" and "importance" are influences given and received by other dimensions in restaurant space design. Overall, this study identified the relationships and interactions among 6 dimensions and 27 sub-dimensions of creativity and filled a gap created by traditional methods of setting strategies, which only considered the direct effects or single directions of criteria. Theoretical and empirical implications are also discussed. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.