Keywords

Tipping; Digital Tipping; Minimal-Service Restaurants; Hospitality Management; Tipping Fatigue; Customer Perceptions

Abstract

As digital payment systems and point-of-sale technologies become increasingly common, customers are encountering more frequent requests to tip in minimal-service food settings, such as coffee shops, pizza parlors, and quick-service restaurants. These changes have prompted discussions regarding the fairness of tipping, customer willingness to tip, and the growing phenomenon of tipping fatigue. The purpose of this study was to examine how employee effort, social pressure, and social obligation influence customer perceptions of tipping in minimal-service food settings.

A quantitative experimental research design was used with 328 participants recruited through the online platform Prolific. Participants were randomly assigned to scenarios manipulating employee effort, social pressure, and social obligation. Measures assessed tipping fairness, tipping willingness, and tipping fatigue using previously validated scales. Reliability analyses demonstrated high internal consistency across all constructs. Data were analyzed using a three-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), with tipping fatigue included as a covariate.

The results indicated that employee effort significantly influenced perceptions of tipping fairness and willingness to tip, while tipping fatigue emerged as a significant covariate across outcome variables. Social obligation and the interaction effects among the independent variables were not statistically significant, suggesting that employee effort had a greater impact on customer perceptions than social expectations or perceived obligation. These findings provide insight into the evolving nature of tipping in minimal-service environments and contribute to a better understanding of consumer decision-making as digital tipping becomes more prevalent.

The study offers practical implications for businesses implementing digital tipping systems and contributes to the growing body of research on tipping behavior, consumer psychology, and service management within the hospitality industry.

Thesis Completion Year

2026

Thesis Completion Semester

Summer

Thesis Chair

ro, Heejung

College

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Department

Tourism, Events and Attraction

Thesis Discipline

Hospitality Management

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Rosen Campus

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Rights Statement

In Copyright