STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL ASPECTS OF MANAGING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF RESTAURANT ENTERPRISES ON THE BASIS OF CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Abstract

The article explores the theoretical, methodological, and applied foundations of managing the competitiveness of restaurant enterprises based on the customer orientation concept amid digitalization, security challenges, and heightened environmental turbulence. A two-tier management architecture has been developed, incorporating a strategic level (brand positioning, long-term relationship modeling, unique value creation, environmental and social initiatives) and an operational dimension (service contact standardization, feedback response speed, process digitalization, and menu flexibility).

The synergistic role of customer orientation is defined as a mediating factor transforming an enterprise's innovation potential and dynamic capabilities into sustainable higher-order competitive advantages. Based on a comprehensive empirical analysis of HoReCa entities in Khmelnytskyi, the effect of multi-vector differentiation of customer orientation is identified, along with six specific implementation models categorized by business format (conceptual storytelling, mono-product specialization, lifestyle formats, digitalized Fast-Casual, family-oriented restaurants, and multi-service hotel-restaurant complexes). The necessity of transitioning from reactive feedback handling to proactive touchpoint engineering is substantiated.