Is It All a Matter of Taste? Differentiation of the Michelin Guide in Foreign Countries

Is It All a Matter of Taste? Differentiation of the Michelin Guide in Foreign Countries

Speaker: Linqing Huang

Abstract: This article explores the constraints that evaluative activities and competitive pressures can place on expert evaluators’ allocation of ratings across diverse locations. We argue that three factors create a fundamental bias in the recognition of top-rating candidates in particular locations, such that evaluators demonstrate a tendency to favor locations where they can more effectively transfer evaluative processes and practices or sustain competitive advantages. Specifically, we propose that (1) expert rating organizations encounter cultural barriers that lead to the “penalization” of countries with dissimilar cultural contexts; (2) they exercise discretionary power to shield the home country from economic competition posed by other host countries in the international market; and (3) the presence of competing expert rating organizations contributes to strategic “penalization” in evaluations. We test these hypotheses and find evidence within the internationalized context of the culinary industry. This study illuminates the organizational constraints and strategic interests of expert rating organizations in shaping market social hierarchies.