Research unit
Research interests
- Innovative restaurant services business models
- Service design and service process mapping
- The value proposal in the hospitality industry

Bio
Robert Laporte holds a bachelor’s degree in administration and a master’s degree in project management from UQAM. He completed his post-graduate studies at HEC Montréal on the theme of change management. Recognized for his innovative teaching in food service marketing, he uses a project-based pedagogy and has a particular interest in human resource management, procurement and business process management in the industry, including restaurant service processes and added-value in service design. To this end, he develops various forms of linkages and collaborations with cultural industry partners to enrich students’ understanding of management issues such as customer experience and strategic business development.
With over ten years of experience as a manager and trainer in Restaurant Management, Robert Laporte also participated in 2011 in writing and presenting a case study at the Annual Canadian Universities Conference of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, a professional organization concerned with the teaching, research and practice of management from a global perspective.
As a project supervisor at the Centre de recherche en gastronomie, he conducted a study to measure the influence of the chef’s presence in the dining room on customer satisfaction, consumption and patronage.
Current research projects
- Expérience des employés dans le secteur de la restauration indépendante au Québec
- Processus d’innovation culinaire et concours international
Peer-reviewed publications
Laporte, R., Théberge, N., & Veilleux, S. (2023). Business model shift in independent restaurant operation: the COVID-19 impacts. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 2023, 1-36.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15378020.2023.2264883
Scientific conferences and seminars
Laporte, R. (2022). L’identité culinaire de Montréal – de la ferme à l’assiette, panel member at the Colloque de l’Office montréalais de la gastronomie, Montréal, Québec.
Lagueux, J. Laporte, R., Fallu, J-M., & Fernandez, P. (2015). Étude portant sur les rôles du chef de cuisine en salle à manger : le cas du RDI – Synthèses des résultats. Presentation to the Scientific Committee of the ITHQ, Montréal, Québec.
Laporte, R., & Dumas, L. (2011). Case study, writing and presentation of a case at the Annual Conference of Canadian Universities of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, UQAM, Montréal, Québec.
Posters
Lagueux, J., & Laporte, R. P. (2015). Impact of the chef’s presence in the dining room on satisfaction, consumption and patronage. Poster presented at Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (CHRIE), Florida, USA.
Research report
Laporte, R. Théberge, N. et Veilleux, S. (2021). Résultats préliminaires de l’étude portant sur les modèles d’affaires en restauration : les effets de la COVID-19. Revue biannuelle de l’Association des restaurants du Québec, Montréal, Québec.