Does vaccination make a difference? Understanding the role of vaccination in consumers’ in-restaurant dining intentions during a pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated temporal differences in the relationships among consumers’ perceived protection of the COVID-19 vaccination, their threat and coping appraisal, subsequent in-restaurant dining decisions, and the moderating role of vaccination status. Data was collected at times during the post-vaccine availability era of the COVID-19 pandemic: Phase 1 in March 2021 (N = 282), Phase 2 in September 2021 (N = 320), and Phase 3 in March 2022 (N = 342). PLS-SEM and multi-group analysis were employed to test the hypotheses. Results revealed temporal differences in the relationships between perceived vaccine protection, threat appraisal, and in-restaurant dining intention with variation between vaccinated and unvaccinated adults. However, neither temporal differences were found regarding the coping appraisal nor related variances regarding vaccination status. This study empirically examined the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on consumers’ protection motivation appraisals and consequent dine-in decisions. Furthermore, the temporal changes along various pandemic stages were investigated.