From brick and mortar to click and order: consumers' online food delivery service perceptions post-pandemic

Abstract

PurposeThis study explores consumers' intentions to utilize online food delivery services (OFDS) in a shared economy beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, employing the protection motivation theory (PMT) as the underlying framework.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing a random sampling technique, a quantitative approach was employed to gather responses from 347 Australian consumers. The proposed model was tested through covariance-based structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings of this study demonstrate significant positive relationships between restaurant credibility, food quality, e-service quality, price, online food delivery applications, consumer e-satisfaction and e-loyalty. It reveals that consumers satisfied with OFDS may continue exhibiting e-loyalty intentions in a shared economy beyond COVID-19. The relationship between consumer e-satisfaction and e-loyalty intention is moderated by consumer-perceived COVID-19 risk.Practical implicationsThis study offers practical implications for online food delivery providers, restaurants, regulators, application developers and policymakers. These implications aim to enhance the e-service quality, price value, usefulness and security of OFDS, along with strategies to improve the online food delivery application.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining a unique selection of antecedents, including the OFDS app, to determine consumer e-satisfaction and e-loyalty in the context of a shared economy beyond COVID-19. The utilization of the OFDS app as a second-order construct adds a meaningful contribution to the OFDS literature. Furthermore, this study investigates and contributes to the limited understanding of the moderation effect of consumer-perceived COVID-19 risk on consumer e-satisfaction and their intended continued use of OFDS.