What makes passengers continue using and talking positively about ride-hailing services? The role of the booking app and post-booking service quality

Abstract

Ride-hailing services are increasingly consolidating their role in the transport sector in low- and middle-income countries where there is limited investment in public transport. However, much is unknown about the determinants of ride-hailing service use and quality of the service. The present study investigates the direct and indirect influences of perceived quality of ride-hailing service including perceived booking app and perceived post-booking service quality on continuous usage intention and word-of-mouth (WOM) of ride-hailing passengers. Emerging research has aimed to understand the hierarchical structure of ride-hailing service quality (including booking app and post-booking service). Therefore, this study proposes a formative hierarchical component model of perceived booking app quality consisting of seven dimensions (i.e., privacy and security, ease of use, functionality, design, information accuracy, route detection, and service). Likewise, the perceived post-booking service quality is comprised of four dimensions (i.e., reliability, personal, convenience, and tangibility). Data used for testing the model was collected from 536 ride-hailing service users in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. The results provide insights into attributes forming perceived quality of ride-hailing booking apps and perceived post-booking service quality and how these constructs affect passenger loyalty. The results are also useful for ride-hailing companies in their efforts to prioritise critical service attributes and ensure their service quality meets or exceeds passengers’ expectations.