Online food delivery in the post-pandemic era: moderating role of vaccine confidence

• Published in: IIMBG Journal of Sustainable Business and Innovation
• Main Authors: Shukla, Manjula, Pandey, Piyush
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald 2023
• Subjects: Indian; First Nations
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijsbi-06-2023-0035; https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSBI-06-2023-0035/full/xml; https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSBI-06-2023-0035/full/html

Purpose In the post-pandemic period and following widespread inoculation against the infection, this research aims to pinpoint the variables that affect consumers' behavioural intentions (BIs) towards online food delivery (OFD) services. The study goes further to investigate the potential impact of vaccine confidence (VC) in modifying the association between consumers' BI to utilise OFD services and their actual usage behaviour (UB). Design/methodology/approach Using information gathered through a structured questionnaire from 372 Indian customers, a proposed model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) models was put to the test using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings Results demonstrate that perceptions of ease of use, attitude (ATT) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) have a favourable and significant impact on behaviour intention amongst Indian OFD users. Contrary to what the TAM and TPB models had predicted, perceived usefulness (PU) and subjective norms (SN) did not significantly affect the BI of the sample of Indian OFD users. Furthermore, the association between BI and actual UB of OFD users is not moderated by the consumers' VC. Practical implications The study contributes by shedding light on the variables that affect Indian OFD users' BIs after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic era and mass immunisation and whether VC has a role to play in affecting consumer behaviour, which will aid OFD service providers, eateries and marketers in redesigning their marketing plans. Originality/value The present study is the first in making a literary contribution through analysis of the moderating effect of VC on the relationship between BI and actual UB. Additionally, this study presents evidence from India, one of the first nations to implement widespread COVID-19 inoculation.