This study aims to systematically review the extant literature on online food delivery. The literature on online food delivery is synthesised in terms of theories, contexts, methods adopted and ...analytical techniques used. The literature review suggests that online food delivery research has transitioned from website-based food delivery to online to offline, mobile application-based food delivery, and drone-based food delivery. Further, based on the synthesis, we have developed a conceptual framework that shows the frequently reported antecedents, mediators, moderators, and consequences in online food delivery literature. Moreover, by identifying overlooked areas of online food delivery research, some insightful future research directions have been proposed to further advance this research domain. This review contributes to the hospitality literature, specifically to the food delivery literature.
•The online food delivery (OFD) literature was reviewed in terms of theories, contexts, constructs, and methods.•UTAUT, TPB and TAM are prominently used theories in OFD literature.•Website, online to offline, mobile apps, and drone-based food delivery are found to be major domains.•Majority of empirical research on OFD was conducted in two Asian countries, i.e., China and South Korea.•Majority of the OFD studies adopted survey-based research design.
Purpose
Off-premise restaurant service has a new addition – food delivery robots. This new technology and off-premise service, in general, has received little research attention, despite continued ...year-over-year sales growth for both carry-out and delivery. Therefore, this study aims to analyze off-premise service modes, including food delivery robots, for service quality gaps between consumer expectations and actual performance and among the various modes.
Design/methodology/approach
Performance of three off-premise restaurant service modes (robot-delivery, human-delivery and carry-out) were evaluated using a mixed-methods approach. Consumer expectations were ascertained about food- and service-related performance factors using a survey, and a field observation study was conducted to obtain actual performance data for these factors. Findings from both approaches were compared to identify gaps and differences.
Findings
For food-related performance, consumers reported lower expectations for food safety and food quality from robot- and human-delivered food; however, no differences were observed among the three modes in the field study. Consumers also expected lower service-related performance from robot-delivery for service efficiency and ease of use (than human-delivery and carry-out) and monetary value (than carry-out). Consumers deemed robots the most sustainable and human-delivery the most convenient compared to other modes – however, not all service-related expectations aligned with actual performances.
Originality/value
This study was the first to comparatively examine off-premise restaurant service. Identification of a missing link in service gap analysis was among the theoretical contributions of this study. Managerially, this study provides previously unavailable insights into opportunities for improvement for off-premise service and use of delivery robots.
•Convenience orientation positively affects compatibility.•Compatibility positively affects intention to adopt food delivery applications.•Moral obligation acts as a moderator between compatibility ...and adoption intention.•Married vs. single people show a stronger moral obligation in meal preparation.
Most studies on O2O services have focused solely on the technological merits of mobile applications, overlooking the role of the value systems that underlie people’s lifestyles.
In contrast, this research sheds light on how people’s value systems influence their decision to adopt food delivery applications. Particularly, it proposes that people’s moral obligation in meal preparation can change the mode of thinking that guides their adoption decision. Namely, moral obligation is assumed to restrict people from acting on their basic convenience orientation in meal preparation. Empirical results have supported this assumption by showing that people with a high moral obligation (or married people) are more reluctant to convert their basic convenience-seeking tendencies into actual adoption intention than those with a low moral obligation (or single people). The important theoretical and managerial implications of these results are also discussed.
This study assesses the direct influence of food quality and e-service quality on customer loyalty toward online food delivery (OFD) service and its indirect influence through the mediation of ...customer satisfaction and perceived value. This study uses a survey of 405 OFD service customers from Bandung, Indonesia. By applying variance-based partial least squares to evaluate the proposed model, this study confirms the direct effect of food quality on online loyalty, but not e-service quality. Further, this study discloses the partial mediation role of customer satisfaction and perceived value on the relationship between both food quality and e-service quality on online loyalty toward OFD services.
Consumers are increasingly using food delivery apps (FDAs) to facilitate convenient and quick food delivery. Yet, the existing research offers a limited understanding of consumers’ behavioral ...responses to the visibility and values derived from FDAs. Our study utilized the theory of consumption values (TCV) to examine associations between FDA visibility, consumption values, and purchase intentions. The mediating role of consumption values and the moderating role of attitude was also studied. A qualitative study was conducted with 15 FDA consumers to derive context-specific consumption values. Responses from 355 FDA consumers from the United States of America (USA) were obtained through Prolific and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Visibility acted as an antecedent of all consumption values and significantly influenced purchase intentions. Attitude also positively and significantly influenced purchase intentions. Consumption values partially mediated the association between visibility and purchase intention, while attitude negatively moderated the relationship that purchase intention has with visibility and preference value. These findings have important implications for theory and practice.
The objective of the study was to examine the effect of users’ emotions and delivery outcomes from sidewalk autonomous delivery robots on user experience and perception of the robots. Participants’ ...emotions were induced by specific clips from movies and were measured by a self-report emotion scale. Two delivery scenarios were designed to mimic two extreme delivery outcomes where the delivered food was either on time and as expected or late and not as expected. Results showed that delivery outcomes led to significantly different user experiences, whereas the induced emotions did not. In line with prior research, the current study suggests that the quality of the food delivery service is more important than user emotions in prompting users to want to use the service again and rating the robots more favorably.
•Investigating factors affecting users’ continuance intention of using food delivery apps during COVID-19 pandemic period.•Proposing a comprehensive model integrating UTAUT, ECM and Task-technology ...fit model.•Explaining users’ continuance usage intention is determined by their technological and mental perceptions.•Perceived task-technology fit formulates users’ perceptions when the technology’s functions meeting their requirements.
Food delivery apps (FDAs) as an emerging online-to-offline mobile technology, have been widely adopted by catering businesses and customers. Especially, as they have provided two-way beneficial catering delivery services in rescuing catering enterprises and satisfying customers’ technological and mental exceptions under the COVID-19 global pandemic condition. This study proposes a comprehensive model integrating UTAUT, ECM and TTF with the trust factor and examines 532 valid FDA users’ continuance intention of using FDAs during the COVID-19 pandemic period in China. The statistical results and discussions show that satisfaction is the most significant factor, and perceived task-technology fit, trust, performance expectancy, social influence and confirmation have direct or indirect positive impacts on users’ continuance usage intention of FDAs during the COVID-19 pandemic period. In addition, relevant researches and stakeholders should consider the specific characteristic of technology being associated with users’ technological and mental perceptions for better understanding and explaining users’ continuance intention.
The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing consumers' behavioral and continuance intention to use mobile food delivery applications (MFDAs) during COVID-19 pandemic. Based on ...the theory of Planned Behavior, we examined the impact of social isolation, food safety, delivery hygiene, subjective norms, dining attitudes, and behavioral control on behavioral and continuous intention to use MFDAs. Data were collected from 432 users and analyzed using Structured Equation Modeling. The results showed that delivery hygiene, subjective norms, attitudes, and behavioral control were related to both behavioral and continuance intention to use MFDAs, whereas perceived food safety was related to behavioral intention and social isolation was related to continuance intention. Moreover, behavioral intention mediated the impact of perceived food safety, delivery hygiene, attitudes, and behavioral control on continuance intention. This study incorporated situational factors into theory of Planned Behavior, which might guide the practitioners to use MFDAs during COVID-19.
Recently, the food service delivery industry started using drones for delivering food. The drone food delivery services are not only beneficial for marketers but also provide several benefits to the ...consumers. Despite several advantages for different stakeholders, the adoption of drone-based delivery is not encouraging. Thus, it is crucial to know why consumers show resistance behavior toward drone-based food delivery services. Toward that end, this study examines the effects of different functional and psychological barriers on consumers' resistance to drone-based food delivery services through the lens of innovation resistance theory. A moderated-mediation framework has been proposed using anticipated negative emotions as a mediator and consumers' innovativeness as a moderator. The hypotheses are examined by analyzing the 355 samples collected from online food delivery service users. The results suggest that usage, risk, image, and experience barriers are significantly associated with resistance. The study's findings enrich emerging drone-based delivery services and online food delivery literature. The study's findings furthermore offer practical knowledge to help online food delivery service providers implement strategies to reduce consumers' resistance to the drone food delivery system.
Food delivery apps (FDAs) have transformed the way consumers order and consume food, especially during the mobility limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospitality industry, especially ...restaurants are heavily reliant on mobile technology during the pandemic to strengthen essential online to offline food delivery, helping large number of consumers. This study investigates the role of app aesthetics in evoking emotions which predict continued usage intentions for FDAs using the theoretical lens of the pleasure arousal dominance (PAD) framework. Data was collected from 341 consumers during the pandemic. Findings indicate that app aesthetics generate pleasure, arousal, and dominance emotions among consumers during pandemic where pleasure is the most significant predictor of continued usage intentions followed by dominance. Findings also confirm the mediating effect of arousal on pleasure and pleasure on continued usage intentions. The study has implications for academicians, food delivery companies, app designers and other app-based businesses as it proves the significance of an aesthetic app design in evoking positive PAD emotions in consumers during a crisis and strengthens the explanation of continued usage intentions.
•Understanding continued usage intentions of food delivery apps during COVID-19.•Aesthetic formality influences pleasure, arousal, and dominance.•Aesthetic appeal is associated with arousal and dominance.•Pleasure and dominance determine continued usage intentions for food delivery apps.•Mediating role of pleasure and arousal is also confirmed.
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