Social Distance with Tourists in U.S. Counties with the Highest Historical Numbers of Reported COVID-19 Cases

With destinations steadily ‘opening back up for business' (while COVID-19 cases are still high in many areas), there is an increasing need to consider residents. Integrating the cognitive appraisal theory and the affect theory of exchange, this work tests a structural model examining the degree to which residents' perceptions of COVID-19 precautionary measures explain emotions directed toward visitors, and ultimately their willingness to engage in shared behaviors with tourists. Data were collected from 530 residents in 25 U.S. counties with the highest percentages of historical COVID-19 cases per population. A total of 10 of the 12 tested hypotheses were significant, contributing to 60% and 85% of the variance explained in contending and accommodating emotions, and 53% and 50% of the variance explained in engaging in less intimate–distal and more intimate–proximal behaviors with tourists. The implications highlight the complementary use of the two frameworks in explaining residents' preference for engagement in less intimate–distal interactions with tourists.

Do E-wallets trigger impulse purchases? An analysis of Malaysian Gen-Y and Gen-Z consumers

This study investigates the factors influencing Generation Y and Z's satisfaction and perceived enjoyment of using E-wallet. This paper further assesses whether consumers perceived enjoyment and satisfaction with using E-wallet would significantly affect their impulsive buying behavior. PLS-SEM was conducted based on 201 valid responses from active E-wallet users collected through an online survey. The results revealed that perceived interactivity and subjective norm positively influenced perceived enjoyment and satisfaction with using E-wallet, respectively. Perceived risk had no significant impact on perceived enjoyment and satisfaction with E-wallet, whereas visual appeal positively influenced perceived enjoyment but not satisfaction. Moreover, this study found that perceived enjoyment of using an E-wallet positively affected impulse buying while satisfaction with E-wallet had no significant relationship with impulse buying. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed in this paper.

Investigation of the Effect of COVID-19 Perceived Risk on Death Anxiety, Satisfaction With Life, and Psychological Well-Being.

This study aims to examine the effect of COVID-19 perceived risk on death anxiety, satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being. The application part of the research was conducted on staff working in a public hospital. A convenience sample of staff working in a public hospital was used and data were obtained from 573 individuals. The result of the analysis determined that the COVID-19 perceived risk explains 13.5% of the total variance on death anxiety. The regression models identified that the increase in COVID-19 risk perceptions of the participants statistically increased their death anxiety and decreased their satisfaction with life and psychological well-being.

The Role of Perceived Risk in the Relationship Between Disgust Sensitivity and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy.

Background: Despite widespread availability of COVID vaccines and evidence of their efficacy, vaccine hesitancy remains prevalent. Several studies have examined the relationship between disgust sensitivity and vaccine hesitancy. Although results from studies using data collected prior to the COVID pandemic indicate that higher disgust sensitivity is related to greater vaccine hesitancy, results from studies using data collected during the COVID pandemic are equivocal. The present study examined whether perceived risk of contracting COVID moderated the relationship between disgust sensitivity and vaccine hesitancy. Methods: Participants (n = 152) completed self-report measures of disgust sensitivity, perceived risk of contracting COVID, and COVID vaccine hesitancy (defined as both vaccine confidence and vaccine complacency). Results: Perceived risk of contracting COVID significantly moderated the relationship between disgust sensitivity and vaccine complacency, with the association strengthened at low levels of perceived risk. Perceived risk of contracting COVID also marginally moderated the relationship between disgust sensitivity and vaccine confidence, with the association strengthened at low and average levels of perceived risk. Conclusions: Results suggest that individuals with elevated disgust sensitivity who also report low levels of perceived risk of contracting COVID are more likely to express vaccine hesitancy. Implications of these findings are discussed. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10608-023-10391-8.

Inclusive leadership and work-from-home engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: a moderated mediation model

PurposeThe current study proposes a moderated mediation model to predict work-from-home engagement during an emergency such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic based on the integration of well-known concepts, including inclusive leadership, organizational support and perceived risk theory.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire on the Google Forms platform was designed and distributed to Vietnamese employees using a convenience sampling method. A total of 794 valid questionnaires were used for data analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the proposed model and hypotheses. The instrument's validity and reliability were tested and ensured.FindingsThe study found that inclusive leadership has direct and indirect effects on work-from-home engagement through the separate and serial mediating roles of perceived organizational support and employee motivation. The present study also revealed that the effects of perceived organizational support and employee motivation on work-from-home engagement are strengthened by employee risk perception. Moreover, the study showed that perceived organizational support and employee motivation performed the lowest of the four elements that were considered, while the importance of these two factors was the highest.Practical implicationsThese findings suggest that in an emergency such as COVID-19, contextual factors should be given more attention. Based on these findings, several theoretical and practical implications for human resource management are highlighted.Originality/valueBy integrating inclusive leadership, organizational support and perceived risk theory to explore employees' engagement in working from home during an emergency, the present study demonstrated that in addition to traditional factors, leadership and contextual factors should be considered for studies on working from home in an emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study established that these factors might encourage employees' work-from-home engagement.

Determinants of customer loyalty to online food service delivery: evidence from Indonesia, Taiwan, and New Zealand

This study is dedicated to m-commerce and examines the key factors determining loyalty to online food delivery (OFD) services in Indonesia, Taiwan, and New Zealand, as these countries have faced varying degrees of pandemic severity. The data analysis using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) shows that the quality of both food and e-service, satisfaction, perceived value, and trust are significant predictors of loyalty in all countries. Food quality drives consumer loyalty, contentment, and perceived value in Indonesia and Taiwan, but e-service quality is the main determinant in New Zealand. These differences can be attributed to the status quo of the OFD service market in the three countries pre-Covid, cultural factors, the pandemic severity, and consumer access to other distribution channels. Best practice recommendations for marketing managers associated with OFD are presented.

Adoption of FinTech services amidst COVID-19 pandemic: empirical evidence from Assam

PurposeThe paper intends to comprehend the pattern of usage of FinTech services among bank customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper also examines the factors influencing the adoption of FinTech services by using the constructs from the technology acceptance model (TAM) together with highlighting the issues faced in using FinTech services in Assam.Design/methodology/approachThe research is empirical in nature. Data have been collected from 1,066 prime earners of the households having a bank account.FindingsThere has been an upsurge in the use of FinTech services in the area of study. Apart from government and private service employees, businessmen, self-employed professionals, many daily-wage earners and agriculturists have also experienced an increase in their frequency of usage of FinTech services thereby making technology-based financial services an indispensable tool in enhancing access, improving inclusivity in the times of crisis and aftermath. Government support, trust, perceived usefulness (PU), attitude and social influence have a positive influence on FinTech adoption;however, perceived risks impact respondents' trust towards FinTech services thereby requiring necessary measures to evaluate organizations' preparedness to deal with cyber threats.Originality/valueThe paper provides insight into the factors impacting the adoption of FinTech services to stimulate superior connectivity infrastructure, robust security measures and maintaining financial stability with adequate supervisory and monitoring regulations to enhance trust towards FinTech services during the crisis and aftermath.

Panic buying in the second wave of COVID-19: the moderating effect of past buying experience

PurposeWith the advent of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to analyse the scenario of panic buying (PB) behaviour of the customers which was evident in the first wave. This paper aims to examine the PB scenario as well as the moderating effect of past buying experience (PBE) on PB in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on the theories of stimulus-organism-response model and the competitive arousal model. Based on these theories, this paper investigates how panic situation created by external stimuli such as perceived scarcity (PS), perceived risk (PR), news in media (NM) and social learning affect the perceived arousal (PA) among people which in turn influence the PB behaviour of customers. Data were collected from 253 customers from different parts of India. Structural equation modelling is used to analyse the moderating effect of PBE on the PB in the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. FindingsThe results indicate that the PS, PR and NM continue to be strong predictors of a buyer for PA. However, the PB is not reinforced by the moderation effect of PBE. Research limitations/implicationsThis paper investigates the consumers' PB behaviours in the wake of third wave of COVID-19 pandemic which add to the existing literature of COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study also examines how previous buying experience can moderate the PB behaviour of the customers in subsequent phases of COVID-19 pandemic. This supports the potential effectiveness of self-regulation as an intervention strategy for reducing PB behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implicationsThis study emphasises the impact of external stimuli like PS, PR and media coverage on PB behaviour, marketers and policymakers should manage to avoid triggers. Although PBE may not moderate PB during a pandemic, it can play a significant role in future buying behaviour. Anticipating potential triggers and designing effective marketing strategies that cater to customers' needs can help manage PB behaviour during disasters or pandemics. In addition, promoting conscious consumption awareness and self-regulation practices among customers can help manage PB behaviour, benefit the environment and society and make customers more responsible buyers. Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study examines the PB behaviour of customers during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic for the first time. This study also investigates the moderating effect of PBE on the PB behaviour of customers during a pandemic which is new and significant that extends the literature on PB behaviour during a pandemic.

The impact of integrated marketing communications consistency on destination brand equity in times of uncertainty: the case of Croatia

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how message consistency pursued through integrated marketing communications (IMC) can build a strong destination brand equity in a very dynamic environment and whether this process is affected by the perceived risk of COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachData collection was conducted among 333 international tourists visiting Croatia, a destination that has experienced a remarkable boom in the summer/autumn season of 2021, regardless of the pandemic. Partial least squares–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis.FindingsResults show that IMC consistency has a significant impact on the four destination brand equity dimensions, i.e. awareness, image, perceived quality and loyalty. This influence is found to be the highest on destination brand awareness and the lowest on destination brand loyalty. Perceived risk of COVID-19 moderates the impact of message consistency on brand image and perceived quality.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that examines the role of IMC consistency in a tourism context during turbulent times. The impact of IMC consistency is analyzed on different components of destination brand equity, which addresses the most recent research call from tourism literature. The moderating effects of perceived risk are considered, thus providing additional implications in a context of high uncertainty. Finally, IMC consistency is assessed from the consumer rather than managerial viewpoints, thus adopting the necessary outside-in approach embedded in the IMC idea.

Understanding Leisure Vacation Travel Intention of Indian Vacationers Amidst Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

This study aimed to elicit the critical factors influencing Indian domestic vacationers' travel intention for leisure vacation destination choice amidst COVID-19. The study proposed a new model based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), expanding it by adding contextual variables like perceived risk, perceived knowledge of COVID-19, and information search behaviour. The study used a quantitative approach using online social media platforms and emails of 312 respondents to analyze and test the hypotheses using IBM SPSS and AMOS tools. The results indicated that physical and functional risk negatively influenced attitude;whereas, psychological risk negatively influenced travel intention. Perceived knowledge of COVID-19 significantly influenced travel intention. Attitude strongly mediated subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and perceived knowledge of COVID-19 to travel intention. This explains the strong implications for travel destination marketers for marketing safer destination choices to vacationers. © 2022, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Citizens' intentions to use e-government during the COVID-19 pandemic: integrating the technology acceptance model and perceived risk theory

PurposeBased on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and perceived risk theory (PRT), this study proposes a new model for exploring factors affecting citizens' intentions to use e-government in the Vietnamese context during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe current study takes the form of a case study of the Vietnam context and employs a quantitative method. An Internet-based survey was conducted in Vietnam and was completed by 441 respondents. Hypotheses were tested using a two-stage structural equation model. SPSS 22 and AMOS 20 software were used for primary data analysis.FindingsThe findings reveal that factors of TAM are still valuable in predicting citizens' intentions to use e-government services during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the factor of PRT, namely, perceived risk of COVID-19 pandemic, also affects citizens' intentions to use e-government services. Attitudes toward e-government play a mediating role in the relationships between perceived usefulness, perceived risk and citizens' intentions to use e-government. Examining the predictive power of TAM and PRT factors, it can be seen that TAM factors have a higher total effect on citizens' intentions to use e-government, compared to PRT factor.Originality/valueThe present study demonstrates a new model for exploring factors affecting citizens' intentions to use e-government during the COVID-19 era. It explored the effectiveness of combining TAM and PRT as well as the predictive power of each factors in an integrated model aimed at predicting citizens' intentions in the emergency context like COVID-19. This study helps us improve our understanding of e-government usage and would be of particular interest to policymakers and service providers of e-system.

Relationship of college students' risk perception of COVID-19 and their anxiety and depression: A moderated mediation model.

Objective To explore the effects of perceived risk of COVID-19 of college students on their anxiety and depression, as well as the roles of attention to negative information and perceived social support, so as to provide theoretical basis for colleges and universities to formulate corresponding intervention measures. Methods By the convenience sampling method, totally 1 404 college students from Shaanxi and Henan provinces were investigated online by using General Information Questionnaire, Perceived Risk of COVID-19 Pandemic Scale, Attention to Negative Information Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Perceived Social Support Scale. SPSS 20. 0 was used for data analysis, Pearson correlation method was used to explore the correlation between variables. The mediating effect of attention to negative information and the moderating effect of perceived social support were analyzed by PROCESS. Results The scores of anxiety and depression of the 1 404 college students included in the study were 4.03 +/- 4.48 and 6.21 +/- 5.41, respectively. The detection rate of anxiety symptom was 29.9%, and that of depression symptom was 44.4%. The risk perception of COVID-19 epidemic of the college students was positively correlated with attention to negative information (r = 0.373, P<0.001), anxiety (r = 0.227, P<0.001), and depression (r = 0.226, P<0.001). Anxiety (r = 0.553, P<0.001) and depression 0 = 0.497, P<0.001) were positively correlated with attention to negative information, while perceived social support was negatively correlated with the risk perception of the COVID-19 (r = - 0.154, P<0.001), attention to negative information (r= - 0.259, P<0.001), anxiety (r = - 0.321, P<0.001) and depression (r=- 0.278, P<0.001). The risk perception of COVID-19 affected the anxiety and depression of the students mainly through the mediating effect of attention to negative information. The total effect of risk perception of COVID-19 and anxiety was 0. 227, and the mediating effect accounted for 80. 18% of the total effect. The total effect of risk perception of COVID-19 and depression was 0. 228, and the mediating effect accounted for 90. 35% of the total effect. Perceived social support played a moderating role in the last half of this mediating model. Conclusion Risk perception of COVID-19 indirectly affects the occurrence of anxiety and depression in college students through attention to negative information, and perceived social support plays a moderating role in this mediating model. The findings suggest that when a risk event occurs, colleges and universities should pay attention to guiding students to adjust their attentional bias to external information, and give students enough care and support to improve their mental health.Copyright © 2023 Xi'an Medical University. All rights reserved.

Risks in Relation to Adopting Airbnb Accommodation: The Role of Fear of COVID-19

This study examined the impacts of perceived Airbnb risks, i.e., performance, financial, physical, social, time, and psychological risks on tourists' intention to use Airbnb. The study also explored the moderating effect of the fear of COVID-19 on the relationship between perceived Airbnb risks and the tourist's intention to use Airbnb. The data was collected from 248 customers of Airbnb using a survey approach. The data were analyzed utilizing the Smart PLS V.4. The PLS-SEM results revealed that Airbnb (physical, psychological, time, performance, financial and social risks) had a significant negative effect on the intention to use Airbnb. On the other side, the fear of COVID-19 acted as a moderator between Airbnb's physical, psychological, and social risks and the intention to use Airbnb, indicating that customers tend to tolerate time and performance risks when having a high level of fear of COVID-19 and prefer to use Airbnb regardless of them. This shift in customer behavior towards customers' intention to use Airbnb in light of the fear of COVID-19 gives Airbnb an edge that should be exploited via remedying other risks. It was suggested that the Airbnb hosts' awareness of the importance of Airbnb in the context of tourism in Egypt should be enhanced. Additionally, a legislative framework should govern Airbnb transactions to secure tourists in dealing with Airbnb hosts. Professionalism in providing Airbnb services should also be adopted. Future studies in the context of the current subject could conduct multi-group analyses according to different types of Airbnb accommodation and use a larger sample size.

The role of human emotions in memorable tourism experience and revisit intention

As tourism research focuses on experience, memorable tourism experience (MTE) is gaining importance among academia and destination managers. However, only limited studies have examined the antecedents and consequences of MTE. Therefore, this study will investigate human emotions with their underlying factors in influencing MTE to cater to revisit intention in tourists. For this study, CFA-SEM is applied to a sample of 1120 tourists from central India to access the empirical relationships. The empirically validated model confirmed the significant relationships among human emotions, MTE, and revisit intention. Results suggested that human emotions significantly influence MTE, which is reflected as revisit intention in tourists. Findings also confirmed the moderating role of the perceived risk of COVID-19 further, exploring the health-linked effects on tourism. This study will help the researchers and destination managers make more informed decisions and strategies to make tourism destinations more sustainable by incorporating human emotions as a significant factor in influencing the tourism experience. The findings will also help destination managers in making tourism more risk-averse.

Consumer behavior of mobile food ordering app users during COVID-19: dining attitudes, e-satisfaction, perceived risk, and continuance intention

Purpose: Mobile food ordering apps (MFOAs) became more popular, thanks to social distancing regulations during the COVID-19 outbreak. People started to order food using these apps more than usual. As customers seem happy to use these apps, there is always a risk of spreading infection. These facts inevitably shape customer intentions. Therefore, this study aims to empirically assess the MFOA user dining attitudes (DA), e-satisfaction (ES) and continuance intention (CI) regarding the perceived risk (PR) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Türkiye. Design/methodology/approach: This study used structural equation modelling (SEM) in the expectation confirmation theory and technology acceptance model. Data collection instruments were derived from existing literature, and 625 questionnaires were collected via online surveys. The data collection instrument consisted of eight parts that aimed to gather information about participants' demographics, expectation confirmation, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, ES, PR and CI. Findings: Results showed significant relationships between ES, DA, PR and CI. The most remarkable finding is that while ES influences customers to reuse MFOAs, PR causes a decrease in CI. Originality/value: This study model broadened the existing MFOA study models by adding risk factors. Also, it made a valuable contribution to emerging MFOA literature both in Türkiye and the world. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The impact of perceived risk of COVID-19 from smoking on the change in number of cigarettes smoked

Introduction: Smoking increases the risk of severe illness and mortality from COVID-19. However, the impact of risk perception on smoking over time is unknown. Method(s): Participants (n = 487) who reported having smoked daily or nondaily in February 2020 were recruited through Reddit and completed a cross-sectional survey. Linear regression models examined the impact of perception that smoking increases the risk of COVID-19 on changes in cigarettes per day (CPD). Result(s): The greater perceived risk of smoking on COVID-19 predicted greater decreases in CPD from before the pandemic (December 2019-February 2020) to March-May 2020, but no change was observed from March-May 2020 to June-August 2020. However, greater perceived risk predicted increases in CPD from June-August 2020 to November 2020-January 2021. Participants with high levels of perceived risk (>75th percentile) were more likely to reduce their CPD in the beginning of the pandemic compared to those with low perceived risk (<=25th percentile), but more likely to increase their CPD between June-August 2020 to November 2020-January 2021, even though perceived risk remained stable over time. Conclusion(s): Perceived risk is associated with a reduction in CPD, but participants returned to their pre-COVID smoking behavior within less than a year.Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Do efforts to address safety pay off? Evidence from the sharing economy in the post–pandemic world

PurposeApplying the value creation of corporate social responsibility (CSR), this study aims to investigate the direct effect of preventive measures in the postpandemic world on Airbnb consumers' attitudes toward the host, which may further impact their behavioral intentions. It also examined the mediating role of perceived risk and perceived motives, as well as the moderating role of message strategies and risk tolerance in this process.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (preventive measures: basic versus enhanced) × 2 (message strategies: promotional social cause message [PSC] versus partake-in-our-cause message [PIOC]) between-subjects factorial design was conducted with a sample of 476 US Airbnb consumers through an online survey. PROCESS macro was used for hypothesis testing.FindingsResults demonstrated that enhanced preventive measures had more positive impact on Airbnb consumers' attitudes toward the host, which was positively related to positive word of mouth and booking intention. Perceived risk and perceived motives mediated the relationship between preventive measures and attitude toward Airbnb hosts. Positive relationships between attitude toward the host and behavioral intentions were strengthened when PIOC was used than PSC. The negative relationship between preventive measures and perceived risk was enhanced when PIOC was used than PSC. Risk tolerance did not interact with messages strategy to impact the relationship between preventive measures and perceived risk.Originality/valueThe study uncovered the mechanisms by which consumers form their responses toward different safety information of Airbnb accommodations postpandemic and the role of message strategies in the process. It provided implications for the Airbnb platform and hosts in the postpandemic period.

Determining outcome factors of city branding post-COVID-19: roles of brand satisfaction, brand experience and perceived risk

Purpose: This study aims to investigate city branding as a post-pandemic COVID-19 outcome factor on brand satisfaction, brand experience, perceived risk and revisit intention. In addition, this research contributes to the discussion of post-COVID-19 city branding that needs to be considered in the development of future tourism marketing. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative approach was used with PLS-SEM statistical analysis and a 263-tourist sample. The study was conducted on tourists from Malang Regency in Indonesia by distributing questionnaires modified from previous studies in a similar context. Findings: The results of this study found that there were significant influences of city brand personality on brand experience, brand satisfaction, brand experience on perceived risk, brand satisfaction on revisit intention and perceived risk on revisit intention. This study also presents the mediating role. Research limitations/implications: The study was only conducted on a small regency in Indonesia, and therefore the results cannot be generalized for other cities over the world. Practical implications: The proposed study model suggests that stakeholders must seek to socialize services to potential tourists, so that tourists can understand the description of tourism activities that can be enjoyed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the way they travel in the future. Social implications: Understanding the determinant factors of city branding post-COVID-19 was valuable for developing marketing strategies to cope with intense competition among the city. Originality/value: This study emphasizes the determinants of COVID-19 perceived risk and revisit intentions as explained in the tourism marketing literature by considering the role of brand satisfaction, brand experience and city brand personality which significantly contribute to build the city competitiveness. Therefore, various creative strategies should be implemented to promote the city as well as escalate tourist visits without ignoring the pandemic's risks. © 2023, Andriani Kusumawati, Rizki Yudhi Dewantara, Devi Farah Azizah and Supriono Supriono.

Generation Z and Intention to Travel: Effects of the Perception of COVID-19

Previous studies have investigated the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on different aspects of tourism behaviour. However, research on a specific generational group, Generation Z, is still limited. This exploratory study aims to examine, for members of this generation, the effect of the perceived risk of COVID-19 and nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) on their intention to travel and, in turn, whether this intention influences their willingness to pay extra to benefit from additional safety measures. With this approach, a Structural Equations methodology has been applied based on 629 surveys received and using SmartPLS 3.0 to analyse them. The results showed that the higher the travel intention of Gen Z, the higher the individual's willingness to pay for additional security measures, the perceived risk of COVID-19 positively influences the NPI taken and in turn, these NPI influence a higher travel intention. However, the authors have not found a significant effect between the perceived risk and Gen Z's intention to travel. Finally, they discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the results, providing suggestions for the recovery of Gen Z tourism after the pandemic. © 2023, Hipatia Editorial. All rights reserved.

Effects of customers' perceived risks of sharing economy on self-protective behavior toward COVID-19

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how customers' perceived risks of sharing economy (SE) affect their self-protective behaviors when using SE, leading to their future behavioral intention. Additionally, this study looks into whether there are any differences between accommodation-sharing and ride-sharing customers in the aforementioned relationships.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey targeting two groups of SE customers (i.e. accommodation sharing and ride sharing) was used. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, the mechanism of how SE customers' perceived risks of SE affect their self-protective behaviors, which in turn influence their future behavior intention. A multigroup analysis was performed to assess the difference between the two groups of SE customers. Finally, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to see the potential differences between the five classifications of self-protective behaviors in their perceived risks.FindingsSE customers' psychological risks positively affected their hygiene protective behaviors and social protective behaviors, influencing their behavior intention and relative intention (compared with traditional services). Social risk had a negative impact on SE customers' hygiene protective behaviors. There was a significant difference between accommodation sharing and ride sharing customers in their psychological mechanism of how perceived risks influence their self-protective behaviors.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study help SE platforms and service providers better understand their customers' perceived risks of their services and suggest them to promote their customers' self-protective behaviors so that perceived risks can be mitigated, thereby generating strong behavior intentions. As the results indicated that there is a significant difference between the two major forms of SE (i.e. accommodation sharing and ride sharing) in their customers' perceived risks and self-protective behavior, SE platforms can further refine their operational and marketing efforts based on the findings.Originality/valueThis study offers a comprehensive understanding of SE customers' self-protective behaviors by examining the effects of SE customers' different perceived risks on their self-protective behaviors during the unprecedented pandemic. Furthermore, the comparison of the two most popular forms of SE (i.e. accommodation sharing and ride sharing) provides new perspectives to understand customers' behavior in the SE context.