The psychology of vacationers' hotel brand choice in a post-pandemic world

The present study investigated patrons' intricate psychological process for hotel brand choice and preference. This research uncovered hotel selection attributes in shaping brand loyalty through customer experience, brand trust, brand attachment, age, and gender in the post-pandemic world. This paper categorized hotel selection attributes into that vacationers appreciate in the domestic tourism context. The findings indicated the significant effect of hotel selection attributes on customer experience, which in turn affect brand preference. Also, the moderating effect of age was identified in the relationship between hotel selection attributes and customer experience. This research is among the first to revisit hotel selection attributes for domestic tourism amid the pandemic and the way to cultivate the loyalty toward a hotel brand.

Factors Influencing Car Buyers Purchase Decision During COVID-19 in Malaysia

Consumer behaviours are largely regulated by multiple factors from need recognition to search for products that would satisfy their requirements. The study in context to car purchase behaviour among the Malaysian consumer highlights increased car buying trends among the Malaysian consumers during the pandemic. Social distancing along with prohibiting the usage of public transport has increased difficulties of consumers thereby resulting in an increased tendency to opt for personal cars. Products features such as fuel consumption, reliability, comfort and performance that provide value and upgraded functionality plays a big role in purchase decision-making. Derived from the the product features leads to brand trust and inspired the decision to buy from the same brand. Affordable and acceptable ownership costs and the consequence purchase power plays important factors in influencing car purchase decision. Higher income people favouring more expensive cars and the subsequent high ownership costs. At the same time, social needs during the pandemic situation has prohibited individuals from close contacts and gatherings that further requires the consumers to purchase cars. COVID-19 pandemic that was known to be airborne and transmittable diseases had truly fundamental impact on purchase decision especially for car buyers. The research examine the correlation of consumer behaviour towards purchase decision specifically in Malaysian context. This research can be used as guidance to map the consumer behavior while providing future and practical insights for carmakers towards reviving car industry that being one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

A framework for transitioning brand trust to brand love

Purpose: This study aims to propose a conceptual framework for transition of brand trust to brand love in an uncertain market situation, from the perspective of cognitive-emotion theory (CET). Design/methodology/approach: Since brand anthropomorphism is successfully established in branding research, this study takes cognitive characteristics of brand trust and emotional characteristic of brand love from extant literature to develop a conceptual framework for transformation of brand trust (cognition) into brand love (emotion). This study situates the relationship in the context of market uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses in the development of the conceptual framework by taking cognitive components of brand trust and brand behavioural characteristics as moderator, in uncertain market situation. Findings: Findings suggest that transition of brand trust (cognition) to brand love (emotion) is possible in uncertain situation, and brand behavioural characteristics moderate this relationship. Brand behavioural characteristics are brand innovativeness, brand ethicality, brand empathy, brand expertise and brand agility, which have the potential to further strengthen the relationship in the given situation. Research limitations/implications: This research proposes a conceptual model and propositions that add a rich understanding to the relationship of brand trust and brand love, which requires empirical testing in any brand category context. Through a richer understanding of conditions and the underlying psychological mechanism, researchers and marketers, brand managers, policymakers and so forth can gain insights that aid strategic decision-making. Trusted brands can leverage on the situation by highlighting unique behavioural characteristics to establish a strong and sustainable long-term relationship. Originality/value: The current research is an attempt to provide deeper insights from the perspective of CET, into the relationship of brand trust (cognition) and brand love (emotion) by introducing conditions under which a trusted brand becomes a lovable brand in uncertain market situation, thereby adding new knowledge to branding, customer-brand relationship sustainability, in uncertainty literature. The new perspective, that is CET, puts forward a novice view on the advantage of brand love over brand trust that could help in formulating strategic decisions in managing brands in crisis situation. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The impact of family business brand trust and crisis management practices on customer purchase intention during Covid-19

PurposeThe aim of the current study is to investigate the effect of consumers' brand trust in family businesses and the impact of crisis management practices on customer purchase intention during the period of Covid-19.Design/methodology/approachThis is a primary quantitative research on a sample of 817 consumers who bought products from 20 food and beverage family companies. Simple random sampling was used to collect the primary data. Data collection was made with the use of questionnaires. The questionnaires were developed based on previous studies and were tested in terms of reliability and validity.FindingsThe research findings indicate, among others, that there is a positive significant relationship between brand trust and purchase intention. As a result, the higher the trust of the consumers in a family business brand name, the higher their intention to make purchases. Additionally, it was found that the higher the performance of family businesses on crisis management practices, the more the consumers intent to make purchases.Research limitations/implicationsNonetheless, there are some limitations in the current research. First, the research sample consists of companies and consumers from a specific location, which can create issues regarding the generalization of the findings. Thus, to ensure improved research implications, a future research should include sample units from different locations and countries in order to reinforce the research findings and enable comparisons and more easily generalized outcomes. Moreover, a future research could assess additional factors that potentially affect purchase intention within a family business environment. Factors such as human resources and the relationship between customers and companies as well as communication and promotional efforts will allow the creation of a more stable and holistic framework and the prediction of consumer behavior. This potential follow-up research will further contribute to the theoretical argumentation of the findings and highlight the connection among purchase intention, trust and crisis managements practices within the family business environment.Practical implicationsRegarding the managerial and practical implications, the research outcomes can lead to specific strategies related to brand trust and crisis management practices. Specifically, family companies should invest on their brand name and their relationship with the consumers by reinforcing any action which can potentially affect the trust of the consumers. This could be realized by providing a safe purchase environment according to health and safety standards and through their response strategy and adaptability to the current pandemic conditions through the use of crisis management practices. Finally, a practical response to social and physical distancing measures would increase brand trust, and the performance on crisis management practices could also lead to sufficient financial outcomes since all these factors positively affect consumers' purchase intention.Originality/valueThe outbreak of the pandemic directly affected the profitability but also the viability of companies, regardless of industry. In particular, the impact that the pandemic had on family businesses, financially, organizationally and operationally, was massive and in many cases, catastrophic. Several studies have focused on family businesses, analyzing their structure, advantages and disadvantages. However, in these studies, there is little focus on the brand's influence on consumer behavior and market intention, especially compared to nonfamily businesses and under unique circumstances such as those of a pandemic.

Effect of social media marketing on online travel purchase behavior post-COVID-19: mediating role of brand trust and brand loyalty

The present study intends to unleash the influence of social media marketing (SMM) on purchase intention (PI), brand trust (BT) and brand loyalty (BL) in the setting of online travel booking websites. It also analyses the mediating effect of BT and BL in the relationship between SMM and PI. This study also examines the importance of trust and loyalty in the suggested model, which adds to the current research in this area. A self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect the data from the users of online travel booking websites, and the study rested upon 397 valid responses. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) through Smart PLS v.3.2.6. The findings reveal that SMM has a favorable and substantial impact on BT and BL, influencing COVID-19 purchase intention. As per the findings, BT and BL's beneficial influence on the purchase intention of arranging travel on social media was discovered. Moreover, it was also confirmed from the results that BT and BL mediate the relationship between SMM and PI. Therefore, SMM significantly impacts online trip booking purchase intentions with increased BT and BL levels. Finally, several theoretical and managerial implications can be delineated from the findings of this study for industry and academia.

Surviving and thriving through a crisis: a resiliency branding approach to transform airline industry

Purpose: There has been substantial research on branding globally. However, there is a dearth of studies empirically investigating branding strategies during the pandemic to mitigate COVID-19 effects on the airline industry. The paper considers three factors which are brand familiarity, brand communication and brand reputation to develop the brand trust of customers and that ultimately influence their brand preferences. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on self-administrative surveys as 450 questionnaires were spread, received 339 responses and a total of 301 questionnaires were selected for data analysis by structural-based modeling after the deletion of outliers and partially filled questionnaires. The data was collected through purposive sampling from Malaysian airports. Findings: The findings confirm the relationship of brand communication, brand familiarity and brand reputation to brand trust and brand preference through mediation and directly except direct relationship of brand familiarity to brand preference. The study is limited to the provided dataset of surveys. The present study couldn't interview respondents which can be done by future studies and also effects of COVID-19 can be examined on related industries or through comparative studies among countries. Originality/value: The present study is the first to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on airline brands and explored the strategies to respond to crises. The study is one of the rare studies that consider branding strategies to the uplift airline industry and mitigate post-pandemic effects from the airline sector. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Exploring relationship among semiotic product packaging, brand experience dimensions, brand trust and purchase intentions in an Asian emerging market

Purpose>Over recent years, brand semiotics have been gaining the marketing practitioners' attention for designing their brand strategy. Hence, to address this gap, the current study investigates the effect of semiotic product packaging on brand experience dimensions, brand trust and purchase intent of reputed major brands of fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) products.Design/methodology/approach>The data for this study were collected by administering a questionnaire-based survey from 254 respondents from the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) of India, using systematic sampling. Structural equation modeling has been used to test the conceptual model and examine the hypotheses developed in the study.Findings>The results present evidence of the growing influence of semiotic product packaging upon consumer brand trust and purchase intentions. The study suggests that brand semiotics positively influence customer brand experience, brand trust and purchase intention of FMCG products.Practical implications>The research findings will benefit FMCG companies to identify how to apply semiotics in packaging to improve consumers' brand experience and influence intent to purchase.Originality/value>Research in brand semiotics on product packaging is limited, as most prior studies focus on brand semiotics in advertising, product design improvement and retail design. The present study has investigated the impact of semiotics on brand experience dimensions in product packaging, which is emerging as a critical concern for the FMCG sector particularly in the post-COVID period.

From biscuits to hand sanitizers: India's largest biscuit and confectionary brand-Parle's diversification

Parle is a brand that is known to one and all in India. it is a household name when it comes to biscuits. Parle-G is the world's number 1 selling biscuit. Flourishing in its taste and quality which comes at a very affordable, low price, Parle has been very popular in the Indian market. It has the lion's share of the Indian biscuit market. This case study explores how Parle leveraged this brand value it earned through biscuits and extended its product line by launching sanitizers in 2020. The case study also highlights an interesting occurrence: While most companies were grappling with low sales and distribution issues during the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, Parle reported the highest sales it had achieved in over 8 decades. This case study delves into various aspects such as Parle's history and reasons for its success in the biscuit market, its growth spurt during the Covid-19 pandemic, the factors which resulted in such huge growth, and finally its business diversification into the hand sanitizer market. This case study makes use of the available litreature to highlight the reasons behind Parle's market success with a special focus on Parle-G Biscuits;its most successful and popular product. This case study can be used to teach and learn various concepts like marketing mix, product line, product line diversification, and brand value to name a few.

Value acquisition, value co-creation: The impact of perceived organic grocerant value on customer engagement behavior through brand trust.

Affected by COVID-19, there is a growing trend toward healthy lifestyles and organic food consumption. The literature on organic foods focuses on the factors that influence buying behavior. A thriving organic business requires both sustained consumption and consumer contributions beyond the purchase-customer engagement behavior. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that may drive member customers to engage with organic grocerants. This study surveyed 280 Chinese member customers of an organic grocerant to explore how to drive customer engagement behavior. Based on value co-creation theory and the customer engagement literature, this study proposed a "value acquisition-value co-creation" framework to explore the relationship between perceived value, brand trust, and customer engagement behavior. The results show that emotional and social value can directly and effectively motivate customer engagement behavior in organic grocerants. However, consumers' perceived quality value and price value will not directly affect customer engagement behavior but instead indirectly affect it through brand trust. Furthermore, improving the perceived value of emotion, quality and price can strengthen brand trust in organic grocerants. The study confirms that brand trust is critical to organic grocerant and customer engagement. Our findings provide a new perspective for understanding the relationship between the value customers receive from organic food consumption and value co-creation through customer engagement behavior.

The impact of family business brand trust and crisis management practices on customer purchase intention during Covid-19

Purpose The aim of the current study is to investigate the effect of consumers' brand trust in family businesses and the impact of crisis management practices on customer purchase intention during the period of Covid-19. Design/methodology/approach This is a primary quantitative research on a sample of 817 consumers who bought products from 20 food and beverage family companies. Simple random sampling was used to collect the primary data. Data collection was made with the use of questionnaires. The questionnaires were developed based on previous studies and were tested in terms of reliability and validity. Findings The research findings indicate, among others, that there is a positive significant relationship between brand trust and purchase intention. As a result, the higher the trust of the consumers in a family business brand name, the higher their intention to make purchases. Additionally, it was found that the higher the performance of family businesses on crisis management practices, the more the consumers intent to make purchases. Research limitations/implications Nonetheless, there are some limitations in the current research. First, the research sample consists of companies and consumers from a specific location, which can create issues regarding the generalization of the findings. Thus, to ensure improved research implications, a future research should include sample units from different locations and countries in order to reinforce the research findings and enable comparisons and more easily generalized outcomes. Moreover, a future research could assess additional factors that potentially affect purchase intention within a family business environment. Factors such as human resources and the relationship between customers and companies as well as communication and promotional efforts will allow the creation of a more stable and holistic framework and the prediction of consumer behavior. This potential follow-up research will further contribute to the theoretical argumentation of the findings and highlight the connection among purchase intention, trust and crisis managements practices within the family business environment. Practical implications Regarding the managerial and practical implications, the research outcomes can lead to specific strategies related to brand trust and crisis management practices. Specifically, family companies should invest on their brand name and their relationship with the consumers by reinforcing any action which can potentially affect the trust of the consumers. This could be realized by providing a safe purchase environment according to health and safety standards and through their response strategy and adaptability to the current pandemic conditions through the use of crisis management practices. Finally, a practical response to social and physical distancing measures would increase brand trust, and the performance on crisis management practices could also lead to sufficient financial outcomes since all these factors positively affect consumers' purchase intention. Originality/value The outbreak of the pandemic directly affected the profitability but also the viability of companies, regardless of industry. In particular, the impact that the pandemic had on family businesses, financially, organizationally and operationally, was massive and in many cases, catastrophic. Several studies have focused on family businesses, analyzing their structure, advantages and disadvantages. However, in these studies, there is little focus on the brand's influence on consumer behavior and market intention, especially compared to nonfamily businesses and under unique circumstances such as those of a pandemic.

The Impact of Hotel Customer Engagement and Service Evaluation on Customer Behavior Intention: The Mediating Effect of Brand Trust.

Because of the COVID-19, the tourism industry has been greatly affected, especially the occupancy rate of hotel companies. This study analyzes the effects of customer engagement and service evaluation on brand trust and customer behavioral intention based on 437 valid questionnaires from Chinese economy hotel companies using SPSS and AMOS. The components of customer engagement are subdivided into five dimensions: identification, enthusiasm, attention, absorption and interaction, and the impact of these five dimensions on brand trust in the COVID- 19 is investigated. Finally, it verifies the influence of trust on customers' word-of-mouth (WOM) intention and customers' reuse intention. The results of this study not only enrich the research on customer engagement and service evaluation in marketing circles but also give some advice to hotel companies in the COVID-19 customer engagement and service evaluation that can enhance the trust of enterprises and promote the behavior intention of customers, which has certain practical reference value.

Impact of perceived corporate citizenship on purchase intention: across the fear of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose>This paper examines the direct relationship between perceived corporate citizenship (CC) and purchase intention. This study also tests the mediating role of brand trust (BT), consumer–brand identification (CBI) and the moderating effect of personal norms and fear to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by contributing social exchange theory (SET), brand relationship theory, social cognitive theory (SCT) and fear appeal theory.Design/methodology/approach>Quantitative research was carried out by means of a survey with a sample of 411 regular consumers who work for national retail brands, where the unit of analysis was an individual. The study analysed the data to test the research hypotheses using SPSS and SMART partial least squares (PLS).Findings>This study found a significant positive impact of perceived CC on purchase intention (direct path), and furthermore, a partial mediation was shown for the indirect approach. In addition, personal norms and fear to COVID-19 have a significant impact on the relationships between perceived CC on purchase intention, BT on purchase intention and CBI on purchase intention.Practical implications>This study provides useful insights for managers to implement CC strategies to enhance consumer purchase intention and brand relationship in the retail sector within the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/value>The current study is perhaps the first to investigate the impact of perceived CC on purchase intention across BT, CBI, personal norms and fear to COVID-19 in the retail industry, period of COVID-19 pandemic. The study also makes some significant theoretical contributions and previously did not shed light on customer behaviour in this context.

The Relationship of Corporate Social Responsibility, Brand Trust and Electronic Word of Mouth

The COVID-19 pandemic has happened for nearly two years, and all the countries worldwide accept to live with the pandemic. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is considered a competitive strategy to help businesses gain customers' trust and strengthen their brand image in the long term. Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) has proven its close relationship with CSR and brand trust with digital platforms. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship of CSR to brand trust and EWOM in the Vietnamese market during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper applied both the qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative approach is to confirm and adjust the scale, whereas quantitative research aims to find the relationship of CSR to brand trust and EWOM. The result indicated that CSR has a closed relationship with brand trust and EWOM and the impact of responsibility towards consumers to CSR is the most robust influencing relationship. The study has proposed recommendations to improve and develop CSR for Vietnamese enterprises. © 2022 IEEE.

CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS: BRAND TRUST TO SUPPORT OF THE THAI HERB TO TREAT COVID-19 DISEASES

The objective of this study is to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of brand trust in support of a Thai herb used to treat Covid-19 diseases. The study was conducted by a quantitative method with 630 samples who used to take Thai herbal medicines to treat Covid-19, which involved probability random sampling. Data collection was gathered by means of a questionnaire that was composed of the five-point scale. Cronbach's alpha reliability for all items indicated a high value of 0.814 at the overall reliability. It used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to detect the underlying latent variables that significantly determine brand trust. The result found that four components to the validation of a goodness fitted model and correlated to brand trust consisted of;1) Quality of ingredients (QU), 2) Creditability of manufacturing (CR), 3) Influencer (IN), and 4) Channel and Distributor (CH) which the components had convergence with empirical evidence along with indexes consisted chi-square = 41.751, df = 29, p-value = 0.059, CMIN/DF = 1.440, GFI = 0.987, and RMSEA = 0.026.

The Effect of the Country of Origin on Brand Trust: A Case Study for COVID-19 Vaccines in Vietnam

Many factors influence brand trust, including manufacturer prestige, product value and quality, country of origin, media marketing, experience, and brand relationship. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the nation of origin on brand trust, using Vietnam as a case study for India's COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 407 Vietnamese people aged 18 and up participated in the survey. The findings of the study show that the nation of origin has a significant impact on brand trust. Specifically, the perceived country image has a negative effect on brand trust, the other two components of the country of origin are perceived value and perceived quality of product have a positive impact on brand trust in India's COVID-19 vaccine. Research results show that if the perceived country image of the country of production is perceived negatively, then there will be a negative impact on brand trust. According to research findings, people in Vietnam who are 30 years old or older, have steady occupations, know about India, have used Indian products in the past, and have strong brand trust in India's COVID-19 vaccinations. India needs to boost its country's image and develop communication to increase brand trust in Vietnam.

Exploring relationship among semiotic product packaging, brand experience dimensions, brand trust and purchase intentions in an Asian emerging market

Purpose Over recent years, brand semiotics have been gaining the marketing practitioners' attention for designing their brand strategy. Hence, to address this gap, the current study investigates the effect of semiotic product packaging on brand experience dimensions, brand trust and purchase intent of reputed major brands of fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) products. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study were collected by administering a questionnaire-based survey from 254 respondents from the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) of India, using systematic sampling. Structural equation modeling has been used to test the conceptual model and examine the hypotheses developed in the study. Findings The results present evidence of the growing influence of semiotic product packaging upon consumer brand trust and purchase intentions. The study suggests that brand semiotics positively influence customer brand experience, brand trust and purchase intention of FMCG products. Practical implications The research findings will benefit FMCG companies to identify how to apply semiotics in packaging to improve consumers' brand experience and influence intent to purchase. Originality/value Research in brand semiotics on product packaging is limited, as most prior studies focus on brand semiotics in advertising, product design improvement and retail design. The present study has investigated the impact of semiotics on brand experience dimensions in product packaging, which is emerging as a critical concern for the FMCG sector particularly in the post-COVID period.

The Predictor of Costumer Loyalty of Online-Based Transportation Application

Customer loyalty of Online transportation application based on information technology increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Customers continue to use Online transportation application in carrying out daily mobility to avoid exposure to the Covid-19 virus. The research aims to prove the influence of brand trust, service quality, and religiosity on customer loyalty of Online transportation application based on information technology. This research uses a quantitative approach. The study sample amounted to 303 users of Online transportation application Sampling technique application service using accidental sampling. Instruments measuring customer loyalty using measuring instruments from Mcmullan and Gillmore [14], Brand Trust Scale (BTS) from Delgado-Bellester [3], Service quality (Servqual) developed parasuraman [17], and The Centrality of Religiousness Scale (CRS) developed by Huber and Huber [8]. Data analysis techniques use multiple regressions. The results of the analysis proved that the null hypothesis was rejected, meaning that there was a significant influence on brand trust, service quality, and religiosity on customer loyalty with a significance level of 0.000 (P<0.05) and R square showing 0.580 or 58 %. Based on regression coefficients show that brand reliability, responsiveness and public practices significantly affect customer loyalty of Gojek-based information technology-based application services. © 2021 IEEE.

Are you ready for a contactless future? A multi-group analysis of experience, delight, customer equity, and trust based on the Technology Readiness Index 2.0

Contactless hospitality services are technology-enabled innovative services combating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveying 1,537 hotel guests, this study explores the relationships between customer experience, customer delight, customer equity, and brand trust in contactless hospitality services. A theoretical model is proposed to investigate the antecedents and consequences of customer equity. The moderating effect of health concerns lies on the path from customer equity to trust. A multi-group analysis was conducted to examine the invariance among proposed paths between two customer groups. The effects of delight on equity and equity on trust are stronger for the low technology readiness group.

The Effect of Service Quality and Brand Trust on Customer Loyalty during COVID-19 Pandemic: Moderating Effect of Customer Satisfaction

This research was conducted to detect how service quality and brand trust influence JNE customer loyalty in Karawang through customer satisfaction as an intervening variable. The research was carried out using descriptive and causal research types with a quantitative approach involving 400 respondents who used JNE services by taking samples through a non-probability sampling technique that was purposive sampling type, namely through determining specific criteria that were in line with the research objectives. The analytical method used in this research is path analysis, data analysis using the SmartPLS version 3.0 software. The results of the analysis show that service quality variables owns a great and substantial reaction on JNE customer satisfaction, brand trust owns a great and substantial reaction on customer loyalty, service quality owns a great and substantial reaction on customer satisfaction, customer satisfaction owns a great and substantial reaction on customer loyalty. © Kalahari Journals.

Changes in the effect of credence cues on restaurant delivery service under different health risks

Purpose Due to increased health concerns, restaurant customers rely more on credible cues that indirectly represent health-related credence quality. To comprehensively understand the dynamics between credence cues and restaurant delivery with different infection risks, this study aims to investigate changes in cue utilization during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Data on delivery sales, brand and review rating between 2019 and the first half of 2020 were obtained from Meituan. Fixed-effects estimation was used to investigate 579,858 restaurant observations across 338 cities in China. Findings Health concerns significantly increased the use of restaurant delivery and the increased delivery sales remained steady even after infection risk was reduced. However, cue utilization in restaurant delivery substantially changed depending on inflection risk. In the pandemic-spreading period, the sales effect of the brand increased while that of review rating decreased. The decreased effect of review rating was recovered in the pandemic-flattening period, whereas the abnormal brand effect continued only when branded restaurants had a high rating. Research limitations/implications The findings demonstrate the selective and contextual nature of cue utilization in the restaurant delivery setting. These characteristics are also manifested in a health crisis from a credence cue perspective. Practical implications The findings demonstrate the selective and contextual nature of cue utilization in the restaurant delivery setting. These characteristics are also manifested in a health crisis from a credence cue perspective. Further, this study re-conceptualizes credence quality and cues, considering their roles in risk management. The findings help develop risk management strategies based on customers' usage patterns of credence cues in health crises. Originality/value The dynamics between credence cues and restaurant delivery has not been comprehensively investigated, especially when infection risk changes. This study delivers theoretical and practical contributions about how to use credence cues in the restaurant business amid health crises.