Behavioral intention to order food and beverage items using e-commerce during COVID-19: an integration of theory of planned behavior (TPB) with trust

Purpose: This paper aims to examine consumers' behavioral intention (BI) to order food and beverage items using e-commerce during COVID-19 by incorporating trust (TRU) with the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected via an online questionnaire, and the study used a total of 306 accurate and usable responses. The population of the study includes Indian consumers. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25 and AMOS 22.0. The proposed hypotheses were statistically tested. Findings: The empirical results show that attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SN) and trust significantly and positively influence behavioral intention, while perceived behavioral control (PBC) is insignificant. This study reveals that the proposed model explained approximately 51% of the variance in the behavioral intention. Research limitations/implications: Several theoretical and practical implications are drawn on the basis of the findings of the current study that can be used to make recommendations to e-commerce companies and help them understand the behavioral intention of consumers during COVID-19. Since the research is primarily focused on India, it is difficult to extrapolate the findings to other countries. Originality/value: To the best of researchers' knowledge, no single study was carried out in the Indian context that tested the influence of trust on the behavioral intention of ordering food and beverage items using e-commerce during COVID-19. Hence, the present study attempts to understand the factors influencing purchase intention in e-commerce and analyzes the relationship between these factors in the backdrop of COVID-19. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Glass half-full? A comprehensive PLS-SEM approach to explore the pandemic's effect on wine tourism intentions

Purpose: This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview on positive drivers and negative factors connected to the Covid-19 pandemic which can jointly shape wine tourism intentions. Design/methodology/approach: The present study relies on a large sample of 399 US wine tourists. Partial least square structural equation modelling is adopted for data analysis. Findings: Results reveal that willingness to avoid Covid risk while travelling negatively impacts wine tourism intentions and competitively mediates the effect of Covid phobia. Both situational and personal involvement with wine are key antecedents of future wine tourism intentions. Research limitations/implications: This research contributes to understand the role of willingness to avoid travel-related risks during health crises. Furthermore, it improves existing knowledge on the effect of wine involvement on wine tourism intentions, highlighting the predictive relevance of situational involvement in explaining this relationship. Practical implications: Results constitute critical information to practitioners and destination management operators for improving their resilience under similar circumstances. Updated information on wine tourists' profile is also provided. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is among the first studies exploring how positive and negative drivers act synergically in affecting wine tourism intentions after the Covid-19 outbreak. © 2023, Giulia Gastaldello, Nadia Streletskaya and Luca Rossetto.

Influence of health-conscious consumer behaviour on consumer ethnocentrism during the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of the article is fourfold: (1) to identify the level of health consciousness during the pandemic in Slovakia and Croatia, and to point out the possible influence of selected demographic factors on this rate, (2) to identify the degree of consumer ethnocentrism during the pandemic in Slovakia and Croatia and to examine the impact of selected demographic factors to this extent, (3) to examine the link between health consciousness as a factor affecting consumer ethnocentrism and (4) to identify differences in the studied variables of Croatia and Slovakia. The article is supported by a primary survey based on 459 respondents in Croatia and 429 respondents in Slovakia. Whilst referring to our aims, we formulated research questions and hypotheses, in order to answer and verify them we chose ANOVA test and regression analysis. The results point to a high level of respondents' health awareness and an average (in the case of Slovakia) and above-average (in the case of Croatia) rate of consumer ethnocentrism. The results indicate a low relationship between the variables examined. Results can be applied both in theory and in practice in various fields. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Consumer Perception of Regional Brands in Czechia in 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 changed consumer purchasing behaviour and brand perception. Regional brands were denied their traditional availability and communication channels due to lockdowns. This raises the question whether regional brands are even relevant for consumers and companies in 2021? The aim of the article is thus to find out what the consumer regional brand awareness is, what are perceived regional brand characteristics/benefits, and what are regional brand customers characteristics. The sample used is 1050 respondents from the Czech Republic. The method used is an online survey. The results are compared, where available, with results from 2014 and 2018 to illustrate the trends. Three research questions were formulated based on the three parts of article aim. Main findings include: the regional brand awareness is rising over the researched period to 73 % prompted awareness;main characteristics include region support, traditional production, high quality, and uniqueness;most favourable customer segments are age groups 46-55 and 56-65, with secondary and tertiary education, and income of 30 000 CZK and more.

The cultural acceptance of digital food shopping: conceptualisation, scale development and validation

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative framework that will assist in understanding the adoption of digital food shopping. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the demand for digital shopping, but the adoption of digital shopping for food has not accelerated as fast as in other product categories. This study considered the role of socio-cultural factors to understand the reason for slow adoption of digital technology to access food. A cultural framework that can be used to investigate socio-cultural factors in this context was lacking, however, this paper provides a discussion of social and cultural factors and developed measurement scales to assist in understanding cultural change acceptance in consumers' adoption of digital technology to purchase food. Design/methodology/approach: Using Hayes' process analysis, this paper investigated how cultural acceptance – mediated by consumer affection and appeal and measuring the moderated effects of digital trust (DT) – determined the eventual impact on consumer intention to adopt digital food retailing. This paper also considered moderated mediation with parallel mediations (consumer affection and appeal, digital convenience (DC) and consumer digital readiness) interacting with DT and consumer learning. Findings: The authors found that cultural acceptance of digital technology (CADT) is an antecedent to the adoption of digital shopping for food, but this is also mediated by consumers' appeal and affection for digital technology and consumers' digital readiness. Practical implications: This study also indicates that DT influences consumer appeal and affection (CAA), especially amongst female consumers. Originality/value: The paper represents an empirical investigation of a new conceptual framework that considers socio-cultural factors to understand consumers' use of digital technology in food shopping which has been an existing knowledge gap in current literature. © 2022, Kimberly Thomas-Francois, Simon Somogyi and Alireza Zolfaghari.

Predicting consumers' purchase intention through fast fashion mobile apps: The mediating role of attitude and the moderating role of COVID-19

Nowadays many people use mobile applications for different purposes to manage their daily activities more conveniently and efficiently. Thus, mobile apps contribute to the optimization of consumers' shopping experience during the decision-making process. Based on the S-O-R framework, the present study explores the direct and indirect impact of utilitarian, hedonic and social attributes of mobile apps on consumers' attitudes and purchase intention through fast fashion mobile apps. An online survey was conducted to test the proposed conceptual model, and the partial least squares (PLS) modeling technique was used for the reliability and validity assessment of the reflective constructs. The results indicate that hedonic motivations have a higher impact on consumers' attitudes than utilitarian ones. Attitude has multiple mediation roles, while channel-switching behaviour caused by COVID-19 moderates the relationship between attitude and purchase intention. The findings are relevant for marketers and fashion retailers to optimize branded mobile apps from a utilitarian and hedonic point of view.

Predicting the antecedents of consumers' intention toward purchase of mutual funds: A hybrid PLS‐SEM‐neural network approach

The current study intends to identify the behavioural antecedents of investors' attitude and investment intention toward mutual funds using a robust SEM‐ANN approach. It focuses on novel factors in the purview of the COVID‐19 pandemic, increasing digitalization and social media usage. The research outcome indicates that attitude (ATB), awareness (AW) and investment decision involvement (IDI) have a significant positive relation with investment intention (BI). In contrast, perceived barrier (PBR) negatively relates to investment intention. Herd behaviour (HB) and social media influence (SMI) do not influence investment intention toward mutual funds. Moreover, all the tested predictors share direct relation with the attitude toward mutual fund investment, barring perceived risk (PR), which has an inverse relationship. As per the outcome of ANN sensitivity analysis, attitude is the most crucial determinant of investment intention. It is followed by awareness (AW), perceived barriers (PBR) and investment decision involvement (IDI). Among the significant determinants of attitude, self‐efficacy (SE) is the most important determinant, followed by perceived usefulness (PU), perceived emergency (PEMER), subjective norms (SN) and perceived risk (PR).

Impact of COVID-19 on the drivers of cash-based online transactions and consumer behaviour: evidence from a Muslim market

PurposePakistan is predominantly a cash-based economy, with consumers showing several traits ranging from low confidence on the electronic commerce security, poor access to banking, absence of widespread awareness of e-payments and other religious and psychological barriers to adopting alternatives to cash. This study aims to examine e-payment modes in Pakistan with respect to their impact on supplier and consumer behaviour before and during the pandemic times.Design/methodology/approachThe research follows a qualitative approach. Focus groups and interviews are conducted to carry out an in-depth analysis of consumer and supplier behaviour.FindingsThe findings show that customers are not satisfied with the current e-commerce system in Pakistan, whereas though producers prefer prepayments, they are forced to rely on cash on delivery. However, due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak, consumers are going cashless to avoid physical cash and observe safety protocols. To convert this temporary and enforced patronage of online transactions into a long-term and sustainable one, massive marketing and a combined effort from the government, private bodies and financial institutions is required.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted using online interviews which has the drawback of connection issues, delays and lags in the connectivity, and hence may lead to miss important gestures for data analysis.Originality/valueThis research can be of benefit to online consumers and the supplier side of the online retail industry, by providing them with insight into the various factors that affect consumer behaviour towards e-commerce payment options. An understanding of the behavioural motivators of consumers will allow e-retailers in developing more marketing strategies that are effective, to improve the satisfaction level of their customers and contribute to the development of Pakistan's e-commerce sector into a globally competitive one.