Ethical and sustainable perceptions on cloud kitchen business - a study of consumers and stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Cloud kitchen has evolved as a popular means to meet the growing demand of home-delivered food during the pandemic. The purpose of this research is to gauge the perception of consumers as well as stakeholders about the ethical correctness of cloud kitchen models of business and whether the cloud kitchen model is sustainable or not. The manuscript is primary and quantitative in nature. The data was collected during the period of pandemic from the respondents living in Delhi and Kolkata. The research focuses on the Utility, Rights, Fairness and Care constructs of ethics to gauge the perception of respondents about cloud kitchen business including its sustainability and challenges. The analysis was done running ANOVA and binomial distribution. The consumers as well as stakeholders and employees appear to be positively responding on the question of the cloud kitchen model being ethically correct on the 4 constructs and they seem to agree that Cloud Kitchens are sustainable. Very little existing literature is available on the ethical and sustainability aspects of cloud kitchen model with Utility, Rights, Fairness and Care constructs. Thus, it is the first paper of its kind and is expected to add to the existing body of literature.