Pandemic Dining Dilemmas: Exploring the Determinants of Korean Consumer Dining-Out Behavior during COVID-19

Unji Baek and Seul Ki Lee ()
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Unji Baek: Tourism Industry Data Analytics Lab (TIDAL), Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
Seul Ki Lee: Tourism Industry Data Analytics Lab (TIDAL), Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s significant impact on the dining-out industry, this study examined factors influencing consumers’ dining-out behavior changes using a unified theoretical framework based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and select components of the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model. A quantitative research method was employed, analyzing 536 valid survey responses collected in South Korea in early 2021 using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings showed that consumer attitude, perceived control, and subjective norm positively influenced dining-out intention, supporting the TPB. However, risk information-seeking behavior discourages dining-out behavior without significantly affecting intention. Fear emerged as a determinant of dining-out intention, risk information-seeking behavior, and dining-out behavior, highlighting the importance of emotions over rational thinking. This study contributes to existing literature by incorporating dining-out intention, COVID-19-related information-seeking behavior, and fear as key antecedents of dining-out behavior during the pandemic, while validating formative indicators that constitute risk information-seeking behavior and dining-out behavior in the research model.

Keywords: intention; information-seeking; fear; formative indicator; theory of planned behavior; risk information seeking and processing model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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