Mobile food ordering apps: An empirical study of the factors affecting customer e-satisfaction and continued intention to reuse

Highlights

• This study aims to examine the factors predicting the e-satisfaction and customers’ intention to reuse MFOAs in Jordan.

• The conceptual model was proposed based on the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2).

• Online tracking, online rating, and online reviewing are also included in the same model.

• The results support the significant role of online review, online rating, online tracking, and UTAUT2 factors.

Abstract

Mobile food ordering apps (MFOAs) have been widely considered in the restaurant sector as innovative channels to reach customers and provide them with high-quality services. However, there are important questions regarding the impact of implementing MFOAs on customer satisfaction and on customers’ intention to reuse such apps. Several studies have examined the outcomes of using MFOAs from the customer’s perspective. The fundamental purpose of this study is to identify and empirically examine the main factors predicting the e-satisfaction with MFOAs and customers’ intention to reuse such apps in Jordan. This research proposes an integrated model based on the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) and the features of MFOAs: online review, online rating, and online tracking. The data was collected from a convenience sample of Jordanian customers who have used MFOAs. The main results are based on structural equation modelling and support the role of online review, online rating, online tracking, performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, and price value on e-satisfaction and continued intention to reuse. This study provides a theoretical contribution and presents practical implications relevant to academics and practitioners working in areas related to MFOAs.

Introduction

Given the rapid development of information communication technology (ICT) and smartphones, smart technologies and mobile application (app) software have become an extensive and integral part of everyday life (Baabdullah, Alalwan, Rana, Patil, & Dwivedi, 2019; Dwivedi, Shareef, Simintiras, Lal, & Weerakkody, 2016; Lal & Dwivedi, 2009; Lu, Wu, & Hsiao, 2019; Malaquias & Hwang, 2019; Shareef, Archer, & Dwivedi, 2012; Shareef, Kumar, Dwivedi, & Kumar, 2016; Ismagilova, Hughes, Dwivedi, & Raman, 2019). Mobile apps are built and designed to be downloaded and used via smartphones or similar mobile platforms (e.g., iPads, tablets). In the first quarter of 2017, the number of apps globally available to be downloaded was about 2.2 million for Apple’s App Store and 2.8 million for Google’s Play Store (Statista, 2018a), and users had downloaded more than 178.1 billion apps on their mobile devices by 2017, a figure that is predicted to increase to 258.2 billion by 2022 (Statista, 2018b).

Among the most popular mobile apps that have recently been developed by service organizations in Jordan are mobile online food ordering apps (MFOAs). For example, 718 Jordanian restaurants had joined the Talabat MFOA and had started taking orders from customers in Amman by the end of 2018 (Talabat, 2017). Jordanian restaurants have started to consider mobile commerce applications as new mechanisms either to attract new customers or to maintain current customers’ satisfaction and loyalty, especially given the intense competition in a sector that comprises more than 20,000 restaurants (Almadenahnews, 2018). Furthermore, the development of interactive technologies has led to customers being more active and engaged in different commercial activities, such as gathering information, comparing alternatives, purchasing, and providing reviews (Carlson, Rahman, Taylor, & Voola, 2019; Thakur, 2016; Yang, Lin, Carlson, & Ross, 2016; Yang, Asaad, & Dwivedi, 2017). Consequently, Jordanian restaurants are looking to build their brand recognition and equity through these apps (Hew, Lee, Ooi, & Lin, 2016).

The selection of Jordan as the context for conducting the empirical part of the current study was because MFOAs are a promising sector in Jordan by comparison with other neighbouring countries. In the Jordanian market, for example, the total number of mobile subscriptions by the end of 2015 had reached 11 million, with a penetration rate of about 147 per cent (The Jordan Times, 2014a, 2014b). About 95 per cent of the Jordanian population had mobile subscriptions, and among them about 38 per cent used smartphones to access mobile and Internet services (The Jordan Times, 2014a, 2014b). According to a study by the Arab Advisers Group, however, although most (98 per cent) owners of smartphones used mobile apps, about 31 per cent of smartphone users were not fully aware of the nature and benefits of such novel systems, with social media apps being the most commonly downloaded (The Jordan Times, 2014a, 2014b).

MFOAs can be defined as mobile apps that smartphone users download and use as an innovative and convenient channel to access restaurants, view food menus, place food orders, and make payments without any physical interaction with restaurant staff (Okumus & Bilgihan, 2014; Wang, Tseng, Wang, Shih, & Chan, 2019). According to a 2015 report, food apps were the second most downloaded app by Apple iOS users (Ariel, 2015). A recent report by Boston Consulting Group found that about 60 per cent of food catering customers had already adopted at least one MFOA (BCG, 2017).

By using these apps, customers are able more easily and effectively to access and order their food from a wide range of restaurants at times and locations convenient to the users. Such apps also provide customers with more comprehensive, up-to-date, and accurate information about the restaurants and the menu options. Accompanying this information is the ability for customers to see their order progress through all its stages (Aksenova, 2017; Algharabat, Alalwan, Rana, & Dwivedi, 2017; Lu & Rastrick, 2014; Marriott, Williams, & Dwivedi, 2017; Nilashi, Ibrahim, Mirabi, Ebrahimi, & Zare, 2015). Online food ordering apps consist of various innovative characteristics that help both customers and restaurants override problems like long waiting times, traffic, miscommunication, delayed delivery, or dealing with customer complaints.

Even though online food ordering apps have been attracting considerable interest in Jordan and other countries in the region, the related issues of these apps have not been fully studied and tested by academics and researchers. As such apps have only recently been introduced in Jordan, there is a need to examine which aspects could shape customers’ perception, intention, and behaviour towards them. Furthermore, because most previous studies of mobile apps in general and MFOAs in particular have simply addressed aspects related to customer intention and initial adoption, this study will go further by considering e-satisfaction and customers’ continued intention to reuse, especially given that most MFOAs are popular and well adopted by customers (Kapoor & Vij, 2018; Statista, 2018b).

Therefore, the key question addressed by this research relates to the impact of these applications on the customers’ experience in terms of satisfaction and continued intention to reuse. To answer this question, this study proposes a model that can both cover dimensions related to most features of mobile apps and address the most important aspects from the perspective of Jordanian customers. Thus, this study will empirically test this model in a Jordanian context.

The rest of the paper is organized as follow: the next section presents an overview of the main themes covered by prior literature, which is followed by a section that discusses and explains the conceptual model and the research hypotheses. Section four presents the methodology and section five the empirical results. The results are discussed in depth in section six through a consideration of their theoretical contribution and practical implications. The final section presents a research conclusion, limitations, and future research directions.