Cultivating initial trust in ghost kitchens: A mixed-methods investigation of antecedents and consequences
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Date
2024
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Publisher
Elservier
Abstract
This study examines the antecedents and consequences of customer initial trust in ghost kitchens. A sequential
mixed-methods approach, consisting of a quantitative survey followed by a qualitative inquiry, was employed to
gain an in-depth understanding of the inter-relationships between constructs in the conceptual framework.
Through the quantitative study, we found that food safety, economic value, personalization, food authenticity,
and multisensory experience each positively influence customers’ initial trust in the ghost kitchen, which in turn,
has a positive impact on advocacy and repurchase intentions. Risk attitude moderates the relationship between
initial trust and repurchase intention, such that the higher the tendency to take risks, the stronger the rela
tionship between initial trust and repurchase intention. Meta-inferences were then delineated based on the
qualitative study to explore plausible reasons behind the results that contradicted the research hypotheses. The
study findings offer novel insights into the customer trust-building process in ghost kitchens.
Description
International Journal of Hospitality Management 119 (2024) 103727
Keywords
Ghost kitchen; Initial trust; Food-related factors; Risk attitude; Environmental concern; Mixed-methods