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.