Determining the drivers of continued mobile food delivery app (MFDA) usage during a pandemic period

Munday, Monique; Humbani, Michael Article Determining the drivers of continued mobile food delivery app (MFDA) usage during a pandemic period Cogent Business & Management Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Munday, Monique; Humbani, Michael (2024) : Determining the drivers of continued mobile food delivery app (MFDA) usage during a pandemic period, Cogent Business & Management, ISSN 2331-1975, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2308086 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/326022 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Cogent Business & Management ISSN: 2331-1975 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/oabm20 Determining the drivers of continued mobile food delivery app (MFDA) usage during a pandemic period Monique Munday & Michael Humbani To cite this article: Monique Munday & Michael Humbani (2024) Determining the drivers of continued mobile food delivery app (MFDA) usage during a pandemic period, Cogent Business & Management, 11:1, 2308086, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2024.2308086 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2308086 © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Published online: 31 Jan 2024. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 1961 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 2 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 OperatiOns, infOrmatiOn & technOlOgy | research article Cogent Business & ManageMent 2024, VoL. 11, no. 1, 2308086 Determining the drivers of continued mobile food delivery app (MFDA) usage during a pandemic period monique munday and michael humbani Department of Marketing Management, university of Pretoria, Pretoria, south africa ABSTRACT the study aimed to determine the main factors that predicted users’ intention to continue using mobile food delivery apps during the cOViD-19 pandemic. the moderating role of user experience was also explored. Data were obtained from 411 users of mobile food delivery apps in south africa, using the purposive sampling technique. the lens of the integrated modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UtaUt2) and the task technology fit (ttf) were used for this research. the results indicate that users’ continuance intentions are influenced by performance expectancy and habit, and that hedonic motivation and ttf are insignificant predictors. performance expectancy mediates between ttf and continuance intention, and user experience moderates the relationship between predictors (ttf, hedonic motivation, habit) and continuance intention. restaurant owners can use the findings of this study to design winning strategies that mix both technology features and mental perceptions to build a stronger client base during crises and future business possibilities. 1. Introduction consumer behaviour has shifted significantly to digital channels as a result of the cOViD-19 pandemic, causing businesses to revise their models to facilitate the increased adoption of technologies (ramos, 2022). as people were encouraged to work and shop from home to limit virus transmission (sheth, 2020), there has been a dramatic increase in mobile app usage as evidenced by a 7% increase in mobile app downloads year over year in 2020 across iOs and google play (app annie, 2021). although restaurants have now reopened to indoor diners due to worldwide vaccinations and a reduction in infections, experts still anticipate continued use of these apps beyond 2023, when the number of mobile app users is projected to reach 53.9 million (Kats, 2020). as a result, long after the pandemic has passed, mobile food delivery apps are expected to become a critical mode of financial transaction. although no business seems to be immune to the effects of the pandemic, one of the most severely affected industries was the food service outlets, as customer behaviours abruptly changed in response to the imposed physical distancing and mandated operational restrictions (timur etal., 2023). as a result, eating habits have changed, causing restaurant operators to rethink their business tactics to keep up with shifting client preferences (Brewer & sebby, 2021). consequently, restaurants are turning to mobile food delivery apps (mfDas) to boost their revenue and stay afloat (timur et al., 2023). With these advancements in mobile technologies, it is envisaged that mfDas will continue to grow and percolate to different areas in the retail industry, yet studies investigating intention to continue to use mfDas in © 2024 the author(s). Published by informa uK Limited, trading as taylor & Francis group. CONTACT Michael Humbani [email protected] Department of Marketing Management, university of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Hatfield Main Campus, Pretoria, south africa. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2308086 this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. the terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. ARTICLE HISTORY received 10 January 2023 revised 2 December 2023 accepted 17 January 2024 KEYWORDS mobile food delivery applications; continuance intention; mobile payments; user experience SUBJECTS social sciences; Behavioral sciences; consumer psychology; economics, finance, Business & industry; Business, management and accounting; marketing REVIEWING EDITOR Balan sundarakani, University of Wollongong in Dubai faculty of Business, United arab emirates 2 m. mUnDay anD m. hUmBani a pandemic situation are largely missing in emerging markets such as south africa, which experienced the highest cOViD-19 infections on the continent (nicD, 2023). researchers have long argued that continued use is the most reliable source of revenue for service providers (nguyen etal., 2023). the global rate of abandonment of retail apps is 69.8%, which is a cause for concern amongst practitioners and academics (coppola, 2022). as a result, it is unclear whether or not customers who began using mfDas during the pandemic will continue to do so post pandemic and why. thus, the following main research question guided the study: What are the salient factors that promote continued usage of mfDas during a crisis period such as that posed by the cOViD-19 pandemic? the answer to this question is critical because the business value of a product or service is determined by how long it is used, rather than how quickly it is adopted (yap & lee, 2023). given that there may be a three-fold increase in the annual likelihood of severe epidemics developing in the coming years (marani etal., 2021), management needs to be aware of the elements that contribute to the continuous usage of a technology like mfDa to improve readiness for a similar crisis. Despite this, not much research has been done on this topic in developing nations, especially not in south africa, where about 40% of customers scanned or used a Qr code to make a purchase in 2020 (gWi, 2020). thus, the current study may provide insight into the continued use of mfDas during future crises resembling the cOViD-19 pandemic. mfDas are mobile apps that are downloaded by smartphone users as an alternative medium to gain access to restaurants, view menus, order food and make payments, without the need to physically visit the restaurant (alalwan, 2020). consumer intentions toward adopting online food delivery ordering systems have been extensively studied in the past (Belanche et al., 2020; gunden et al., 2020). Despite the growing abundance of published research on the subject matter, consumer behaviour literature related to the continued usage of mobile food delivery technologies is still in its infancy (gunden et al., 2020). this is surprisingly also true in south africa, where about 12% of adult consumers prefer to eat at a restaurant every week compared to the global average of 28% (gWi, 2020). the top reliable mfDas commonplace in south africa are mr. D food, Uber eats, Oishi sushi, checkers sixty60, yumbi, appetite and nandos Ormonde (Karimi, 2020). the primary objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which habit, hedonic motivation, performance expectancy, and task technology fit (ttf) predict the intention to continue using mfDas amongst existing users of mfDas during the pandemic. the study took the view that focussing on existing users could provide invaluable insights, since the motivations for a prospective user of new technology not only differ from those of the current user, but attitudes and beliefs before adoption also differ from those in the post-purchase adoption (hernández-Ortega et al., 2008). a significant body of prior research indicates that the aforementioned factors (habit, hedonic motivation, performance expectancy, task technology fit) are significant predictors of the intention to continue to use new technologies (cheng et al., 2020; foroughi et al., 2023; sreelakshmi & prathap, 2020; tam et al., 2020), and are therefore worthy of further investigation in the context of mfDas in an emerging economy, such as south africa, where the food delivery business is expected to reach r17 billion by 2023 (statista, 2022). furthermore, the study also determined the mediating effect of performance expectancy between ttf and continuance intention, as reported by Zhao and Bacao (2020). in addition, the study also aimed to determine the moderating role of user experience in influencing continuance intention to use mfDas during the pandemic. Because user experience shapes attitudes, it has been found to play a profound role in shaping subsequent consumption behaviours (sun et al., 2022). Understanding user behaviour based on user experience is crucial for service providers, as they are increasingly investing in learning about user experiences, not only to better understand consumer habits and preferences (sun et al., 2022), but also to provide long-lasting experiences that retain users. currently, there are limited studies in emerging markets that shed light on the impact of the cOViD-19 pandemic on users’ intention to continue using mfDas, and on how user experience with mfDas could enhance the continuance usage of the apps during the pandemic period. to address these knowledge gaps, the study aimed to join the ongoing conversation amongst scholars concerning the intention to continue using mfDas and the moderating effect of user experience in a way that advances the theoretical literature. this information is expected to be valuable to academicians to build knowledge, as well as to service providers who need to revise their business models in tandem with cOgent BUsiness & management 3 changing consumer needs, as the pandemic persists in some parts of the world, such as china and south africa. this study contributes to mobile payment literature in two ways. firstly, the study developed an integrated model from carefully selected elements taken from the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UtaUt2; Venkatesh et al., 2012) with elements taken from the ttf model (goodhue & thompson, 1995) to investigate the factors predicting the continuance intention to use mfDas in a pandemic context. the UtaUt2 framework was updated by Venkatesh etal. (2012) in tandem with the inevitable technological changes for analysing consumer acceptance of new technologies. the ttf has largely been lauded as a theory to measure the extent to which a technology matches the task of the user (foroughi, et al., 2023; franque et al., 2023), which in this case is the performance of the mfDa in enabling transactions during a pandemic period. previous studies also supported a direct link between the ttf and performance expectancy (alalwan, 2020; franque et al., 2023). it was envisaged that by integrating the ttf model with the UtaUt2, the explanatory power of the intention to continue using mfDas could be enhanced, compared to when the models are used separately (timur et al., 2023). theoretically, examining users’ post-adoption behaviour enriches the theoretical framework of information system user behaviour, as continuance usage is central to the survival of business-to-consumer relationships and to service providers of mobile food delivery technologies (foroughi etal., 2023). practically, the mfDa market is attracting investments from restaurant businesses, and as a result, research on the intention to continue using the apps is critical to keep up with changing customer needs and expectations. Because it is less expensive to retain existing users than to acquire new ones, the intention to continue using mobile technology is considered important to gauge technology success (yap & lee, 2023). 2.Theoretical framework and hypotheses development 2.1. Mobile delivery apps in context Of the estimated 8 million infections on the continent, south africa was the hardest hit with over 4 million infections and over 100 000 deaths, including 357 active cases as of January 2023 (nicD, 2023). During the pandemic period, mobile payment was regarded as an instrument for promoting the social distancing mandate, and an important medium to make payments. Businesses were forced to transition to online payments, thus forcing consumers to follow suit as a way to avoid physical contact with banknotes, or any other medium of exchange. as the restaurant industry continued to face operational challenges during the pandemic, many people turned to mobile food delivery apps (foroughi et al. 2023). given the devastating effects of the covid-19 pandemic, it seemed prudent for south african users of mfDas to continue using them to prevent the virus’s transmission. indeed, the food delivery business is expected to reach r17 billion by the end of 2023 (statista, 2022). the need to move from in-restaurant to over the mobile phone precipitated restaurants and shop owners to develop their food delivery apps as a way of survival, many of which operate across south african cities. the top reliable countrywide mfDas in south africa include mr D food, Uber eats, Oishi sushi, yumbi, apetitie, checkers sixty60 and nandos Ormonde food delivery app (Karimi, 2020). the checkers sixty60 app, amongst others, suggests the heightened adoption of mfDas in south africa during the pandemic, with over 1.2 million app downloads since its launch in late 2019 (shoprite holdings ltd, 2021). as reported by al amin et al. (2021), most markets that experienced a high coronavirus outbreak witnessed an upsurge in demand for online delivery. therefore, this study considers south africa as a desirable context to determine consumers’ continuance intention to use mfDa during the pandemic. 2.2. Intention to continue using mobile food delivery apps continued use intention in the context of mfDa can be described as the extent to which a person using the mobile application plans on using it in the future (yap & lee, 2023). mobile application markets are highly competitive, therefore, understanding how to increase consumers’ continuance intention to use mfDa is crucial. several studies that examined factors that influence continuance intention found that habit, hedonic motivation, performance expectancy and ttf have a direct effect on continuance intention to use mfDas (Kah Boon et al., 2023; lam et al., 2023; yap & lee, 2023). as the success of an 4 m. mUnDay anD m. hUmBani information system depends on the user’s continuance (franque etal., 2023), the study posits that users’ commitment to use mfDas will ultimately determine their success. Ukpabi et al. (2019) argues that continuance intention can be understood from two viewpoints: the initial stage of adoption and the post-adoption stage. in the initial stages of adoption, an individual’s prior expectations help to formulate attitudes towards the new technology to decide whether or not to adopt it. in the post-adoption stage, an individual’s experience using the technology drives the intention to continue or discontinue using the app. this study was based on the premise that the formed habit of using mfDas would continue as the pandemic persists. the assumption was that the pandemic precipitated the gradual use of mfDas, and those who were already accustomed to the behaviour started using the service even more (Kats, 2020). the current paradigm shift towards digital payments is expected to grow continually as restaurants open more delivery windows. extant literature suggests that a lack of understanding of the factors that drive continued use can be costly to service providers, as the real business value is derived from consumers’ continued use (humbani & Wiese, 2019; yap & lee, 2023). thus, the ability to retain existing customers is not only crucial for survival, but also creates a sustainable competitive edge. there is a paucity of research on the continuation of mobile technology use in south africa. more importantly, there is no evidence that the continued intention to use mfDas has been previously investigated in the south african context, save for anecdotal reports. this highlights the need for a study of this nature in south africa where most people (60%) are confident using new technologies, compared to the global average of 43% (gWi, 2020). 2.3. Development of a conceptual framework scholars have tried to develop models that better explain technology acceptance and use. Venkatesh et al. (2012) combined eight antecedent factors to develop the unified theory of technology acceptance and use (UtaUt). after realising the shortcomings of the earlier model, Venkatesh etal. (2012) expanded it to the UtaUt2 by incorporating consumer perceptive determinants relating to technology use, price value, habit and hedonic drive. Despite these efforts, consumer behaviour is complex, and no single framework can fully capture all of the dynamics of information system acceptance and use (timur et al., 2023). consequently, there is a growing call amongst scholars to merge various theoretical frameworks to better understand the acceptance and use phenomenon (timur et al., 2023). in response to that call, the current study integrated UtaUt2 and the ttf to explain users’ intention to continue using mfDas during a pandemic. the UtaUt2 was developed to explain the intention to use new technology and the subsequent behaviour (Venkatesh et al., 2012). Based on the tenets of the ttf, technology acceptance and use are greater when users feel that the technology helps them to effectively accomplish tasks (goodhue & thompson, 1995). the integration of theories to explain the continuance intention phenomenon is supported by a number of empirical researches. for instance, sharma et al. (2022) used the information system success model (Delone & mclean, 2004) with UtaUt2 (Venkatesh et al., 2012) to better understand why indian consumers want to keep using news applications. similarly, yap and lee (2023) combined the UtaUt2 components with the expectation confirmation model (Bhattacherjee, 2001) to explain malaysian consumers’ continued interest in online food delivery services. to investigate the continuing intention toward mfDas, the UtaUt2 and ttf were thus integrated in this study. the motivation to integrate the two models was two-fold. firstly, the ttf on its own could not address the various determinants that are perceived as important by users of mfDas. conversely, the UtaUt2 alone would fall short in addressing the extent to which the characteristics of both the technology and the task itself help to explain ttf in using mfDas. therefore, an integration of two theories ‘provides a complete account of the causal mechanism underlying the relationships and unique insight that cannot be obtained from a single theory driven model’ (rahi et al., 2021, pp. 987). recognising the limitation of each framework, efforts were made in the current study to integrate the UtaUt2 alongside the ttf, to explain the concept of continuance intention to use mfDas during a pandemic to provide a better understanding of the phenomenon. moreover, there is no evidence to suggest prior studies that holistically assessed mfDa continuance intention by examining the role of cOgent BUsiness & management 5 technology perceptive determinants of the UtaUt2 and ttf, a knowledge gap that this study also attempts to bridge. in this study, the UtaUt2 was modified by not considering facilitating conditions, effort expectancy and situational influences, because they are not applicable factors in the context of mfDas. in a related study, chotigo and Kadono (2021) likewise disregarded the existence of facilitating conditions and effort expectancy in the context of food delivery applications, as factors non-existent in the context of food delivery apps. for instance, chotigo and Kadono (2021) define social influence as the degree of approval of a particular behaviour, which applies to consumers not familiar with a particular technology. By focussing on experienced users of mfDas, social influence is rendered inapplicable in the context of this study. the research model is illustrated in figure 1. 2.4. Predictors of continuance intention to use MFDAs 2.4.1. Habit habit is defined as the level of automatic behaviour resulting from previous learning (yap & lee, 2023). in a recent study on consumer intention to reuse food ordering apps in Vietnam, Kah Boon et al. (2023) reported that habit influences the continuous desire to use technology-based goal-directed behaviour as the results of their study showed a significant relationship between habit and continuance intention to use e-Wallet in malaysia. ly et al. (2022), who also found habit to be a major predictor of mobile app usage intention, back up the predictive potential of habit in the continued use of mobile apps. sheth (2020) posits that habitual behaviour is context-based, such as social (e.g. life events), technology (e.g. smartphones), rules and regulations (e.g. alcohol consumption), and natural disasters (e.g. cOViD-19). this current study took the view that the cOViD-19 pandemic influences the formation of habitual behaviours leading to consumers’ intention to continue using mfDas to avoid being infected and infecting others. Based on the foregoing, the following is hypothesised: h1: habit positively influences the intention to continue using mfDas. 2.4.2. Hedonic motivation hedonic motivation is defined by yap and lee (2023) as the enjoyment, fun and pleasure derived from using a new technology. thus, hedonic motivation refers to the internal motives that can be linked to the level of innovativeness and novelty when using new technology, such as playfulness, enjoyment, fun and pleasure (lam et al., 2023). in their investigation of the e-wallet usage continuance intentions in malaysia post-cOViD-19, Kah Boon etal. (2023) found that the greater the entertainment value provided Figure 1. Conceptual framework for the predictors of continuance intention. 6 m. mUnDay anD m. hUmBani by the mobile providers, the more likely users are to accept it. in a similar study, hedonic motivation was found to be a crucial predictor of mobile technology continued usage by ly et al. (2022), implying that users will continue to use the mfDas if the experience provides them with pleasure, delight and comfort. thus, it is inferred that hedonic motivation plays an essential role in predicting intention to continue to use mfDa during the pandemic. mfDas are perceived as being creative and modernised technology, and the role of hedonic motivation shapes consumer perceptions of the usefulness and convenience of these mfDas (lam et al., 2023). Based on the above empirical findings, the following is hypothesised: h2: hedonic motivation positively influences the desire to continue using mfDas. 2.4.3. Performance expectancy performance expectancy is the degree to which a person believes that adopting a new system or application will help them to attain what they want (ramos, 2022). in the context of this study, the mfDa’s ability to enable the user to pay for a delivered meal could significantly impact future app usage. recent empirical studies conducted in Vietnam and malaysia have proved the importance of performance expectancy towards continuous usage of mobile technologies (Kah Boon et al., 2023; lam et al, 2023; ly et al., 2022). moreover, yap and lee (2023) posits that consumers will likely have a good reaction and intention to continue using a new system if they believe it will save them time or effort. expectancy in terms of performance can be compared to perceived usefulness (Venkatesh etal., 2012), which is described as the extent of an individual’s belief that using a system will improve their achievement of goal-oriented tasks. therefore, it can be inferred that when users perceive mfDas as a useful way to initiate and complete their transactions during the pandemic, they will choose that payment method instead of using cash. moreover, ly et al. (2022 investigated continuance intention to use e-wallets and found that performance expectancy was the most significant determinant of the intention to use mobile apps in the future. thus, the following can be hypothesised: h3: expected performance positively influences the decision to continue using mfDas. 2.4.4. Perceived task technology fit foroughi etal. (2023) describe ttf as efficiency in completing a task when the technology, requirements for the task itself, and individual abilities are compatible. thus, users will adopt technology if it is practical and enhances their ability to execute their tasks. similarly, the continued intention to use mfDas during the cOViD-19 crisis could be dictated by qualities such as contactless food supply service and convenience, which meet the required social distancing mandate to stop the virus from spreading. as a result, task and technological features define the ttf, making it easier to adopt and use an information system (franque et al., 2023). prior empirical studies concur that ttf substantially enhanced consumers’ attitudes and continued intentions if mfDas helped them to execute desired tasks including food ordering, online payment and order tracking (foroughi etal., 2023; franque etal., 2023; shahzad etal., 2023). a study undertaken during the early stages of the cOViD-19 pandemic concluded that there is a significant impact of ttf on food delivery app continuance intention, wherein contactless delivery plays an important role (Zhao & Bacao, 2020). hence, the current study proposes the following: h4: perceived ttf positively influences the intention to continue using mfDas. there have been few studies on the relationship between ttf and performance expectancy. ttf appears to have a critical role in the formulation of users’ performance expectancy in the adoption and continuation intention to use information systems (franque et al., 2023). this suggests that users must recognise the value of using technology, such as the ease with which they can adapt to social distancing protocols, to complete individual tasks (franque et al., 2023), such as purchasing meals for oneself or one’s family while under cOViD-19 travel restrictions. as a result, the following is hypothesised: h5: perceived ttf positively influences performance expectancy. cOgent BUsiness & management 7 2.4.5. The mediating role of performance expectancy the current study also attempted to determine how much the mfDa’s performance expectancy influences the relationship between ttf and continuation intention. the mediating role of performance expectancy has been examined in prior empirical studies related to technology usage. With a sample from portugal, Zhao and Bacao (2020) discovered that performance expectancy mediates the influence of job technology fit and continuance intention to use food delivery apps. previously, rahi et al. (2019) confirmed that performance expectancy mediates the relationship between effort expectancy and intention to use internet banking in pakistan. this study assumed that the better the mfDa meets or exceeds customer expectations, the more task fit affects consumers’ intention to use mfDas in the future. it is understood that consumers wanted to avoid getting the virus and to follow the social distancing mandate to prevent the cOViD-19 virus from spreading. as a result, the mfDa’s ability to accomplish the users’ job of decreasing virus transmission while enjoying the service most likely influenced whether or not they continued to use the app. ttf depicted the characteristics and benefits of the mfDas in the cOViD-19 pandemic setting, in which consumers could purchase food even while in self-quarantine and paid with the app (Zhao & Bacao, 2020). as a result, the ttf helped consumers to form high expectations for the continued use of mfDas during the pandemic. Based on the foregoing, it is possible to hypothesise the following: h6: performance expectancy mediates the link between ttf and intention to continue using mfDas. 2.4.6. The moderating effect of user experience this study was based on users’ direct experience with mfDas during the pandemic. prior empirical studies show that the determinant factors for it usage have differing influencing effects on the use intention depending on user experience (sinha & singh, 2022; sun etal., 2022). a recent earlier study investigated the role of the user experience as a moderator (al-shamaileh & sutcliffe, 2023). therefore, the current study took the view that the influence of user habit, hedonic motivation, ttf and perceived expectancy would lead to a different outcome on users’ continuance intentions if moderated by user experience. for instance, nel and Boshoff (2019) posit that user experience leads to habit, which is explained by repeated behaviour. thus, once users gain experience using the mfDa, their continuance intentions are enhanced by the experience. nel and Boshoff (2019) also note that experience enhances the accuracy of information search and the ability to revisit the information to reach higher levels of searching in a way that improves decision-making. in the current study, users required mfDas to provide them with pertinent information, such as menus, prices and delivery times, to enhance their decision-making abilities. thus, ttf and performance expectancy could be enhanced by user experience. therefore, the following is hypothesised: h7a: User experience moderates the relationship between ttf and continuance intention. h7b: User experience moderates the relationship between performance expectancy and continuance intention. h7c: User experience moderates the relationship between hedonic motivation and continuance intention. h7d: User experience moderates the relationship between habit and continuance intention. 3. Methodology 3.1. Sample and data collection the empirical study is based on information gathered in 2021 from individual south african smartphone users who used mfDas to order food online during the cOViD-19 pandemic. the study required participants to be at least 18 years old. in the absence of a sampling frame, a non-probability sampling method was deemed appropriate, and the purposive sampling technique was applied as the study targeted consumers who had previously used a mfDa during the pandemic. the data was gathered through a 14 m. mUnDay anD m. hUmBani (2020). thirdly, rather than the normal pre-adoption behaviour, the study looked at consumers’ post-purchase behaviour during the pandemic. examining users’ behaviour from a post-adoption perspective could bring new insights and help strengthen the theoretical framework of information system user behaviour. merging the fundamental tenets of the UtaUt2 and ttf frameworks into an integrative framework to analyse the driving factors determining mfDa users’ continuing intents further contributes to the literature. according to rahi et al. (2021), when several theories are examined together, they can provide a deeper and more comprehensive explanation of consumer behaviour in the context of information technology (it) usage, than when each theory is considered separately. thus, the proposed framework was envisaged to significantly contribute to the current conversations on it continuance usage and can be used as a basis for future related studies. 6.2. Practical implications restaurant owners and app developers are investing in the mfDa market to tap into the growth potential (tamilmani et al., 2019). as a result, the research on mfDa’s continuous use could have a lot of practical implications, due to the broad potential it has in many industries. for instance, the findings of this study could be useful to small and medium businesses looking to use apps during a similar crisis in the future. the study provides knowledge about the salient factors that can help mfDa providers to attract more customers. as stated above, habit and performance expectancy are key factors that mfDa providers should prioritise in the design of the apps. encouraging habitual use through providing incentives and personalised service, and upgrading mfDa functionality would enhance continued use intentions. thus, businesses can use the findings of this study to design winning strategies that mix technology features and mental perceptions to build a stronger client base, not only during a crisis but also for future business possibilities, as highlighted in prior research (yap & lee, 2023). typical loyalty programmes are one technique to encourage continuance usage, but not the only one. according to Kelso (2021), over 60% of consumers who have already signed up for at least one loyalty programme are willing to spend more on food orders from restaurants if they have a loyalty programme. Offering a loyalty programme in the digital space could effectively incentivise customers to return. furthermore, service providers can use mfDas to deliver more benefits to users by sending personalised messages to inform them about promotions and offers relevant to their needs, which can improve word-of-mouth interactions and encourage users to use the service again. implementing such strategies could help to explain why users would intentionally continue to use mfDas during the pandemic and even beyond. 7. Conclusion the main purpose of the study was to determine the salient factors driving intention to continue using mfDas during the cOViD-19 pandemic, in order to provide insights to management on how to prepare for similar crises in future. the proposed framework was developed by revising the conceptual paradigms of the UtaUt2 model and eliminating the factors that did not fit the study context, while incorporating ttf to obtain a new perspective. consistent with recent empirical findings (alalwan, 2020; sheth, 2020; tam et al., 2020), habit and performance expectancy were identified as two critical predictors of continuance intention to use mfDas during the pandemic period. thus, the study results affirm the two primary associations of the UtaUt2 model in the context of a pandemic period in a developing country. it is undeniable that there was a surge in the use of mobile food delivery apps (mfDas) during the covid-19 pandemic, but given the critical research gaps, it is unclear if this increase is ‘sticky’ in the sense that consumers who started using mfDas during the pandemic will continue to do so and why. there are conflicting reports in existing literature. scholars such as nguyen et al. (2023) and yap and lee (2023) argue that the popularity of mobile food ordering applications is only cOgent BUsiness & management 15 projected to increase in the upcoming years as they have become a permanent fixture in the food service sector. factors in favour of this growth include inter-alia, the rise in popularity of mfDas, the increasing number of new adopters who demand more personalised services, and the working-from-home trend (nguyen et al., 2023). in contrast, foroughi et al. (2023) reported that only 22% of newly registered consumers will continue to use mfDas after the first week; by day 30, this number reduces to 4%. this indicates a low retention rate for mfDas. therefore, to properly build and administer their apps, mfDa service providers and related stakeholders need to understand the determining factors influencing consumers’ post-adoption behaviour (anbumathi et al., 2023). this will allow them to retain clients and maintain their competitiveness. against this backdrop, we contend that south africa is a typical and innovative market that merits research into the noticeable shifts in consumer behaviour toward mfDa usage at the post-pandemic phase, from which mfDa providers can learn how to offer users significantly innovative functions, products, and services, especially by encouraging frequent use (i.e. stimulate continued use). mfDa accessibility, consistent performance and effectiveness could drive habitual use and continued app use. essentially, the mfDa should be capable in terms of enabling users to scan through all of the nearby restaurants in the area, examine their menus and choose the meals they want to eat with simply a tap or click. essentially, restaurants should aim for optimal delivery speed, time and effort by enabling clients to make orders promptly and track their food deliveries. in contrast to yap and lee (2023) and lam etal. (2023)’s reports, hedonic motivation and ttf did not show a direct influence on continuance intention in this study. the result indicates that during the cOViD-19 pandemic, consumers did not consider the pleasure of using a mfDa or whether the app was fit for the purpose as important attributes, but rather its performance was more crucial to them to realise the value of using them. in conclusion, the study also showed that continuance intention is a complex construct that requires rigorous inquiry to address consumers’ underlying issues, as their perceptions can change over time, as reported by Kumari and Biswas (2023). however, the research provides a comprehensive view of south african consumers’ use of mfDa during a crisis and creates a basis upon which future business opportunities in a similar situation can be seized. the findings suggest the need for academics and practitioners to continuously refine the existing models of technology acceptance, in tandem with changing consumer behaviour and situational influences. reports indicate that about 92% of users will uninstall a mobile app if it crashes, freezes, or is too slow (89%) (insider intelligence, 2018). this suggests that app developers should focus on designing high-performance apps that are not only secure, but also efficient and fully functional to encourage users to keep using them despite a pandemic or a similar crisis. the behavioural model used in this study will help researchers, specialists and policy makers to create practical marketing plans for mfDas. 8. Limitations and directions for future research the following limitations should be considered when interpreting the study’s findings. to begin with, this study only included respondents from south africa, and therefore, the findings may not apply to other cultures, countries or locations. as a result, future research should expand the sample profile to other regions, to add to the body of existing knowledge on the subject. secondly, the sample was skewed towards female participants. future studies could sample a relatively equal split sample of both men and women, to have a better understanding of the phenomena. furthermore, this study primarily reflects the short-term perspectives of mfDa users, particularly during the cOViD-19 pandemic, and future research can undertake longitudinal studies that look at the research findings across time. Because the current study focused on mfDas in general, the research approach can be adjusted to specific mfDa platforms, mfDa stakeholders, or related businesses. the study can also be applied to several sorts of technologies to boost the degree to which the results can be generalised. finally, future research might look at the impact of ttf in other contexts to see whether negative findings can be found, and if so, clear inferences can be drawn to add to the existing body of knowledge. 16 m. mUnDay anD m. hUmBani Disclosure statement no potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). About the authors Mrs Monique Munday was a masters student in the Department of marketing management during 2021. monique conducted and completed her research as part of the fulfilment of the master of commerce (mcom) degree in marketing management and graduated in 2022. Dr Michael Humbani is a senior lecturer in the Department of marketing management at the University of pretoria. his research focus area is mobile marketing, and his research works can be found in journals such as the International Journal of Bank Marketing, International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, and Journal of African Business. ORCID michael humbani http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2416-5016 References al amin, m., arefin, m. s., alam, m. r., ahammad, t., & hoque, m. r. (2021). Using mobile food delivery applications during cOViD-19 pandemic: an extended model of planned behavior. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 27(2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10454446.2021.1906817 alalwan, a. a. (2020). mobile food ordering apps: an empirical study of the factors affecting customer e-satisfaction and continued intention to reuse. 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