Elucidating the role of digital technologies in bridling the ramifications of COVID-19 in restaurant services: moderation of pandemic susceptibility and severity

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to augment the perceived service quality (PSQ) dimensions as well as evaluate the effects of pandemic susceptibility and severity by appending crucial enablers of customer satisfaction (CS) in the restaurant industry (RI). Design/methodology/approach - The top 10 restaurants from Mumbai and Kolkata were selected based on the Conde Nast Traveller Magazine List, 2020. The study used a cross-sectional design to collect responses from 840 respondents across the two major metropolitans of India after the second wave of COVID-19 by employing a structured questionnaire. The proffered hypotheses in this study were validated using factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques. Findings - This research espies pivotal facilitators of CS and customers' perceived value (CPV). The results divulge that food quality (FQ) and tangibility dimensions markedly enhance CS while the FQ and digital technologies (DT) dimensions augment CPV in Indian restaurants. The study asserts that CPV acts as a partial mediator between FQ and DT on the one hand and CS on the other. In addition, perceived pandemic susceptibility (PPSU) and perceived pandemic severity (PPSE) moderate the association between CPV and CS in restaurants. Research limitations/implications - This study exemplifies the critical enablers of CS and CPV that may invigorate restaurant owners, managers and policymakers to prioritize the identified dimensions to aggrandize CS and CPV quotients. Originality/value - The study enriches the literature by assimilating DT and CPV dimensions in a comprehensive theoretical framework. The research is unique in attempting to unfurl the moderating effects of PPSU and PPSE in the RI.