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Supply Chain Sustainability during COVID-19: Last Mile Food Delivery in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yinan Lin

    (Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK)

  • Rob Kim Marjerison

    (Global Business, College of Business and Public Management, Wenzhou-Kean University, Wenzhou 325060, China)

  • Jeonghwan Choi

    (Management, College of Business and Public Management, Wenzhou-Kean University, Wenzhou 325060, China)

  • Chungil Chae

    (Data Analytics, College of Business and Public Management, Wenzhou-Kean University, Wenzhou 325060, China)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a strict 100-day lockdown period in Spring of 2020 in China. One of the consequences of the lockdown was the disruption of the food supply chain for the millions of people confined to their homes. The well-established online food delivery service (OFDS) in China were disrupted by pressure to scale up rapidly to resolve the last mile of food delivery. The importance of the OFDS during periods of crises became apparent, as did the realization that uninterrupted food distribution was only possible due to the presence and scalability of the existing delivery network. Focusing on the importance of an established OFDS as a foundation for food distribution, this paper seeks to explore factors that affect consumers’ perception and acceptance of the retail food delivery system in urban China. By applying the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), mean value calculation, univariate linear regression, and multiple linear regression have been adopted to test the hypotheses. Data obtained online from 260 participants demonstrate that the software’s characteristics concerning hedonic motivation (HM), convenience motivation (CM), perceived ease of use (PEOU), navigational design (ND), information quality (IQ), privacy and security (PS), restaurant credibility (RC), and perceived severity (Psev) have positive and significant impacts on customers’ intention to use (ITU), and thus, affects the actual use (AU) of the application in a positive way. The findings of this research contribute to the existing literature by consolidating, validating, and extending the TPB model, especially under the large-scale public health crisis circumstances. Customized practical insights are provided to emphasize developing HM, CM, Psev, and RC factors with maximal marginal effects that promote consumer acceptance; this is a prerequisite to the development of a robust OFDS. which can be repurposed during periods of crises to provide sustainable last-mile food delivery networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Yinan Lin & Rob Kim Marjerison & Jeonghwan Choi & Chungil Chae, 2022. "Supply Chain Sustainability during COVID-19: Last Mile Food Delivery in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-27, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1484-:d:735876
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Yonggui & Hong, Aoran & Li, Xia & Gao, Jia, 2020. "Marketing innovations during a global crisis: A study of China firms’ response to COVID-19," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 214-220.
    2. Niu, Baozhuang & Li, Qiyang & Mu, Zihao & Chen, Lei & Ji, Ping, 2021. "Platform logistics or self-logistics? Restaurants’ cooperation with online food-delivery platform considering profitability and sustainability," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Chidchanok Inthong & Thanapong Champahom & Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao & Vuttichai Chatpattananan & Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha, 2022. "Exploring Factors Affecting Consumer Behavioral Intentions toward Online Food Ordering in Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Ashraf Ud Din & Heesup Han & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Alejandro Vega-Muñoz & António Raposo & Shruti Mohapatra, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 on the Food Supply Chain and the Role of E-Commerce for Food Purchasing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-14, March.
    3. George Horne & Adrian Furnham, 2023. "Social Distancing and Shopping Behaviour: The Role of Anxiety, Attention, and Awareness on Safety Preferences while Queuing during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-18, March.
    4. Gaofeng Guan & Dong Liu & Jiayang Zhai, 2022. "Factors Influencing Consumer Satisfaction of Fresh Produce E-Commerce in the Background of COVID-19—A Hybrid Approach Based on LDA-SEM-XGBoost," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.

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