An Empirical Evaluation of Customers’ Adoption of Drone Food Delivery Services: An Extended Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract

A single technological advancement in the business sector tremendously changed customers’ lifestyles and consumption behavior. Drone technology is one of the main revolutions that increase business efficiency at a lower cost. However, the acceptance of emerging technologies is not rapid in developing markets. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate customers’ adoption of drone technology in the context of food delivery services. This study has used an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) to assess customers’ behavior. Product processing innovativeness, information processing innovativeness, and subjective norms have been added as additional constructs into TAM. The data of 354 customers from five different cities of Pakistan have been collected and analyzed through partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of the study revealed that all proposed hypotheses, except the positive influence of perceived ease of use on perceived usefulness, were accepted. Further, the results depict that perceived usefulness, subjective norms, and attitude were the major predictors of customers’ adoption of drone food delivery services. In addition to this, customers’ word of mouth has a greater influence and reach than other forms of marketing communication. Therefore, practitioners and marketers may consider hosting competition programs to experiment with drone food delivery systems to enhance the acceptance of this technology among the masses.