Am I ready to use self-driving robot food delivery? A comparison between countries that use the extended UTAUT model

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to apply the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to predict behavioral intentions with the moderating role of economic development status in the restaurant industry. Design/methodology/approach: Survey responses were collected from 318 South Korean and 315 Mongolian respondents. Furthermore, to evaluate the hypotheses in the research model, this study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) and used a multiple-group analysis to examine the moderating role of economic development status. Findings: Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and perceived risk significantly affected attitude, which in turn had a positive influence on intention to use and word-of-mouth intentions. In addition, economic development status moderated the relationship between (1) performance expectancy and attitude and (2) the relationship between perceived risk and attitude. Originality/value: Research related to self-driving robot food delivery is very scarce. This study enhances the theoretical knowledge in this regard by determining the main factors relating to consumers’ attitudes and behavior intentions and addresses the gap between consumers’ attitudes in regard to different economic settings.