A Comparative Study on Consumer Attitude and Intention toward Online Food Purchasing in Korea and Vietnam: The Moderating Effect of Nationality

Purpose – This paper empirically analyzed the determinants of the online food market in Korea and Vietnam as representatives of the developed market and emerging market. The online food market can be regarded as having a high potential value. This study aims to suggest the appropriate implications for each developed market and emerging market by empirically comparing and analyzing customers online food purchase determinants in the growth change of the online food market. Design/methodology – The empirical model of this study was established with the motif of the TAM+Trust model suggested by Nguyen et al.’s (2019) existing theoretical framework. Davis’s (1989) TAM model was adopted to establish a framework related to the determinants that consumers would accept, for the online food purchasing method. Then, the trust variable is added to the framework which is regarded as an important effector especially in food related researches. In this study’s comparative analysis, the multi-group structural equation modeling analysis was implemented. Findings – The main finding of this study can be summarized as that the moderating effect of nationality is significant. This means that there is an obvious difference between the developed online food market and the emerging online food market. In addition, as the growth of the online market changes, the significant determinants of consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions are somewhat different. However, the usefulness of online food purchasing methods and the trust of websites were analyzed as significant factors. Originality/value – Although the potential of the online food market is abundant, studies on the determinants of customer’s attitude and purchase intention are insufficient. Moreover, comparative studies between countries have not been conducted in existing studies. Therefore, the research value of this paper can be explained in that it has suggested implications for the continued growth of the online food market.