RT Journal Article
T1 Improving online food ordering and delivery service quality by managing customer expectations: evidence from Italy
A1 Bonfanti, Angelo
A1 Rossato, Chiara
A1 Vigolo, Vania
A1 Vargas Sánchez, Alfonso
AB Purpose - Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many restaurants and catering businesses have introduced or improved online food ordering and delivery services (OFODSs). This study aims to identify service quality expectations about OFODSs, to examine their content and to suggest management strategies to meet these expectations.Design/methodology/approach - Adopting a qualitative method, four focus groups were conductedamongst Italian users of OFODSs. Findings - The results reveal three dimensions of expectations, each comprising two categories that can be set along a continuum: (1) basicness of expectations (ranging from implicit to explicit), (2) accuracy of expectations (ranging from fuzzy to precise) and (3) attainability of expectations  (ranging from realistic to unrealistic). Content may refer to technical, social, economic, legal and technological aspects. To meet customer expectations, the following strategies are suggested: customer reassurance, flexibility, continuous improvement, customer education, adaptation to customers’ requirements and monitoring of exceptions.Practical implications - This study provides specific activities in which restaurants and cateringbusinesses could invest to enact the management strategies that emerged from the analysis.Originality/value - This paper proposes a new classification of expectations and framework for improving OFODS quality by managing customer expectations.
PB Emerald
SN 0007-070X
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22274
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22274
LA eng
NO Bonfanti, A., Rossato, C., Vigolo, V., & Vargas-Sánchez, A. (2023). Improving online food ordering and delivery service quality by managing customer expectations: evidence from Italy. In British Food Journal (Vol. 125, Issue 13, pp. 164-182). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj-08-2022-0694
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026