The influence of social drivers on using ride-hailing services

The pandemic has severely affected sharing economy businesses specially ride-hailing services due to high levels of human-touch points. This research investigates the impact of COVID-19 infodemic, identification, and emotional support on intention to use ride-hailing. The authors further examine the moderating effects of internalization, compliance, social currency and informational support in the proposed conceptual model.

The data were collected from 412 respondents from Delhi in India, and hypothesized relationships were tested using hierarchical regression.

The results indicate that COVID-19 infodemic has a negative association with intention to use ride-hailing. Identification and emotional support show a positive association with intention to use ride-hailing. The results also support internalization and compliance as moderators between infodemic, identification and intention to use ride-hailing. Further, social currency and information support moderate the relationship between emotional support and intention to use.

This is the first research, which adds to the expanding literature on ride-hailing, especially during the post-pandemic period of “new normal”.