DefinePK

Abstract

The blistering development of independent tools has proposed the food transporting with the help of drones emerge as a brand-new service mode in the food logistics market. Although the available body of literature focuses mainly on practicality and feasibility of the operations, less focus has been exclusively on customer experience and perception regarding the existence of such services. This research is a grounded theory study to understand the meanings and feelings of consumers regarding drones’ food delivery in Pakistan. The study finds five major themes through the use of qualitative semi-structured interviews of early adopters (n = 15), namely emotional ambivalence, trust and control concerns, displacement of humanized service norms, the prestige and visibility of technology, and conditional acceptance. The results indicate that speed or innovation do not necessarily comprise the issue of consumer acceptance, but foster a delicate negotiation of the ideas of trust, emotional safety, symbolic identity, and situational adequacy. The futuristic nature of drones was enjoyed by the participants but they were not comfortable with the lack of accountability of humans and interpersonal service interactions. A section of the users particularly younger groups found drone delivery as a status symbol but for some users, the issue of safety, and handling of food, along with reliability in terms of the weather left a doubt. The suggested grounded theory postulates that drone food delivery will change expectations in the service sector in terms of altering the customer-service provider relationship to service technology rather than a relationship of people. The research can help policymakers and service designers as well as food tech companies interested in expanding drone-based delivery services. It concludes on the following; emotional resonance, social signaling, and situational trust are focal to consumer acceptance of innovations in autonomous delivery.