Consumer Well‐Being in Food Delivery Services: A Comparison Before and After a Merger Announcement

The present study applied the stimulus–organism–response model and self–determination theory to examine the mediating role of consumer well‐being in the associations between food delivery service (FDS) characteristics and brand loyalty. This study also investigated how these associations differed before and after the announcement of a merger between Taiwan's two leading FDSs. A two‐stage field survey (Study 1) and a one‐group pretest/posttest experiment with a quasi‐experimental design (Study 2) were conducted. The survey and experiment focused on Taiwanese FDS platforms and consumers. Study 1 collected 200 valid responses before the merger announcement (Model 1) and 200 after (Model 2). Study 2 was conducted after the merger announcement and collected 119 valid responses (Model 3). The results of Model 1 indicate that the convenience and economic benefit of FDSs and the ease of use and choice variety of FDS apps significantly and positively influenced consumer well‐being and brand loyalty. Consumer well‐being partially mediated the relationship between these variables. Model 2 revealed a significant reduction in consumer well‐being after the merger announcement, which rendered the associated pathways nonsignificant and eliminated the mediating effect, indicating the announcement's negative influence on consumers. Study 2 verified Study 1's findings and used the dedication–constraint framework to demonstrate that calculative commitment significantly influenced brand loyalty and moderated the effect of consumer well‐being on brand loyalty. The results revealed that consumers with high calculative commitment maintained strong brand loyalty despite having low well‐being and that affective commitment did not significantly affect brand loyalty.