Pandemic Dining Dilemmas: Exploring the Determinants of Korean Consumer Dining-Out Behavior during COVID-19

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s significant impact on dining-out industry, this study examined factors influencing consumers’ behavior changes using a unified theoretical framework based theory of planned (TPB) and select components risk information seeking processing (RISP) model. A quantitative research method was employed, analyzing 536 valid survey responses collected in South Korea early 2021 partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings showed that consumer attitude, perceived control, subjective norm positively influenced intention, supporting TPB. However, information-seeking discourages without significantly affecting intention. Fear emerged as determinant behavior, highlighting importance emotions over rational thinking. This contributes to existing literature by incorporating COVID-19-related fear key antecedents during pandemic, while validating formative indicators constitute