Why Do We Eat Out? Evidence from a Meta-analysis Based on Theory of Planned Behaviour

This meta-analysis aimed to explore and consolidate the theory of planned behaviour-based literature on the intention to eat at a restaurant. Following a structured literature review of 220 articles, a final sample of 22 articles was analysed by pooling the correlations between the constructs of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intention to eat out. Moreover, possible moderators by sample, cultural dimensions, and restaurant characteristics were analysed to identify significant subgroups in the literature. The results highlight the robustness of the constructs of the theory of planned behaviour, confirming its reliability even in the face of an unexpected shock, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the analysis of cultural moderators extracted from the World Value Survey highlights the need to adapt the construct of perceived behavioural control to consumers’ cultural backgrounds.