The Authenticity Effect: How Digital Word-of-Mouth and Management Response Shape Customer Loyalty in Street Food

The study looks at the way electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) contributes to customer loyalty (CL) in the informal street food industry, with a focus on the mediating function of perceived authenticity (PA) and the moderating role of management response strategy (MRS). Drawing on an integrated theoretical framework that combines the elaboration likelihood model, signaling theory, the stimulus-organism-response framework, and the information adoption model, the research examines survey data collected from 437 street food consumers in Cairo and Giza using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results show that eWOM has significant positive effects on both PA and CL, alongside PA acting as an important partial mediator. MRS has a significant moderating effect on both the eWOM authenticity and the authenticity-loyalty relationships, since the influence of digital word of mouth is increased when sellers respond promptly, in a personal way, and in a manner that resonates with cultural values. The findings highlight that for informal food businesses, sustainability is not just an economic necessity but also a culturally rooted process, in which strategic digital engagement and the preservation of culinary heritage together strengthen long-term customer relationships. The study offers practical advice for decision makers, suppliers, and platform developers who wish to encourage the development of sustainable business models in the rapidly digitising informal economies of emerging markets.