Ride-hailing in sprawling cities of an emerging economy: desirable or not?

Purpose This study aims to explore the factors influencing the adoption of ride-hailing services in India through the lens of the Elaboration on Potential Outcomes (EPO) theory. It also seeks to understand the moderating role of moral norms in these decisions. The study further explores whether the proposed relationships differ between bike-hailing and car-hailing users, thereby extending the application of EPO theory to sustainable urban mobility in an emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design was employed using survey data collected from 367 residents of four Indian smart cities, purposively selected to represent geographically diverse and rapidly urbanizing urban centres implementing smart mobility initiatives. The proposed research model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling, while multi-group analysis was conducted to compare the structural relationships between bike-hailing and car-hailing users. Findings Findings of this study revealed that generation–evaluation and positive outcome focus positively influence ride-hailing usage intention, whereas negative outcome focus has a significant negative effect. Moral norms significantly moderate the relationships between positive and negative outcome focus and usage intention but do not moderate the generation–evaluation–intention relationship. Multi-group analysis shows that cognitive elaboration processes are similar across mobility modes; however, moral norms exert a stronger influence on behavioural intentions among bike-hailing users than car-hailing users. Originality/value This study extends the EPO theory by demonstrating that moral norms shape how citizens translate cognitive evaluations into ride-hailing usage intentions. It further identifies contextual differences between bike- and car-hailing services, highlighting the role of sustainability-oriented moral considerations in urban mobility decisions.