Burcu Ilter

Impact of Islamic religiosity on materialistic values in Turkey

Purpose The purpose of this study is to test Islamic religiosity scale’s reliability and validity and to evaluate the impact of Islamic religiosity on materialism in Turkey. Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative research method, a self-administered survey was distributed to the students of two faculties – Faculty of Theology and Faculty of Business – of the same university in Izmir, Turkey. In total, 400 questionnaires for each faculty were distributed and a total of 529 completed questionnaires – 326 from the Faculty of Theology and 203 from the Faculty of Business – were returned. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted via SPSS and AMOS. Findings Islamic religiosity and materialism have been found to be negatively correlated, supporting the existing literature. However, not all the dimensions of Islamic religiosity (behavioral religiosity, spiritual religiosity and necessity of religion) had this negative effect on materialism (possession-defined success, acquisition centrality and acquisition as the pursuit of happiness). Negative influence of “behavioral religiosity” on all three dimensions of materialism was observed. However, the “spirituality” dimension of religiosity was found to have a positive impact, while the “necessity of religion” had no significant impact on the dimensions of materialism. Research limitations/implications A sample consisting of undergraduate students might limit the generalizability of the findings to Turkish Islamic population in general. This study is one of the first attempts to test the Islamic religiosity scale which needs to be further analyzed and developed. Originality/value The present study will contribute to the literature by testing an Islamic religiosity scale developed by a Turkish researcher. Besides, this is the only study undertaken on the impact of Islamic religiosity on materialism using an Islamic religiosity scale.

Motives Underlying Organic Food Consumption in Turkey: Impact of Health, Environment, and Consumer Values on Purchase Intentions

Raising ecological awareness and health concerns create question marks about healthiness and sustainability of conventional foods in customers’ minds. Due to augmented mass media coverage of environmental problems, health concerns related to consumption of genetically modified food and/or chemical contaminants in food, and consumers’ increasing interest in healthy nutrition and environmental protection, there is a growing interest for organic foods in all over the world. Growing interest for organic foods, and increasing production and demand in organic food market has made organic food consumption a significant topic of research. Although organic food market and demand for organic foods have also been growing in Turkey, literature regarding organic food consumption is not very extensive. Therefore, this study aims to understand the underlying motives for organic food consumption in Turkey, and to explore the factors affecting Turkish consumers’ attitudes towards organic foods and the behavioral intention of Turkish consumers to purchase organic food by the help of the theory of reasoned action (TRA). The results of 622 successful surveys used for this empirical research indicate that Turkish consumers’ attitudes towards organic foods are determined by perception of organic foods, consumer values, and price perception, while their purchase intention is determined by health consciousness, perception of organic foods, consumer values, price perception, and environmental concerns.

15-19 yas grubundaki tüketiciler alısveriş merkezlerini nasıl algılıyor?: Izmir ilinde bir uygulama

Bu calismada, 15-19 yas grubundaki tuketicilerin alisveris merkezi seciminde onemli gordukleri degerlendirme kriterleri ele alinmistir. Calismanin amaci, katilimcilarin en sik gittikleri ve en cok sevdikleri alisveris merkezinin, alisveris merkezi degerlendirme kriterlerine verdikleri onem uzerinde fark yaratip yaratmadigini ortaya koymaktir. Bunun yani sira, alisveris merkezinde en fazla para harcanan yer ve alisveris merkezinde en cok zaman gecirilen yer degiskenlerinin, alisveris merkezi degerlendirme kriterlerine verilen onem duzeyleri uzerinde fark yaratip yaratmadigi test edilmistir. Genel olarak katilimcilarin bir alisveris merkezini secerken en onemli gordukleri faktorler sirasiyla, alisveris merkezindeki rahatlik ve konfor, fi yatlar, sinemalar ve urun/ hizmet karmasidir. Ancak bu faktorlere verilen onem duzeyleri uzerinde yukarida belirtilen degiskenlerin fark yarattigi gorulmektedir. Calismanin sonuclarinin alisveris merkezi yoneticilerine, alisveris merkezi imaj bilesenleri uzerine daha fazla yogunlasarak hedef kitle beklentilerine daha uygun pazarlama stratejileri gelistirmeleri konusunda yardimci olacagi dusunulmektedir.