Phuah Kit Teng

Structural Equation Modeling of Consumer Purchase Intention Toward Synthetic Functional Foods

Functional foods are gaining greater popularity around the world. They are not just a new category of food products marketed for their health benefits, but their competitive market has made consumers become more favorable toward firms that are involved in this industry. The public is increasingly concerned about health and food-related risks. They tend to make decisions on food consumption, food storage, and food preparation on a more ideal perspective based on health and safety. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the factors and intention of Malaysian consumers to purchase synthetic functional foods. Structural equation modeling is used to accomplish the objectives of this study with the feedback received from the 2,004 households who were interviewed through a structural questionnaire. The results show that the most influential factors influencing consumer purchasing intention toward synthetic functional foods are perceived benefits followed by attitude and subjective norms.

Public Attitude Toward Urban Agriculture in Malaysia: Study on Values and Knowledge in Klang Valley

Urban agriculture has drawn attention in Malaysia as a response to economic crisis, food security, and sustainable development. As population grows, the need to provide more jobs and food is becoming more complex both economically and physically. There is no doubt that in Malaysia urban agriculture will play a key role in the livelihood strategies of urban households. The interest in urban agriculture in the country has brought with it the reason to explore public attitude toward getting more involved in this practice. Cross-sectional data were collected, via a structured questionnaire, to gather information on how household values shape attitudes toward urban agriculture. Exploratory factor analysis is used to categorize values, while multiple regression analysis predicts the significant relationship between household knowledge, assigned values, underling values, and household attitude toward urban agriculture. Prior knowledge and values appear, therefore, to significantly shape the attitude of households in Malaysia.

Malaysian consumers' willingness-to-pay toward eco-labeled food products in Klang Valley

Food labeling is an important aspect of food law that provides consumers with information about food products, and eco-labeling is one such tool for conveying that information. The products that are produced under environmentally friendly and sustainable practices can qualify to apply for eco-label certification. The purpose of this article is to investigate how much consumers are willing to pay for eco-labeled food products in Malaysia. A survey was conducted in Klang Valley, Malaysia, and 1,115 respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Consumers’ willingness to pay for eco-labeled food products is determined by using contingent valuation method (CVM). Theory of planned behavior (TPB) is chosen for use in this study. Descriptive analysis summarizes the sociodemographic data, and binary logistic model is used to identify consumers’ sociodemographic factors, past experience, and knowledge in predicting the likelihood of willingness to pay for eco-labeled food products. The results indicate that education level, income, age, marital status, household size, attitude, past experience, and knowledge significantly influence consumers’ willingness to pay for eco-labeled food products.

Effect of perceptual differences on consumer purchase intention of natural functional food

Purpose - The concept of functional foods is not new to the Malaysian people. Functional foods as traditional medicine have made tremendous contributions over the past couple of centuries. The growth in the economy, coupled with a strong desire among the Malaysian consumers to maintain a healthy lifestyle has made functional foods an alternative medicine among the populace. Although the consumption of functional foods is increasing in Malaysia, relatively little is known about the factors which affect consumer purchase intention toward natural functional foods. The purpose of this paper is to determine Malaysian consumer intention to purchase natural functional foods. Design/methodology/approach - A survey was conducted in the country where 2,004 household were interviewed using structured questionnaires. The theory of reasoned action (TRA) and health belief model were adopted and modified in this study. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the collected data. Findings - The results have shown that the data set was normal, valid and reliable. Attitude has a partial mediating effect on perceived barriers, perceived susceptibility and perceived benefits which influence consumer intention to purchase natural functional foods. Nevertheless attitude had no mediation effect on subjective norms for consumers to form their intention to purchase natural functional foods. In other word, subjective norms had a direct influence on consumer intention to purchase natural functional foods. Research limitations/implications - The main concern of this paper is about the factors which affect consumer purchase intention toward natural functional foods. However the results from this paper are limited in terms of determining consumer purchasing behavior for natural functional foods. Originality/value - The paper expands on the TRA and health belief model to examine the factors which influence Malaysian consumer purchase intention toward natural functional foods.

Convenient or Trendy: Factors Influencing Consumption at Malaysian Home-Grown Full-Service Restaurants

Full-service restaurants have no geographical boundaries to limit the kinds of food and related services they offer in a rapidly growing global food industry. In Malaysia they are becoming especially visible in the urban areas where full-service restaurant operators including hawkers have recorded sustainable growth over the past few years. This study aims to explore factors that influence Malaysian consumers to patronize home-grown Malaysian full-service restaurants and seeks to investigate public opinion about those outlets. A survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed randomly among 900 respondents in Klang Valley. Descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and binary logistic regression were employed to analyze collected information. The outcome from analysis shows the latent factors such as food quality and service.