Price Sensitivity, Perceived Food Quality, and Intention to Purchase Fast Food in the Context of Health-Consciousness of University Students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of university students' health consciousness on the relationship between price sensitivity and their intention to purchase, as well as the relationship between perceived food quality and their intention to purchase in the fast-food industry. Data were collected from 147 and 144 university students in Canada and Turkey, respectively, and analyzed using PROCESS analysis. The results of the analyses revealed that the moderating role of health consciousness is significant in the food quality-purchase intention and price sensitivity-purchase intention relationships in both samples. Understanding these mechanisms is of substantive importance for managers and policymakers considering the growing prevalence of fast-food products in most developed and developing countries and their consumption by university students.