The Perception of Food Quality and Food Value among the Purchasing Intentions of Street Foods in the Capital of the Philippines

Abstract

Transformations in modern lifestyles have caused changes in people’s food consumption, elevating the status of street foods to one of the favored choices. However, very few studies have been dedicated to investigating why street foods have become a popular choice among consumers. This study aimed to apply a modified version of the original theory of planned behavior (TPB), which includes domains affecting the intention to purchase while adding perceived food quality and value together with convenience. A total of 1361 respondents answered a survey based on the extended TPB constructs. Focusing on college graduates in the country, Structural Equation Modeling was utilized for the statistical analysis. Convenience proved to have the highest indirect effect on the intention to purchase street foods, explaining street foods’ ubiquitous and patronized image—which affected the TPB domains. This was followed by perceived food quality, which also had a significant direct effect on the behavioral domains and a higher indirect effect on street food purchase intention than perceived food value. Further discussion on the effect between behavioral domains was presented. This study also provided recommendations that street food vendors, the government, related private businesses, and consumers themselves can use to improve a sustainable community and businesses. In conclusion, this study contributes to the limited literature and promotion of purchasing and consuming street foods.