THE ROLE OF CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM AND HABIT IN POTATO CHIP PURCHASES: AN EXTENSION OF TPB

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the factors underlying domestic product (potato chip purchases) using an extended model of theory of planned behaviour (TPB). A systematic sample of 348 Croatian potato chip buyers was surveyed. Structural Equation Modelling by Partial Least Squares was used to test the hypotheses. The strongest positive predictor of this intention was the attitude about the purchase of domestic potato chips. The perceived behavioural control did not have a significant impact on the behaviour (actual purchase), while intention was a strong predictor of the intended behaviour. Consumer ethnocentrism predicted the attitudes, while habit had a strong impact on all variables in the TPB model. This study extended the TPB model by adding two constructs, habit and consumer ethnocentrism, and by investigating their predictive impacts. While TPB is usually used to predict the prosocial and healthy behaviour, this study extended the previous knowledge by focusing on snacks (potato chips), which is expected to be more habit-driven than planned.