Factors affecting purchase intention of foreign food products: An empirical study in the Iranian context

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the factors affecting purchase intention of foreign food products in the Iranian context.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study is a survey research and has a quantitative approach. According to Morgan’s table, 384 people were selected as sample size. Based on an in-depth review of previous literature, a comprehensive set of sub-factors related to customer’s purchase intention was extracted to design questionnaire. Then, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to identify and confirm the factors affecting purchase intention of foreign food products in Iran.

Findings

The obtained results illustrate 13 factors as follows: “corporate social responsibility,” “customer knowledge and awareness,” “perceived risk,” “retailer’s commercial image,” “customer’s personality characteristics,” “social identity,” “product features,” “attitude,” “country-of-origin,” “perceived value,” “subjective norm,” “loyalty” and “perceived behavioral control.”

Research limitations/implications

As the present research was carried out in the Iranian context, the generalization of the findings is limited and caution should be taken in this regard.

Practical implications

The identified factors could contribute to international food companies and retailers to understand customers’ expectations and to gain more market share in Iran.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in identifying a comprehensive set of the factors affecting purchase intention of foreign food products and developing the theoretical literature in the field of the present research.

Citation

Zarif Sagheb, M., Ghasemi, B. and Nourbakhsh, S.K. (2020), "Factors affecting purchase intention of foreign food products: An empirical study in the Iranian context", British Food Journal, Vol. 122 No. 5, pp. 1485-1504. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-05-2019-0318