Beginning a New Research Project - Fast Food - Coursework Example

Name Professor Course Date Introduction Today the popularity of fast food has attained unimaginable levels. Many people have developed strong habits around fast food and would live on fast food alone. In human feeding dispositions develop in early years and remain almost unchangeable throughout the life of an individual. Children learn everything they know from their family member and the society. They eat what their parents eat, and when they go out with their parents they eat the fast foods their parents eat. It is the family that introduces children to food and teaches them what to consider food and what in not food. Some of the knowledge they acquire on food include factors such as status, age, taste, nutrition, price, convenience nutrition among others which influence the choice of doo ones consumes. When children grow up they learn to make their own decisions regarding food. They may consider the same factors their parents considered or may use a whole new set of factors. The children attitude toward food change frequently and by the time they become adults the notions they acquired from their parent may have already disappeared The popularity and variety of fast food have grown in the last four decades. There is a lot of literature on fast food. The earliest literature on fast food dates back to the Roman Empire. In the last four three decades, there has been an explosion of literature on fast foods.Some of the publication focused on the negative while other on the positive of fast foods.The publication s also captured the attitude of customers towards fast foods. Mattsson and Helmersson (117-121) observed that student in various high schools knew and understood fast-food attributes that could be considered good and those that could be considered bad. Their study also described the difference of female and male students toward fast food. While boys considered fast food for the perspective of fasts eating and satisfaction, the girls had a broader perspective and context. Although the study indicated the negative and the positive attributes of fast foods as well as the attitudes the young students had toward fast food, it failed to take into account the royalty the student had toward the various restaurant that served fast foods and the level of service this restaurants offered. Kruger, Blank and Glimpse (169-172) observed a different phenomenon. They mainly studied the physical activity and the dietary practice of adults who intended to lose or maintain their weight. Their study also pointed out interesting differences between men and women in regard to their attitudes and eating habits. The study assessed the combination of behaviours mainly consumption of low calorie diet and high physical activity and how they are linked to weight loss or maintenance. The study showed that the adults dining out behaviours, their consistency in excising or sustaining physical activity as well as the confidence they had to engage in activities of this nature resulted in cutting weight or maintaining their prevailing weight. However, Kruger, Blank and Glimpse (169-172) concluded that the adult behaviour in relation to the interest to cut or maintain weight did not provide a clear picture of the other adult behaviours related to food. The other behaviours in question include the restaurant atmosphere, menus, food price, and food quality and payment methods. In the western societies, there is enormous concern about fast food. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the knowledge of consumers about fast food and their perception and choices when it comes to fasts food. Numerous studies have indicated that many consumers lack proper knowledge on the safety of fast foods. This customers are ill equipped in regard to protecting themselves form the ills of fast foods (McCarthy, Brennan, Kelly, de Booer& Thompson, 205-207). The two studies only indicated that consumer s had inadequate food safety knowledge but did not explore why the consumers were ill equipped in regard of the safety of what they consumed. If the food processing firms do not make out any presence of any source of contamination in what they process, or adequately inform their customers on appropriate ware of preparing the packaged food, the consumers remain vulnerable to any dangers associated with the food. On the hand, study by Wilcock, Pun, Khanona, &Aung (88- 93) found out that some people who have adequate knowledge about food safety do not practice it.Their study, however, did not mention why the knowledgeable consumers do not put their knowledge to exercise or shape their behaviours in regard to food safety. Nonetheless, in their study, Yarrow, Reming& Higgins (30-35) acknowledge that safety attitudes, believes, practices and knowledge can be effective shaped through educational measures. Their research as well as number of pervious researches sought to establish way of classifying consumers in order to effectively reach them with information regarding food safety. Although study, Yarrow, Reming& Higgins (30-35) maintained that consumer behaviour can change and mentioned ways through which the behaviours can change, they did not account for the consumers’ failure to put their knowledge into practice. Another study by Olumakaiye& Ajay (2008) focused on children’s and young adults’ habit of snacking as the main focus in their dietary habits. Although snacking is not a bad habit, the quality of snack is very critical. Children should not be discouraged from snacking, they should however be taught on the nutritious levels of different snacks. Olumakaiye& Ajay (2008) stated that irrespective of the place or locations where different children live, the children had similar snacking patterns. In this regard, snacking was part of their lifestyle. The study further noted that it is parents who introduce children to snack. Parent experience time constraints and are thus unable to prepare whole meals for the children. On the other hand, snacks are readily available. As a result parents go for the easiest and simplest option which is snacking.For this reason, food choices for teenagers are increasingly becoming an important consideration due to the increase in health and nutrition issues. Olumakaiye& Ajay (2008) also pointed out that the nutrition level and quality of food was critical in influencing food choice. However, they did not mention the influence of other factors such as the menu, price, payment methods, and the restaurant environment. United Soybeans Board (2008)stated that most consumers have numerous concerns regarding versions of food, and harbour confusion about various health issues that arise due to food. A majority of the consumers opt to stick to diets with low moderate fats that contain only those fats that are considered good. They choose to keep of bad fats. In addition, consumers feel that soy beverages and foods are healthy, help lower cholesterol and support proper body function. They also feel that soy beverages and foods help relieve symptoms of menopause, and facilitate management of body weight and minimise obesity. United Soybeans Board (2008) further noted that most consumer rely on labels for nutritional and other information. However, the board did not point out whether the information carried in these labels was adequate to inform the consumers on the nutritious level of packaged food and the associated health benefits and risks. Researchers have also explored the nature of branding and the influence to consumers’ decision to buy. A number of studies have also focused on the relationship between the attributes of a brand the consumers purchasing behaviour (Kumar 63). There are several variable that influence brand attributes. According to Steptoe, Pollard & Wardle (95) the variables include trust, premium prices, good texture, awareness and loyalty. Brands simplify choices since consumers associate certain food products with certain brands. They drive them to by the brand whenever they need the food. Consumers are unique and develop different sets of tests and values and will only go for brands that portray that value. Brands portray different things and thus the notions and attitudes associated with a particular brand will influence the sales volumes. Demographic variable also have an influence on consumers purchasing behaviours. Most notable demographic factors are the socio economic attributes of a population (Koç & Ceylan, 728). Social and economic factors shape the mind sets of consumers and their feeding habits and as a result determine what the buy. The emotional mind set also plays a critical role. For instance consumer have certain emotion towards food that may influence them to buy on not to buy. A good example is Indians population disposition toward beef and milk. While the value milk, they would not buy beef because a cove is a sacred animal. Ethical concern has also become very influential in shaping consumer behaviours. Pelsmacker, Janssens, Sterck, Mielants (512) found out that when choosing food products, many consumer took ethical concerns into account. For instance consumers preferred ethically labelled coffee over unethical labelled brands of coffee. Ethics in this regard is an indication of the emotional investment consumers make when buying their food. Pelsmacker, Janssens, Sterck, Mielants (2005) found that labelling products with bio- and eco-labels had little influence on consumer purchase behaviours. However, however, fair trade labels strongly influence consumers’ decision to buy. Food companies that showed concern about the environment had a positive reception among consumes and their brands were likely to be purchased in large numbers. Different researches have been conducted in various places around the world in regard to fast food industry. All the researches yielded critical information about consumers’ perceptions and attitudes towards food. Researchers have argued that fast food knowledge, attitudes, practices and safety notions can be shaped and changed through education (Wilcock, Pun, Khanona, & Aung, 2004; Yarrow, Remig, & Higgins, 2009). Others noted that many customers had limited knowledge toward food safety (McCarthy, Brennan, Kelly, Ritson, de Boer, & Thompson, 2007; Röhr, Lüddecke, Drusch, Müller, & Alvensleben, 2005). Other studies, conducted studies on the kind of attitudes consumes had towards various restaurants and fast food (Mattsson and Helmersson, 2007). Kruger et al (2008) explored physical activities and dietary practice of adults whowere interested in losing weight or maintaining their weight. Olumakaiye et al (2008) on the other hand focused on snacking among children. While the United Soybean board explored the perception people had towards soy products and beverages. Research has also focused on influence of brand attributes (Kumar, 2011; Steptoe, Pollard & Wardle1995), demographic variables (Bingol & Ceylan, 2012), and ethical concerns (Pelsmacker, Janssens, Sterck, Mielants, 2005). These studies explored consumer behaviours from two main perspectives; psychological and cultural. From psychological perspective they explored issues such as how consumes feel about foo and the influence they have on their as well as other health concerns. The literature also explored consumer behaviours in regard to their ethical concerns, and attitudes. The cultural factors included education and knowledge about the foods. The need for convenience is also another cultural aspect that influenced the consumption of snacks. Critical evaluation There are various factors that influence consumer decision to purchase certain food stuffs. Consume choices to buy specific products is considered to be a product of customer preferences. Whether the purchase actions are a pure product of default choice, well thought decisions or an inclination to specific preferences is subject to debate. Present and past literature has explored the factors that influence the customer discussion to prefer and buy specific foods. Eide (5) explored consumers’ behaviours in purchasing organic food from behavioural theories perspectives. In his view, certain behavioural dispositions were likely to influence the consumers’ decision to buy organic food products. The theories fall into two conclusions rational theories and moral-based theories (6). The relational theories include planned behaviour theory, protection motivation theory, and behavioural reasoning theory. Moral-based theories include value-based-norm theory and norm-activation theory. Planned behaviour theory involves the consumer attitude toward the decision to purchase; subjective norms which are influence from peer and family and perceived behaviour control that revolve around the consumers attempt to control his own behaviour. The behavioural reasoning theory explores the link between the purchase intentions and the purchase behaviour. It is the intentions that lead to the behaviour. Protection motivation theory is based of appraisal and response. The buyer appraises the food and once he finds it safe he makes a decision to buy. From attitude behaviour context theory Eide notes the buyers may make choices based on the surrounding environment. Muniady et al (19) observed that a number of factors influence consumer preference of certain products. The factors included the economic situation, the consumer’s lifestyle, the consumers’ personality, and the consumers spending patterns. In regard to the economic situation, Muniady, Al- Mamun, Permarupan, & Zainol (20) during economic crisis or hardships consumes are likely to change their spending patterns. The consumers change to accommodate the economic changes. Lifestyle is mainly a product of how a consumer thinks, acts, lives and behaves. It is a product of the consumer’s background, demographic group, current situations, experiences and socio-economic characteristics. Generally lifestyle is multi-dimensional and giver customers unique tastes. Personality entails human attributes. The linkage of persons attributes to a particular brand of service or products leads to a brand personality. A brand can be easily characterised by matching it to a personality brand and the consumers will associate it with that personality, such as prominent historical figures and celebrities. Attributes associated with personality include self-image and self-concept. Spending pattern on the other hand include how individuals prefer to make their purchases. In conclusion, decisions to buy are not always as simple as they look. Although some purchase action may seem as impulsive and are classified as such, they are normally influence deep underlying factors. Studies reveal the many factors influence consumer decision, however no study has comprehensively studies the interplay of these factors. All studies seem to explore every individual factor in isolation, yet all these factors inherently act on all consumers. For this reason, there is need for future studies to focus on exploring the how the factors work together rather than in isolation. Study proposal An interview study of how people display their favourite football team’s brand Introduction Soccer has many fans. It is the most watches sport in the world. This is evident in way large crowds attend soccer events such as World Cup. In fact, World Cup is the single most attended event and watched worldwide by soccer fans on TV. Soccer fans love their teams to religious proportions. Some are so engrossed in the games and teams that they would make effective brand ambassadors. Soccer fans frequently display the brand of their teams and are proud to be identified with these brands. This study will focus on seeking to find out how soccer fans display the brand of their teams. The study will also seek to understand why the fans chose to display their teams’ brands the way they do. Methodology This is a qualitative study design. The study will seek to collected qualitative information from soccer fans that will make the sample. A survey of soccer fans will be conducted and the main data collection tool will be in-depth interviews (Hennink, Inge, and Ajay, 108). The choice of interviews is based on the fact that in-depth interviews ensure that accurate and adequate information is collected from the respondents. During the study the researcher can prod the respondent for more details as well as clarification. The shortcoming of this study design is the inability to mathematically analyse the qualitative results. Therefore, the results will be interpreted to general statements or assumptions. The approached is more open personal judgement and opinions and as a result the research can include his observation in the results (Tracy). Sample selection Purposeful sample selection will be used to choose the individuals that will participate in the survey. The sample will include hard-core soccer fanatics. It will include fans of different teams to ensure that the sample is dynamic. To achieve this, the purposeful sample will entail snow ball sampling and maximum variation sampling. The first persons to make the sample will be asked to direct the researcher to other soccer fans. Potential respondents will be contact in advance and requested to participate in the study. If they agree to take part, the interviewer will schedule time and meet for the interview. The interviews may also be conducted via phone. Analysis The study will use qualitative approaches to analyse data. The data will be organised the coded for proper description. This will be followed by classification categorisation and identification of themes. The different themes will then be connected. Finally interpretation and drawing of meaning will be done to make the finding understandable. Conclusion It is expected that the study will yield information of how soccer fans display the brands of their soccer teams. The use of a purposive sample will ensure that only respondents that can give information related to the main subject of study. The interviews used to collect information will ensure collection of comprehensive data for properly understanding the phenomena. However, the study will lack the benefits of mathematical calculations. . Work cited Eide, Bård. “Consumer Behavior Theories – Purchasing Organic Food.” Thesis. Aarhus University Department of Business Administration 2013. Hennink, Monique M, Inge Hutter, and Ajay Bailey. Qualitative Research Methods. London: SAGE, 2011. Print. Koç, Besir., & Ceylan, Melike. “The effects of social-economic status of consumers on purchasing, behaving and attitude to food products-Case study of Van, Turkey.” British Food Journal. 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00070701211230006 Kruger, J., Blank, H.M., & Gillespie, C.. “Dietary and physical activity behaviors among adults successful at weight loss maintenance.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 3(17), 2006. 1-10 Kumar, Mukund. (2011). “The Impact of ‘Brand equity’ determinants on consumers’ purchase decisions. A case study of the processed food sector in the national capital region of India.” Journal of Business and Retail Management research. 6(1) p63 Mattsson, Jan & Helge Helmersson. "Eating Fast-food: Attitudes of High-school Students". International Journal of Consumer Studies. 2007, 31(1). 117-121. Available: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2006.00576.x McCarthy, M, de Boer, M, Brennan, Mary, Ritson, C, Thompson, N & Kelly, AL. “Who is at risk and what do they know: Segmenting a population on their food safety knowledge.” Food Quality and Preference, 18(2), 2007. 205-217. 10.1016/j.foodqual.2005.10.002 Muniady, Rajennd., Al- Mamun, Abdullah., Permarupan, Yukthamarani & Zainol, Noor Raihani Binti. “Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior: A Study among University Students in Malaysia.” Asian Social Science 10.9. 2014. p18-25. Pelsmacker, Patrick De., Janssens, Wim., Sterckx, Ellen., & Mielants, Caroline. Consumer preferences for the marketing of ethically labeled coffee. International Marketing Review. 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02651330510624363 Steptoe, Andrew., Pollard, Tessa M., & Ardle, Jane. Development of a Measure of the “Motives Underlying the Selection of Food: The Food Choice Questionnaire.” Journal of Appetite. 1995. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/appe.1995.0061 Tracy, Sarah J. Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact. Chicester: Wiley, 2012. Print. Wilcock, A., Pun, M., Khanona, J. & Aung, M. “Trends in Food Science & Technology.” Internet Journal of Food Safety, Vol.11, 2009, p.88-97 Yarrow L, Remig V, Higgins M. “Food safety educational intervention positively influences college students´ food safety attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and self-reported practices.” Journal of Environmental Health 2009; 71(6):30-35. Read More