Perceived utilitarian and hedonic values: Understanding Chinese consumers' street food purchase intentions

Abstract

This study proposed an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to elucidate the factors driving Chinese consumers' intentions to purchase street food. A survey of 1,122 Chinese consumers was conducted, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and mediation effect tests. The findings demonstrate a substantial increase in the explanatory power of the extended TPB model, reaching 70.0%, thereby underscoring its predictive validity for street food purchase intentions. Notably, perceived utilitarian value emerged as the dominant predictor of purchase intentions, followed by purchase attitudes and perceived hedonic value. These results have significant implications for street food vendors, particularly in developing countries like China, where prioritizing perceived values and emphasizing functional attributes, such as rapid service and competitive pricing. As a whole, the model proposed in the current study can be safely used to predict consumer purchase intentions towards street food and the findings can guide Chinese food street vendors to develop target marketing strategies.