Healthy-Food Choice and Purchasing Behaviour Analysis: An Exploratory Study of Families in the UK

Over the last three decades, poor eating habits and their consequences have become an increased area of concern worldwide (Higgs, 2004). This phenomenon is not an isolated issue as it affects various social categories, particularly families (Vogt, 2006). In fact, people’s food choice and eating behaviour have been thoroughly investigated in recent times as food choice and consumption have increasingly shifted towards unhealthy-food products. For example, fast-food consumption is increasing rapidly. Thus, studying family-food choices and consumption is essential, especially from parents’ viewpoints, according to Birch and Davison (2001), since parents provide food environments for their children from the earliest stages of life. The most direct influences on children’s food choices, especially in their early years, are their parents and families. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the family and has targeted UK families, investigating their food choice determinants as the main theme. Moreover, the study tries to find suitable answers to the research question, What are the main factors that affect families’ healthy-food product choices? Thus, healthy-food purchasing and consumption gaps could be addressed by further research in two ways. First, emphasis should be placed on studying the factors that affect patterns of healthy-food choice and consumption in families, so as to create a more effective and healthy community. Second, studying the barriers to healthy eating requires investigating factors influencing food choice both outside and inside the home. The choice of food is influenced by a variety of complex and interrelated factors involved in individual, family and societal levels. Thus, to have a clear understanding of food choice and its determining factors inside and outside the home, this study employed the Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM) as the main theoretical and practical framework to give a clear operant explanation of family-food choices within a real behaviour context. The context of this study is food choice, which is determined by the main BPM elements, namely, consumer behaviour setting, consumer learning history, both utilitarian and informational reinforcements and both utilitarian and informational punishments. Based on the study’s framework, a set of hypotheses was designed and tested using different data collection approaches and analysis instruments. Suitable data was collected from UK families to test the planned hypotheses to achieve the study objectives. Based on the data analysis, the study found that families’ food choice was determined by a set of factors, which were behaviour setting, utilitarian punishment and informational punishment factors, without consideration of learning history, utilitarian reinforcement and informational reinforcement factors.Therefore, this study describes and provides a tested way of how parents might influence their family members to be healthy through buying and consuming healthy-food products in the continuous purchasing setting

Investigating a theoretical framework for e-learning technology acceptance

E-learning has gained recognition and fame in delivering and distributing educational resources, and the same has become possible with the occurrence of Internet and Web technologies. The research seeks to determine the factors that influence students' acceptance of E-learning and to find out the way these factors determine the students' intention to employ E-learning. A theoretical framework was developed based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). To obtain information from the 270 university students who utilized the E-learning system, a questionnaire was formulated. The results revealed that “social influence, perceived enjoyment, self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use” are the strongest and most important predictors in the intention of and students towards E-learning systems. The outcomes offer practical implications for practitioners, lawmakers, and developers in effective E-learning systems implementation to improve ongoing interests and activities of university students in a virtual E-learning atmosphere, valuable recommendations for E-learning practices are given by the research findings, and these may turn out to be as guidelines for the efficient design of E-learning systems

The role of digital marketing, CSR policy and green marketing in brand development

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy, digital marketing and green marketing are considered as some of the most emerging topics. However, the major problem is associated with the lack of CSR policies, development and adaptation of green marketing in the companies operating in manufacturing companies in the UK. In this manner, this study aimed to determine the role of digital marketing, CSR policies and green marketing in brand development. Concerning this, the case of UK’s manufacturing companies was considered which can help the manufacturing companies operating in the UK to make the development of brand more effective, as the consumers would perceive the brand which complies with the environmental laws. To attain the aim, the researchers utilized a quantitative method of data collection where a close-ended survey questionnaire was utilized. The data was collected from the concerned participants working in the manufacturing sector of the UK and the sample size considered for the analysis was based on 404 participants. The analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) on Smart PLS. The analysis revealed that the overall impact of green marketing, CSR policy and digital marketing was statistically significant on the brand development of UK’s manufacturing companies. Considering this, it has been recommended to the manufacturing companies in the UK to focus on environmental disclosure, green innovation, green alliance and promotional activity for the purpose of ensuring brand development. However, this study is limited to the geographical bounds of the UK; therefore, it has a certain room for future research

The effect of social media influencers’ characteristics on consumer intention and attitude toward Keto products purchase intention

Social media influencers have become a more effective modern marketing approach used by businesses to influence consumers' intention and attitude. This study explores this influence by involving several factors of influencer’s characteristics on both consumers’ attitude and intention. Also, a moderation role of vloggers as a new emerging marketing tool is also examined in this research. To conduct this research and achieve its key objective, the study uses a quantitative research method to collect data from TikTok users which has also become a more worldwide favorable web device for short videos. PLS-SEM method is conducted in the phase of analysis and the results show a significant influence of the hypothesized research model except the influence of source relatability on consumer attitude and the moderating role of vloggers on consumer intention. The research findings provided unsurprisingly implications and supported the existing related literature in this field but contribute to cover the research knowledge gap through the integrated new model including numerous variables that have not been examined previously together in a unique framework

Antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in pharmaceutical industries: A structural equation modelling approach.

This study aims to investigate the antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in the Jordanian pharmaceutical industry. A convenience sampling technique was used to select a representative sample of physicians working in the public healthcare sector in Jordan. Particularly, 500 questionnaires were distributed and 374 questionnaires were used in the analyses. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. Results revealed that the relationship quality was affected positively by the following antecedent variables (relational selling behavior, expertise, and ethical Relationship) while similarities had no significant effect on the relationship quality. The findings also revealed that the anticipation of future interaction between the physicians and medical representatives was affected positively by relationship quality. This study is the first that adequately examined the relationship quality and the anticipation of future interaction in the Jordanian pharmaceutical sector

An Empirical Investigation into Examination of Factors Influencing University Students’ Behavior towards Elearning Acceptance Using SEM Approach

There are several reasons why most of the universities implement E-learning. The extent of E-learning programs is being offered by the higher educational institutes in the UAE are evidently expanding. However, very few studies have been carried out to validate the process of how E-learning is being accepted and employed by university students. The study involved a sample of 365 university students. To describe the acceptance process, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method was used. On the basis of the technology acceptance model (TAM), the standard structural model that involved E-learning Computer Self-Efficacy, Social Influence, Enjoyment, System Interactivity, Computer Anxiety, Technical support, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Attitude, and Behavioral Intention to Use e-learning, was developed. The findings showed that TAM served as a suitable theoretical tool to comprehend the acceptance of e-learning by users. The most critical construct to explain the causal process employed in the model was E-learning Computer Self-Efficacy, Social Influence, Enjoyment, System Interactivity, Computer Anxiety, Technical support, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Attitude, followed by Behavioral Intention to Use e-learning. Practical implications are offered by the outcomes for decision makers, professionals and developers in how effective E-learning systems can be implemented properly

Understanding the Quality Determinants that Influence the Intention to Use the Mobile Learning Platforms: A Practical Study

There is a widespread use of Internet technology in the present times, because of which universities are making investments in Mobile learning to augment their position in the face of extensive competition and also to enhance their students’ learning experience and efficiency. Nonetheless, Mobile Learning Platform are only going to be successful when students show acceptance and adoption of this technology. Our literature review indicates that very few studies have been carried out to show how university students accept and employ Mobile Learning Platform. In addition, it is asserted that behavioral models of technology acceptance are not equally applied in different cultures. The purpose of this study is to develop an extension of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by including four more constructs: namely, content quality, service quality, information quality and quality of the system. This is proposed to make it more relevant for the developing countries, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An online survey was carried out to obtain the data. A total of 221 students from the UAE took part in this survey. Structural equation modeling was used to determine and test the measurement and structural model. Data analysis was carried out, which showed that ten out of a total of 12 hypotheses are supported. This shows that there is support for the applicability of the extended TAM in the UAE. These outcomes suggest that Mobile Learning Platform should be considered by the policymakers and education developers as being not only a technological solution but also as being new e-learning platform especially for distance learning students.</p

Understanding the Quality Determinants that Influence the Intention to Use the Mobile Learning Platforms: A Practical Study

There is a widespread use of Internet technology in the present times, because of which universities are making investments in Mobile learning to augment their position in the face of extensive competition and also to enhance their students’ learning experience and efficiency. Nonetheless, Mobile Learning Platform are only going to be successful when students show acceptance and adoption of this technology. Our literature review indicates that very few studies have been carried out to show how university students accept and employ Mobile Learning Platform. In addition, it is asserted that behavioral models of technology acceptance are not equally applied in different cultures. The purpose of this study is to develop an extension of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by including four more constructs: namely, content quality, service quality, information quality and quality of the system. This is proposed to make it more relevant for the developing countries, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An online survey was carried out to obtain the data. A total of 221 students from the UAE took part in this survey. Structural equation modeling was used to determine and test the measurement and structural model. Data analysis was carried out, which showed that ten out of a total of 12 hypotheses are supported. This shows that there is support for the applicability of the extended TAM in the UAE. These outcomes suggest that Mobile Learning Platform should be considered by the policymakers and education developers as being not only a technological solution but also as being new e-learning platform especially for distance learning students

A Conceptual Model for Investigating the Effect of Privacy Concerns on E-Commerce Adoption: A Study on United Arab Emirates Consumers

Online transactions have been reported to be hindered by privacy concerns. Although information privacy presents a threat to e-commerce adoption, cultural differences between nations can additionally impede this trend while raising people&rsquo;s concerns about the privacy of their personal information. By removing geographic and time restrictions, the rise of e-commerce has completely changed how businesses interact with their clients. As a result, this research looked into how national culture affected the relationship between e-commerce adoption and information privacy in the United Arab Emirates. We suggested that, regardless of a society&rsquo;s technological and economic infrastructure, privacy concerns and e-commerce adoption are influenced by cultural values. Our research model, which was validated using online survey questionnaires, was created employing Hofstede&rsquo;s cultural dimensions. Self-administered questionnaires were used in a quantitative strategy. A sample of 249 consumers was chosen, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. Our analysis revealed that key factors in people&rsquo;s intention to transact online include their degree of perceptions of Internet safety, acceptance of e-commerce, privacy concerns, and personal interests. Additionally, the results show that gender has a positive effect as a mediator between the factors: &ldquo;Privacy Concerns, Personal Interest, Safety Perceptions, and Transaction Willingness&rdquo;. These results show how culture affects the adoption of e-commerce. Nevertheless, surprisingly, according to the research&rsquo;s findings, privacy concerns were not indicative of cultural values, indicating that the idea of information privacy is more sophisticated than what a society&rsquo;s culture represents