Fast Food Consumption Behavior of Consumers in the Northern Region of Iraq

Öz

Fast food is a food that can be cooked and prepared in a short time; some people enjoy (relish) fast food instead of popular food. The purpose of this research is to investigate the fast food consumption behavior of consumers in the Northern Region of Iraq. The sample size was 380 and questionnaires were distributed among the families in three main areas includes Erbil, Sulaimaniya, and Duhok. Multiple linear regressions models and ANOVA were used to analyze the fast food consumption behavior of consumers. The result shows that the share of total food expenditures spent on fast food consumption increased with incomes. Results from this research suggest that increasing household income increased household fast food consumption share, but decreased food expenditure. In addition, household size has a statistically significant and positive effect on fast food consumption expenditure. The result of statistically significant coefficient showed that household income has a positive effect on fast food consumption expenditure. The income elasticity of fast food consumption is equal to 0.56, that’s mean when the income increasing by 1%, the amount of fast food consumption expenditure will increase by only 0.56%.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Fast food consumption
• Consumer behavior
• Northern Iraq

Kaynakça

1. Akbay, C. & Boz, İ. (2005). Kahramanmaraş’ta Ailelerin Ev ve Ev Dışı Gıda Tüketim Talebi ve Tüketici Davranışlarının Ekonomik Analizi. KSÜ Fen ve Mühendislik Dergisi, 8(1): 122-131.
2. Akbay, C., Boz, I. & Chern, W.S. (2007). Household1 Food Consumption in Turkey. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 34(2): 209-231.
3. Andreyeva, T., Long, M.W. & Brownell, K.D. (2010). The impact of food prices on consumption: a systematic review of research on the price elasticity of demand for food. American journal of public health, 100(2): 216-222.
4. Aydin, G. & Kilic, O. (2013). Factors Affecting Consumers Awareness of Food Safety: A Case Study in the Urban Area of Samson Provence In Turkey. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, 8(6): 330-334.
5. Block, J.P., Condon, S.K., Kleinman, K., Mullen, J., Linakis, S., Rifas-Shiman, S. & Gillman, M.W. (2013). Consumers’ estimation of calorie content at fast food restaurants: cross sectional observational study. BMJ, 346: f2907.
6. Chavadi, C.A. & Kokatnur, S.S. (2008). Consumer Expectation and Perception of Fast Food Outlets: An Empirical Study in Davangere. ICFAI Journal of Service Marketing, 6(2): 6-21.
7. French, S.A., Wall, M. & Mitchell, N.R. (2010). Household income differences in food sources and food items purchased. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7(1): 77.
8. Gül, A., Akbay, C., Özcicek,C., Özel, R. & Akbay, A.O. (2007). Expenditure Pattern for Food Away From Home Consumption in Turkey. Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 19(4): 31-43.

9. Green, L.A., Chobanian, A.V., Bakris, G.L., Black, H.R., Cushman, W.C., Izzo, J.L., Jones, D.W., Materson, B.J., Oparil, S., Wright, J.T. & Roccella, E.J. (2003). Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. Hypertension, 42 (6): 1206-1252.
10. Prabhavathi, Y., Kishore, N.K. & Kumar, M.R. (2014). Consumer Preference and Spending Pattern in Indian Fast Food industry. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(2).
11. Powell, L.M., Chaloupka, F.J. & Bao, Y. (2007). The availability of fast-food and full-service restaurants in the United States: associations with neighborhood characteristics. American journal of preventive medicine, 33(4): 240-S245.
12. Schiffman, L.G. & Kanuk, L.L. (1997). Consumer Behavior. Prentice Hall College Div; 6th edition.
13. Schlosser, E. (2012). Fast food nation: The dark side of the all-American meal. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Sserunkuuma, D., Bonabana-Wabbi, J. & Ayo, S.A. (2012). Determinants of Fast Food Consumption in Kampala, Uganda. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 12(5): 6567-6581.
14. Warraich, U.A., Nawaz, A. & Qureshi, F.K. (2013). Customer Retention in Fast Food Industry. Indus Journal of Management Sciences, 1(1):41-47.
15. Yardimci, H., Ozdogan, Y., Ozcelik, A.O. & Surucuoglu, M.S. (2012). Fast-food consumption habits of university students: The Sample of Ankara. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 11(3): 265.