“A Study of Customer Preference for Fast Food”

A Thesis Submitted to the

Oriental University, Indore
For the Award of Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Management
2022
by
Prashant Sarothiya
Under the Guidance of
Prof. (Dr.) Rishi Shukla
Oriental University, Indore

CENTRE
Oriental University, Indore
Sanwer Road, Jakhya, Opposite Revati Range Gate No. 1,
Indore, Madhya Pradesh - 453555
 1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
a) Chronological Literature Review
b) Research Gap

Chapters 3.
c) Summery table for research relevance
Research Methodology
Scheme for 4. Data Analysis and Interpretation

Proposed a) Frequency Analysis

b) Descriptive Analysis

Thesis c) Hypothesis Testing

d) Conceptual Model
5. Finding, Conclusions and Suggestions of the Study
6. Bibliography
7. Annexure

08/04/2022 2
 With the improvements in innovation, buyers likewise manage
the protected food creation procedures and cycles. Food decision
is frequently affected more by the mental understanding of item
properties than the actual properties of items themselves.

Introduction This study become more significant in time of global disruption

because of COVID-19 which has a direct impact on Indian Fast
Food sector. This is a quantitative research which is descriptive in
nature based on quantitative research methodology in which data
is gathered using structured questionnaire with 5 point Likert
Scale through which Customers statement were taken in the
agreement. The study has few suggestions for the future
researchers that may provide the light for the way that can be
used to explore the research subject in an organized manner.

08/04/2022 3
 1. To study the literature and identify the development in

understanding the food preference

Introduction
2. To study the influence of demographic profile of

– Objectives
Customer on his preference for fast food in Indore.

of the Study 3. To identify the factors those influence the buying

decisions of Customer for Fast Food.

4. To develop a conceptual model to examine the structure

relationship of important food preference constructs.

08/04/2022 4
 • The Research Study will provide a better understanding of the
Customers’ preference for consuming fast food in Indore city as
understanding the choice of fast food outlets can assist food marketers
and practitioners in developing marketing strategies and enable them to

Introduction reflect the most salient attributes to attract and retain customers.

– Scope of
• Furthermore, a conceptual model of fast food developed in this study
will help to provide a useful framework for future research regarding

the Study Customer Behavior and preference in the fast food industry.

• The study area will be limited to only Indore and the findings may need
further validation applicable to other cities of India.

• This contribution is practically important due to the limited empirical

studies on Costumers’ fast food outlet selection behavior in Indore city.

08/04/2022 5
No. of papers reviewed for initial screening 91
Time Frame for Literature Review 2003* – 2018
No. of papers selected for review after initial screening 59
Types of literature  
 Research Articles 44
 Thesis 7
 Industry Reports 3
 Government reports 5

Literature Review
08/04/2022 6
 • Population Definition – All Fast Food Consumers

• Sampling Unit- Fast Food Consumers from Indore

• Sampling Technique – Judgmental Sampling (for

selecting sample organization)

Research • Sample Size – 386 sample (210 Male and 176 Female)

Methodology • • The total population of Indore District

- Glimpses • • The Population above than the 18 years of age and
less than the 60 years of Age
• • The population that consume Fast Food

08/04/2022 7
 Research Design
Research Blueprint for the study

Research
• What is the influence of demographic profile of Customer on his
preference for Fast Food?

Question • What are the factors that influence the buying decision of
Customer while selecting the outlet?
08/04/2022 8
 Sample Description
As the complete list of population was large and
it was not feasible to frame it. Thus non
Research probability sampling technique was used. The
Methodology- geography was used to identify the possible
markets and the Customer s were connected
Sampling there. Data was collected from Oct. 2019 to
March 2020. Thus the sampling technique used
for this study was judgmental sampling
technique.

08/04/2022 9
 Sample Size Calculation
Population Estimation
Total Population of Indore: 3277000
Expected Population below 18 years: Approx. 41% (
https://censusindia.gov.in/census_and_you/age_structure_and_marital_status.aspx)
Expected Population above 60 years: Approx. 16%
(https://censusindia.gov.in/census_and_you/age_structure_and_marital_status.aspx)
Total population for the study: 100-41-16=43% of total Population
= 1400000 approx.
 Sample Size Calculation (P=394000)

s= X2NP (1-P) ÷ d2 (N-1) + X2P(1-P)

S=[3.841*1400000*0.5*0.5] / [0.05*0.05*1399999] + [3.841*0.5*0.5]

S=1344350 / [3499.99 + 0.96025]

S = 1344350 / 3500.95

S = 383.99

Thus the Sample size for the study should be 384 or more than this.
 It was noted in literature review that as
the population increases the representative
Research sample size increases at a diminishing rate
Methodology- and remains relatively constant at slightly
more than 380 cases. (Robert V. Krejcie
Sampling and Daryle W. Morgan, 1970)

08/04/2022 12
 Thus researcher aimed to collect the data from at
Research least more than the 382 samples. In research it is
believed that your sample size should as
Methodology- maximum as possible. So researchers targeted to
Sampling collect as maximum as possible as ended with
386 respondents.

08/04/2022 13
 Research Data collection instrument for this study was questionnaire which
Methodology- was developed and validated for this study before final collection
of the data. The questionnaire were designed with following
sections as:
•Personal Information – Demographic Variables
Data Information regarding respondent’s demographic variables was
Collection collected to analyze the categorical difference. Following
important demographic variables were as:
Instrument ◦
◦
Education
Gender
and ◦ Age

Measurement ◦ others

08/04/2022 14
 Research Methodology-
Research Instrument: Reliability
• A reliability analysis was conducted to measure the internal consistency of the measurement
method. The Cronbach’s Alpha is used to measure the reliability of variables. Cronbach’s
alpha indicates the degree to which set of items measure a single construct. According to
Cooper and Schindler, 2008 it should be above 0.6. As per the analysis of the data for
reliability coefficient, α value is 0.959 which is more than 0.60. Therefor reliability is
established and instrument was good to measure the variables.

08/04/2022 15
 Research Methodology-
Research Instrument: Reliability
Cronbach's Alpha N of Items
Construct

C - Cost .877 5

B - Brand Name .876 5

CO – Consistency .882 5

CV – Convenience .885 5

Q – Quality .881 5

FP – Fast Food Preference .937 10

08/04/2022 16
 Data was analyzed with SPSS.20
Frequency analysis was performed for all the
variables.
Data Analysis Descriptive analysis was done for all the matric
data with Kurtosis and Skewness.
and
Interpretation Scale reliability was tested with the Cronbach’s
alpha test.
Hypothesis testing was done by using specific
statistical test after performing the normality test
to test the normality of the data.

08/04/2022 17
Data Analysis and Interpretation: Sample Descriptive Analysis
 

  N Mean Std. Skewness Kurtosis

Deviation

Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Std. Statistic Std.

Error Error

C1 386 2.80 1.257 .197 .124 -.847 .248

C2 386 2.90 1.307 .122 .124 -.989 .248
C3 386 2.96 1.285 .033 .124 -.852 .248
C4 386 2.99 1.197 .056 .124 -.666 .248
C5 386 2.83 1.369 .093 .124 -1.143 .248

08/04/2022 18
 Data Analysis and Interpretation: Sample Descriptive Analysis
  N  
Mean Std. Deviation Skewness Kurtosis

Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Std. Error Statistic Std. Error

B1 386 2.89 1.310 .059 .124 -.971 .248

B2 386 2.94 1.262 .100 .124 -.841 .248
B3 386 2.89 1.286 .059 .124 -.910 .248
B4 386 2.98 1.272 .067 .124 -.904 .248
B5 386 2.87 1.290 .085 .124 -.941 .248
CO1 386 2.85 1.262 .285 .124 -.829 .248
CO2 386 2.90 1.353 .039 .124 -1.100 .248
CO3 386 2.83 1.248 .196 .124 -.808 .248
CO4 386 2.97 1.272 .124 .124 -.909 .248
CO5 386 2.90 1.309 .038 .124 -1.024 .248

08/04/2022 19
 Data Analysis and Interpretation: Sample Descriptive Analysis
  N Mean
  Std. Deviation Skewness Kurtosis

Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Std. Error Statistic Std. Error

CV1 386 2.97 1.209 .090 .124 -.693 .248

CV2 386 2.90 1.307 .186 .124 -.962 .248
CV3 386 2.77 1.307 .176 .124 -.977 .248
CV4 386 2.86 1.337 .153 .124 -1.026 .248
CV5 386 2.87 1.370 .106 .124 -1.125 .248
Q1 386 2.82 1.227 .052 .124 -.785 .248
Q2 386 2.85 1.193 .095 .124 -.630 .248
Q3 386 2.87 1.233 .039 .124 -.852 .248
Q4 386 2.86 1.302 .169 .124 -.926 .248
Q5 386 2.85 1.324 .150 .124 -1.037 .248

08/04/2022 20
 Data Analysis and Interpretation: Sample Descriptive Analysis
  N Mean
  Std. Deviation Skewness Kurtosis

Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Std. Error Statistic Std. Error

FP1 386 2.86 1.352 .137 .124 -1.085 .248

FP2 386 2.95 1.279 .145 .124 -.911 .248
FP3 386 2.88 1.296 .165 .124 -.967 .248
FP4 386 2.82 1.280 .136 .124 -.935 .248
FP5 386 2.87 1.228 .100 .124 -.767 .248
FP6 386 2.94 1.225 .073 .124 -.797 .248
FP7 386 2.94 1.249 .126 .124 -.864 .248
FP8 386 2.99 1.328 .077 .124 -1.040 .248
FP9 386 2.95 1.234 .029 .124 -.817 .248
FP10 386 2.85 1.248 .083 .124 -.822 .248

08/04/2022 21
Data Analysis and Interpretation: Sample Frequency Analysis
FP10 * Age Group
 

In analyzing the Fast-food Preference Construct, the first

statement which was asked to the respondent was “Fast

Foods are always preferred.”. In this analysis, it was found

that there were 36% were disagreed to the statement.

Approximately, 37% were neutral to this statement.

Whereas, 27% were agreed to the statement.

08/04/2022 22
 Data Analysis and Interpretation: Sample Frequency Analysis
FP10 * Age Group Chi Square Test Result
 
 

  Value df . Sig. From the above table it is evident that the value of Sig.

Chi-Square 24.318a 8 .002 (.002) was less than the level of significance (0.05).Thus it

LR 26.247 8 .001 can be concluded that there was significance difference

LLA 19.178 1 .000
among Age for the above variable.
Total Samples 386    

9.33.

08/04/2022 23
 Data Analysis and Interpretation- Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis no.1
H1: There is significant influence of gender of Customer on his preference for fast food in Indore city.

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for t-test for Equality of Means
Equality of
Variances

F Sig. t df Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error 95% Confidence

tailed) Difference Difference Interval of the
Difference

Lower Upper

Equal variances
28.394 .000 8.215 384 .000 .78777 .09589 .59923 .97630
assumed
FP
Equal variances
8.326 383.771 .000 .78777 .09461 .60174 .97379
not assumed

08/04/2022 24
 The hypothesis was tested with independent t test with 95%
level of confidence and 5% level of significance. The
calculated sig value (.00) was less than the level of
Hypothesis .
significance and thus null hypothesis was rejected and

Testing: H1 alternate hypothesis was accepted. Thus it was concluded

that there was significant difference among male and
female regarding Fast Food Preference. There was more
favorable preference for Fast Food among Females than
Male.

08/04/2022 25
Data Analysis and Interpretation- Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis no.2
H1: There is significant influence of age of Customer on his preference for fast food in Indore city.

ANOVA
FP
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups 36.042 2 18.021 19.095 .000
Within Groups 361.451 383 .944
Total 397.493 385

08/04/2022 26
 The hypothesis was tested with One Way ANOVA with
95% level of confidence and 5% level of significance. The
calculated sig value (.00) was less than the level of
Hypothesis .
significance and thus null hypothesis was rejected and

Testing: H2 alternate hypothesis was accepted. Thus it was concluded

that there was significant difference among different age
categories of Age regarding Fast Food Preference. There
was more favorable preference for Fast Food among lower
age groups and less favorable preference among upper age
group of respondents.

08/04/2022 27
 Data Analysis and Interpretation- Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis no.3
H1: There is significant positive preference for Fast Food.

One-Sample Test

  Test Value = 3

t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean 95% Confidence Interval of

Difference the Difference

Lower Upper

FP -1.853 385 .065 -.09585 -.1975 .0058

08/04/2022 28
 The hypothesis was tested with One Sample t test with 3 as a

neutral point with 95% level of confidence and 5% level of

significance. The calculated sig value (.065) was more than the

level of significance and thus null hypothesis was accepted and

Hypothesis .
alternate hypothesis was rejected. Thus it was concluded that there

Testing: H3 was no significant Fast Food Preference among respondents.

Although it was evident from the data analysis that there were

specific groups of respondents that have shown the positive

preference for Fast Food. But taking all respondents together,

there was less preference.

08/04/2022 29
Conceptual Model:

Based on the literature study and further discussion with experts, a conceptual framework was constructed in the
form of Structural Equation Modeling. For this the important constructs were as below:
• Convenience - CV
• Cost - C
• Consistency - CO
• Quality – Q
• Brand Name and Reputation - B
• Fast Food Preference
• Structural Equation Modeling with Smart PLS 2 was done.
• Measurement model and structural model are the two models used for assessing the data.
• The measurement model is used to express the relationship between latent constructs and their related variables,
• The structural model represents the causal relationship among the constructs
08/04/2022 30
Conceptual Model:

08/04/2022 31
Conceptual Model: Structural Model Conclusion:

Model Conclusion:

• The impact of Convenience on Fast Food Preference was significant.

• The impact of Cost on Fast Food Preference was significant.

• The impact of Consistency on Fast Food Preference was significant.

• The impact of Brand name and Reputation on Fast Food Preference was significant.

• The impact of Quality on Fast Food Preference was significant.

08/04/2022 32
 • Fast Food Is Inexpensive.
• A Global Fast Food Brand is Trustworthy in Every
Important Aspects.
Findings of • Global Fast Food Restaurant Serves a Consistent
the Study: Menu with a Consistent Taste in every branch it oprtates.
.
Model • Customers are Prefer going to Fast Food
Conclusion Restaurants due to their Proximity.
• Fast Food Restaurants are Higher in Quality.

08/04/2022 33
 The study concluded following important point as:

o There was not significant and clear positive preference for fast
food except for few specific groups’ of Customer s.

o These specific groups were having different opinion than the

overall opinion of the Customer s taken together.

Conclusion of o The important groups for such difference were Gender as

the Study
females were having more favorable preferences for fast food
. than males.

o Age was an important indicator for such preferences for fast

food and it was concluded that the lower age group were
having the more positive preference for fast food than the
upper age group. The main reason for this was the concern for
health increase along with the Age.

08/04/2022 34
 o The conceptual model was built and it was concluded
that the main constructs for analyzing the food
preference were as:

 Cost

Conclusion of  Convenience

the Study .
 Consistency

 Quality

 Brand Name and Reputation

o The relationship between all these constructs i.e. Cost,

Convenience, Consistency, Quality and Brand Name
and Reputation and Fast Food preference was found to
be significant and thus the fast food preference can be
explained with these variables.
08/04/2022 35
 •The study has few suggestions for the future researchers also that
may provide the light for the way that can be used to explore the
research subject in an organized manner.
•This study was done with a small geographic research area i.e. Indore
District. Thus future research may be carried out to explore the other
bigger geographic areas to test the findings of this study.
Suggestions of •This study measure the simple structural relationship with 5 most

the Study .
important elements of fast food preference that were found from the
literature study. All other construct were taken as constant for building
the model. Thus future researcher may take other constant construct in
the model and test the significance of this.
•The sample size for this study was again restrict to the age group of
18 and above. The future researchers may go to analyses the
behavioral pattern of teen agers in Indian fast food markets as this is
the segment which has the most significant preference for fast food.

08/04/2022 36
 • Prashant Sarothiya, Dr. Rishi Shukla. “Food
Consumption habits of youngsters of Indore City: An
Empirical Study” Mukta Shabd Journal, ISSN: 2347-3150

List of X Issue -VIII, August 2021 (Impact Factor: 4.6UGC CARE

Publications JOURNAL)
.
• Prashant Sarothiya, Dr. Rishi Shukla. “A Study on
Preference towards Junk Food among Youth in Indore
Region” Mukt Shabd Journal, ISSN:2347-3150 X Issue-
VIII, August 2021 (Impact Factor: 4.6 UGC CARE
JOURNAL)

08/04/2022 37