Search results

International students are considered as a huge and potentially lucrative segment for various products of the tourism industry in Malaysia. One of the tourism products is the local food they consume. The purpose of this paper is to investigate key factors that contribute to international students’ intention to consume Malay food. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the present study examines the impact of attitude, subject norm and perceived behavioral control (PBC) on international students’ intention to consume Malay food.

A quantitative approach using self-administered questionnaire was adopted. A total of 163 samples were collected from international students studying in five different Malaysian higher education institutions. A partial least squares structural equation modeling technique was used to test the hypothesized model.

The findings highlight that attitude, subject norms and PBC significantly motivate international students to consume local food. The subject norm toward consuming local food was revealed as the strongest predictor of international students’ intention to consume Malay food.

Although this is one of the early studies that uses the TPB in assessing the factors that influence international students’ intention to consume local food, this paper is driven by and aimed for practical consideration and thus making a significant contribution to practice. Specifically, the findings of the present study provide important implications for tourism industry practitioners to plan and implement initiatives that may promote local food among international students studying in Malaysian institutions.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal and understand the consumption of functional food model for Malay Muslim consumers in Malaysia. The paper presents a new framework to understand how the majority of Malay Muslim consumers living in multicultural societies make their functional food choices in the modern world.

The data were collected through a self‐administrated questionnaire survey that was distributed using convenience sampling. The items for the questionnaire were identified from a preliminary model derived from the qualitative analysis input using ethnoconsumerist and grounded theory methodologies. Structural equation modelling was used to develop the consumption of functional food model for Malay Muslims in Malaysia.

These findings have practical implications for public policymakers (e.g. government and consumer educators), industrial food practitioners, market researchers and manufacturers who produce, sell or market functional foods in Malaysia.

This research is specific to functional food consumption and Malay Muslim consumers. Thus, the results in this study may not be applicable to cultures in general.

In terms of originality, the empirical findings of this study represent a contribution to the literature in the area of food marketing in developing multicultural countries, because the model is developed in a cross‐cultural context. The model is specific to the Malay Muslim population.

Conflicting values are resolved through a process called value negotiation, but the nature of this process remains largely unexplored. This study aims to explore how consumers undergoing rapid socio‐economic transition manage their conflicting values in making choices concerning functional foods.

Data for this study were collected qualitatively using ethnoconsumerist and grounded‐theory methodologies. In combination, these two approaches enabled the researcher to conduct research at the emic‐level (within culture).

The exploratory model was developed to illustrate how the main three ethnic groups in Malaysia manage their values in terms of functional food consumption. The results showed that participants did not spend much time consciously considering their consumption choices or their values until they were faced with choices or personal values that were inconsistent with cultural, physical and product characteristics. Values are managed by prioritisation and balancing to suit the participant's health needs and situation.

The study's findings are based only on the Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnic groups in Malaysia.

The model can be used to help food practitioners, policy‐makers and educators evaluate practices aimed at improving dietary behaviour.

The finding gives new insight into how consumers in developing multicultural society consume functional foods.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze socio-cultural and political forces which have shaped anti-violent attitudes and strategies of the Batek and Batek Tanum of Peninsular Malaysia.

Data collection during the authors’ long-term, multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork among the Batek and Batek Tanum in Peninsular Malaysia. Methodology included participant observation, semi-structured interviews and a literature review of texts on the Orang Asli and anthropological theories on violence.

Traumatic experiences of past violence and atrocities greatly influence the Batek's and Batek Tanum's present attitudes toward direct and structural forms of violence. A variety of anti-violent strategies are adopted, including the choice to escape when physically threatened. Rather than demonstrating “weakness,” this course of action represents a smart survival strategy. External violence reinforces values of internal cooperation and mutual-aid that foraging societies, even sedentary groups, typically privilege. In recent years, the Batek's increasing political awareness has opened new forms of resistance against the structural violence embedded within Malaysian society.

The study proposes that societies cannot simply be labelled as violent or non-violent on the basis of socio-biological theories. Research into hunter-gatherer social organization and violence needs to be reframed within larger debates about structural violence. The “anti-violence” of certain foraging groups can be understood as a powerful form of resilience to outside pressures and foraging groups’ best possible strategy for survival.

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of satisfaction (food quality, service quality, ambience, price and portion) among postgraduate Health Sciences students on the cafeteria facilities in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Kuala Lumpur Campus. In Malaysia, the total number of postgraduate in higher institution increase from 75,199 in 2007 to 85,236 in 2010, an increment of 12 per cent. The increasing numbers of higher education postgraduates on university campuses has unquestionably raised the expansion of demand for food service availability and quality on campus.

A self-reported questionnaire was to 86 subjects at Faculty of Health Sciences, UKM, from September to November in 2012.

The findings showed that ambience and service attributes turned out to be the most dissatisfied attributes. Malay and non-Malay post-graduate Health Science students showed no significant difference on the satisfaction toward the four attributes. Respondents believed that increasing menu variation and introducing franchise outlet were the two supplementary factors that may increase satisfaction level.

The major drawback of this study is the inability to generalize findings to the students’ satisfaction toward UKM KL food service because data of the current study were only assessing postgraduate students.

The points developed from this study clearly indicate the level of satisfaction among postgraduate Health Science student against food service system in one of the famous research university in Malaysia, UKM.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the socio‐demographic factors affecting food safety knowledge/practice and the effectiveness of food safety strategies of hawkers in an urban and less urban setting of Malaysia.

A total of 50 hawkers from Kuala Lumpur and Taiping were given a questionnaire and observed in their food safety practice (FSP). In‐depth interviews were performed on four hawkers from Kuala Lumpur and Taiping.

Of all hawker types, Muslim/Malay hawkers, hawkers with higher educational levels, hawkers in designated sites and hawkers in an urban setting scored the highest on food safety knowledge and/or practice. This study found inadequate distribution/impracticality of regulations/guidelines for hawkers, ambiguities with licensing procedures, weaknesses in training programmes and significant complaints of designated sites by hawkers.

Ethnicity, religion, education and type of premise are socio‐demographic factors that may affect food safety knowledge/practices of hawkers. An urban/less urban setting may also affect hawkers' food safety knowledge/practice. Ineffectiveness of food safety strategies of the Control Authority may exist and may vary across different regions of Malaysia. Thus, food safety strategies must be regulated/reinforced and adapted to hawkers' socio‐demographic status, to ensure the safety of hawker foods in Malaysia.

This study was conducted to explore the underlying reasons of food choice and the association with risk perception in an urban community. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Using a cross‐sectional design, adults between 20 and 60 years old, selected by convenience sampling from three different races; Malay, Chinese and Indian, in Sungai Petani, Kedah were surveyed. A self‐administered food choice questionnaire was used and data collected were analysed using SPSS Statistic 17.0.

Religion, risk perception and sensory appeal were the most prominent factors affecting food choice of respondents. Age showed significant correlation with mood and sensory appeal. Monthly income was significantly correlated with convenience, weight control and familiarity. Risk perception was found to be correlated with all motives except familiarity and religion.

A larger sample with approximately equal number of respondents from the various races would provide a more substantial overview of the trend of food choice in a multicultural population.

This study provides an insight on factors determining the food‐buying power of the community which may directly impact the commercial success of food products including modifying provisions and actions of the food industry.

This research investigated the set priorities of an urban community in deciding the type of food for consumption which may be influenced by multicultural interactions and reported risks.

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate aspects of the relationship between food and culture with particular emphasis on globalisation and its consequences, the ways in which food can represent people and places, and interest if food heritage. Issues are discussed within the context of Singapore.

A case study methodology is employed using published information from assorted sources, both online and in conventional print form, supplemented by personal observation.

A country's food culture is found to be influenced by globalising forces, yet these do not always overwhelm local distinctions and the international and domestic can co-exist and coalesce. Food is also shown to be a critical dimension of ethnic and national identity and to have a heritage worthy of protection. In addition, it is a tourist attraction which affords insights into destination culture. Defining a national cuisine, however, is complicated in multiracial societies and origins and ownership of so-called national dishes may be disputed.

Enhanced knowledge about the wider role of food in established and emerging Asian economies and societies can improve understanding of its significance for residents and tourists, helping in formulating strategies to meet needs.

New insights are offered into the meanings of food in relatively young countries of mixed races and how cuisines evolve and interact.

Buy Muslim’s First campaign started with the primary aim of urging the Muslim community to be more vigilant about halal or Shariah-compliant products, leading to a number of halal-related issues, triggered by the exploitation or misuse of the halal logo in Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the purchase intention for Muslim-made products by applying the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Halal consciousness was integrated as a moderating influence on the purchase intention of Muslim-made products.

Data collection was performed through a self-administered questionnaire which was distributed through convenience sampling method. Therefore, a useful sample comprising 152 Malay Muslim participants aged over 18 was collected. For hypothesis testing, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was implemented.

It was found that the participants’ attitudes towards the purchase of Muslim-made products and their perceived behavioural control significantly influenced their purchase intention, but the subjective norm did not impact this intention. Furthermore, halal consciousness moderated the relationships among all the independent and dependent variables. Halal consciousness moderated the relationship between participants’ attitudes towards Muslim-made products and their perceived behavioural control towards the purchase intention; however, this moderation did not occur through the subjective norm and the purchase intention.

As the findings of this study were limited to the Muslim population in Malaysia, it might be difficult to generalize for other nations that have no similarities with the Malaysian Muslim culture.

The findings of this study may support Muslims to implement more effective marketing strategies that attract the target customers to purchase Muslim-made products. Effective promotion may attract potential customers as well.

The halal consciousness among Muslim consumers is important for the moderation and prediction of consumers’ intention to purchase Muslim-made products.

The fastest growing industry in the world is in the hospitality field that focuses on customer satisfaction. Part of this is the food service industry that has been improving its existence for the past years. In the hospitality industry, there are various kinds of businesses and one of them is street cuisine, which is not properly sanitised yet affordable and delicious. The researchers used various approaches to understand the tourists' perception on street cuisine, which are descriptive and quantitative. This research was conducted with millennial visitors in George Town Street, Penang, by using a survey questionnaire. Based on the results, the researchers found out that there are some differences in the perception on street cuisine stalls based on their demographic profile. This study confirmed that street cuisine in George Town Street, Penang, is recognised with its level of hygiene in preparation and with high consideration for its cleanness. In addition, this study also shows that street cuisine in the post-COVID-19 period in George Town Street, Penang, is recognised to have a high commercial value; therefore, more efforts must be engaged to boost its competitiveness in the market. Therefore, there is a need of full support from the Malaysian government, local authorities and local people in maintaining its quality and the preferences of George Town street in Penang as a tourism destination that provides heavenly street cuisine to all tourists in the world.