Qualitative Assessment of Key Beliefs in Regards to Consumers’ Food Truck Visits

ABSTRACT

Despite the recent booming of the food truck industry, no research has identified consumers’ underlying beliefs in regards to their food truck visits. To discover underlying cognitive structure about consumers’ food truck visits, this study utilized the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and examined salient behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs with an elicitation study. A content analysis was performed with a total of 200 responses using Nvivo 10. Consequently, this study identified a range of advantages (e.g., unique and/or different food), disadvantages (e.g., sanitation), referent groups (e.g., family), and barriers and facilitators (e.g., proximity). Based on the findings, practical and theoretical implications were discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Food truck
• theory of planned behavior
• salient beliefs
• elicitation study

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Mary A. Crenshaw Endowed Research Fund, College of Human Environmental Sciences at The University of Alabama;