How does the type of product moderate consumers' buying intentions towards traditional foods? (Study of consumer behavior in Indonesia)

Purpose This paper aims to explain the relationship between product quality, price and convenience with a positive attitude and intention to buy traditional food. In addition, it also aims to explain the role of the product type in moderating the relationship between these variables. Design/methodology/approach Samples were taken non-randomly, consisting of 500 snack food buyers and 500 restaurant food buyers. Some of the places chosen for sampling include Paragon Mall, Solo Grand Mall, Matahari Mall, Hartono Mall or other places in Surakarta-Indonesia, where people spend time relaxing. Furthermore, multiple structural equations model (multi group SEM) is a statistical method used to explain the relationship between the conceptual variables. Findings Some of the findings are as follows: before the product as a moderator, price and quality are the variables that influence the positive attitude and the intention to buy, while the convenience is the variable found not affecting both the positive attitude and the intention to buy. After the product type as a moderator, for snacks, the test results indicate that the price, product quality and convenience are the variables that affect the positive attitude but do not affect the intention to buy. For restaurant food, test results indicate that only prices and qualities affect positive attitudes, whereas convenience is found not to affect positive attitudes. Furthermore, only price and quality affect the intention to buy, while convenience is found not to affect the intention to buy. Originality/value This paper underlines that the type of product is a moderating variable in the buying behavior process of traditional foods. Regarding its role as a moderator variable, the relationships between variables that are conceptualized can be explained in detail, along with their significance.