Functional food consumption in multicultural society

Abstract

We do not fully understand how culture and value systems influence functional food consumption in developing countries. The functional food market is rapidly expanding, with manufacturers promoting the perceived health benefits of food products to specific consumer groups. Ethnicity, culture and values are sources of market credibility and competition in traditional and emerging economies and they heavily influence the marketing of functional food. This thesis presents a theory of functional food consumption for the multicultural society of Malays, Chinese and Indians in Malaysia. The research also explores the possibility of convergence of culturally-based values towards functional food within and between the three different ethnic groups. The research used a mixed method of qualitative data collection and quantitative survey. The qualitative research (Study #1) used an ethnoconsumerist methodology to study functional food consumption in the given cultures and a means-end chain approach to identify the motives and values behind functional food consumption. A substantive theory of functional food consumption for multicultural society was developed based on a constant comparative data analysis. Six propositions and associated sub-propositions were developed to move from substantive theory to formal theory. The quantitative study (Study #2) tested the research propositions. Data was collected from 200 respondents from each of the three Malaysian ethnic groups via a self-administered survey. The propositions and sub-propositions were formed into a model of functional food consumption which was tested using structural equation modelling techniques. Overall, the results support the research propositions, including a model of functional food consumption which is applicable to multicultural societies like Malaysia. The functional food consumption model consists of five salient dimensions: cultural values, knowledge, health factors, value negotiation (convenience) and personal values (life accomplishment and compassion). These dimensions directly and indirectly contribute to the consumption of functional food. Cross-cultural analysis shows that the model is best fitted to the Malay ethnic group and moderately fitted to the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups. The model and findings offer a new perspective on functional food consumption in a developing multicultural society. The main contribution of this thesis is a functional food consumption model which has been successfully applied in a multicultural society. The model developed in this thesis contributes to the literature by improving our understanding of consumer motives in developing multicultural societies. This thesis also has practical implications for governments, industrial food manufacturers and marketers. The thesis suggests a strategy for increasing the penetration of functional food across different cultures and ethnic groups in Malaysia based on cooperation between food producers and governments. This strategy involves an ethnically-based promotion that attracts members of the targeted ethnic group whilst also appealing to consumers from different ethnicities. Any such promotion must be careful to retain the underlying cultural identity of the functional food product, and not dilute its traditional meaning by attempting to appeal to the wider community. At the same time, marketers can communicate the health benefits of functional food to a market beyond a specific ethnic cohort. This strategy assumes that the government will provide basic information on the positive health aspects of functional food and fill in education and information gaps regarding the universality of culturally-specific functional food products. In this way, accurate health promotion information will induce behavioural changes which favour the marketing of functional foods in multicultural societies like Malaysia.