An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict the Behavior of International Fast Food Restaurants' Guests towards Negative Publicity

Abstract

Negative Publicity is the contrary publicity that an establishment may suffer, which may lead to potentially catastrophic consequences. It results in the firm's reputation among its consumers and competitors. It may damages business. This research studies the impact of negative publicity of the international fast food restaurants' guests by applying the theory of planned behavior. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the data collected from a sample of 313 international fast food restaurants' guests. The results indicate that the final integrated model of the study explains 49% of the variance of the intention of international fast food restaurants' guests towards negative publicity and 5% of the variance of the behavior. Attitude, subjective Norms, perceived behavioral control would positively affect intention to visit the international fast-food restaurants that have negative publicity. Intention had a positive impact on behavior of international fast food restaurants' guests towards negative publicity. The results offer significant implications for international fast food management and are likely to stimulate further research in the area predicting the behavior of hospitality establishments' guests towards negative publicity.