The effect of YouTube advertising and attitude towards intention to consume fruits and vegetables: the moderating role of health consciousness / Nur Shahafiqah Nadiah Jaffery

Fruits and vegetables which contain fiber, essential vitamins and minerals which is important to keep you full, keeps digestion normal, and has been linked to decreasing the risk and effects of several diseases. In Malaysia, the number of fruits and vegetables consumption is still below the exact recommendation by Ministry of Health. YouTube is one of the social media platforms that has received minimal research related to consumer consumption behavior. So far, there is limited studies can be found to measure YouTube advertising towards intention to consume fruits and vegetables in Malaysia. This thesis aims to identify the factors that affect consumers’ attitude to consume fruits and vegetables through YouTube advertising. Perceived credibility, perceived usefulness, perceived video characteristics, number of views, likes, comments and replies and attitude towards consumers found to have impact on attitude towards consumers to eat fruits and vegetables. Tripartite Attitude Model is used to develop the conceptual framework for this study. The data for this study was obtained using an offline questionnaire, and the data was analyzed using two key software programmes: Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26 and Smart PLS 3.0 to assess the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The findings for this study found that there is a relationship between perceived usefulness and numbers views, likes, comments and replies and attitude towards fruits and vegetables consumption. Meanwhile for mediator, perceived video characteristics and number of views, likes, comments and replies are supported and for moderator, perceived credibility and number of views likes, comments and replies are supported. This study hopes to contribute to the YouTube advertising literature and health marketing literature by identifying the factors that influence fruits and vegetables consumption via YouTube advertising and can be used as a guideline to the policymaker or other social media platforms to encourage Malaysians particularly university students to eat more fruits and vegetables for a healthier lifestyle.