An investigation of the intentions of X, Y and Z generation consumers to buy halal certified food products: Turkey–Germany comparison

In today's world, there are billions of people who have different religions, languages, and nationalities all around the globe. These people vary from each other in terms of not only characteristics such as religion, language, and nationality but also the matter of generation. People who were born during the same time periods, who experienced similar situations at the times they lived and who witnessed the great events of the time, have formed the notion of generation. However, these people, who are separated from each other with respect to the factor of generation, cannot be thought to exhibit exactly the same behaviours though they belong to a specific group. These groups of generations have different religions, genders, and nationalities, and they differ from each other in these respects. These differences, especially about the notion of religion, differentiate the behaviours of consumption of people. Muslims, though they may vary in terms of diverse generations, are supposed to obey the orders and restrictions of God considering the fact of consumption. Muslims' migrating to other countries of different religious beliefs, spreading all over the world, and the increase in their population have made them more sensitive about the issue of halal. Consumers have started to question products whether they are halal or not, particularly regarding food and nourishment. As a result, markets of halal products have considerably developed. In this study, the factors which affect the halal buying intentions of Turkish consumers who belong to different generations living in Turkey and Germany, have been examined. In addition, differences between the two countries in terms of generation have been inquired. The research model has been tested using the programme R. At the end of the research, it has been found out that the issues of the degree of devoutness, perceived behavioural controls, attitudes to halal food, awareness of halal and subjective norms of the consumers who live in Turkey and Germany, have a positive and considerably influential effect on the intention of buying halal food. As a result of the discrepancy analyses in terms of generations in Turkey and Germany, it has been detected that the generations X, Y and Z in Turkey differ from the ones in Germany in respect to devoutness, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, and the intention of buying. While the generations Y and Z in both Turkey and Germany vary in terms of awareness of halal, no difference has been determined in the generations X. Moreover, when the attitudes are examined, it has been found out that while the generations X and Y in Turkey and Germany vary, there is no difference in terms of the generation Z. Keywords: halal food, generations (X, Y and Z), the intention of buying halal food, devoutness, Turkey, Germany