The effect of service quality on brand perception and purchasing intention: The regulatory role of culture

The aim of this study was to departmentalize thr fast-food consumption habits of the Syrian higher education students living in Turkey. The universe of the research consisted of the Syrian higher education students studying at the Gaziantep University. Beyond the research, the questionnaire developed by the researcher was administered to a total of 191 participants reached by simple random sampling method in 2017-2018 academic year. The SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 23 software packages were used in data analysis of the research designed though the correlational survey model and parametric tests were applied to the data set which was normally distributed. According to the research results, while the service quality and brand perception scores of the Syrian higher education students were found to be positive, no obvious trend was identified with regard to their purchasing intention perceptions. In addition, it was extrapolated that the participants had high collectivism and femininity scores, while their uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation scores were found to be moderate. Furtermore, meaningful direct and indirect relationships between service quality, brand perception, purchasing intention and cultural values of the participants were also determined. Finally, it was observed that there were two distinct consumer profiles based on economic status among the Syrian higher education students. Keywords: Service quality, brand perception, purchasing intention, culture, fast-food, Syrian higher education students.