Celebrity Endorsement, Customer Attitude and Brand Selection as Determinants of the Fast-Food Industry Performance: The Moderating Role of Customer Age and Perceived Service Quality

Abstract

The use of celebrity endorsement as part of the overall marketing communication plan is growing in importance. Similarly, celebrity endorsement helps to advertise offerings and draw customers’ attention. Thus, the current study sought to examine celebrity endorsement, customer attitude, and brand selection as determinants of the fast-food industry performance. A cross-sectional survey of 550 fast food customers was conducted in Harare, Zimbabwe between February and March 2023. A purposive sampling method was used to select respondents. The study’s findings confirm all direct relationships. A partial mediation effect of brand awareness and customer attitude on the celebrity endorsement and fast food performance relationship was also confirmed. Also, customer age and perceived service quality were found to moderate the relationship between celebrity endorsement and fast food industry performance relationship. Management within the fast food industry were advised not to treat all the study variables in isolation since they complement each other. This is meant to improve the performance of firms within the retail fast food industry. The current study findings are useful as no study has been conducted within emerging markets within the sub-Saharan region to focus on customer attitude and brand selection as mediators between the celebrity endorsement and business performance relationship within the fast food industry. Moreover, little is known about prior studies that included customer’s age and perceived service quality as moderators of the effect of celebrity endorsement on retail business performance. Thus, the current study findings narrow this knowledge gap in the literature.