The effect of Social Influence, Perception of the Side Effects, and Perceived Health Benefits on Attitude and Purchase intentions of Protein Supplements: The Complementary Role of Health Consciousness, and Perceived Exercise Benefits

This study explores consumer perception regarding protein supplements, focusing on their 1. perceived health benefits, 2. social influence and 3. side effects, and investigates how these factors influence purchase intentions. Building upon the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior (e-TPB), the model incorporates Perceived Severity of Disease and Weakness (PSDW) as a novel construct, alongside Social Influence and Perceived Health Benefits, to examine their impact on consumers' attitudes toward protein supplements, and their purchase intentions. Health Consciousness is integrated as a pivotal background factor as the study introduces Health Consciousness, and Perceived Exercise Benefits as a moderating variable, assessing whether the effect of three antecedents on attitude and purchase intention is strengthens where Health Consciousness, and perceived benefits of physical exercise are high. Using structural equation modeling on data collected from 350 Respondents. The results of the bootstrapping analysis are summarized. The path from Attitude to Purchase Intention was found to be highly significant (β = 0.593, t = 13.621, p