Evaluating factors influencing customers' intention to eat Korean cuisine "Samgyeopsal" in the Philippines: A structural equation model forest classifier approach

Samgyeopsal has become a widely popular cuisine in the Philippines since 2014. The rise of Samgyeopsal is evident worldwide as it is available in countries such as the United States, Northern, and Southern Asia. This study aimed to explore the intention to eat Samgyeopsal during the COVID-19 pandemic utilizing structural equation modeling and random forest classifier. With a total of 1014 responses collected online, the result showed that utilitarian and hedonic motivation, Korean influence, and attitude led to very high actual behavior in east Samgyeopsal in the Philippines. Moreover, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention led to significant results influencing intention to actual behavior. Lastly, the COVID-19 safety protocol showed the least significant result. This study is the first study that evaluated the intention of consumers to eat Samgyeopsal in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study would be beneficial to Korean BBQ restaurateurs and the further development of their marketing strategies even in other countries. Finally, the model construct of this study can be extended and applied in evaluating the consumers' eating intention toward other varieties of food or cuisines worldwide.