Household Income as a Determinant of Car-Buying Behaviour in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of household income on car-buying behaviour in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study uses a quantitative research design based on a structured online questionnaire completed by 293 respondents. Car-buying behaviour was measured as the stated likelihood of purchasing a new automobile within the next twelve months, while household income was measured through ordinal income categories. Price perception and affordability were included as additional economic variables. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were applied using IBM SPSS Statistics. The results indicate that household income has a positive and statistically significant effect on car-buying behaviour. The unstandardized coefficient for income was B = 0.386 with p < 0.001, making income the strongest predictor in the model. The findings suggest that respondents in higher income categories are more likely to express stronger purchase intentions than respondents in lower income categories. The study concludes that income represents a key economic threshold in automobile purchase intention in Bosnia and Herzegovina.