Supplements purchase intention: young consumer's perspective

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the factors that influence young consumers' purchase intention towards dietary supplements (DS) in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe supplement industry in Malaysia has been growing rapidly recently due to a paradigm shift in healthcare management, from curative to prevention. Thus, it has sparked interest to conduct a study on the factors that influence young consumers' purchase intentions towards DS. With a response rate of 74.5%, a survey questionnaire was used to elicit data from 149 Gen-Y respondents who consume supplements on a regular basis.FindingsThe results revealed that the influencing factors towards purchase decisions among these Gen-Y respondents aged between 17 and 25 are based on product knowledge and product quality. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are outlined at the end of this paper.Originality/valueThis study offers empirical insights from the perspective of an emerging digital economy on the factors that influence young consumers' purchase intentions towards DS in Malaysia.

Validation of the Health Consciousness Scale among the Czech Population.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of maintaining good health. It became has become apparent that health consciousness is a crucial factor in promoting healthy lifestyles, disease prevention, and the overall well-being of individuals. A higher level of health consciousness is associated with healthy habits, better adherence to medical recommendations, and a higher quality of life. Therefore, health consciousness is a critical construct in health care that reflects the degree to which individuals care about their health. This study, which is based on a representative sample of the adult population (n = 1372), aims to validate the Health Consciousness Scale (HCS) to assess its reliability and validity, and evaluate the factor structure of the translated version of the scale in the Czech language. The validation of the HCS in the Czech context is a significant step forward and provides useful information for healthcare professionals, policymakers, and researchers. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of health consciousness in the Czech population and provide unique information for the development and evaluation of health interventions aimed at promoting healthy behaviors and attitudes.

The role of traditional aspects, health consciousness and environmental concerns in Italian agri-food consumption during Covid-19

PurposeThe study investigates how consumers' food purchasing habits changed during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy. The research aims to understand if traditional aspects, health consciousness and environmental concerns have influenced and changed the purchases of food products post-pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed a theoretical model to understand whether health consciousness, traditional aspects and environmental concerns affect consumers' purchasing intention. The study collects secondary data to analyse state of the art and investigate consumer behaviour in the agri-food system after the pandemic. Thereafter, a survey was conducted via a convenience random sampling procedure. The data (n = 622) were analysed using the formulated research framework and tested through the structural equation modelling procedure.FindingsThe findings reveal that health consciousness and traditional aspects (culinary traditions, ingredients usage from one's territory of origin, products' origin attention) are among the main reasons for purchasing agri-food goods after the pandemic. Instead, environmental concerns negatively affect consumers' purchase intentions.Originality/valueThe study identifies which aspects influenced consumers' purchasing intentions after the Covid-19 pandemic. It also provides insights for food companies and policymakers on the factors to be improved to optimize the agri-food sector following a sustainable perspective and in order to develop effective business strategies.

The Relationships among Fear of Covid-19, Health Consciousness, Attitude toward Supplements, and Purchase Intention Using a Moderated Mediation Analysis

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between fear of Covid-19 (FoC), attitudes toward supplements (AtS), health consciousness (HC), and purchase intention (PI) by using moderated mediation analysis. The data acquired from 308 customers via faceto-face surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling, and the process model produced by Hayes tested the hypotheses. The results show that the variable of AtA partially mediated the association between FoC and purchase intention. Health consciousness moderates the strength of the relationships between FoC and PI mediated by AtS. According to this, the influence of fear of Covid-19 on purchase intention via the attitudes toward food supplements differs according to consumers' health consciousness (low vs. high). The study provides essential cues for researchers, marketers, and advertisers of food supplements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Factors Affecting the Sustainability of Halal Product Performance: Malaysian Evidence

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of supply chain integration (SCI), demand for halal products (DHP), halal marketing (HM), process quality improvement (PQI), food safety concerns (FSCs), and health consciousness (HC) on sustainable product performance (SPP) in the halal food industry in Malaysia. A survey was conducted with 212 respondents from Malaysian halal-certified companies, and the partial least squares (PLS-SEM) method was used for the data analysis. The findings indicate a positive and significant link between SCPI, HC, PQI, and SPP. In contrast, the findings show no significant link between HM, FSC, and SPP. DHP was found to have a negative, non-significant association with SPP. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings and opportunities for future research.

EXAMINING THE PREDICTORS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM BEHAVIOR DURING COVID-19

This study examines the predictors of environmentally responsible tourism behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the tourism industry keeps expanding and the effects of tourism on the environment become increasingly obvious, the idea of responsible tourism has received a lot of attention recently. Also, the COVID-19 outbreak, lead to a decrease in travel and a shift in consumer behaviour. This paper studies the impact of destination image, environmental concern and experience quality on environmentally responsible tourism behaviour. The study was performed using a cross-sectional survey with a 321 sample size and analysed using multiple regression. The study identified the advantageous and positive effect of destination image, environmental concern and experience quality on environmentally responsible tourism behaviour. This study can benefit destination managers and other tourism stakeholders to maintain the responsible behaviour of tourism among visitors. © 2022,Journal of Content, Community and Communication.All Rights Reserved.

Promoting smart wearable devices in the health-AI market: the role of health consciousness and privacy protection: An International Journal

PurposeConsumers interacting with smart wearable devices is on the rise in the current health-AI market, which offers a great opportunity for companies to execute interactive marketing. However, this opportunity is mainly reliant on consumers' use of smart wearable devices. This paper aims to develop a model considering health and privacy factors to elucidate consumers' use of smart wearable devices for unleashing their full potential in interactive marketing.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected 250 samples via an online survey to validate the smart wearable devices usage model that elucidates factors that stimulate consumer usage, including privacy concerns, health consciousness and consumer innovativeness. The authors used structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis to test the hypotheses.FindingsPrivacy concerns of consumers have a negative effect on smart wearable devices usage, while health consciousness positively impacts consumers' usage of smart wearable devices. Consumer innovativeness indirectly affects smart wearable devices usage via effort expectancy. Experienced consumers are less sensitive to the performance expectancy but more affected by effort expectancy regarding smart wearable devices.Originality/valueThe present study contributes to the literature stream of health-AI usage by unraveling the impacts of privacy concerns and health consciousness and examining the moderating role of prior experience. The findings suggest marketers in the health-AI industry should endeavor to build transparent and sound privacy protection mechanisms and promote smart wearable devices by fostering health awareness of potential consumers.

An investigation on information quality, media richness, and social media fatigue during the disruptions of COVID-19 pandemic.

Mobile social platforms have become a valuable information source by which users gain information about the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about whether users have experienced increased daily fatigue as a result of the disruptions caused by pandemic. Drawing on the cognitive activation theory of stress (CATS), this study proposed that two typical characteristics of social media platforms (SMP), information quality and media richness, are associated with event disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic (EDC), and then induce social media fatigue. To address this, this study used the experience sampling method (ESM), collecting 550 matched cases from 110 users of the WeChat application in mainland China over five consecutive days. Through multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM), this study discovered three main findings: (1) daily information quality is negatively related to event disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn decreases daily social media fatigue; (2) daily media richness is positively associated with such event disruptions, which ultimately increases daily social media fatigue; (3) these effects were stronger for users who reported higher (vs. lower) levels of health consciousness. The implications of these results for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond are discussed.

Influence of health-conscious consumer behaviour on consumer ethnocentrism during the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of the article is fourfold: (1) to identify the level of health consciousness during the pandemic in Slovakia and Croatia, and to point out the possible influence of selected demographic factors on this rate, (2) to identify the degree of consumer ethnocentrism during the pandemic in Slovakia and Croatia and to examine the impact of selected demographic factors to this extent, (3) to examine the link between health consciousness as a factor affecting consumer ethnocentrism and (4) to identify differences in the studied variables of Croatia and Slovakia. The article is supported by a primary survey based on 459 respondents in Croatia and 429 respondents in Slovakia. Whilst referring to our aims, we formulated research questions and hypotheses, in order to answer and verify them we chose ANOVA test and regression analysis. The results point to a high level of respondents' health awareness and an average (in the case of Slovakia) and above-average (in the case of Croatia) rate of consumer ethnocentrism. The results indicate a low relationship between the variables examined. Results can be applied both in theory and in practice in various fields. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

A Psychometric and Relative Importance Evaluation of Health Literacy and Health Consciousness on COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors Among Hispanic Adults.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic's disproportionate impact on Hispanic individuals in the United States, research examining modifiable psychosocial correlates of COVID-19 preventive behaviors in this population is warranted. Prior research highlights health literacy and health consciousness as integral for the establishment of health-promoting behaviors. Notwithstanding, very little research has validated theory-based measures for health literacy and health consciousness and no research has investigated their relative importance in explaining behaviors that prevent COVID-19 illness among Hispanic individuals. This information is necessary for informing behavioral interventions seeking to promote the well-being of Hispanic people during the current pandemic and in future ones. This study provides a psychometric evaluation of the General Health Literacy Scale (GHLS) and the Health Consciousness Scale (HCS) and further examines their association with conventional COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Confirmatory factor analyses evaluated the psychometric properties of GHLS and HCS. Four separate hierarchical linear regressions, followed by dominance analyses, estimated the relative importance of health literacy and health consciousness on COVID-19 preventive behaviors, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Both GHLS and HCS achieved adequate psychometric criteria, and holding constant sociodemographic characteristics, positively related to COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Although both health literacy and health consciousness were more important than sociodemographic characteristics in explaining COVID-19 preventive behaviors, health consciousness was most important, exceeding the explanatory power of health literacy in all regressions. COVID-19 public health campaigns that seek to raise health awareness among Hispanic people might prove more effective than campaigns that only seek to improve their health literacy.

Customers' Perceived Consciousness of Positive Behavior in the Organic Restaurant Context: The Moderating Role of Knowledge of Organic Foods

After COVID-19, organic products and services have been gaining attention from customers. However, despite the growth of the organic industry, studies on customer behavior are limited in the product context. A conceptual model is constructed to examine customers' perceived consciousness, positive emotion, and active participation intention. Data are collected from a sample of 204 organic restaurant customers in the United States. The findings show that customers' perceived health and environmental consciousness have a significant influence on both their emotions and active participation intention toward organic restaurants. Additionally, this study finds a moderating impact of consumers' level of knowledge of organic foods in the relationship between consumers' cognition, affect, and conation. This study provides useful insights for organic food service providers to create positive consumer behavior by cultivating products and services in healthier and more environmentally friendly ways. [ FROM AUTHOR]

The Role of Self-Care Activities (SASS-14) in Depression (PHQ-9): Evidence From Slovakia During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In the ongoing situation, when the world is dominated by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the development of self-care programs appears to be insufficient, while their role in mental health may be crucial. The aim of the study was to evaluate the associations between self-care activities and depression in the general Slovak population, but also in its individual gender and age categories. This was achieved by validating the self-care screening instrument, assessing differences, and evaluating the associations using quantile regression analysis. The final research sample consisted of 806 participants [males: 314 (39%), females: 492 (61%)] and data were collected through an online questionnaire from February 12, 2021 to February 23, 2021. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression (α = 0.89) and Self-Care Activities Screening Scale (SASS-14) [health consciousness (HC) (α = 0.82), nutrition and physical activity (NPA) (α = 0.75), sleep quality (SLP) (α = 0.82), and interpersonal and intrapersonal coping strategies (IICS) (α = 0.58)] were used as screening measures. Mild depressive symptoms were found in 229 participants (28.41%), moderate depressive symptoms in 154 participants (19.11%), moderately severe depressive symptoms in 60 participants (7.44%) and severe depressive symptoms in 43 participants (5.33%). The main findings revealed the fact that individual self-care activities were associated with depression. This supported the idea that well-practiced self-care activities should be an immediate part of an individual's life in order to reduce depressive symptoms. Sleep quality played an important role, while HC indicated the need for increased attention. Other dimensions of self-care also showed significant results that should not be overlooked. In terms of depression, females and younger individuals need targeted interventions. The supportive educational intervention developed based on the self-care theory can help manage and maintain mental health during a stressful period, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Health policy leaders should focus on health-promoting preventive self-care interventions, as the demand for them increases even more during the pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 anxiety on functional foods consuming intention: role of electronic word of mouth.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic, which involving mass quarantines in many nations, has affected consumer health consciousness behaviors, including food consumption. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 anxiety on functional food consumption within the framework of changes in health concerns and electronic word-of-mouth communication through digital platforms, paying special attention to the moderating effect of trust on eWOM information. Design: /methodology/approach: This cross-sectional study included 527 participants. The data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach. Mediating moderating effects were tested using bootstrapping and multigroup methods. Findings: Anxiety about the COVID-19 virus has a great impact on individuals' health concerns, word-of-mouth information seeking, and functional food consumption intention. Mediating effects of health consciousness and eWOM on functional food consumption intention were also observed. The anxiety about the COVID-19 virus and health consciousness triggers eWOM communication, and is a strong driver of intention to purchase functional foods if people trust the eWOM information source. Originality/value: While scholars have demonstrated the impact of COVID-19 on human behavior, a largely uninvestigated issue is the effect of COVID-19 virus anxiety on health product consumption. This is one of the first studies to examine the interrelationships among COVID-19 anxiety, health consciousness, eWOM, and functional food consumption intention.This study provides valuable insights into consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research should consider the effect of COVID-19 virus anxiety on health-related issues and nutritional behavioral consequences. Based on the results, implications for managers and researchers are proposed.

Toward Self-Preservation: Analysis of Slow Food Consumption Antecedents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study analyzes whether the intention to consume healthy foods, health consciousness, and self-isolation influence slow food consumption in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. An online survey gathered data from 423 valid respondents, and these were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). In short, we found that the intention to consume healthy food explains slow food consumption. Both self-isolation and health consciousness indirectly impact slow food consumption through the intention to consume healthy foods. From a scientific point of view, this study offers several contributions to the specialized literature. Firstly, it expands the scope of studies on slow food since the literature has hitherto focused on addressing it as a movement. Secondly, it reveals which factors influence slow food amidst a scenario that, although adverse, has favored its occurrence. Finally, it advances and innovates by identifying new theoretical relations. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Antecedents of self-protective behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh.

Context: Self-protective behavior (SPB) plays a significant role in controlling the spread of infection of a pandemic like coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Little research has been conducted to examine critical factors influencing SPB, especially in a developing country like Bangladesh. Aims: This study aimed to develop and test a theoretical model based on the extended information-motivation-behavior (IMB) skills model to investigate factors associated with SPB among Bangladeshi people. Methods: An online, cross-sectional survey was conducted on Bangladesh citizens (18 years and older) from June 1 and July 31, 2020. A total of 459 responses were used to assess the proposed model's overall fit and test the hypothesized relationships among the model constructs. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling to identify relationships among model variables. Results: Health information-seeking behavior, health motivation, self-efficacy, and health consciousness (HC) (P < 0.05) had a significant impact on SPB among Bangladeshi people. The results identified the consequences of various degrees of HC on SPB in the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusions: This study confirms the IMB model's applicability for analyzing SPB among people in developing countries like Bangladesh. The findings of this study could guide policymakers to develop and implement targeted strategies to ensure timely and transparent information for motivating people to improve SPB during the COVID-19 and in case of a future outbreak of an epidemic.

Moderating effects of A Health Consciousness on Consumer behavior towards Rte Foods

With growing environmentalism and health concerns, people have become more conscious of the type of food they consume and the way they are processed. The principle of the present research paper is to explore behavior of consumers towards RTE foods and the moderating role of health consciousness. The rationale behind the present study is to find the factors that influence consumption of RTE foods such as longer shelf life, taste, convenience both in terms of time and availability, and dual income families. The key purpose of the study is to explore the influence of health consciousness of consumers in moderating consumer attitude towards their behavior in context of RTE food products. The results suggest that consumption of RTE foods is more in case of dual income families and those who are less concerned about their health. The findings suggest that, the marketer should revolve advertisement and marketing strategies around the factors that they can be transported long distances as they have an increased resistance to spoilage with better shelf life and offer convenience both in terms of time and efforts.

Identification of Antecedents of Consumer's Intentions for Green Restaurants in Post Covid Time

Businesses are changing their functional operations through adapting to green practices which has become a need of the hour. With the incorporation of green marketing, beliefs and attitude of consumers are also changing in favor of those companies who consider the environmental issues into their processes. Although green practices are increasingly adopted in the restaurant industry, there is not much research in terms of investigating the attitude of consumers towards dining in green restaurants. The willingness to pay more for green initiatives has also been studied across the globe. Issues like pandemic, global warming and scarcity of resources are adversely affecting growth of the restaurant industry. Green practices are subsequently gaining importance in post covid world. Consumers' preference for health and wellbeing has also grown in post pandemic time. Level of consumer awareness towards adoption of green products is still not very encouraging. Brands have been communicating green benefits to create differentiation and enhance recall value to consumer. In order to create the strong impact of green concept, attitude and awareness of consumers towards accepting green practices need to be thoroughly studied. Present research work is aimed to study consumer awareness towards green products and overall sustainability of environment with respect to restaurant industry. This study presents a framework for measurement of consumer attitude.

Influence of COVID-19 pandemic on the intention to adopt mobile payment systems in India

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework which takes into account the perceived risk (PR) and the perceived benefits (PB) of using mobile payment systems (MPS) in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The study proposes a conceptual framework incorporating the uncertainties/risks associated with MPS like perceived technology uncertainty (PTU), perceived regulatory uncertainty (PRU), perceived service intangibility (PSI) and perceived information asymmetry (PIA), along with the benefits of using MPS such as trust, mobility, health consciousness (HC) and fear of Coronavirus (FOC). A survey comprising 1,253 participants was conducted in India. The proposed model was empirically examined through partial least square structural equation modelling. Findings The outcomes of the study revealed a significant positive influence of PTU, PRU, PIA and PSI on PR. On the other hand, HC and FOC were identified as the major antecedents having a significant positive influence on PB. Both PR and PB had a significant influence on the intention to adopt MPS, but the influence of PB was greater than the influence of PR. Practical implications The enablers and inhibitors play a crucial role in understanding the intention to adopt MPS. HC and fear of acquiring Coronavirus can be aggressively marketed by the government and service providers as a strategy to maintain social distancing. Government should address the regulatory concerns associated with the usage of MPS so as to alleviate any negative perception among the general public. Originality/value The current study is a novel attempt to understand the intention to adopt MPS in India as precautionary health behaviour to curb the transmission of Coronavirus pandemic. The study uses two constructs, HC and FOC, to better understand the behaviour of the people and explain the intention to adopt MPS during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of the Threat of COVID-19 Infections on the Perceived Risk to HPV Vaccination.

Vaccination rates for human papillomavirus (HPV) in Japan are significantly lower than other countries, and Japanese people are reluctant to be vaccinated. Repeated daily reports of COVID-19 infections and restrictions have made people more health conscious and aware of the danger of infectious diseases. In this study, we used the health belief model (HBM) to examine perceived threats of cancer and infectious diseases and to ascertain whether the new COVID-19 vaccination in addition to these perceived threats would increase vaccination intention against cervical cancer. We conducted a cluster analysis to classify the segmentation regarding the perceived threat, and a logistic regression analysis to predict factors influencing people accepting vaccination. We received 1257 completed surveys during our research. We classified the participants into six clusters, and the logistic regression analysis indicated eight factors significantly associated with the willingness to get the HPV vaccine: reliable information sources such as doctors and social networking sites (SNS), the recognition of COVID-19 symptoms, the awareness of COVID-19 vaccination, the importance of HPV prevention through vaccination, one's own intention of COVID-19 vaccination, their intention of COVID-19 vaccination toward children, and benefits of HPV vaccination. Further research on HPV and COVID-19 vaccination is encouraged.

Psychological Predictors of Intention to Use Fitness Apps: The Role of Subjective Knowledge and Innovativeness

Health and fitness apps have grown exponentially during covid-19 lockdowns. Using a sample of 331 European fitness apps users, this study investigated the psychological drivers of users' intention on fitness apps. This study draws upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and innovation diffusion theory. Its findings reveal that subjective knowledge and personal innovativeness predict perceived Usefulness, health consciousness, and ease of use. The strongest predictor of intention to use an app is perceived Usefulness, which mediates the influence of subjective knowledge and innovativeness on intention to use. Health consciousness predicts ease of use;however, the latter does not predict behavioural intention. This is one of the first studies on European users of fitness apps and investigating the psychological antecedents of TAM, i.e., innovativeness, subjective knowledge, and consciousness.