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1 – 10 of over 5000Hasbi Alikunju and Anila Sulochana
The internet has evolved into an indispensable platform for seeking health information, particularly among transgender individuals. With an abundance of online resources…
Abstract
Purpose
The internet has evolved into an indispensable platform for seeking health information, particularly among transgender individuals. With an abundance of online resources available, extensive research into the credibility and reliability of this information is essential, as concerns about the quality of online resources persist. Transgender individuals are drawn to online health information due to the anonymity it offers, providing them with a sense of freedom from social isolation and the discomfort of experimenting with their transgender identity. However, it is crucial to assess the accuracy and reliability of the transgender health information available on the internet. This article aims to evaluate the quality of online transgender health resources by utilizing ten credibility indicators, along with six indicators to assess the veracity of the content.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 179 online resources were meticulously reviewed after excluding any unnecessary and irrelevant ones, to ensure a comprehensive assessment.
Findings
The findings suggest that among the chosen resources, none of them meet all the criteria for maintaining high standards of accuracy and reliability in health information. In other words, none of these sources completely adhere to the established measures for ensuring that the information they provide is trustworthy and of high quality in the context of health.
Originality/value
The study provides valuable insights into the online realm of transgender health information, revealing both the strengths and weaknesses of the existing resources. By pinpointing areas that need enhancement and showcasing commendable practices, this research strives to promote a more knowledgeable and supportive online environment for individuals in search of transgender health information.
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Dingyu Shi, Xiaofei Zhang, Libo Liu, Preben Hansen and Xuguang Li
Online health question-and-answer (Q&A) forums have developed a new business model whereby listeners (peer patients) can pay to read health information derived from consultations…
Abstract
Purpose
Online health question-and-answer (Q&A) forums have developed a new business model whereby listeners (peer patients) can pay to read health information derived from consultations between askers (focal patients) and answerers (physicians). However, research exploring the mechanism behind peer patients' purchase decisions and the specific nature of the information driving these decisions has remained limited. This study aims to develop a theoretical model for understanding how peer patients make such decisions based on limited information, i.e. the first question displayed in each focal patient-physician interaction record, considering argument quality (interrogative form and information details) and source credibility (patient experience of focal patients), including the contingent role of urgency.
Design/methodology/approach
The model was tested by text mining 1,960 consultation records from a popular Chinese online health Q&A forum on the Yilu App. These records involved interactions between focal patients and physicians and were purchased by 447,718 peer patients seeking health-related information until this research.
Findings
Patient experience embedded in focal patients' questions plays a significant role in inducing peer patients to purchase previous consultation records featuring exchanges between focal patients and physicians; in particular, increasingly detailed information is associated with a reduced probability of making a purchase. When focal patients demonstrate a high level of urgency, the effect of information details is weakened, while the interrogative form is strengthened.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in its exploration of the monetization mechanism forming the trilateral relationship between askers (focal patients), answerers (physicians) and listeners (peer patients) in the business model “paying to view others' answers” in the online health Q&A forum and the moderating role of urgency in explaining the mechanism of how first questions influence peer patients' purchasing behavior.
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Jiahua Jin, Qin Chen and Xiangbin Yan
Given the popularity of online health communities (OHCs) and medical question-and-answer (Q&A) services, it is increasingly important to understand what constitutes useful answers…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the popularity of online health communities (OHCs) and medical question-and-answer (Q&A) services, it is increasingly important to understand what constitutes useful answers and user-adopted standards in healthcare domain. However, few studies provide insights into how health information characteristics, provider characteristics and recipient characteristics jointly influence user information adoption decisions. To fill this research gap, this study examines the combined effects of physicians' certainty tone as information characteristics, seniority as provider characteristics and disease severity as recipient characteristics on patients' health information adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on dual-process theory and information adoption model, an extended information adoption model is established in this study to examine the effect of attitude certainty on patients' health information adoption, and the moderating effects of online seniority and offline seniority, as well as patient motivation level—disease severity. Utilizing logit regression models, the authors empirically tested the hypotheses based on 4,224 Q&A records from a popular Chinese OHC.
Findings
The results show that (1) attitude certainty has a significant positive impact on patients' health information adoption, (2) the relationship between attitude certainty and information adoption is negatively moderated by physicians' online seniority, but is positively moderated by offline seniority; (3) there is a negative three-way interaction effect of attitude certainty, online seniority and disease severity on patients' health information adoption.
Originality/value
This study extends the information adoption model to examine the two-way interaction between argument quality and source reliability, as well as the three-way interaction with user motivation level, especially for health information adoption in the healthcare field. These findings also provide direct practical applications for knowledge contributors and OHCs.
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Jing Liang, Ming Li and Xuanya Shao
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of online reviews on answer adoption in virtual Q&A communities, with an eye toward extending knowledge exchange and community…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of online reviews on answer adoption in virtual Q&A communities, with an eye toward extending knowledge exchange and community management.
Design/methodology/approach
Online reviews contain rich cognitive and emotional information about community members regarding the provided answers. As feedback information on answers, it is crucial to explore how online reviews affect answer adoption. Based on signaling theory, a research model reflecting the influence of online reviews on answer adoption is established and empirically examined by using secondary data with 69,597 Q&A data and user data collected from Zhihu. Meanwhile, the moderating effects of the informational and emotional consistency of reviews and answers are examined.
Findings
The negative binomial regression results show that both answer-related signals (informational support and emotional support) and answerers-related signals (answerers’ reputations and expertise) positively impact answer adoption. The informational consistency of reviews and answers negatively moderates the relationships among information support, emotional support and answer adoption but positively moderates the effect of answerers’ expertise on answer adoption. Furthermore, the emotional consistency of reviews and answers positively moderates the effect of information support and answerers’ reputations on answer adoption.
Originality/value
Although previous studies have investigated the impacts of answer content, answer source credibility and personal characteristics of knowledge seekers on answer adoption in virtual Q&A communities, few have examined the impact of online reviews on answer adoption. This study explores the impacts of informational and emotional feedback in online reviews on answer adoption from a signaling theory perspective. The results not only provide unique ideas for community managers to optimize community design and operation but also inspire community users to provide or utilize knowledge, thereby reducing knowledge search costs and improving knowledge exchange efficiency.
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Halil Erdem Akoglu and Oğuz Özbek
The aim of this research is to measure the impact of eWOM (electronic word of mouth) and brand celebrity use on the purchasing behavior of sports consumers.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to measure the impact of eWOM (electronic word of mouth) and brand celebrity use on the purchasing behavior of sports consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the model hypotheses, sports consumers who use social media and have purchased at least one online sports product were selected as the research group. Online survey method was used, and 836 participants were reached. The model was tested with structural equation modeling (SEM) through smart PLS software.
Findings
As a result, the quality, credibility and usefulness of the information consumers encounter on online platforms cause them to adopt information about products or services, and then exhibit online purchase behavior. While the attractiveness and trustworthiness of celebrities are seen as important factors affecting consumers' online purchase of sports products, the effect of celebrity expertise was found to be ineffective in this study.
Practical implications
Marketers can develop more effective eWOM strategies by considering consumers' expectations. Businesses that want to implement an effective marketing strategy may prefer celebrities in product promotions or advertisements of their brands.
Originality/value
This research revealed the effect of eWOM and celebrity endorsement on the online purchase behavior of sports consumers in terms of the sports industry. Unlike previous studies, this study examined these variables together on sports consumers and contributed to the development of models.
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Tri Lam, Jon Heales and Nicole Hartley
The continuing development of digital technologies creates expanding opportunities for information transparency. Consumers use social media to provide online reviews that are…
Abstract
Purpose
The continuing development of digital technologies creates expanding opportunities for information transparency. Consumers use social media to provide online reviews that are focused on changing levels of consumer trust. This study examines the effect of perceived risk that prompts consumers to search for online reviews in the context of food safety.
Design/methodology/approach
Commitment-trust theory forms the theoretical lens to model changes in consumer trust resulting from online reviews. Consumer-based questionnaire surveys collected data to test the structural model, using structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings
The findings show when consumers perceive high levels of risk, they use social media to obtain additional product-related information. The objective, unanimous, evidential and noticeable online reviews are perceived as informative to consumers. Perceived informativeness of positive online reviews is found to increase consumers trust and, in turn, increase their purchase intentions.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the knowledge of online review-based trust literature and provide far-reaching implications for information system (IS)-practitioners in business.
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Zheshi Bao and Yun Zhu
Online reviews derived from peer communications have been increasingly viewed as an important approach for consumers to gather pre-purchase information. This study aims to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
Online reviews derived from peer communications have been increasingly viewed as an important approach for consumers to gather pre-purchase information. This study aims to examine factors affecting online reviews adoption in social network communities and then indicates the underlying mechanism of this process based on an extended information adoption model (IAM).
Design/methodology/approach
Using the data collected from 242 users of a social network community via an online survey, the proposed model is empirically assessed by partial least squares-based structural equation model (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The results show that both perceived diagnosticity and perceived serendipity are drivers of online reviews adoption in social network communities. Meanwhile, community identification is not only an antecedent of diagnosticity and serendipity perceived by community members, but also motivates source credibility which, in turn, positively influences argument quality. Finally, the importance of argument quality and source credibility in reviews adoption process is also presented.
Originality/value
This study extends the IAM and enriches the literature regarding online reviews adoption. It deepens the understanding of serendipitous experiences and community identification in social networking context by addressing their important roles in the authors' extended IAM.
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Mustafa Saritepeci, Hatice Yildiz Durak, Gül Özüdoğru and Nilüfer Atman Uslu
Online privacy pertains to an individual’s capacity to regulate and oversee the gathering and distribution of online information. Conversely, online privacy concern (OPC) pertains…
Abstract
Purpose
Online privacy pertains to an individual’s capacity to regulate and oversee the gathering and distribution of online information. Conversely, online privacy concern (OPC) pertains to the protection of personal information, along with the worries or convictions concerning potential risks and unfavorable outcomes associated with its collection, utilization and distribution. With a holistic approach to these relationships, this study aims to model the relationships between digital literacy (DL), digital data security awareness (DDSA) and OPC and how these relationships vary by gender.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants of this study are 2,835 university students. Data collection tools in the study consist of personal information form and three different scales. Partial least squares (PLS), structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group analysis (MGA) were used to test the framework determined in the context of the research purpose and to validate the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
DL has a direct and positive effect on digital data security awareness (DDSA), and DDSA has a positive effect on OPC. According to the MGA results, the hypothesis put forward in both male and female sub-samples was supported. The effect of DDSA on OPC is higher for males.
Originality/value
This study highlights the positive role of DL and perception of data security on OPC. In addition, MGA findings by gender reveal some differences between men and women.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-03-2023-0122
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This study analyzes whether farmers' incomes increase as they participate in online groups.
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes whether farmers' incomes increase as they participate in online groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyzed interview data from 673 farming households in three mountainous provinces of northern Vietnam, utilizing the propensity score matching (PSM) method.
Findings
The empirical results reveal that farmers participating in online groups, particularly those engaged in 1–3 groups, experience an increase in their income attributed to the three advantages of sharing-accessing-saving (SAS) information. Farming households engaged in online groups earn higher incomes, ranging from equivalent to 25.78 to 26.96 USD, in comparison to those who do not participate. Notably, farmers participating in 1–3 online groups outpace their counterparts in 4–5 groups in terms of income.
Research limitations/implications
This study exclusively focuses on examining farmers' total income derived from all their agricultural activities and does not quantify the specific impact of online group participation on the income generated by each product. Furthermore, it is important to note that the PSM method has the potential to introduce bias due to unobserved factors, such as social networks and local culture. Consequently, future research should prioritize the segmentation of income from individual agricultural products, distinct from the overall income, to gain a more nuanced understanding of each product’s sensitivity to information exchanged in online groups. Simultaneously, accounting for unobserved factors is crucial to obtain unbiased estimates.
Originality/value
This study represents the inaugural exploration into the comparison of farmers' incomes within a novel context – participation in digital-based groups. Furthermore, it extends the inquiry by delving into the correlation between the number of online groups joined and farmers' income. The empirical findings indicate that farmers may benefit the most by limiting their participation to a select few groups that align with their information needs and analytical abilities.
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Lydia Qianqian Li, Quynh Ngoc Bui and Hui Yan
Using data from Vietnam to reveal which factors affected the impressive growth of Vietnam's e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
Using data from Vietnam to reveal which factors affected the impressive growth of Vietnam's e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) framework, the study proposed a conceptual model in which the influence of COVID-19 information overload (IO) on online purchase intention (OPI) was discovered. The authors were also interested in examining the moderator roles of self-construal (SC), perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) in inducing the intention to make an online purchase.
Findings
Perceived threat (PT) and cyberchondria (C) played full mediation roles in the impact of IO on OPI. Moreover, PT was found to be a partial mediator of the relationship between IO and C. Furthermore, interdependent self-construal (IntSC) positively moderated the positive effect of IO on PT. Finally, PU and PEOU showed significant moderated moderation effects, in which PU moderated the effects of PT and C on OPI, whereas PU itself was moderated by PEOU.
Research limitations/implications
Understanding the positive effects of IO, C and PT on OPI can be useful for marketers. In addition, managers should improve the ease-of-use and usefulness of online stores/platforms to attract more consumers to online channels.
Practical implications
Marketers and managers should learn more about how to take advantage of IO, PT and C. For instance, to sell medical supplements, marketer should push up related-health information such as obesity, diabetics, to make consumers perceive a threat to their health and search for ways to improve their health condition. This is the time when advertisements for medical supplements bring into play. This method can be applied in many different fields. The key is that marketers should find out what is the threat that their targeted customers can perceive and then spread out a huge amount of relevant information.
Social implications
The government should control infodemic and guide people to obtain official information. This helps to restrain the PT and C, which seriously harm people's health and affect their behaviors, such as making unusual or panicked purchases. This study also suggests a considerable concern that residents of Asian cultures, where IntSC is dominant, may perceive threat more than residents of Western cultures.
Originality/value
Limited research addresses the relationship between PEOU and PU when they act as moderators. Current research not only explains the moderation effect of PU under the influence of PEOU but also suggests that PEOU may be more important than PU in emerging markets due to customers' inexperience in online markets or channels. It also explores the factors that influenced OPI in Vietnam during the COVID-19 outbreak and contributes to the scientific literature on Vietnam, especially in terms of discovering the tendency of SC, which has not been mentioned before in research about Vietnamese.
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