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1 – 10 of 681
Article
Publication date: 30 November 2020

Dan Wu, Hao Xu and Shu Fan

This paper aims to identify consumers' health information consultation patterns by analyzing information sources to better understand consumers' health information needs and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify consumers' health information consultation patterns by analyzing information sources to better understand consumers' health information needs and behavior in the context of multisource health information.

Design/methodology/approach

Haodaifu Online, an online health consultation (OHC) website in China, was used as a research data source, and 20,000 consultation cases were collected from the website with Python. After screening and cleaning, 1,601 consultation cases were included in this study. A content analysis-based mixed-methods research approach was applied to analyze these cases.

Findings

The results indicate that with the participation of OHC, there are 15 patterns of consumer health information consultation. Besides OHC, health information sources reported by consumers included medical institutions family/friends and the Internet. Consumers consult on a wide range of health issues including surgical conditions obstetrical and gynecological conditions and other 20 subjects. Consumers have multiple information needs when using OHC: getting prescriptions, diagnosing diseases, making appointments, understanding illnesses, confirming diagnoses and reviewing costs. Through further analysis it was found that consumers’ health information consultation patterns were also significantly different in health issues and health information needs.

Originality/value

This study broadens one’s understanding of consumer health information behavior, which contributes to the field of health information behavior, and also provides insight for OHC stakeholders to improve their services.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2022

Dan Wu, Shu Fan, Shengyi Yao and Shuang Xu

Ethnic minorities (EMs), who make up a sizable proportion of multilingual users, are more likely to browse and search in their native language. It is helpful to identify…

Abstract

Purpose

Ethnic minorities (EMs), who make up a sizable proportion of multilingual users, are more likely to browse and search in their native language. It is helpful to identify multilingual users' information needs to provide public digital cultural services (PDCS) for making their life better.

Design/methodology/approach

The in-context interview is an efficient way to explore EMs' information needs and evoke their daily experience with PDCS. The material from 31 one-on-one interviews with EMs in China was recorded and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Findings

The findings reveal that language proficiency is a critical factor influencing multilingual information access (MLIA) and multilingual users' information needs. Moreover, language ability, digital literacy and cultural literacy are important components of multilingual information literacy (MLIL), which is helpful for EMs to access PDCS. In light of Kochen's theory, the information needs of PDCS can be classified into the aroused need of resources, the recognized need of functions and services and expressed need. For the expressed need, it is necessary to develop a one-stop convergence platform of PDCS to process various requests of resources, functions and services in the future.

Originality/value

The findings will be valuable for governments, public institutions and social organizations in identifying, addressing and resolving these issues about PDCS.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 79 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2021

Ruoshi Geng, Ruijie Sun, Jie Li, Fan Guo, Wangshuai Wang and Gong Sun

This paper examined the relationship between firm innovativeness and consumer trust in the sharing economy. In addition, the authors examine the mediating effect of organizational…

1100

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examined the relationship between firm innovativeness and consumer trust in the sharing economy. In addition, the authors examine the mediating effect of organizational legitimacy and the moderating effect of social worth.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the hypotheses, the authors collected data from 276 users of a sharing platform (Didi) in China to conduct empirical research. The “lavaan” packages in R and SPSS were used to analyze the data and test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results reveal that sharing platforms' innovativeness is positively related to consumer trust, and this relationship is mediated by organizational legitimacy. Furthermore, sharing platforms' social worth moderates the relationship between firm innovativeness and organizational legitimacy as well as the indirect effect of firm innovativeness on consumer trust via organizational legitimacy.

Practical implications

This article proposes strategies that enable sharing platforms to increase consumer trust, which can also better promote the development of the sharing economy.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by focusing on the social attributes of the sharing economy. By building a more detailed model of consumer trust, this paper adds to the knowledge on the influencing mechanism of consumer trust in the sharing economy.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 December 2021

Nianqi Deng, Xinyu Jiang and Xiaojun Fan

Limited research has explored why and how cause-related marketing on social media influences consumers' responses. Drawing upon balance theory and consistency theory, this study…

2606

Abstract

Purpose

Limited research has explored why and how cause-related marketing on social media influences consumers' responses. Drawing upon balance theory and consistency theory, this study aims to identify the mechanism of cause-related marketing on social media.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a sample of 360 users of cause-related marketing campaigns on social media and analyzed using structural equation modeling in Mplus 8.0.

Findings

The three types of congruence – self-image congruence, brand-image congruence and value congruence – can serve as sub-dimensions of perceived fit between a consumer, brand and cause of a cause-related marketing campaign on social media. Importantly, these perceived fit sub-dimensions positively influence community identification and, therefore, influence consumer citizenship behaviors.

Practical implications

The findings provide theoretical and practical contributions for a brand to undertake cause-related marketing on social media.

Originality/value

This study clarifies the myth of the perceived fit of cause-related marketing on social media and examines the perceived fit sub-dimensions’ mechanism of consumers' responses through community identification.

Details

Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7122

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 September 2020

Xiaojun Fan, Xinyu Jiang, Nianqi Deng, Xuebing Dong and Yangxi Lin

Using WeChat moments as an example, this article explores the impact of user role conflict on privacy concerns, social media fatigue and the three dimensions of discontinuous…

2635

Abstract

Purpose

Using WeChat moments as an example, this article explores the impact of user role conflict on privacy concerns, social media fatigue and the three dimensions of discontinuous usage intention: control activities, short breaks and suspend usage intentions. Moreover, the moderating function of self-esteem in this process is examined.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model includes role conflict, privacy concerns, social media fatigue, discontinuous usage intention and self-esteem. Three hundred and thirty-one questionnaires were collected using an online survey, and the data were analyzed with structural equation and hierarchical regression modeling.

Findings

The results show that (1) role conflict positively affects privacy concerns and social media fatigue; (2) privacy concerns also positively affect social media fatigue; (3) privacy concerns positively affect control activities intentions, although their impact on short breaks and suspend usage intentions is not significant, whereas social media fatigue significantly influences control activities, short breaks and suspend usage intentions; and (4) self-esteem negatively moderates the influence of role conflict on privacy concerns.

Research limitations/implications

A key limitation of this research is that it is designed for WeChat. Therefore, the question of whether other social media platforms face role conflict or discontinuous usage problems should be explored in the future.

Originality/value

The article is interesting in that it focuses on the discontinuous usage of social media and identifies factors that contribute to the discontinuous usage of social media. The findings make some theoretical contributions to, and have practical implications for, research into social media usage.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2019

Liu Yan, Fan Xiaojun, Jie Li and Xuebing Dong

Based on the cue utilization theory and congruity theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating effects of perceived quality on the relationships between…

2675

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the cue utilization theory and congruity theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating effects of perceived quality on the relationships between category characteristics and purchase intention for private labels.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the research hypotheses, the authors conducted a questionnaire survey on 703 adult consumers in China.

Findings

The results show that perceived quality fully mediates the relationships between category complexity, risk importance, category quality variation, product signatureness and purchase intention. In addition, consumers’ knowledge moderates the relationship between perceived quality and purchase intention. The implications and future research directions are discussed in this study.

Originality/value

The results show that the category complexity is positively related to consumers’ perceived quality. Although opposite to the conclusions in prior research, the findings are consistent with the unique phenomenon in China, that is, to label the name and location of the contract manufacturers. The authors investigate the moderating role of consumer knowledge, which will provide meaningful guidance for the Chinese retailing market.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2020

Xiaojun Fan, Nanxi Ning and Nianqi Deng

Previous studies have considered customers' psychological responses to intelligent retail technology adoption, but have not considered how technology integration systems could…

2449

Abstract

Purpose

Previous studies have considered customers' psychological responses to intelligent retail technology adoption, but have not considered how technology integration systems could promote the relationship between retailers and consumers. Based on the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, this paper proposes a customer engagement model in a fully intelligent retail environment. The concept of the quality of intelligent experience is constructed from the perspective of customer experience, and the effect of the mechanism of smart retail on the customer engagement relationship is discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

Using two surveys, this study analyzes 201 (in study 1) and 321 (in study 2) questionnaires by using structural equation model in partial least square software.

Findings

The analysis shows that the human–machine interaction, intelligent systems and the product content of the quality intelligent experience significantly impact customer engagement on smart retail.

Research limitations/implications

This research was designed for general retail products, without distinguishing between different product types. Thus, it did not consider the moderating effect of product types.

Practical implications

The findings enrich the intelligent retail technology field and provide operable guidance to help smart retailers improve customer relations.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a customer engagement model to describe how technology integration systems promote the relationship between retailers and consumers.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 38 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2023

Xinyang Fan, Xin Shu, Baoxu Tu, Changyuan Liu, Fenglei Ni and Zainan Jiang

In the current teleoperation system of humanoid robots, the control between arms and the control between the waist and arms are individual and lack coordinated motion. This paper…

Abstract

Purpose

In the current teleoperation system of humanoid robots, the control between arms and the control between the waist and arms are individual and lack coordinated motion. This paper aims to solve the above problem and proposes a teleoperation control approach for a humanoid robot based on waist–arm coordination (WAC).

Design/methodology/approach

The teleoperation approach based on WAC comprises dual-arm coordination (DAC) and WAC. The DAC method realizes the coordinated motion of both arms through one hand by establishing a mapping relationship between a single hand controller and the manipulated object; the WAC method realizes the coordinated motion of both arms and waist by calculating the inverse kinematic input of robotic arms based on the desired velocity of the waist and the end of both arms. An integrated teleoperation control framework provides interfaces for the above methods, and users can switch control modes online to adapt to different tasks.

Findings

After conducting experiments on the dual-arm humanoid robot through the teleoperation control framework, it was found that the DAC method can save 27.2% of the operation time and reduce 99.9% of the posture change of the manipulated object compared with the commonly used individual control. The WAC method can accomplish a task that cannot be done by individual control. The experiments proved the improvement of both methods in terms of operation efficiency, operation stability and operation capability compared with individual control.

Originality/value

The DAC method better maintains the constraints of both arms and the manipulated object. The WAC method better maintains the constraints of the manipulated object itself. Meanwhile, the teleoperation framework integrates the proposed methods and enriches the teleoperation modes and control means.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 50 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 September 2017

Xuebing Dong, Yaping Chang and Xiaojun Fan

Marketers recognize that the internet is crucial in the lives of consumers; thus, they invest money on online advertisements. Using multiple online media primarily influences the…

1078

Abstract

Purpose

Marketers recognize that the internet is crucial in the lives of consumers; thus, they invest money on online advertisements. Using multiple online media primarily influences the message acceptance of consumers. The synergistic effect of online multimedia relies on form, content, and sources of information, and time. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A model that reflects the influence of the characteristics of online multimedia on message response through message acceptance is established based on theories of information persuasion, encoding variability, and multiple-source assumption. Based on a survey of 411 online media users, the study applies partial least-squares regression to test the research model.

Findings

The results show that variety of forms, complementary of contents, diversity of sources, and time interval influence message response via message strength. Complementary of contents and diversity of sources affect message response via perceived credibility. Synergy type moderates the relationship between variety of forms and perceived credibility and between diversity of sources and perceived credibility.

Research limitations/implications

The current study mainly tests the effect of these characteristics on message response and the moderating effect of synergy type. Future research can examine the effect of these characteristics on information seeking and consumption behavior and the moderating effect of the cognitive mode of consumers.

Practical implications

This study provides insight into the characteristics of synergy and contributes to the literature on integrated marketing communication. The results provide guidance for practitioners to effectively plan online multimedia practices.

Originality/value

This study explored the influence of the characteristics of online media synergy on message response through message acceptance. The study also discussed the moderating effect of the type of online multimedia synergy.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2024

Shuo Su, Xiong-Tao Zhu and Hong-Qiang Fan

This paper aims to study the effect of ultraviolet (UV) light on the corrosion behavior of BC550 weathering steel in simulated marine atmospheric environment.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the effect of ultraviolet (UV) light on the corrosion behavior of BC550 weathering steel in simulated marine atmospheric environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The effect of UV light on the corrosion behavior of BC550 weathering steel in simulated marine atmospheric environments were investigated by the corrosion weight gain experiment, in situ electrochemical noise, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction.

Findings

UV light accelerated the corrosion process of BC550 weathering steel in the simulated marine atmospheric environment during the first 168 h. The maximum influence factor of UV light was 0.32, and it was only 0.08 after 168 h of corrosion process.

Originality/value

As the extension of corrosion time, the thickness and density of the corrosion product layer increased, which weakened the acceleration effect of UV light.

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 71 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

Keywords

1 – 10 of 681