Effect of Cognitive Influence on Consumer Online Health Information Seeking for Supplemental Nutrition: A Study of Young Urban Professionals of Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

This study examines the influence of contemporary literature-supported cognitive influences on consumer Online Health Information Seeking (OHIS) and Online Health Information Usage (OHIU) Intentions; taking a case of supplemental nutrition-related information seeking and Kuala Lumpur’s resident young urban professionals (23 to 38 years of age, educated professionals or business owners of Malaysian nationality) as the target survey population. This study found that Internet Self-Efficacy and Perceived Health Risk both exhibit a strong positive influence on consumers’ Intention of OHIS, while Perceived Health Value and Perceived Value of Information Seeking exhibit a moderate positive influence on Intention of OHIS. On the other hand, Health Self-Efficacy and Perceived Value of Privacy were found to exhibit a moderate negative influence on Intention of OHIS. Similarly, Perceived Information Content Quality exhibit a strong positive influence on consumers’ Intention of OHIU, while Perceived Information Source Quality and Perceived Information Value exhibit a moderate positive influence on Intention of OHIU. It was also found that Personal Bias exhibit a moderate negative influence on Intention of OHIU. Also Intention of OHIS was found to exhibit a moderate to strong positive influence on Intention of OHIU. The study utilised a Self-Completion Questionnaire Survey and analyzed the collected survey data using a PLS Algorithm Path Analysis Test on Smart-PLS 3 statistical software..