The use and trust of information sources related to the efficacy and safety of dietary supplements among US vs Chinese consumers: an exploratory study

Andrew M. Forman and Ven Sriram
Additional contact information
Andrew M. Forman: Hofstra University, USA
Ven Sriram: University of Baltimore, USA

Journal of the Academy of Business and Emerging Markets, 2025, vol. 5, issue 1, 29-40

Abstract: Dietary supplements are generally exempt from strict governmental regulations, leaving consumers to rely on various information sources to judge the safety and efficacy of these products. Given the differences in the US and Chinese marketplaces concerning government regulation and business responsibility, this study addresses the roles of different information sources for US and Chinese consumers. Findings reveal that while consumers in both countries rank family/friends and health professionals high (and marketer sources low), US consumers are more apt to trust online sources. While neither American nor Chinese consumers trust regulators to ensure supplement safety, Chinese consumers have lower trust than Americans.

Keywords: nutritional supplements; dietary supplements; US consumers; Chinese consumers; government regulation; information source trust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.abem.ca/x/JABEM-2025-V5N1-3.pdf

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:jabema:021840

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14737487

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of the Academy of Business and Emerging Markets is currently edited by Satyendra Singh

More articles in Journal of the Academy of Business and Emerging Markets from Academy of Business and Emerging Markets Winnipeg, Canada.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Satyendra Singh ().