Do Word-of-Mouth and Quality Have the Same Influence in Choosing a Doctor Online? A Study from Elaboration Likelihood Model Perspective

Juhua Wu, Wanqi Chen, Lei Tao () and Qian Liu
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Juhua Wu: Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
Wanqi Chen: Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
Lei Tao: Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
Qian Liu: Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), 2024, vol. 23, issue 02, 1-18

Abstract: From the theoretical perspective of the elaboration likelihood model and service quality, this study attempts to provide an empirical study of patients’ medical choice behaviour and the moderating effect of disease risk under different paths with a real data set from an online healthcare community. The results demonstrate that factors from the central and peripheral routes affect patients’ behavioural intention regarding online medical choices. Disease risk plays an important moderating role. Low-risk patients are mainly influenced by factors from the peripheral route including doctors’ service reputation and disclosure of service qualifications, while high-risk patients are mainly influenced by factors from the central route including service quality of treatment and reviews quality.

Keywords: Online healthcare community; behaviour intention; elaboration likelihood model; service quality; online reviews (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1142/S0219649224500461

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