Explaining consumers' channel-switching behavior in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era

Significant changes have been brought about in consumer behaviour as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital consumption has attracted a large number of new consumers during the pandemic. However, there are few academic studies on the determinants of these crucial changes in consumer behaviour. Addressing this gap, this study investigates consumers' channel-switching behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a sample of about 2,640 respondents collected after the outbreak, this study aims to define the key drivers of the changes in consumers' shopping channel decisions. The study results show that several factors significantly affected consumers' decisions to change their shopping habits after the pandemic broke out, including marital status, price, quality, convenience, and overall satisfaction with current and new shopping channels. More importantly, this study is one of the few to investigate the differences in determining factors regarding consumers' choices of online and traditional channels in the post—COVID-19 pandemic era. The level of convenience, the time spent making purchases, technology competency, the abundance of product information, the ability to check product quality, and income significantly impact purchasing channel decisions between online and traditional channels. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Vietnam’s healthcare system decentralization: How well does it respond to global health crises such as COVID-19 pandemic?

This article discussed Vietnam’s ongoing efforts to decentralize the health system and its fitness to respond to global health crises as presented through the Covid-19 pandemic. We used a general review and expert’s perspective to explore the topic. We found that the healthcare system in Vietnam continued to decentralize from a pyramid to a wheel model. This system shifts away from a stratified technical hierarchy of higher- and lower-level health units (pyramid model) to a system in which quality healthcare is equally expected among all health units (wheel model). This decentralization has delivered more quality healthcare facilities, greater freedom for patients to choose services at any level, a more competitive environment among hospitals to improve quality, and reductions in excess capacity burden at higher levels. It has also enabled the transformation from a patient-based traditional healthcare model into a patient-centered care system. However, this decentralization takes time and requires long-term political, financial commitment, and a working partnership among key stakeholders. This perspective provides Vietnam’s experience of the decentralization of the healthcare system that may be consider as a useful example for other countries to strategically think of and to shape their future system within their own socio-political context. Copyright © 2020 Via Medica