ABSTRACT
This study examines the relationships among perceived value, trust, electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and online purchasing intention to determine Food and Beverage (F&B) consumption behavior changes in Taiwan's aging society since the onset of COVID-19. The 305 valid online questionnaires received from people above the age of 55 who had prior online purchasing experience of F&B products in the past year in Taiwan have been obtained to implement data analysis through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model. The results reveal that eWOM positively affects trust, both eWOM and trust positively affect perceived value, and perceived value positively affects online purchasing intention. While eWOM and trust do not have a direct positive effect on online purchasing intention, perceived value has a mediation effect on the relationship between eWOM and online purchasing intention and the relationship between trust and online purchasing intention. Lastly, this study proposes pragmatic suggestions to merchants to better adapt to ever-changing consumer behavior. © 2023,International Journal of Business. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Objective To translate the English version of fear of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) scale (FCV-19S) into Chinese and assess its reliability and validity. Methods FCV-19S was translated and culture-adapted to form a Chinese version of fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S-C). A total of 334 questionnaires were sent out online, including FCV-19S-C, Chinese version of depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-C21), impact of event scale-revised (IES-R) and public stigma scale. The reliability and validity of FCV-19S-C and the influencing factors of COVID-19 fear were analyzed with the survey data. Results FCV-19S-C contained 7 items. One common factor was extracted by exploratory factor analysis, reflecting that all items in the scale belonged to the common factor, which could explain 69.5% of total variation. The load of item factors ranged from 0.780 to 0.873, showing good construct validity. The total score of FCV-19S-C was positively correlated with the total scores of DASS-C21 and IES-R (r＝0.403 and 0.471, both P＜0.01), indicating that the scale had good concurrent validity. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of FCV-19S-C was 0.924, showing good reliability. Linear regression analysis showed that the influences of COVID-19 on the psychological level and family income could predict the total score of FCV-19S-C (β＝0.62 and 0.20, both P＜0.01). The total score of FCV-19S-C could predict the total score of the public stigma scale (β＝0.37, P＜0.01). Conclusion FCV-19S-C has good reliability and validity, and can be used as a tool to understand the public fear of COVID-19 in China. The fear of COVID-19 is related to the loss of family income and the public stigma of COVID-19 patients.