The Role of Information Sources on Tourist Behavior Post-Earthquake Disaster in Indonesia: A Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) Approach

The earthquake disaster has an impact on tourist visit intention. This study aims to investigate tourist behavior in the post-earthquake disaster linkage between information sources (word of mouth and electronic word of mouth) and risk perception toward tourists' visit intentions to a destination in Indonesia. This study applies the SOR theory to predict tourists' behavior in the destination aftermath. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model was used to examine the hypothesis of the study. The result found that information sources (electronic word of mouth and word of mouth) significantly influenced visit intention in the time of post-earthquake disaster. The risk perception has not significantly influenced visit intention in post-earthquake disasters. The discussion and conclusion of the study are discussed herein. Overall, the findings of the study may contribute to the theory by adding information sources to predict tourist behavior post-earthquake disaster and also gives a practical contribution to the tourism sector, stakeholders, tourism marketers, and policymakers in Indonesia to enhance the marketing strategy by considering destination promotion through word of mouth (offline) and electronic word of mouth (online) and its mechanism on tourists' travel decision in the time of aftermath.

Is That Plausible?

Specifically, when evaluating the connections between sources of information and knowledge claims, it is important for students to reconsider the plausibility of competing claims. [...]as students work through the six steps, they are prompted to ask "Is it plausible?" when evaluating competing claims. Using this strategy, students are likely to come across information that fits into one of the following categories: misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation (see Table 2). [...]perhaps a student reads an article that falsely claims only women can contract the human papillomavirus (HPV) and states that the virus causes cervical cancer as evidence for this claim. To do this, students should check the source by asking the following questions: * Who wrote the article and where did the information first appear online? * Is the person who wrote it an expert, or did the author draw the information from expert sources? * Did the information appear on a reputable outlet? * Does the author have a financial or political motivation for making the claim that could compromise their objectivity?

The relationship between individuals' sources of information, perceptions, and anxiety regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led individuals to experience psychological distress as a result of their perceptions of the disease. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with these perceptions, the sources of information about the pandemic that may have contributed to them, and the level anxiety felt by adults living in Turkey in the initial phase of COVID-19, with a primary focus on generalized anxiety. The study had a web-based cross-sectional survey design 482 (327 female, 155 male) Turkish responders completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) self-reported questionnaire, a measurement tool related to their perceptions of COVID-19 and questions about their sources of information about the pandemic between 3 and 19 April, 2020. Women experienced higher levels of anxiety than men. Those with severe symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) believed that the COVID-19 pandemic would have a long duration, stated that the risk of transmission had had serious effects on their lives, felt little personal control with regard to the risk of transmission and did not believe that existing treatments would be effective against the risk of transmission. Moreover, those with severe GAD symptoms had little comprehension of how the disease was transmitted. Finally, it was concluded that those with severe GAD symptoms used the internet and, in particular, Instagram as their main sources of information about the pandemic. Although the anxiety levels were found to be moderate in general, women were more vulnerable. Using the internet and, in particular, Instagram as sources of information affected individuals' perceptions of the pandemic, and led to psychological distress.

Investigating Awareness and Usage of Electronic Information Resources by the Engineering Students of NMIMS (Deemed to be University), Mumbai

During Covid-19 restrictions, electronic information resources have become a prominent source in the library. Most of the university academic activities heavily depend on electronic resources because they are easy to share, refer and communicate to the audience. This study investigates the awareness and usage of electronic information resources subscribed to by the university library. The well-designed online questionnaire helps to collect data from Undergraduate, Postgraduate, and Integrated engineering programs. A total of 232 filled questionnaires were received for the study. The data analysis shows that 91.38 % of the respondents know that electronic resources are available in the library, and the internet speed (56.90 %) is a significant hindrance in using resources. The detailed analysis of this study was discussed, and suggestions were also given to improve the awareness and usage of electronic information resources.

Exploring the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science

PurposeThis study aims to reveal the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science.Design/methodology/approachUsing publications in Web of Science core collection, this study combines informetrics and content analysis to reveal the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science. The analyses are conducted by Pajek, VOSviewer and Gephi.FindingsThe health informatics research in library and information science can be divided into five subcommunities: health information needs and seeking behavior, application of bibliometrics in medicine, health information literacy, health information in social media and electronic health records. Research on health information literacy and health information in social media is the core of research. Most topics had a clear and continuous evolutionary venation. In the future, health information literacy and health information in social media will tend to be the mainstream. There is room for systematic development of research on health information needs and seeking behavior.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research based on the perspective of library and information science. This study helps identify the concerns and contributions of library and information science to health informatics research and provides compelling evidence for researchers to understand the current state of research.

The impact of integrated marketing communications consistency on destination brand equity in times of uncertainty: the case of Croatia

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how message consistency pursued through integrated marketing communications (IMC) can build a strong destination brand equity in a very dynamic environment and whether this process is affected by the perceived risk of COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachData collection was conducted among 333 international tourists visiting Croatia, a destination that has experienced a remarkable boom in the summer/autumn season of 2021, regardless of the pandemic. Partial least squares–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis.FindingsResults show that IMC consistency has a significant impact on the four destination brand equity dimensions, i.e. awareness, image, perceived quality and loyalty. This influence is found to be the highest on destination brand awareness and the lowest on destination brand loyalty. Perceived risk of COVID-19 moderates the impact of message consistency on brand image and perceived quality.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that examines the role of IMC consistency in a tourism context during turbulent times. The impact of IMC consistency is analyzed on different components of destination brand equity, which addresses the most recent research call from tourism literature. The moderating effects of perceived risk are considered, thus providing additional implications in a context of high uncertainty. Finally, IMC consistency is assessed from the consumer rather than managerial viewpoints, thus adopting the necessary outside-in approach embedded in the IMC idea.

Consumer Habits of Domestic Tourists in Croatia: Motivation, Behavioural Intentions and Cocreation of Tourist Experience

The economy of the Republic of Croatia is dependent on the tourism industry. The current crisis in the global tourism market, caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, has highlighted the impor-tance of the domestic market for the survival of tourism and the Croatian economy as a whole. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to determine the consumer habits of domestic tourists, fo-cusing on the characteristics of travel, motivation and behavioural intentions and co-creation of the tourist experience to better understand the behaviour of tourists. The paper is based on an empirical study conducted on a sample of domestic tourists. The research results show that the majority of tourists organize their own travel and that the main source of information for them is the Internet. The most common reasons for traveling are rest and relaxation, fun and new experiences. Using cluster analysis, three segments of domestic tourists were identified (Youth, Couples and Families with Children), and differences were found among them in terms of travel characteristics, travel motivation, behavioural intentions, degree of tourists' involvement in travel preparation, and degree of co-creation of the tourist experience. The paper contributes to the understanding of motives and behavioural patterns of domestic tourists. The research findings can be used by marketing manag-ers in travel agencies and tourist destinations to better address the needs of domestic tourists.

Information-seeking behaviour of Tanzanians in the time of COVID-19

PurposeThis study aims to investigate on access and communication of COVID-19 information among Tanzanians.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative methods were applied to identify a total of 636 respondents.FindingsResults show that the majority (86.9%) of respondents seek information on COVID-19. Gender, age, education and marital status did not influence individual's information-seeking behaviour. Respondents largely used social media, particularly WhatsApp, to communicate. Respondents prefer blending professional and traditional information to combat COVID-19. The majority (51%) of respondents indicated that COVID-19 information was not communicated ethically. Employed people are more likely to ethically communicate information on the pandemic in social media.Practical implicationsFindings imply that novelty of the pandemic has enhanced active information-seeking behaviour. Respondents rely on multiple information sources to seek and collaboratively communicate COVID information. Employment status is associated with respondents' information-seeking behaviour. Audio-visual sources are mostly preferred and relied in communicating information on the pandemic. Social media usage has enhanced timely and appropriate decision-making measures to tackle the COVID menace. Level of education has an influence on the use of credible sources and ethical communication of information on the pandemic. Utilization of COVID-19 preventive information was not statistically associated with socio-demographic variables. Availability of information infrastructures, particularly the internet, influences access, use and clear informed decision on prevention and treatment of COVID-19 disease.Originality/valueThe study contributes to knowledge and literature on response and preventive measures on COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries.

The Influence of Characteristics of Mobile Live Commerce on Purchase Intention

Mobile live commerce is emerging as a new distribution channel as connectivity and information sharing become easier due to the increase in the use of SNS and mobile phones. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research in this field, and it is meaningful to look at how this new technology-based commerce leads to purchase intention in terms of the value of shopping perceived by consumers. This study aims to (1) analyze the characteristic factors of mobile live commerce, which is rapidly emerging due to brisk changes in the distribution industry in the non-contact era;and (2) verify the relationship between shopping value and purchase intention. We analyzed 283 surveys using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SM) with statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) and R-programming. We inferred that convenience, ubiquity, social presence, attractiveness, and vividness were the characteristics of mobile live commerce that had a positive effect on the pleasure value, and that social presence, attractiveness, vividness, professionalism, information quality, and compatibility had positive effects on the perceived value. The hedonic value also had a positive effect on the perceived value, and both pleasure and perceived values had strong positive effects on the purchase intention. However, the professionalism of the sources did not affect the hedonic value, and the convenience and ubiquity did not affect the perceived value.

The impact of COVID-19 on museums in the digital era: Practices and challenges in Hong Kong

PurposeDuring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, museums, as public gathering places for citizens, have encountered unprecedented difficulties due to limitations to operate as usual for their traditional exhibitions and curations. Thus, museums made corresponding emergency attempts to accelerate digital resource and service platform constructions. Such difficulties aroused many potential problems with the applicability of electronic resources and the mismatch between user expectations and museum services. This study investigates the challenges faced by Hong Kong museums under COVID-19, emergency responses and deliberate practices of Hong Kong museums from the perspective of both museum staff and visitors, and COVID-19's influence on the roles and functions of Hong Kong museums.Design/methodology/approachQualitative interviews with museum staff and visitors were conducted to collect opinions and experiences in the construction and maintenance of museums during the pandemic. Further thematic analyses of museum websites, evaluations, and suggestions were formulated guided by the PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) and AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) models.FindingsFindings revealed many online interactions and offline renovations, but the perceptions of visitors and staff differed considerably. While online resources and virtual museums were expanded and well received, long-term prohibitions and repressions drove physical visit desire. Participants emphasized finding a balance between user expectations and realistic practices.Originality/valueScant studies focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the cultural industry, especially in East Asia. This study also highlights new practices of digitalization and the challenges of functional transformation. The authors' findings and suggestions provide hints to optimize the curation of information resources and improve museum service quality in the new digital era. This study also serves as a reliable and meaningful record of COVID-19 impacts on Hong Kong museums.

YouTube as a source of information: early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of the construction industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the largest global crisis in recent decades. Apart from the countless deaths and health emergencies, the pandemic has disrupted several industries—including construction. For example, a significant number of construction projects have been interrupted, delayed, and even abandoned. In such emergencies, information gathering and dissemination are vital for effective crisis management. The role of social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, as information sources, in these contexts has received much attention. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate if YouTube can serve as a useful source of information for the construction industry in emergency situations—such as during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The assessment was undertaken by distilling the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to the construction industry from the content shared via YouTube by leveraging Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling. The investigation also compared the timeline with which relevant content was shared via YouTube and peer-reviewed research articles to make relative assessments. The findings suggest that YouTube offered significant and relevant coverage across six topics that include health and safety challenges, ongoing construction operation updates, workforce-related challenges, industry operations-related guidelines and advocacy, and others. Moreover, compared to the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the research literature, YouTube offered more comprehensive and timely coverage of the pandemic as it relates to the construction industry. Accordingly, industry stakeholders may leverage YouTube as a valuable and largely untapped resource to aid in combating similar emergency situations.

Do students look for information differently? Information-seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the COVID-19 information-seeking behavior of the students in a developing country. This study also explores how the use of information sources changes over time by the students of a public university in Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachAn e-mail was sent along with an online questionnaire to 350 students in a public university in Bangladesh. After sending a couple of follow-up e-mails in May and June 2022, we got limited responses. Later in July, we distributed the same questionnaire in the printed form to the students in the seminar library, computer laboratory and in the classroom. Finally, we got back 270 responses, and the response rate was 77.14%. Pearson's correlation coefficient (effect size) and nonparametric test (Mann–Whitney U test) were used to see the differences in using information sources over times and overall understanding of choosing the COVID-19 information sources by the demographic variables.FindingsThis study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has made an increased demand for a variety of information, and the sources of information changes over time before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the students faced challenges while seeking COVID-19 information which mostly falls under the availability of mis–disinformation. Students used more social media tools during the COVID-19 than the pre-COVID-19 time, and there are some significant relationships found between the students' demographic variables and students' understanding of choosing the COVID-19 information sources.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is one of the first to analyze changes in information behavior patterns of students in a developing country and understand the challenges faced by the students during the pandemic.

Fighting disinformation through source management: a comparison between journalistic models in the context of COVID-19

Introducción: La "pandemia" de la desinformación ha marcado la cobertura periodística del COVID-19, por lo que resulta de interés ver cómo diferentes modelos periodísticos han empleado la gestión de fuentes como criterio de calidad para hacerle frente. Metodología: El presente trabajo analiza las fuentes periodísticas - desde los indicadores de número, identificación y tipologíaempleadas en 420 artículos sobre la cobertura del COVID-19 correspondientes a cuatro modelos profesionales periodísticos: prensa tradicional, medios nativos digitales, prensa popular y plataformas de verificación. Resultados: El análisis refleja una adecuada gestión por parte de la prensa española de las fuentes durante la cobertura de la pandemia, utilizando de forma mayoritaria un número de fuentes superior al estándar;identificándolas correctamente en la práctica totalidad de casos;y empleando una adecuada variedad. Así, pese al claro predominio de las fuentes oficiales, se da también una presencia notable de fuentes expertas de los ámbitos científico y sanitario. Discusión y conclusiones: La calidad en la gestión de fuentes ha contribuido a hacer frente a la desinformación por parte de la prensa española, si bien se detectan importantes diferencias entre modelos profesionales. Las plataformas de verificación son las que presentan unos estándares de calidad más elevados a la hora de gestionar sus fuentes informativas, lo que contribuye a reforzar criterios claves en la lucha contra la desinformación como son verificación, relevancia, credibilidad y transparencia.Alternate :Introduction: The pandemic of misinformation has shaped the journalistic coverage of COVID-19, so it is interesting to see how different journalistic models have used source management as a quality criterion to address it. Methodology: This paper analyses the journalistic sources - from the indicators of number, identification and typology - used in 420 articles on the coverage of COVID-19 corresponding to four journalistic professional models: traditional press, digital native media, popular press and verification platforms. Results: The analysis reflects an adequate management of sources by the Spanish press during the coverage of the pandemic, mostly using a higher than standard number of sources;identifying them correctly in almost all cases;and using an adequate variety. Therefore, despite the clear predominance of official sources, there is also a notable presence of expert sources from the scientific and health fields. Discussion and conclusions: The quality of source management has contributed to fighting disinformation in the Spanish press, although there are important differences between professional models. Verification platforms are those with the highest quality standards when managing their information sources, which helps to reinforce key criteria in the fight against disinformation, such as verification, relevance, credibility and transparency.

Measuring the impacts of quantity and trustworthiness of information on COVID-19 vaccination intent

The COVID-19 crisis provided an opportunity for information professionals to rethink the role of information in individuals' decision making such as vaccine uptake. Unlike previous studies, which often considered information as a single factor among others, this study examined the impact of the quantity and trustworthiness of information on people's adoption of information for vaccination decisions based on the information adoption model. We analyzed COVID-19 Preventive Behavior Survey data collected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from Facebook users (N = 82,213) in 15 countries between October 2020 and March 2021. The results of logistic regression analyses indicate that reasonable quantity and trustworthiness of information were positively related to COVID-19 vaccination intent. But excessive and less than the desired amount of information was more likely to have negative impacts on vaccination intent. The degrees of trust in the mediums and in the sources were associated with the level of vaccine acceptance. But the effects of trustworthiness accorded to information sources showed variations across sources and mediums. Implications for information professionals and suggestions for policies are discussed. © 2023 Association for Information Science and Technology.

Perception and Knowledge of Algerian Students about Climate Change and Its Putative Relationship with the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Climate changes (CC) is one of the most important insidious crises affecting all countries in the world in the 21st century, including Algeria, and it is projected to affect many people in the future. Mitigation of the effects of this phenomenon will certainly involve environmental education, especially among university students. Therefore, evaluating their level of knowledge could help us understand to what extent they are prepared to contribute in the global efforts to fight against this catastrophe. Objective: The current study aims to investigate the perception and knowledge of Algerian students about climate change and its potential relationship with the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 204 Algerian students by adopting snowball sampling during the academic year (2022/2023), with a questionnaire based on Google Forms. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The results obtained showed that 95.6% of the students asked had heard about this phenomenon and more than 90% perceived that it was really happening. The level of knowledge is significantly associated with age, where students aged between 20 and 30 years old had a lower level of knowledge than those over 30 years old (OR = 0.22, p = 0.027). Furthermore, students of the Humanities have shown the lowest level of knowledge compared to those of other domains. Regarding their attitude, only 31.8% of the asked students declared that they changed their attitude positively during the COVID-19 pandemic. The change in attitude and concern is statistically associated neither with the level of knowledge and perception nor COVID-19 affection, psychological impact, and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: The study concluded that there was a high level of awareness and a medium level of knowledge about CC among Algerian university students. However, most of them were either very worried or a little worried about this phenomenon. It was also suggested that the average level of knowledge about cause and effect and pandemic resistance could be attributed to the scientific study path of students from the study sample. The results of this study could be used as a baseline for future research into CC knowledge and perception in Algeria.

Implementation and evaluation of the school's COVID-19 prevention website

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the Perceptions of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) questionnaire and the Information System Success Questionnaire on students when using the school's COVID-19 epidemic prevention website. The study is aimed toward analyzing both questionnaires as well as evaluating an epidemic prevention website.Design/methodology/approachThe school's COVID-19 prevention website and two questionnaires (Perceptions of COVID-19 and the Information System Success Questionnaire) are examined in order to investigate 73 students' COVID-19 perceptions. An open-ended question was used as the qualitative data to support quantitative data and evaluate a university's COVID-19 epidemic prevention website from a southern university in Taiwan.FindingsThe findings indicated that most students evaluated the school's COVID-19 website positively and were satisfied. In the open-ended questions, the majority of students rated the quality of the system positively and the need to fix some defects. Students have different COVID-19 perceptions and social distance compliance based on their current situations.Practical implicationsThis study provides researchers and website developers a broader understanding of the construction of the school's COVID-19 prevention website and a better understanding of student's COVID-19 perceptions.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study examining a school's epidemic prevention website, which is measured by the Information Success Questionnaire and the Perceptions of COVID-19 Questionnaire for college students.

Institutional trust, scientific literacy, and information sources: What factors determine people's attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines of different origins in China?

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the different attitudes of Chinese residents toward COVID-19 vaccines produced in China and the United States in an emergency context, and then explored possible explanations for these different attitudes. Methods: Using data collected online in May 2021, we compared Chinese citizens' attitudes toward vaccines originating from China and the US and then adopted ordered logistic models to examine how trust in institutions, scientific literacy, and information sources influence their attitudes toward different vaccines. Results: A total of 2038 respondents completed the survey. Participants reported very different levels of trust in Chinese and American vaccines. The main finding of this paper is that individuals who trust in Chinese institutions, especially those who trust in domestic scientists, typically feel encouraged to also place their trust in domestic vaccines and to distrust those from the US. These individuals' higher evaluation of Chinese government performance makes them more willing to vaccinate with domestic vaccines and less likely to seek US vaccines. Levels of scientific literacy, furthermore, seem to have little influence on attitudes toward different vaccines. Meanwhile, respondents who acquire health information from biomedical journals are more likely to hold a positive view of US vaccines, and these individuals contribute to bridging the gap between levels of trust in Chinese and US vaccines. Conclusions: In contrast with previous findings about Chinese attitudes toward imported vaccines, our respondents are more convinced of the safety and effectiveness of domestic vaccines than of US ones. This trust gap does not arise out of actual disparity in the quality and safety of the different vaccines per se. Instead, it is a cognition concern that is closely bound up with individuals' trust in domestic institutions. People's attitudes toward vaccines of different origins in an emergency context are more influenced by socio-political beliefs than by concern with objective information and knowledge.

[Sharing information on COVID-19 vaccination: quantitative online survey on actors, content, sources, and motives]. / Informationsweitergabe zur COVID-19-Impfung: Quantitative Online-Befragung zu Akteuren, Inhalten, Quellen und Motiven.

BACKGROUND: A person's opinion about COVID-19 vaccination and their decision for or against the vaccination are determined, among other things, by the information they receive. Therefore, it seems crucial to examine the phenomenon of information sharing in the context of COVID-19 vaccination. The study explores who shares which information about vaccinations with whom, how the sharing of information is related to the seeking of information from various sources, and what the motives are. METHOD: From 19 June to 13 July 2021, we conducted an online survey with 833 people using the German non-representative Social Sciences' (SoSci) panel. The questionnaire assessed information sharing with strangers and the social environment, the content, and the motives as well as the sources of information. The responses of 828 people were evaluated using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Older people, women, and unvaccinated individuals were more likely to share information about COVID-19 vaccination. Information was more often shared in the social environment than with strangers. People shared information about benefits and risks of the vaccination as well as their own experiences with vaccinations. People who research websites of health authorities were more likely to share information about the benefits of vaccinations and their own experiences, while people using YouTube or messenger services were more likely to share information about risks. The motives for sharing information are to help others, social exchange, to raise awareness, to gain status, and the fear of being attacked or judged. CONCLUSION: Information sharing on COVID-19 vaccination is complex in terms of content and motivation. In order to promote vaccination readiness, the range of information offered by public health departments should be expanded and the population's health literacy should be strengthened.

Virtual community users' travel information-seeking continuance intention: an empirical study based on the cognitive load theory and flow theory

PurposeVirtual communities are useful sources of travel information for tourists. To better promote the sustainable development of virtual communities and provide theoretical guidance, this study aims to explore how the cognitive load generated by tourists in the information-seeking process facilitates the formation of their continuance intention.Design/methodology/approachBuilt on the cognitive load theory and flow theory, this study investigates the formation mechanism of virtual community users' continuance intention to seek travel information. A total of 328 valid questionnaires were collected and used for hypothesis testing.FindingsThe results show that perceived usefulness, perceived information consistency and prior experience positively affect continuance intention. Concentration and time distortion have significant effects on continuance intention. Moreover, concentration and time distortion mediate between prior experience and continuance intention.Originality/valueThis study clarifies the formation mechanism of virtual community users' continuance intention of travel information seeking from a new perspective. The conclusions enrich the research on consumer behavior in the information search field and provide a reference for virtual communities.