Promoting preventive health behaviour among young Malaysian consumers: toward an integrated conceptual framework

Research aimed at uncovering the motives for the use of dietary supplements among young consumers is of both marketing and public policy importance, and thus deserving of research effort. This research addresses this important health issue from a consumer research perspective, as it is believed that the ultimate responsibility for health maintenance rests with the individual. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour, this research developed an integrated model to explain dietary supplement consumption, by incorporating a comprehensive set of consumer characteristics. Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey of 438 undergraduate students in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the hypothesised relationships. Findings reveal that health consciousness, health motivation and health value account for significant additional variance, suggesting the particular relevance of these consumer characteristics, in addition to social cognitive factors, in explaining dietary supplement use. This research contributes to marketing theory and practice as well as public health policy formulation.

Chinese abstract了解年轻消费者使用膳食补充剂的动机，对市场营销和公共保健政策都有重要意义，因此值得对此研究。本文从消费者研究角度出发，探讨此重要健康问题，作者相信维护健康的最终责任在于个人。本文借鉴计划行为理论，通过全面分析消费者的特征，建立一个综合模型，来解释膳食补充剂的消费行为。文中采用横断面调查研究方法采集数据，对马来西亚438名本科生进行了问卷调查。并采用结构方程模型来验证假设关系。研究结果表明，健康意识、健康动机和健康价值观有显著的额外差异，说明除了社会认知因素外，这些消费者的消费特性与其使用膳食补充剂有着特定的关联。本文研究成果对市场营销理论和实践以及公共健康政策的制定都有借鉴意义。