Exploring the inhibitors of online health service use intention: A status quo bias perspective

Why do online health services (OHSs) have a relatively low visit-use rate? Drawing on the status quo bias (SQB) theory and the rational choice theory, we developed an integrated research model to explore this phenomenon. To test the model, an online-survey was conducted in China with 339 valid responses for analysis. There are three insightful theoretical implications of the results: (1) Inhibitors in traditional healthcare hinder OHS use intention; (2) The rational choice theory can be used to measure the effects of the SQB on behavioral intentions, indicating that the SQB is capable of influencing behavioral intention from a rational decision process; and (3) The rational choice theory can be used in less rational situations.