Multifaceted determinants of online non-prescription drug information seeking and the impact on consumers' use of purchase channels.
The growing importance of the Internet as an information and purchasing channel is drawing widespread attention from marketing decision makers. Nevertheless, the relevance of the Internet to the so-called self-medication market in Germany has been paid barely enough attention. Our study aims to contribute insights concerning the penetration of the Internet in this market, as well as to give an overview of the critical determinants of Internet use for non-prescription drug information seeking, such as the accessibility of professional information, trust in health professionals' opinion and the ability to search online, as well as the perceived usefulness and credibility of online non-prescription drug information. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the preferred use of the Internet as a non-prescription drug information source positively influences the choice of unconventional purchase channels for non-prescription drugs and negatively affects the use of stationary pharmacies.
Department of Business Administration, Saarland University, Gebaeude A5.4, 66123 Saarbruecken, Germany. c.holtgraefe@mx.uni-saarland.de
Catherine
C
Holtgräfe
Joachim
J
Zentes
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising / Q000379:methods*; D000368:Aged; D003132:Commerce / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003256:Community Participation / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004346:Drug Information Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution; D010593:Pharmaceutical Services / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D040241:Social Marketing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035502:Trust
D004366:Nonprescription Drugs