Signals Influencing Consumer Willingness to Buy Healthcare Products.

      Аннотация: Dietary supplements and cosmeceuticals constitute a very significant retail market, with average double-digit growth worldwide and in Thailand over the last ten years. It is therefore important for market leaders to understand factors and variables related to consumer willingness to buy these healthcare products. This research investigates the differential impact of three marketing signals --product country image, brand image and expert opinion -- in the evaluation of risk associated with the purchase of the dietary supplement vitamin C and cosmeceuticals. The research is timely as very little has been done to establish a theoretical explanation of the role of signals in reducing consumers’ perceptions of general inherent risk that comes with the purchase of healthcare products. The findings suggest that Thai consumers prefer imported over domestic healthcare products in both categories, though they may be unfamiliar with some foreign brands. It is suggested that business managers and marketers consider product country image and country of origin effects through the halo and construct models (Han, 1989) in determining marketing strategies.

Ключевые слова: cosmeceuticals, dietary supplements, perceived risk, willingness to buy, healthcare product, healthcare marketing