Impact of Social Support and Reciprocity on Consumer Well-Being in Virtual Medical Communities

• Main Authors: Jyh-Jeng Wu PhD (Author), Che-Hui Lien PhD (Author), Tien Wang PhD (Author), Tzu-Wei Lin MBA (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: SAGE Publishing, 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 0046-9580; 1945-7243; 10.1177/00469580231155290
• Keywords: Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, Vol 60 (2023)

This study pursues a better understanding of consumer well-being in online medical cosmetics communities by investigating the antecedents of well-being and moderating influence of community norms. A total valid sample of 484 respondents was collected from 2 popular medical cosmetics discussion platforms. A partial least squares analysis was used to validate the research model. Emotional support, informational support, and sense of belonging were important predictors of well-being. Among these 3 antecedents, emotional support showed the strongest influence on consumer well-being. Sense of belonging was significantly and positively influenced by emotional support and reciprocity, and hence plays a pivotal role in mediating the effects of emotional support and reciprocity on well-being. However, informational support does not appear to significantly influence sense of belonging. Members' compliance with community norms positively moderates the influence of sense of belonging on well-being. This study contributes to the literature on realizing members' social behaviors specifically in virtual medical cosmetics communities and provides insights for the management of online communities.