Suchergebnisse

PurposeThe online profile picture of a doctor serves as a pivotal source of visual information, playing a key role in shaping the doctor's professionalism in the online health market. Doctors can strategically curate the elements of their online profile pictures, such as attire and background, to either reinforce a formal image or craft a casual image, thereby influencing patients' doctor choices. Despite this, the relative effectiveness of formal or casual images in swaying patient choices remains unclear. This study endeavors to bridge this knowledge gap.Design/methodology/approachThis study tested the influence of a doctor's attire and background in their profile picture on patient decision-making, with a focus on discerning variations in impact among patient groups differentiated by the severity of their illnesses (i.e. high-severity versus low-severity conditions). We formulated four hypotheses and tested them through an econometric analysis and a controlled laboratory experiment.FindingsThe empirical findings reveal that doctors' formal profile pictures, characterized by formal attire and backgrounds, exert a more pronounced influence on patient choices than casual images. The severity of a patient's illness positively moderated the relationship between formal images and patient choices.Originality/valueThese insights make a significant contribution to the understanding of patient behavior in selecting doctors within the online health market. Furthermore, they offer valuable guidance for doctors in optimizing their online profile presentation to better align with patient preferences and expectations.

This study aims to understand how older adults' socioemotional reactions to perceived remaining time in life influence their satisfaction from their knowledge contribution and seeking in virtual communities (VCs). Rooted in socioemotional selectivity theory, we choose a positive attitude toward aging and meaning in life to describe older adults' reactions to aging, and test the proposed hypotheses based on 204 valid survey responses. Results confirm that while both knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking activities promote older adults' satisfaction, the impact of knowledge contribution is stronger on satisfaction. Furthermore, as hypothesized, the positive attitude toward aging amplifies the impact of knowledge-seeking while meaning in life weakens the impact of knowledge contribution on older adults' satisfaction. This study contributes to the literature on how older adults derive satisfaction from their knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking activities in VCs and offers insights into using VCs to build a digitally inclusive society.