The Journal of Information Systems (한국정보시스템학회지:정보시스템연구)

Korea Association of Information Systems (한국정보시스템학회)
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Factors affecting COVID-19 health information sharing behaviors via social media: A comparison between South Korea and China

  • Kim, Jong Ki (Pusan National University, School of Business, Dept. of Business Administration) ;
  • Wang, Jian Bo (Pusan National University, School of Business, Dept. of Business Administration)
  • Received : 2024.02.19
  • Accepted : 2024.03.24
  • Published : 2024.03.31
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Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors influencing social media users' sharing behaviors of COVID-19 health information. Specifically, we seek to examine the impact of three key antecedents-trust in information source, trust in information content, and trust in social media platform-on users' trust in information quality and determine whether their effects vary between South Korea and China. Design/methodology/approach To fulfill our research objectives, we conducted an online survey across two countries, collecting 408 valid responses (South Korea: N = 201; China: N = 207) for our analysis. We employed Partial Least Squared based Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4 and performed Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and independent t-tests with SPSS 27. Findings The study revealed that perceived risks significantly inhibit users from sharing health information, highlighting the critical role of trust in countering these effects. We also identified variances in the levels of trust in information content and trust in social media platform between the two countries, which offers fresh perspectives for designing culturally tailored public health communications and interventions.

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