Analysis on Quantified Self-Behavior of Customers in Food Consumption under the Perspective of Social Networks

Abstract

China is still facing the double challenges of over nutrition and malnutrition. One of the main reasons is the lack of residents’ understanding of the nutritional value of food. Quantified self, as a measure of consumer self-activity, has been used to analyze food consumption behavior recently. Although the research results are increasing, the conclusions are not consistent. What’s more, previous literatures did not consider food consumption behavior based on the theory of information perception and the risk perception theory. In addition to obtaining information through their own human capital for quantitative activities, consumers will also obtain information through social networks. In view of the above understanding, this study uses experimental design and field survey to obtain data, uses Heckman two-step method and PLS path modeling method to analyze the impact of consumers’ quantified self-behavior on their health food consumption, and discusses the moderating role of social networks based on the perspective of complex network. The results show that (1) consumers’ health awareness can promote their choice of quantified self-behavior, (2) consumers’ quantified self-behavior is helpful to promote their purchase intention and purchase scale of healthy food, and (3) social networks play a positive moderating role in consumers’ quantified self-influence on their healthy food consumption. Both emotional networks and instrumental networks have significant moderating effect, but the formal is stronger. This article not only considers the relationship between food consumption behavior and social network but also the enhances literature based on the theory of information perception and the risk perception theory.