The Effects of Knowledge Types on Consumer Decision Making for Non-Toxic Housing Materials and Products

Hyun Joo Kwon,Jiyun Kang,Mira Ahn

doi:10.3390/su131911024

Abstract

This study explored how different types of consumer knowledge (exposure, subjective knowledge, and objective knowledge) predict perceptions (benefits, severity, and barriers) and behavioral intention to choose non-toxic housing materials and products based on the extended health belief model (HBM). The target population was people 18 years or older living in the U.S. A total of 1050 valid responses were collected through an online survey. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model via AMOS version 24. Results show that the prediction of exposure, subjective knowledge, and objective knowledge for behavioral intention is mediated by health belief perceptions in different ways. Exposure had a significant impact on perceived benefits and perceived severity but not on perceived barriers. Subjective knowledge was not significantly associated with perceptions, but all of the effects of objective knowledge on the HBM elements were significant. Significant indirect effects of exposure and subjective knowledge on behavioral intention were found; the indirect effects of objective knowledge on behavioral intention were insignificant. By adopting the extended HBM, this study contributes to a better understanding of the link among knowledge types and perceptions of non-toxic housing materials and products, and behavioral intention to choose them.

Highlights

Most people spend about 90% of their time indoors and approximately 70% of that time at home [1]
The research team began by estimating a measurement model and testing it with confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) to ensure the reliability and validity of the measures
The research team carefully considered if items that showed low confirmatory factor loading (

Summary

Introduction

Most people spend about 90% of their time indoors and approximately 70% of that time at home [1]. Key determinants of indoor environmental quality in a residential environment are housing materials and products [2]. The use of non-toxic housing materials and products reduces the amount of indoor air contaminants and improves the quality of indoor air, both of which improve residents’ health and quality of life [3]. A review of 50 research articles from 1985 to 2015 revealed that exposure to VOCs is a biomarker of lung cancer [7]. As these negative health consequences have been confirmed through reliable empirical studies, consumers’ interest in a healthy home environment is growing, along with concern about the use of harmful materials [8,9]

Methods

Results

Conclusion