The Effect Of National-brand Consciousness On Consumption Behavioral Intentions Of Domestic Medical Equipment Among Clinicians In Liaoning Province:The Mediating Role Of Consumption Attitude

Objective:The global medical equipment industry is currently experiencing rapid growth and expansion,with new technologies and innovative products driving its strategic importance in the healthcare sector.China,as the world’s second-largest market for medical equipment,is facing the important question of how to promote domestic medical equipment consumption among Chinese consumers.The aim of this research is to determine how Chinese doctors’ national-brand consciousness(NBC)and attitudes on domestic products influence their consumption behavioral intentions(CBI)towards domestic medical equipment consumption,as well have consumption attitudes play a mediating role between NBC and CBI.This research provides a scientific basis for improving Chinese doctors’ inclination to consume domestic medical equipment.Methods:This research investigated all nine innovative demonstration areas in Liaoning Province in 2018.The following are the nine selected areas : Faku District,Lishan District,Benxi District,Qingyuan District,Shenhe District,Xinglongtai District,Tiexi District,Beizhen City,and Zhuanghe City.Medical institutions in each demonstration area were stratified by level(primary,secondary,and tertiary medical institutions).Eighty clinical doctors were randomly selected from each demonstration area to complete the questionnaire survey.The questionnaire included basic information,NBC scale,CBI scale and other related items.A total of 1600 valid questionnaires were collected,with an effective response rate of 86.96%.Independent sample T-test,one-way ANOVA,Pearson correlation analysis,and hierarchical regression analysis and other methods were used to determine the factors that influence the CBI of clinical doctors in Liaoning Province towards domestic medical equipment,as well as to explore the mediating role that consumption attitudes play between NBC and CBI.The mediating effect model was tested using the Process macro for SPSS.Results:In this survey,the score for clinical doctors in Liaoning Province regarding their CBI towards domestic medical equipment is 23.75 ± 7.14(mean ± standard deviation).The independent sample T-test results show that the influencing factors of CBI were region,education level,and hospital level(P <0.001).Pearson correlation analysis shows that CBI is positively correlated with NBC and consumption attitude(P <0.01).Furthermore,NBC and consumption attitude are positively correlated with each other(P< 0.01).Hierarchical regression analysis reveals that,after excluding control variables,NBC(β=0.227,P < 0.001)and consumption attitude(β=2.443,P < 0.001)are important factors that influence CBI,and also provide preliminary evidence for the mediating role that consumption attitudes play between NBC and CBI.The Bootstrap method confirms the significant mediating effect of consumption attitude,with a value of 0.0464 and a95% confidence interval of(0.0253,0.0678).Conclusion:The CBI of clinical doctors in Liaoning Province towards domestic medical equipment is relatively low compared to other consumption areas.The main factors influencing the CBI are consumption attitude,awareness of domestic products,region,education level,and hospital level.Furthermore,consumption attitude plays a partial mediating role in the effect of NBC on CBI.Therefore,to improve the CBI of clinical doctors towards domestic medical equipment,specific measures can be developed by enhancing their NBC and improving their consumption attitudes towards domestic medical equipment.