Use of Digital Technologies in Consumer Fitness Practices: Insights from Service-Dominant Logic

Suboptimal health and chronic disease are major health issues worldwide, accounting for 63% of the cause of deaths globally in 2012 (World Health Organization, 2012). In China, the increasing numbers of young Chinese consumers with suboptimal health are causing concern to healthcare policy-makers and providers. This paper presents research findings that show state-of-the-art digital technologies (e.g., smart devices and fitness apps) influence Chinese Gen Y consumers’ fitness practices and therefore offer the potential for improving their lifestyles. Using a non-experimental quantitative methodology, we examined the construct of ‘value’ for 230 Chinese Gen Y consumers in relation to their fitness practices facilitated by digital technologies. Given the research focus on value and value co-creation that occur within virtual fitness communities, we adopted Service-Dominant (S-D) logic as the theoretical framework. Analysis showed that respondents reported high fitness-oriented and experience-oriented value in the use of digital technologies in their fitness practices, whereas socialising-oriented value was the least important value. The findings of this study provide a new application of S-D logic to consumers’ online fitness behaviours, which substantiates S-D logic’s applicability in interpreting emerging consumer behaviour phenomena in complex service contexts. Finally, by addressing the gap in marketing research on consumer fitness practices facilitated by digital technologies, this research sets a base for future studies of consumer health and wellbeing using the latest electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate or process consumer data.