The Moderating Role of Tribal Leader Endorsement in Influencing the Attitude and GEN-Z Indigenous Intention to Accept New Idea: A Case Study of Coronavirus Vaccination

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by a corona virus infection. Anyone from anywhere in the world can be harmed by COVID-19, with the majority displaying mild to severe respiratory symptoms and others developing critical illness and dying. According to the Health Ministry, as of August 31, 2022, there had been 4,744,543 domestic and 38,081 imported Covid-19 cases, with 36,216 fatalities recorded in Malaysia. Coronavirus, like any other human, is dangerous to indigenous peoples. However, getting them vaccinated right away is much more difficult. Using data from a survey of 109 tribe members from Generation Z of indigenous communities born between 1997 and 2012 in Malaysia, this article attempted to investigate the moderating effect of tribal leader endorsement on the link between attitude and intention to accept vaccination. The study discovered that tribal leader endorsement significantly increased the strength of the correlations between attitude toward vaccination and intention to adopt vaccination, indicating that tribe members with a favorable attitude toward vaccination are more likely to accept vaccination when they believe in the tribal leader’s positive support for vaccination than when they do not. This study provides early insight into tribal chiefs’ influence on tribe members, which may be useful in carrying out the National COVID-19 Immunization Program and advancing vaccine acceptance among indigenous peoples, which would otherwise be difficult. This study also suggests that tribal leaders and Generation Z could play a role in accelerating government initiatives such as healthcare, education, and employment for the indigenous community through digital literacy.