Health belief and behaviour: an analysis of the predictors for receiving COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia

PurposeThe paper examines the ‘Intention to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccines’ or IRV from three perspectives: the health belief model, behavioural economics, and institutional quality.Design/methodology/approachThis study provides quantitative analysis by applying Chi-squared test of contingencies, paired sample t-tests, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple linear regression (stepwise method) on the data collected from 591 respondents mainly from Malaysia.FindingsThe results show that Perceived Benefits, Perceived Barriers, Perceived Susceptibility, Herding, and Institutional Quality play roles as predictors of IRV. Perceived Benefits play the most crucial role among the predictors and Perceived Barriers is the least important predictor. People have the herding mentality after being exposed to information encouraging such behaviour.Originality/valueThis study reveals that the respondents changed their behaviour in different circumstances when exposed to information that incorporates the effect of herding. Herding mentality, the effectiveness of government authorities, and regulatory quality have become important factors in enriching public health policies and the effectiveness of interventions.