An investigation of consumer and doctor regulatory beliefs and regulatory knowledge about pharmaceutical drug promotions

Abstract

Pharmaceutical drug companies engage in numerous promotional activities—from advertising to sales calls. Yet little is known about whether consumers or doctors believe these activities are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or whether their beliefs are accurate. We refer to these constructs as regulatory beliefs and regulatory knowledge, and we introduce and partially test a conceptual model including them. Specifically, we surveyed 311 consumers and 104 doctors about 24 different marketing-type activities undertaken by pharmaceutical drug companies, and assessed their persuasion knowledge, regulatory beliefs, and regulatory knowledge. We found that both groups, but especially doctors, had high persuasion knowledge, whereas doctors had weaker regulatory beliefs about FDA oversight; on regulatory knowledge both groups manifested comparable and substantial deficits. This research contributes theoretically by introducing the constructs of regulatory beliefs and regulatory knowledge, and finding that expertise in this context influences regulatory beliefs but not knowledge.