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An Integrative Framework for Understanding Two-Sided Persuasion
Abstract
This article develops a framework that encompasses past two-sided persuasion research and incorporates additional theory and research on optimal arousal and attitude toward the ad to provide explanations for inconsistencies in previous findings. In particular, explanations are provided for the following: (1) when credibility gains will be enhanced, (2) when refutation is needed, (3) how the message should be structured (in terms of amount and placement of negative information), and (4) what types of attributes should be discounted (in terms of importance, type, and correlation with other attributes). In addition, directions for future research are discussed. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.
... Strategic communications, including public relations, are considered to be attempts to influence consumers' preferences by disclosing the positive features of an organization's goods and services or associating them with positive symbols (Crowley and Hoyer 1994). However, there is a stream of research suggesting that messages can also include negative attributes, and such messages can be more effective in changing existing attitudes and improving the service provider's image than if no negative information was presented, because it may evoke a sense of honesty without hiding (Eisend 2006(Eisend , 2007Hovland and Lumsdaine 2017;Smith and Hunt 1978). ...
... The attribution-correspondence theory informs that correspondent attributions are more likely to occur in disadvantageous situations such as when the actor already has instilled negative impressions or beliefs in observers (Crowley and Hoyer 1994;Golden and Alpert 1987). Accordingly, two-sided messages have the potential to be more effective instruments in situations involving disadvantageous communications, such as when people already hold negative beliefs or attitudes about the service provider (Crowley and Hoyer 1994;Eisend 2007). ...
... The attribution-correspondence theory informs that correspondent attributions are more likely to occur in disadvantageous situations such as when the actor already has instilled negative impressions or beliefs in observers (Crowley and Hoyer 1994;Golden and Alpert 1987). Accordingly, two-sided messages have the potential to be more effective instruments in situations involving disadvantageous communications, such as when people already hold negative beliefs or attitudes about the service provider (Crowley and Hoyer 1994;Eisend 2007). Citizens in many countries, including South Korea and the US, have experienced increasing dissatisfaction and distrust of their governments (Kim 2010;Nye, Zelikow, and King 1997;Park 2015). ...
Governments disclose performance information to citizens on the assumption that doing so helps improve public accountability. The previous literature implies that citizens’ interpretations of such information are shaped by the information’s presentation types, however, it is not known whether one-sided messages (only positive information) and two-sided messages (adding negative attributes to the one-sided messages) have different effects on citizens’ perceptions regarding government information disclosure. Drawing on attribution-correspondence theory and utilizing a large-scale survey experiment conducted in Korea, this study demonstrates that two-sided performance message is more effective in improving the citizens’ perceptions of governmental transparency and accountability than one-sided message.
... It is particularly noticeable that the results are mixed. Some authors conclude that two-sided messages can positively affect variables such as trustworthiness [22], attention towards the advertisement [23], perceived fairness [26,27], credibility of the message [23,27,28] and purchase intention [27]. However, other studies indicate adverse effects of two-sided messages. ...
... It is particularly noticeable that the results are mixed. Some authors conclude that two-sided messages can positively affect variables such as trustworthiness [22], attention towards the advertisement [23], perceived fairness [26,27], credibility of the message [23,27,28] and purchase intention [27]. However, other studies indicate adverse effects of two-sided messages. ...
... However, other studies indicate adverse effects of two-sided messages. They can lead to unfavorable evaluations of the advertised products [29] or negatively influence the attitude towards the brand and the purchase intention [23,30]. Based on a meta-analysis by Eisend [27], one explanation for the mixed results can be related to the relevance of the disclosed negative attributes. ...
When communicating their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities many companies predominantly release positive information. However, relying solely on positive information holds potential risks. Brands are consequently confronted with the dilemma of whether to exclusively disclose positive details about their environmental CSR activities (i.e., one-sided messages) or opt for voluntary disclosure of positive and negative information (i.e., two-sided messages). Existing literature distinguishes moderately and highly relevant types of negative information. However, prior research has predominantly overlooked the investigation of highly relevant negative CSR information. Therefore, our primary objective is to explore the impact of two-sided messages encompassing highly relevant negative CSR information in comparison to one-sided messages. We conducted four online experiments in two countries with different brands (study 1 (Germany, Mercedes-Benz, n = 457); study 2 (Germany, Porsche, n = 431); study 3 (USA, Mercedes-Benz, n = 468) and study 4 (USA, Tesla, n = 465)). The results reveal that two-sided messages with the disclosure of highly relevant negative CSR information lead to negative effects in comparison to one-sided messages with only positive information. Consequently, brands should exercise caution in communicating highly relevant negative CSR aspects. Our findings offer notable theoretical insights and practical implications.
... Different theories exist in the literature regarding the meditation process and effects of two-sided messages. The effects of acknowledging opposing arguments within two-sided message have been tested by advertising scholars through attribution theory, or the processes for assigning causes to events; in addition to inoculation theory, or providing examples of attack messages, along with refutational counterarguments within messages; and optimal arousal theory, or the prediction that messages that are perceived to be novel can consequently boost more attention and motivation for processing (Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Eisend, 2006Eisend, , 2007. In a side-by-side metaanalytic comparison of the three hypothesized models, the path coefficients and fit indices showed an acceptable fit for the attribution theory model but provided only partial support for the models comprising inoculation theory and optimal arousal theory (Eisand, 2007). ...
... Multiple meta-analyses support these effects by finding that two-sided messages can lead to increased perceptions of source credibility while reducing negative cognitive responses and boosting positive cognitive responses, attitudinal and behavioral intentions (Allen, 1991;Eisend, 2006;O'Keefe, 1999O'Keefe, , 2016. Source credibility is enhanced through a message receiver's perception that an author who acknowledges but refutes their prior belief is more honest or trustworthy than someone who held the same belief all along (Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Hendriks et al., 2022;O'Keefe, 2016). Among Eisand's (2006) meta-analytic findings of 217 persuasion effect sizes across 29 advertising studies, placement of whether the information was pro-or counter-attitudinal made a significant difference, with enhanced persuasion in the form of attitudes toward the brand occurring when presentation of the negative, counterattitudinal information occurred last in the two-sided message. ...
... Companies can enhance their credibility with skeptical consumers by acknowledging their product's limitations or shortcomings, demonstrating transparency and honesty (Crowley and Hoyer, 1994;Winter and Krämer, 2012). A meta-analysis by O'Keefe (1999) supports the idea that two-sided messages are more effective than one-sided messages in changing attitudes and beliefs, particularly when the audience is aware of the opposing arguments, as explained by the reactance-based approach (Brehm and Brehm, 1981) and the counterargument availability-approach (Hovland et al., 1949). ...
... The inclusion of a self-serving motive in two-sided messaging can be construed as a comprehensive, candid, and transparent account of the hotel's commitment to green initiatives. The positive impact of two-sided messages can be attributed to several factors, such as enhanced credibility (Pechmann, 1992;Crowley and Hoyer, 1994), increased message usefulness (DeLorme et al., 2009), reduced counterarguments (O'Keefe, 1999, and heightened message processing (Rucker et al., 2008). These factors contribute to a greater persuasive impact, beneficial not only in green marketing but also in other domains where trust and credibility are essential. ...
Environmental awareness is a growing concern for consumers, and effective green messaging strategies are crucial for businesses. This 2 × 2 between-subject experiment investigates the influence of message style and sidedness on consumer participation in green practices and explores the role of message usefulness and skepticism. Our results show that a narrative message style and a two-sided message increase perceived usefulness, reduce skepticism, and lead to greater behavioral intent. Further, the study supports the moderated serial mediation role of message usefulness and skepticism. These findings offer significant implications for businesses seeking to promote sustainable practices and engage consumers in green initiatives.
... Intuitively, it might seem that the inclusion of negative information in ads seems unadvisable and illogical, yet a number of researchers (e.g., Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Kamins & Assael, 1987;Pechmann, 1992) have demonstrated the benefits of advertisements containing negative information (Eisend, 2006). In fact, there are several distinct types of negative ad information, each of which bears a separate explanation. ...
... Indeed, empirical evidence demonstrates that twosided (vs. one-sided) advertising is effective in enhancing ad credibility (Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Pechmann, 1992). Further, perceptions of trustworthiness increase with the amount of negative information contained in the ad, as well as the level of importance associated with the undesirable attribute being featured (Eisend, 2006;Pechmann, 1992). ...
A number of well-known brands are not only loved by many consumers, but also hated by a sizeable portion of the population and are thus termed polarizing brands. Because digital media offers consumers nearly unlimited opportunities to voice their hate, managers can no longer ignore vocal haters. However, the current marketing literature offers few strategies for addressing the challenge of brand hate. This paper introduces the concept of hate-acknowledging advertising (HAA), an ad technique in which polarizing brands openly admit that some segment of the population hates them. Over the course of three studies, the data indicates that, compared with supportive advertising, HAA results in higher perceptions of ad credibility and ultimately higher levels of brand trust. Moreover, the improvements in ad credibility and brand trust drive increased consumer intentions to engage in positive word of mouth on behalf of the polarizing brand.
... Two-sided recommendation messages convey verbally positive as well as voluntarily negative product features about the recommended product. In contrast, in one-sided recommendation messages, the message sender provides only positive features of the recommended product (Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Eisend, 2007). However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has so far examined this promising method of persuasive communication in the context of chatbots as shopping assistants. ...
... Therefore, the negative message is placed at the end of the overall recommendation message where it has the most positive effect (Eisend, 2006). The proportion of the negative message is important for the effectiveness of the two-sided message (Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Golden & Alpert, 1987), so in this study, the chatbot communicated significantly more positive than negative product features. In addition, it is known from previous research that the negative message should include a product feature with low importance (Pizzutti et al., 2016). ...
Firms increasingly invest in chatbots that provide purchase recommendations. However, customers often reject recommendations by chatbots because they find neither the contents of the recommendation (message-level) nor the chatbot itself (source-level) persuasive. To overcome these barriers and increase purchase intention, this study examines how the content of recommendation messages should be designed and which communication style the chatbot should use to provide recommendation messages. Results of a 2 (two-sided vs. one-sided recommendation message) ✕ 3 (warm vs. competent vs. neutral communication style) between-subject online experiment show that a two-sided recommendation message increases purchase intention, but only for chatbots using a warm or competent communication style. Whereas a warm chatbot leads to higher purchase intentions of a recommendation through promoting its source persuasiveness, a competent chatbot increases recommendation effectiveness by promoting message persuasiveness. Therefore, firms should refine a chatbot’s communication style for providing recommendations that persuade customers to purchase.
... Eisend (2007) has noted that while two-sided messages can influence consumer evaluations, they may still fall short in persuasiveness, particularly in cases where consumers must process a greater number of counterarguments. This effect is likely to be more pronounced among consumers with low awareness of the negative information presented (Crowley and Hoyer 1994;Sawyer 1973). Consumers with limited knowledge of green products may experience cognitive dissonance when presented with contrasting information (Petty and Cacioppo 1986). ...
Green product advertisements often face credibility challenges due to perceived greenwashing, contributing to the attitude‐behavior gap in green consumption. This research examines the strategic use of two‐sided messaging through five experimental studies, assessing its impact on green consumption across various product categories. We explore the nuances of message order, demonstrating that placing the negative message first can either weaken or strengthen green product purchase based on consumers' knowledge of the green product category. This finding highlights that conventional order may not always be effective, especially in green marketing, where consumer knowledge varies. Furthermore, we explore the interactive effect of consumer knowledge in two‐sided messaging involving refutational appeals. Overall, our research offers valuable insights for marketers aiming to strategically leverage two‐sided advertising to enhance green product adoption.
... Second, sources may appear credible due to message characteristic. For example, two-sided (vs one-sided) messages (Allen, 1991;Crowley & Hoyer, 1994), straightforward messages (McCroskey, 1992), and messages including evidence (Reinhard & Sporer, 2010) increase source credibility. ...
... Research on one-sided versus two-sided messages has a long history in social psychology, and various moderators of their differential effectiveness have been uncovered (seeCrowley & Hoyer, 1994, for a review). ...
Research on misinformation has exploded over the past decade in psychology and other disciplines. Much research has been conducted about which variables are associated with the initial acceptance of misinformation (i.e., false statements such as “Venice is the capital of Italy”) and which variables are associated with its correction (“No. Rome is the capital of Italy”). A largely independent literature exists about which variables are associated with the initial acceptance of attitudinal claims (i.e., opinion statements such as “Rome is a beautiful city”) and their correction (e.g., “No, Rome is not a beautiful city”). This article addresses whether the variables impacting the acceptance of factual claims (often expressed as truth judgments) and opinion claims (often expressed as evaluative judgments) are the same. Concluding that these assessments are mostly impacted similarly by the same variables (e.g., source credibility, claim repetition), it is argued that these two seemingly separate literatures should be integrated into one science of persuasion, at least for studies aimed at making general contributions. Finally, findings from the attitudes literature that potentially can inform the misinformation literature and vice versa are discussed.
... withhold) lagging diversity numbers despite pledges to increase them, they can meaningfully shape how people perceive their commitment to diversity. Namely, individuals should be less apt to attribute their pledges to increase diversity as a performative act intended to boost their image (Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Jahn & Brühl, 2019;Kelley, 1971). Rather, transparency about unfavorable outcomes (e.g., revealing stubbornly low levels of representation of racial/ethnic minorities) may signal that organizations' commitment to strengthening diversity is real (Amengual & Apfelbaum, 2021). ...
Public Significance Statement
There is a growing tension in organizations’ public commitments to diversity: scores of organizations pledge to increase the diversity of their workforce, yet few disclose how diverse they are. Because many organizations struggle to increase diversity, they likely fear that such transparency will harm their reputation. We examine the effects of being transparent versus silent about lagging diversity numbers. Contrary to conventional wisdom and related research on impression management in organizations, we find that transparency (vs. silence) about lagging diversity numbers is often more effective for sustaining a positive reputation because it signals that the organization’s commitment to diversity is genuine versus merely “lip service.” We observe strong evidence that transparency about unfavorable diversity numbers increases perceptions of progress and trustworthiness, and some evidence that it stimulates individuals to promote organizations’ diversity efforts to others. This research suggests that leaders’ intuitions about the reputational costs of transparency regarding lagging diversity numbers may be misplaced.
... The participants in our study also discussed the value of influencers sharing negative reviews. This aligns with research that one-sided messaging (i.e., strictly highlighting positive aspects of the product) can negatively affect brand attitude, whereas this risk can be mitigated when the influencer content includes two-sided messaging (i.e., both what they liked and disliked about the product/brand) (Crowley and Hoyer 1994;Settle and Golden 1974). When influencers included what was perceived to be genuine opinions, the participants in our focus groups reported being more likely to trust the influencer and evidently less likely to activate the advertising reactance processes. ...
Influencer advertising has sparked controversy among both consumers and regulators, in that influencer advertising’s very effectiveness is built on deceit, because consumers are often unaware of the persuasive intent. Empirical evidence on influencer advertising is built largely on the premise that disclosure will activate consumers’ reactance, as consumers will recognize the persuasive intent. Using a mixed-method approach (focus groups and survey), we contribute to the growing body of research on influencer advertising by demonstrating the role of three important boundary conditions in the relationship between knowledge of persuasive intent and activation of “resistant coping” mechanisms: trust, overconfidence, and transparency. Based on our focus-group results, we propose that two groups of outcome variables need further research attention: (1) consumers’ moral and affective advertising literacy and (2) other individual-level psychological outcomes, such as cognitive dissonance and reduced control over one’s time and productivity. In our further empirical test, we focus more specifically on perceptions of moral appropriateness of advertising, and we illustrate its importance for understanding how influencer advertising works.
... Persuasion attempts and thus SNAs and their context could lead to a questioning of arguments in favour of VCO and induce counterarguments or reactance (Allen, 1991;Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Dillard & Shen, 2005;Silvia, 2006). In the context of VCO, there are several well-known counterarguments which can be used to justify non-action, e.g., the accusation of being merely "sales of indulgences" because emissions are not truly avoided (Choi et al., 2016). ...
Voluntary carbon offsetting (VCO) is a simple bridging mechanism to address climate change. However, while a majority approves of VCO, less than 10 percent offset their emissions. It was investigated whether VCO can be encouraged with an injunctive majority social norm appeal (SNA), describing VCO as either approved and desired, or absolutely essential. Furthermore, it was tested whether it is beneficial to combine such an injunctive majority SNA with a dynamic descriptive minority SNA, as compared to a static descriptive SNA or a message without descriptive SNA. Moreover, the role of argumentation was considered because well-known counterarguments might affect the impact of the message and the SNAs. Overall, we did not find any effects on different persuasive outcomes in a 2 x 3 x 2 between-subjects experiment using explainer videos. Nevertheless, an injunctive majority SNA can have a positive effect, which is neither enhanced by a dynamic descriptive SNA nor diminished by a static descriptive SNA.
... Researchers have treated message-sidedness as either providing arguments for the advocated position (one-sided) versus also including arguments that support the opposing position (two-sided; Hovland et al., 1953). A small persuasive advantage for two-sided messages is supported meta-analytically, though these effects are nuanced (Allen et al., 1990;Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Eisend, 2006). Importantly, one mechanism for the advantage of two-sided messages is improved source credibility. ...
Communicators commonly present two-sided messages to avoid being perceived as biased. This approach equates bias with one-sidedness rather than divergence from the position supported by available data. Messages often concern topics with mixed qualities: a product is exceptional but expensive; a politician is inexperienced but ethical. For these topics, providing a two-sided message should reduce perceived bias according to both views of bias as one-sidedness and divergence from available data. However, if perceived bias follows divergence from available data, for topics viewed as one-sided (univalent), a two-sided message should not reduce perceived bias. Across five studies, acknowledging two sides reduced perceived bias for novel topics. In two of the studies, two-sidedness no longer reduced perceived bias for topics viewed as univalent. This work clarifies that people conceptualize bias as a divergence from available data, not simply one-sidedness. It also clarifies when and how to leverage message-sidedness to reduce perceived bias.
... Earl and Pride (1980) indicated that, although two-sided messages provide more information than one-sided messages, two-sided messages were no better than one-sided messages in increasing the brand impression of consumers and may even reduce their referral intention. Crowley and Hoyer (1994) concluded after a review of related studies that two-sided messages induce higher levels of attention and motivation to process because these messages are more novel and interesting to consumers. However, Gursoy (2019) suggested that consumers may have difficulties extrapolating information from a mixed review as mixed reviews include both positive and negative pieces of information simultaneously, thereby limiting consumers' cognitive processing capacity. ...
This study explores the effect of brand news authenticity and social media tie strength on consumer news attitudes, word‐of‐mouth reviews, and sharing behavior in the context of social media platforms. Besides, the moderating roles of review sidedness and consumer information literacy on the respective effects of news authenticity and social media tie strength on consumer attitudes, word‐of‐mouth reviews, and sharing behavior were also examined. An experimental design was used to test the research model and hypotheses. The findings present several important theoretical and practical implications for efforts by marketers to manage the impact of fake news on their brands.
... Thus, we predict that sensitive self-disclosure will increase perceived authenticity even when controlling for the SCM's two dimensions of person perception: warmth and competence. Finally, past research has shown that negative information can have positive effects in the context of interpersonal attractiveness (Aronson et al., 1966;Collins & Miller, 1994), on the management of malicious envy from peers (Brooks et al., 2019), and on enhancing the effectiveness of persuasive appeals (e.g., twosided messaging; see Crowley & Hoyer, 1994 as an example). We extend these findings and demonstrate that sensitive selfdisclosure can enhance perceptions of authenticity. ...
Leaders' perceived authenticity-the sense that leaders are acting in accordance with their "true self"-is associated with positive outcomes for both employees and organizations alike. How might leaders foster this impression? We show that sensitive self-disclosure, in the form of revealing weaknesses, makes leaders come across as authentic (Studies 1 and 2)-because observers infer that the discloser is not engaging in strategic self-presentation (Study 3). Further, the authenticity gains of sensitive self-disclosure have positive downstream consequences, such as enhancing employees' desire to work with the leader (Studies 4A and 4B). And, as our conceptual account predicts, these benefits emerge when the revealed weakness is made voluntarily (as opposed to by requirement; Study 5), and are more pronounced if the disclosure is made by a relatively high-status person (Study 6). We also present anecdotal field evidence (Study 7) consistent with the causal effects identified in Studies 1-6. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how the effectiveness of green advertising can be improved by matching benefit appeals (self vs other) and message sidedness (one-sided vs two-sided) in consumer evaluations of green products.
Design/methodology/approach
Four scenario experiments and one field experiment were conducted to investigate the interaction effects of benefit appeals and message sidedness on green consumption. It aims to verify the psychological mechanisms that promote green consumption when benefit appeals and message sidedness are matched and to explore the persuasiveness of this matching on consumers with different power states engaging in green consumption.
Findings
Studies 1 and 4 provide evidence that when advertising conveys self-benefit appeals (vs other-benefit appeals), two-sided messages (vs one-sided messages) positively promote green consumption. Importantly, Study 2 concluded that perceived manipulative intent was the psychological mechanism underlying the interaction effects of green advertising benefit appeals and message sidedness. Studies 3 and 5 confirm that the power state plays a moderating role in these effects.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the growing research on green marketing, especially green advertising, and advances the theoretical knowledge of how to match benefit appeal with message sidedness to promote green consumption effectively.
Practical implications
This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of consumer evaluations of green products under the influence of benefit appeals and message sidedness. The match between benefit appeal and message sidedness can promote green consumption. These findings can help marketers and policymakers promote green consumption by designing advertisements that match benefit appeal with message sidedness. When considering the power state’s impact, marketers should consider consumers’ high- or low-power states when selecting appropriate advertisement designs. Alternatively, they can manipulate the power state to optimise the effectiveness of advertisements.
Originality/value
Although previous research has focused on the difference in persuasiveness between self-benefit and other appeals, little is known about how to match green benefit appeals and message sidedness to heighten the persuasiveness of green advertising to consumers. Therefore, in this study, this paper attempts to fill this research gap by exploring how green benefit appeals and message sidedness match and how green advertising may produce better persuasion effects on green consumption.
Background
This study seeks to investigate the impact of anorexia awareness videos on the perception of anorexic figures and pro-anorexia attitude among young females, considering the employed fear appeals and the presence of pro-anorexia content in danmu, an online commenting system prevalent in China.
Methods
An experiment was conducted employing a 3 (Fear level of video: low, medium, high) × 4 (Danmu type: no danmu, pro-anorexia, anti-anorexia, mixed pro- and anti-anorexia) between-participants design. A total of 633 female participants were randomly assigned to view one of the twelve videos and subsequently evaluated on fear arousal, pro-anorexia attitude and perception of the anorexic figure scales.
Results
A moderated moderated mediation model demonstrates that heightened fear levels of anorexia awareness videos were linked to a more adverse perception of individuals with anorexia, subsequently reducing pro-anorexia attitude. Furthermore, the fear level of an anorexia awareness video, aroused fear, and the type of danmu interacted in a three-way manner regarding the perception of anorexic individuals. The presence of pro-anorexia content in danmu counteracted the observed positive impact.
Conclusions
These results imply that anorexia awareness videos should strive to evoke appropriate levels of fear while also addressing the potential adverse effects of pro-anorexia danmu, which may glorify anorexic bodies and undermine the intended protective outcomes.
This meta-analysis synthesized 43 empirical articles to summarize the impact of communicating three distinct uncertainty types (i.e., epistemic uncertainty, consensus uncertainty, and technical uncertainty) in science communication. The results revealed divergent effects across these three uncertainty types. Specifically, communicating epistemic uncertainty was found to have a small yet positive effect on credibility perception ( d = 0.09), with a nonsignificant impact on attitudes. Conversely, communicating consensus uncertainty ( d = −0.12) and technical uncertainty ( d = −0.15) demonstrated a slight negative effect on attitudes, without impacting credibility perception. In addition, topic domain, cultural uncertainty avoidance, and text length were important moderators.
In a principal-principal setting, the presence in the boardroom of independent directors appointed by minority shareholders can provide a unique and effective corporate governance solution to reduce agency costs related to undue appropriation of the private benefits of control by majority shareholders to the detriment of minority ones and compress information asymmetry issues. Independent minority directors acting as conduits of information to the market facilitate further engagement by active shareholders, promote better communication, and reduce disclosure manipulation. The growing relevance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) related information on decision investment and the easy manipulation of non-financial information has prompted the authors of this paper to investigate whether independent minority directors can play an important monitoring role in conveying non-financial information to the market, thereby reducing managerial self-serving and manipulative practices in non-financial reporting. By examining a sample of Italian-listed companies from 2017 to 2020, we perform a lexicon-based content analysis on their non-financial reports and then use panel data dependence techniques to address our research aim. Our results suggest that, by reducing managerial self-serving and manipulative practices of non-financial reporting, minority shareholders’ representativeness impacts firms’ communication choices. This evidence confirms that independent minority directors are the right path for boosting minority shareholders’ legal protection and ensuring investors’ awareness in the decision-making process.
Consumers’ worse-than-expected disconfirmation in ecommerce settings leads to several negative consequences, such as product returns and sales reductions. In contrast to common remedy strategies, a novel, proactive strategy, consumer inoculation, was employed in our study to alleviate consumers’ disconfirmation responses. A two-phase (prepurchase and postsale) longitudinal experiment was conducted to examine the effects of prepurchase inoculation and booster inoculation on consumers’ disconfirmation responses. A chi-square test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. The research findings showed that consumers who received the booster inoculation exhibited significantly weaker disconfirmation responses (less dissatisfaction, fewer return intentions, and weaker negative word-of-mouth intentions). Our research can provide meaningful implications for inoculation research and practical value for ecommerce companies to reduce postsale costs.
Purpose
This study examines the inverted U-shaped relationship between a live-streaming seller’s disclosure of two-sided product information and consumers’ trust in the seller and product. It also explores the interaction between these two types of information disclosure and their impact on purchase intention in the live-streaming sales context.
Design/methodology/approach
An e-questionnaire survey was conducted in China, followed by multiple regression and structural equation modeling analyses.
Findings
The disclosure of both negative and positive product information is positively correlated with consumers’ trust in the seller or product but does not directly affect their purchase intention. Negative information disclosure neither enhances nor diminishes the positive impact of disclosing positive information on consumer trust.
Practical implications
Live-streaming sellers (i.e. retailers or manufacturers) should disclose both positive and negative product information to form consumers’ trust toward them (or products) and enhance sales.
Social implications
Live-streaming sellers often worry about the negative effects of excessive promotions or disclosure of positive or negative product information. However, these negative effects were not statistically significant.
Originality/value
Since some researchers have found nonlinear effects of two-sided product information in other contexts, this study is the first to focus on the impact of live-streaming sellers’ disclosure of two-sided product information on consumers’ trust in the live-streaming sales context rather than on the information per se .
Contrary to common beliefs, sometimes downplaying or even undermining one’s case can enhance impact, especially for people with strong attitudes. Across four studies ( N = 1,548), we demonstrate that the placement of the undermining information within a two-sided message matters. By manipulating message order within a two-sided message, Study 1 showed that the relative effectiveness of two- over one-sided messages for people with a moral attitude primarily occurred when the two-sided message acknowledged the recipient’s side at the end rather than at the beginning of the message. Studies 2A/B showed that this effect was associated with positive source perceptions, such that placing the acknowledgment at the end results in people with a higher moral basis perceiving the source as more thoughtful and sincere. Furthermore, this inference process was more likely to occur when motivation to think was relatively high. Study 3, a preregistered experiment, replicated these findings using a different topic.
Managerial responses to negative reviews could be easily understood as a brand-safeguarding strategy by firms because negative reviews can damage a company’s reputation. However, it is unclear if managers should respond to positive reviews and if so, if such action helps or hurts the firm. We develop a theoretical framework to explicate the mechanisms underlying the effects of managerial responses to positive reviews on user reviewing behaviors in online platforms. We classify positive reviews into four types: one-sided affective reviews, two-sided affective reviews, one-sided instrumental reviews, and two-sided instrumental reviews. We classify managerial responses as tailored and template responses. Using natural language processing and deep learning algorithms, we extract information presented in the texts in the reviews and responses. We theorize and test which kinds of managerial responses to positive reviews are helpful and which of them are harmful. Overall, we find that a tailored response is more appropriate when responding to two-sided instrumental positive reviews and one-sided affective positive reviews, whereas template responses work for one-sided instrumental positive reviews and two-sided affective positive reviews. Not responding would be an effective strategy for mixed positive reviews.
https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1iDRSXj-jfuH3
Consumers' decisions are intricately interwoven with their conversations. Whether it is an animated discussion with a trusted friend extolling the virtues of a newly acquired car (i.e., Word-of-Mouth), an engaging dialogue with a salesperson, or a clarifying call to a help center seeking guidance on a just-purchased smartwatch, every exchange hinges on a pivotal factor: the quality of listening. Listening quality shapes perceptions, affects social influence, drives behavioral intentions, and, ultimately, determines purchase and post-purchase outcomes. Yet, despite its importance to these consumer behavior outcomes, listening has received scant attention in consumer psychology. In this paper, we review the effects of listening on consumer behavior-relevant outcomes and unpack the components of quality listening to reveal their independent mechanisms. We also point to new frontiers in listening research beyond the in-person, dyadic interactions that have been the primary focus of listening research to date. By doing this, we elucidate how listening and consumer behavior are connected and encourage more research on listening in consumer psychology.
Background:
Reducing the spread of infectious diseases through vaccination faces the challenge of vaccine hesitancy: referring to questions, concerns and doubts arising when making a vaccine-related decision. A motivational state often arising within people exposed to health messages supporting informed decision making is psychological reactance, functioning as a driver to behavior opposed to the one recommended through the health message. Hence, there is a pressing need for communication strategies effective in counteracting reactance to health messages.
Methods:
This study tested two communication strategies that can potentially reduce psychological reactance and ameliorate evaluations of the message and subsequent behavioral vaccination intentions in the context of COVID-19. These were: (1) explicitly reminding individuals of their freedom of choice (to either accept or refuse the vaccine) and (2) providing a two-sided message, including, apart from evidence-based information on the necessity of vaccines, a set of concerns, and questions (about the vaccines) which are refuted immediately. A total of 234 participants who indicated having concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine participated in a 2 (freedom of choice: no choice vs. choice) × 2 (message sidedness: one-sided vs. two-sided) between-subjects online experiment where they received an informational brochure about COVID-19 vaccination.
Results:
The results show that emphasizing freedom of choice significantly increased perceived credibility of the message, perceived information utility, and ultimately, vaccination intentions. A decrease in psychological reactance mediated these effects. Message sidedness did only show a significant direct effect on perceived information utility. No interaction effect was found.
Conclusion:
These findings indicate the importance of freedom of choice in reducing psychological reactance, which in its turn can lead to an increase of positive message evaluations and vaccination intentions among individuals who express concerns. The opportunities of message sidedness as an efficacious vaccination communication strategy should be further investigated.
Consumers rely on online reviews because they deem information from a third party to be more credible than promotional communications. Unfortunately, not all online reviews are legitimate. It is therefore critical for marketers to gain a better understanding of how fake online reviews affect consumer purchasing behavior and what cues consumers use in evaluating review veracity. The current research examines the effect of suspicious reviews on reviewer's opinion valuation, consumer attitudes toward the brand and website, and purchasing. Then it identifies the specific cues that consumers use to evaluate whether a review is fake or credible.
Attitude strength (what makes attitudes durable and impactful) has become an important topic in the domain of social influence. We review three areas in which the traditional view of attitude strength has been modified or updated since the publication of Petty and Krosnick's 1995 edited book on the topic. First, although it was widely assumed that there were different categories of strength variables (i.e., operative versus meta-cognitive), it may now be better to recognize that each strength property can be measured both structurally and subjectively and that each measure is useful. Second, although scholars assumed that virtually all persuasion techniques would work better on weaker than stronger attitudes, recent research suggests that some techniques might actually work better on stronger than weaker attitudes. Third, although stronger attitudes often guide behavior better than weaker ones, when strength is challenged or weak attitudes are threatening, people can be motivated to act to demonstrate or restore certainty. This can result in weaker attitudes leading to more extreme behavior.
Online professional networks (OPNs) are an increasingly common tool used by recruiters to find and vet qualified job candidates for open positions. These sites allow users to publish recommendations given by other users to supplement their profile information and add credibility to the information provided. OPN recommendations offer a rich source of information to recruiters. Unlike recommendations shared in other ways (non-OPN recommendations), OPN recommendations are publicly accessible, and candidates have complete control over which recommendations they show to others. In this study, we investigate how recommendations may have a different effect when presented as an OPN recommendation versus a non-OPN recommendation. Furthermore, we explore how to improve the effectiveness of recommendations. We conducted a field study where we leveraged the candidate tracking system of a large recruitment firm to measure the varying impact recommendations have on recruiters’ decisions. Our findings show that OPN and non-OPN recommendations that discuss an expected weakness positively affect a candidate’s likelihood of being interviewed. In contrast, recommendations that discuss an unexpected weakness have a negative effect. Furthermore, we find that non-OPN recommendations with no discussion of weakness are significantly more effective than OPN recommendations with no discussion of weakness. We then show that the potential benefits of discussing an expected weakness are more pronounced for OPN recommendations, whereas the potential harm of discussing an unexpected weakness is more severe for non-OPN recommendations.
Companies are using online professional networks at an increasing rate to find qualified candidates to interview for job openings. Although recommendations published on these sites can provide valuable information and influence hiring decisions, the information may suffer from credibility issues due to the medium by which it is shared. In this study, we investigate whether including a discussion of a candidate’s weakness in a recommendation may be an effective way to increase the perceived credibility of the recommender and thereby improve the candidate’s chance of receiving an interview. We surveyed hiring managers and recruiters to collect data to measure the impact different recommendations have on their decisions. Our findings show that including a discussion of weakness in a recommendation increases the perceived credibility of the recommender, which has a positive effect on the candidate’s likelihood of being interviewed. However, when the discussion of weakness counters common gender-based expectations, it is harmful. When the discussion of weakness is consistent, it is helpful. Furthermore, we find that the physically attractive candidates (as shown in their profile picture) are harmed regardless of the weakness discussed. We investigate this further and find that additional discussion of the candidate’s strengths can reduce the negative impact of the discussion of weakness, but only if the strengths are consistent with common gender-based expectations.
Although extant literature on online reviews in the hospitality industry has adequately covered the area of helpfulness, trustworthiness, and quality of online reviews, the trustworthiness of the reviewer has remained largely ignored. In particular, the antecedents of the reviewer’s trustworthiness and its influence on business outcomes have not been researched in detail. Using social credibility theory and social information theory, a framework for reviewers’ trustworthiness was developed and validated with the profile and review information of 143812 reviewers. Further, with data from 11776 businesses, we explore how reviewer trustworthiness interacts with business reputation while contributing to business patronage. A mixed method approach containing the text mining of qualitative analysis followed by PLS-SEM has been used in the analysis. The paper contributes to source-credibility literature in the context of online reviews and helps review managers identify trustworthy reviewers and measure their business impact. The paper is the first one that considered both qualitative and quantitative information while finding the antecedents and consequences of reviewer trustworthiness.
Given the burgeoning usage of influencers in social media marketing, the need to understand how consumers react to sponsored messages is on the rise. Drawing on the signaling theory, Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), and the message sidedness literature, this study illustrates the interaction effect between two types of sponsorship disclosures—brand influence disclosure (brand vs. honest opinion) and compensation type disclosure (gift vs. payment vs. sales commission)—on purchase intentions via influencer credibility, influencer-follower parasocial interaction (PSI), and brand attitudes. Through an experiment with 401 female participants, we found that a proper combination of these two types of disclosures generates a two-sided disclosure message and motivates people to scrutinize this two-sided message, which will boost influencer credibility, PSI, brand attitudes, and eventually, purchase intentions.
A long line of work in social psychology has studied variations in people’s susceptibility to persuasion—the extent to which they are willing to modify their opinions on a topic. This body of literature suggests an interesting perspective on theoretical models of opinion formation by interacting parties in a network: in addition to considering interventions that directly modify people’s intrinsic opinions, it is also natural to consider interventions that modify people’s susceptibility to persuasion.
In this work, motivated by this fact, we propose an influence optimization problem. Specifically, we adopt a popular model for social opinion dynamics, where each agent has some fixed innate opinion, and a resistance that measures the importance it places on its innate opinion; agents influence one another’s opinions through an iterative process. Under certain conditions, this iterative process converges to some equilibrium opinion vector. For the unbudgeted variant of the problem, the goal is to modify the resistance of any number of agents (within some given range) such that the sum of the equilibrium opinions is minimized; for the budgeted variant, in addition the algorithm is given upfront a restriction on the number of agents whose resistance may be modified.
We prove that the objective function is in general non-convex. Hence, formulating the problem as a convex program as in an early version of this work (Abebe et al., KDD’18) might have potential correctness issues. We instead analyze the structure of the objective function, and show that any local optimum is also a global optimum, which is somehow surprising as the objective function might not be convex. Furthermore, we combine the iterative process and the local search paradigm to design very efficient algorithms that can solve the unbudgeted variant of the problem optimally on large-scale graphs containing millions of nodes. Finally, we propose and evaluate experimentally a family of heuristics for the budgeted variant of the problem.
Reaching net-zero targets requires massive increases in wind energy production, but efforts to build wind farms can meet stern local opposition. Here, inspired by related work on vaccinations, we examine whether opposition to wind farms is associated with a world view that conspiracies are common (‘conspiracy mentality’). In eight pre-registered studies (collective N = 4,170), we found moderate-to-large relationships between various indices of conspiracy beliefs and wind farm opposition. Indeed, the relationship between wind farm opposition and conspiracy beliefs was many times greater than its relationship with age, gender, education and political orientation. Information provision increased support, even among those high in conspiracy mentality. However, information provision was less effective when it was presented as a debate (that is, including negative arguments) and among participants who endorsed specific conspiracy theories about wind farms. Thus, the data suggest preventive measures are more realistic than informational interventions to curb the potentially negative impact of conspiracy beliefs. Understanding the drivers of opposition to renewable energy infrastructure is increasingly important. Here the authors find an association between wind farm opposition and belief in conspiracy theories and test the effectiveness of information provision in countering it.
Information overload theory suggests that consumers can only process a certain amount and complexity of information. In this study, we focus on product reviews with different complexity in terms of argumentation changes, i.e., alternations between positive and negative arguments. We present the results of a NeuroIS experiment, where participants processed product reviews with low or high rates of argumentation changes. Participants were asked to state their perceived helpfulness of the product review, their purchase intention for the product, and self-reported information overload. During the experiment, we measure cognitive activity based on eye-tracking and electroencephalography (EEG). Our preliminary results suggest that a higher rate of argumentation changes is linked to greater self-reported information overload, and greater cognitive activity as measured by EEG. In addition, we find that greater self-reported overload is linked to lower perceived review helpfulness, and lower purchase intention.
Many online returns are caused by mismatches between what consumers see online and what they actually receive. This paper discusses e-sellers’ use of purchase-risk notices (PRNs) for possible mismatches as a preemptive action to avoid returns. Two one-factor (purchase-risk notice: presence vs. absence) scenario experiments were conducted via two studies (Study 1 and Study 2). The pre-purchase effects and post-purchase effects of PRNs were examined in Study 1 and Study 2, respectively. One-way ANOVAs were used to test the hypotheses. It was found that returns can be avoided by using PRNs without negatively affecting consumers’ purchase intentions. Additionally, using PRNs can make consumers more tolerant of minor mismatches, attract more repurchases, and reduce consumers’ dissatisfaction and regret about purchase decisions.
Highlights
• Review informativeness fully mediated the influence of product description informativeness on product sales.
• Review readability increases product sales and enhances the relationship between review informativeness and product sales.
• Multimedia richness, either from seller-created or buyer-created content, is positively associated with product sales.
• Extreme positive review valence enhances the relationship between review informativeness and product sales.
• As a product of the research process, the lexicons of video game attributes are developed.
This paper investigates the antecedents and consequences of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) credibility using a meta-analysis technique. The extant literature provides inconsistent findings related to eWOM credibility. These inconsistencies are primarily because of methodological differences or heterogeneity among previous studies, which leads to confusion amongst researchers and managers. We resolve this inconsistency and provide a conclusive takeaway on the determinants and consequences of eWOM credibility by conducting a meta-analysis of the 51 primary studies comprising 124 effect sizes. Results show that both review and reviewer-related determinants have a significant positive influence on eWOM credibility while consequences, namely purchase intention, eWOM adoption, and attitude towards the product, have a significant relationship with eWOM credibility. Furthermore, results indicate that culture, product type, and platform type are the moderating factors. Results of the study can be used by researchers to address the issue of omitted variable bias, while managers can use the findings to enhance the credibility of eWOM messages on various eWOM platforms.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic study of important research trends and published electronic word of mouth (eWOM) studies over the past 20 years in the emerging economy. This research is designed to identify the key areas of eWOM based on the Antecedents-Consequence-Intervention (ACI) framework. This paper is also aimed to analyze the current research status of each WOM area and critically review each area for developing future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
616 articles were selected from 112 journals for in-depth review analysis. For the systematic review of articles, an ACI framework was adopted. This paper used systematic review analysis methodology to critically analyze important research studies in each area of the ACI framework with a set of research questions.
Findings
Results identify six significant areas of eWOM, i.e. WOM antecedents, outcomes, senders, receivers, eWOM platform and eWOM management representing the whole environment. The result highlights increasing research interest on mixed eWOM and rich eWOM content and market-level source credibility factors. Research also identifies research gaps based on the ACI framework.
Originality/value
Analyzing the recent trends in the eWOM environment with the SLR approach and linking these trends to the ACI framework with a future research agenda in the emerging market indicated a pioneering attempt in eWOM research.
When conversing with skeptical listeners, honest speakers face the challenge of proving the credibility of their message. What can speakers do? We argue that incurring a cost—in terms of time, effort, emotion, reputation, etc.—to send a message can be a convincing signal of honesty to the listener. We highlight three qualities of signals that can make them costly for different reasons: difficult-to-fake, verifiable, and self-sacrificing. We propose that, while each quality impacts the listener’s perceptions of veracity, assessing each quality requires a different set of evaluations by the listener. As a result, assessments of each quality are subject to distinct errors in listener perception. Moreover, perceiving a signaling cost to be deliberate (vs. accidental) further impacts perceived veracity, but does so differently depending on the type of cost. Our costly signal framework can help guide speakers in overcoming listener skepticism.
Purpose
Recent years have witnessed the popularity of social free sampling (SFS). That is, firms on social commerce platforms (e.g. Amazon Vine and Pconline Try) offer free sample products for consumers' applications, and the selected applicants are required to write a product trial report on the sites as a return. The main advantage of SFS is to leverage users' product trial reports to increase product exposure and attract prospective consumers. Thus, product trial reports play a central role in SFS. Despite that scholars have examined the rating bias of product trial reports in recent years' knowledge concerning how product trial reports influence user (i.e. readers of product trial reports) engagement remains sparse. To address the research gap, this paper aims to examine the drivers of user engagement with product trial reports.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilized the Poisson regression model to analyze 3,419 trial reports collected from a well-known Chinese SFS site.
Findings
Based on the ELM model, the empirical results indicate that product rating, vividness, opinion balance, and reputation of the trial user are positively associated with user engagement. However, longer reports and reports with higher emotional intensity lead to weaker user engagement. Furthermore, product prices strengthen the positive impact of opinion balance but weaken the positive impact of trial users' reputations.
Originality/value
This study is among one of the first studies to investigate the impact of trial reports on user engagement in SFS. It yields actionable guidelines for SFS campaigns.
2020 starben 338.000 Menschen in Deutschland an Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen, welche unter anderem durch eine problematische Ernährungsweise begünstigt werden. Es lässt sich annehmen, dass diese, neben unzureichendem Wissen, aus problematischen Einstellungen bezüglich gesunder Ernährung entstehen. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dem Framing als Kommunikationsmethode, um Einstellungen im Kontext der gesunden Ernährung positiv zu beeinflussen. Dafür werden Einstellungen zunächst konkretisiert und definiert sowie das Elaboration Likelihood Modell (ELM) von Petty und Cacioppo (1986) herangezogen. In der empirischen Arbeit werden Gewinnframes und Verlustframes gegenübergestellt sowie die Aspekte des ELMs berücksichtigt. Dafür wird ein 2x2 Experiment durchgeführt. Untersucht werden die Haupteffekte der Frames auf verschiedene Einstellungskomponenten sowie Interaktions- und Dreifachinteraktionseffekte, welche sich aus dem ELM ergeben. Es stellt sich heraus, dass keine signifikanten Effekte der Frames auf die Einstellungskomponenten nachgewiesen werden kann. Dementsprechend ist es fraglich, ob das aktuell genutzte Framing in der Ernährungskommunikation weiterhin Anwendung finden sollte, oder ob die Forschung und Praxis gemeinsam nach einer optimaleren Lösung suchen sollte, um die Ernährungsproblematiken einzudämmen.
Generation Z consumers are characterized by social networking and instant decision-making. The influence of different forms of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on the consumption decisions of generation Z consumers is quite different. Based on information adoption model (IAM) and information transmission theory, the paper established the influence mechanism model of eWOM information structures on generation Z consumers’ purchase intentions. A total of 815 valid questionnaires were collected for empirical test through a 2*2*2 between-subject situational experiment. The empirical results reveal that eWOM information structures influence generation Z consumers’ purchase intentions through user perception. Among them, the eWOM information of diversified form, composite type, and hybrid type structure has a higher effect on perception credibility and usefulness than the eWOM information of single form, one-way type, and single type structure. Consumers’ professional ability plays a partial role in moderating the influence of eWOM information structure on user perception.
It has been generally assumed that higher levels of skepticism towards advertising invariably lead to higher resistance to advertising appeals. The main purpose of the present research was to examine whether highly skeptical consumers’ resistance can be overcome by appeals associated with higher credibility. We tested our hypotheses using message sidedness as an advertising variable that has been associated with higher (two‐sided) vs. lower (one‐sided) credibility. In three experimental studies, we examined more vs. less skeptical consumers’ responses to two‐ vs. one‐sided appeals. We found that two‐sided messages are more effective in increasing purchase intentions, through enhanced credibility, but only for consumers who are more skeptical of advertising. Less skeptical consumers trust both messages equally and their purchase intentions are not affected by the type of message. Importantly, we also showed that highly skeptical consumers trust two‐sided appeals as much as their less skeptical counterparts. The study contributes to the literature on advertising and persuasion knowledge by showing that advertising skepticism does not elicit a single response tendency, as originally conceptualized. Rather, advertising skepticism is more consistent with the underpinnings of the Persuasion Knowledge Model, in that higher knowledge about persuasion tactics aids consumers to better cope with, and not invariably resist persuasion attempts. We conclude that transparency pays off because it may entice a more skeptical audience and, at the same time, it does not harm less skeptical consumers’ trust and purchase intentions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Purpose
Consumers play a central role in the creation of transformative value, enhancing the well-being of people and the planet. With this article, the authors synthesize service and communication scholars' views to conceptually discuss opportunities and challenges on how to involve consumers in the ideation, creation and dissemination of transformative value. In doing so, the authors identify avenues for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research relies on a review of service and communication literature, connecting their insights to real world examples.
Findings
Consumers are involved in the ideation, creation and dissemination of transformative value by engaging in customer innovation, customer participation and customer dissemination behaviors. In relation to these types of customer involvement, four overarching research themes emerge in the context of transformative services: (1) the voice of the non-customer, (2) protecting vulnerable customers, (3) consumer literacy and (4) WOM as a double-edged sword.
Originality/value
This research contributes to transformative service research by assessing the opportunities and challenges related to customers' involvement in the ideation, creation and dissemination of transformative value. Additionally, it identifies avenues for the future at the intersection of communication and service research.
The authors provide a framework and a set of research propositions that capture and extend current theory on information processing from advertisements. The integrative attitude formation model includes antecedent levels of ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO), processing of brand information, cognitive and emotional responses, brand attitude formation processes, and brand attitude. Key features of the framework are (1) a more complete, integrative discussion of needs and motivation, (2) a more precise specification of processing mechanisms than currently is proposed in two-routes-to-persuasion models, (3) inclusion of a new typology of emotional and cognitive responses explicitly linked to the levels of brand processing, and (4) a discussion of how alternative attitude formation models correspond to each level of brand processing. To assess the relative advantage of the framework, the authors compare the model with previous integrative models and discuss its implications for related research streams.
Two-sided ads often are more credible than one-sided ads because they admit that the advertised brands have shortcomings. Findings about the effectiveness of such ads have been inconclusive, however, perhaps because a critical moderator has been ignored. The author found that a two-sided ad was more effective than one-sided ads only when negatively correlated (vs. uncorrelated) attributes were featured. The brand's unfavorable positioning on the negatively correlated secondary attribute per se (i.e., "correlational inferences"), as well as the advertiser's honesty (i.e., "correspondent inferences"), jointly enhanced judgments of the brand on the primary attribute and thus overall brand evaluations.
MacKenzie, Lutz, and Belch have enhanced our understanding of the mediating role of attitude toward the ad (AAd). The current study replicates and extends the structural equation tests of the four competing models they presented. Two independent datasets are used to examine the role of processing involvement. Consistent with the earlier findings, the dual mediation hypothesis model provides the "best" fit of the data in both experiments. However, the hypothesized causal path between brand cognitions and brand attitudes that emerges for each of the datasets conflicts with the earlier findings. Contrary to expectations, processing involvement does not produce substantial differences in the specification or strength of the causal paths.
Presents a summary and synthesis of the author's work on attribution theory concerning the mechanisms involved in the process of causal explanations. The attribution theory is related to studies of social perception, self-perception, and psychological epistemology. Two systematic statements of attribution theory are described, discussed, and illustrated with empirical data: the covariation and the configuration concepts. Some problems for attribution theory are considered, including the interplay between preconceptions and new information, simple vs. complex schemata, attribution of covariation among causes, and illusions in attributions. The role of attribution in decision making and behavior is discussed. (56 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Conducted a controlled study involving 568 persons to determine the relative effectiveness of 1- vs 2-sided communication strategies in the promotion of a deodorant and mass transit in Austin, Texas. Results of the study, which was based upon attribution theory, indicate that 2-sided messages achieved firmer purchase intentions for deodorants and generally higher advertising evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Found that an attempt to increase persuasion among forewarned Ss by acknowledging counterarguments early in the message led to an unexpected but significant reversal of the prediction in an experiment with 39 male and 45 female undergraduates. Exp. II with 134 Ss replicated the reversal and located the cause in the portion of the message that had been designed to acknowledge the counterarguments, but that could be more accurately characterized as an inadequate refutation. Results suggest that, while an explicit refutation or a simple acknowledgement of counterarguments possessed by a message recipient may increase persuasion, an inadequate refutation of counterarguments may strengthen cognitive defenses and reduce persuasion. Exp. III with 150 Ss supported the original predictions as well as an extension of the hypotheses to include 1-sided messages. When Ss were provided with counterargument defenses on a novel issue, acknowledging counterarguments at the beginning of the communication elicited more persuasion than acknowledging them last or not mentioning them at all. When Ss were not provided with counterarguments, the ordering of conditions in terms of persuasive impact was reversed. Results suggest that the ability of the audience to counterargue and variations of the message structure which influence counterarguing activity may be important determinants of a communicator's position. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that the amount of attention drawn to an attribute by an advertisement mediates the effect of advertising on attribute importance. The first experiment manipulated the amount of attention given to an attribute in an advertisement and found this to have an impact on the importance of the attribute. The second experiment manipulated the concreteness of an advertisement's copy mentioning the attribute, the relevance of the ad's picture, and the number of repetitions of the ad, and found that attention mediated the impact of textual concreteness on attribute importance, but that picture relevance and repetition were not related to attention or importance.
MacKenzie, Lutz, and Belch have enhanced our understanding of the mediating role of attitude toward the ad (A Ad ). The current study replicates and extends the structural equation tests of the four competing models they presented. Two independent datasets are used to examine the role of processing involvement. Consistent with the earlier findings, the dual mediation hypothesis model provides the “best” fit of the data in both experiments. However, the hypothesized causal path between brand cognitions and brand attitudes that emerges for each of the datasets conflicts with the earlier findings. Contrary to expectations, processing involvement does not produce substantial differences in the specification or strength of the causal paths.
The authors consider the effects of exposure to various advertising appeal types (differing in sidedness) on cognitive response and belief change in the context of inoculation and correspondence theory. In one experiment, subjects were exposed to either a one-sided, two-sided refutational, or two-sided nonrefutational appeal and the degree of cognitive activity incurred was measured. Results are partially supportive of both inoculation and correspondence theory, as two-sided appeals produced significantly less counterargumentation and source derogation than the one-sided appeal. In addition, the refutational appeal led to significantly more support argumentation than the one-sided appeal. However, exposure to either two-sided appeal did not differentially affect cognitions. In a second experiment, a disconfirming product trial experience was introduced as an “attack” condition to observe the effects on belief change given exposure to one of the advertising appeals used before. For all attributes, exposure to the one-sided appeal resulted in the greatest degree of belief change. Dominance for the predictions of inoculation over those of correspondence theory is not evident as belief change did not differ significantly between subjects exposed to either two-sided appeal. Finally, a measure of the change in purchase intent has only (nonsignificant) directional support.
The unique influence of attitude toward the ad on brand attitude often has been viewed as simply reflecting the impact of peripheral persuasion. The authors’ research challenges such a conception. Ad attitude is shown to have a significant influence on brand attitude even in the absence of peripheral persuasion. The feasibility and usefulness of decomposing ad attitude into evaluations of particular ad elements also are explored.
A laboratory experiment compared the effects of repetition of refutational and supportive advertising appeals. When respondents were segmented on the basis of product class experience, several significant differences in the effects of the two appeals on a measure of brand purchase intention were found.
Consumer confidence in advertising claims and their expectancy of product value were experimentally measured under two conditions for five product ads. As suggested by attribution theory, when superiority was disclaimed for some product characteristics, confidence increased and value expectation equaled that obtained when all were claimed superior.
The authors provide a framework and a set of research propositions that capture and extend current theory on information processing from advertisements. The integrative attitude formation model includes antecedent levels of ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO), processing of brand information, cognitive and emotional responses, brand attitude formation processes, and brand attitude. Key features of the framework are (1) a more complete, integrative discussion of needs and motivation, (2) a more precise specification of processing mechanisms than currently is proposed in two-routes-to-persuasion models, (3) inclusion of a new typology of emotional and cognitive responses explicitly linked to the levels of brand processing, and (4) a discussion of how alternative attitude formation models correspond to each level of brand processing. To assess the relative advantage of the framework, the authors compare the model with previous integrative models and discuss its implications for related research streams.
Hemispheric processing theory suggests that adding information to support verbal claims in an advertisement may influence the subconscious processing of the claims. Experiment 1 shows nonattended pictorial and verbal advertisements can compete for subconscious resources needed to process an attended verbal message and thus influence the comprehension and memory of the message. Experiment 2 shows similar patterns of interference result when brand claims are accompanied by a product illustration or verbal headline. In each experiment, interference is shown to be a function of the form of the material accompanying the verbal message and its placement in relation to the message. Implications for the design and layout of marketing communications are discussed.
Changes in attitudes about a culturally controversial issue provide a first step toward the application of immunization techniques to marketing. The experimental conditions were immunization, source, and attack treatments and provide an extension of previous psychological experiments on culturally held truisms.
The unique influence of attitude toward the ad on brand attitude often has been viewed as simply reflecting the impact of peripheral persuasion. The authors' research challenges such a conception. Ad attitude is shown to have a significant influence on brand attitude even in the absence of peripheral persuasion. The feasibility and usefulness of decomposing ad attitude into evaluations of particular ad elements also are explored.
A cognitive response approach is used to examine the effects of one- and two-sided comparative and noncomparative commercials seen over three levels of repetition. Results indicate qualitative differences in the mediating roles of cognitive responses for comparative and noncomparative messages. However, no differences in the relative effectiveness of comparative and noncomparative messages are found for attitude and purchase intention measures. Also, message sidedness does not have a moderating impact on reactions to the two types of messages, and reactions to comparative messages are not influenced by prior preferences for the comparison brand.
Inoculation techniques from social psychological theory were applied to a controversial issue in a marketing context. Experimental factors were type of defense, time interval between defense and attack, and credibility of the attacker. In general, predictions from inoculation theory were confirmed: all defenses conferred resistance to attack; the refutational defense was superior to the direct supportive defense.
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
A laboratory experiment compared the effects of repetition of refutational and supportive advertising appeals. When respondents were segmented on the basis of product class experience, several significant differences in the effects of the two appeals on a measure of brand purchase intention were found.
The authors consider the effects of exposure to various advertising appeal types (differing in sidedness) on cognitive response and belief change in the context of inoculation and correspondence theory. In one experiment, subjects were exposed to either a one-sided, two-sided refutational, or two-sided nonrefutational appeal and the degree of cognitive activity incurred was measured. Results are partially supportive of both inoculation and correspondence theory, as two-sided appeals produced significantly less counterargumentation and source derogation than the one-sided appeal. In addition, the refutational appeal led to significantly more support argumentation than the one-sided appeal. However, exposure to either two-sided appeal did not differentially affect cognitions. In a second experiment, a disconfirming product trial experience was introduced as an "attack" condition to observe the effects on belief change given exposure to one of the advertising appeals used before. For all attributes, exposure to the one-sided appeal resulted in the greatest degree of belief change. Dominance for the predictions of inoculation over those of correspondence theory is not evident as belief change did not differ significantly between subjects exposed to either two-sided appeal. Finally, a measure of the change in purchase intent has only (nonsignificant) directional support.
This study was undertaken to examine advertising puffery in a one-sided appeal and a two-sided refutational form. The two-sided refutational advertisement disclaimed product attributes in order to enhance subjects' perceptions of credibility, ultimately minimizing the effects of a disconfirming product trial.
Consumer confidence in advertising claims and their expectancy of product value were experimentally measured under two conditions for five product ads. As suggested by attribution theory, when superiority was disclaimed for some product characteristics, confidence increased and value expectation equaled that obtained when all were claimed superior.
Attitude toward the ad (Aad) has been postulated to be a causal mediating variable in the process through which advertising influences brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Previous conceptual and empirical research on this topic has suggested four alternative models of the relationships between brand-related cognitive, affective, and conative responses and ad-related cognitive and affective responses. The authors describe a structural equations analysis of these four models, utilizing two data sets generated within a commercial pretest setting. The results suggest that a dual mediation hypothesis, which postulates that Aad influences brand attitude both directly and indirectly through its effect on brand cognitions, is superior to the other three models under the particular set of conditions in the pretest setting.
Despite conceptual benefits expressed for comparative advertising, most studies have found it relatively ineffective and lacking credibility. By means of a field experiment, the author explores the impact of the attribution theory tool of two-sided claims on the credibility and effectiveness of comparative advertising. Results suggest that the effectiveness of comparative advertising might be significantly increased with such tactics.
The persuasive effects of one-sided versus two-sided communications were retested in a nonwestern cultural setting. Perceived bias in the communication was hypothesized to account for the differential effects of the two styles of arguments. The impact of prior familiarity with the issue on the persuasive effects of the communication was examined. Subjects were 273 high-school students in Taiwan. Among the initially unfavorable, the one-sided arguments were found more effective when the subjects were not familiar with the issue, while the two-sided arguments were found more effective when the subjects were familiar with the issue. No such interaction appeared among the initially favorable. Regardless of the style of argument or initial attitudes, the effects of communication were an inverse function of detection of bias. When detection of bias was held constant, the interactive effects of the one-sided and two-sided communications all disappeared.
Considered attitude as a relevant dependent measure in a study that explored the effectiveness of celebrity advertising on 77 executives (aged 28–53 yrs) enrolled in an MBA program. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental conditions differing in terms of the sidedness of the advertising appeal used and the type of spokesperson. Findings support the enhancement of brand attitude through the use of celebrity appeal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Presents a new edition of the 1953 study establishing the validity of the TAT measure of need for achievement (nAch). Basic problems in the measurement of fantasy and the development of appropriate content analysis procedures, the nature of the achievement imagery index score, and the general development of nAch are examined. A new preface with "hindsight" is also included. (8 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The Pollyanna Hypothesis asserts that there is a universal human tendency to use evaluatively positive words (E+) more frequently and diversely than evaluatively negative words (E−) in communicating. Drawing on existing cross-cultural and developmental data, it was demonstrated that (a) across a sample of 13 language/culture communities E+ members of evaluative scales are used significantly more frequently and diversely than their E− opposites, (b) across 11 of these communities negative affixes are applied significantly more often to the E+ members of pairs (to make the E− opposite) than to the E− members (to make the E+ opposite), and (c) across age levels from 7 through 11 E+ members of evaluative pairs appear earlier, have higher frequencies and diversities of usage and take the negative affix more frequently than their E− opposites. Possible biases in the data and alternatives to the Pollyanna hypothesis are considered.
The process of advertising influence is modeled in terms of an array of cognitive responses to the message, and a methodology for directly measuring these mediators is introduced. Research indicates that these variables are important mediators of attitudinal message acceptance, and that their relative weighting is affected by message modality and receiver involvement.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1977. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-239). Photocopy.
A meta-analysis of pairwise relationships involving attitude toward the ad was conducted. Analyses of correlations across studies are first analyzed and reported. Because significant variance across studies was found, moderator analyses were conducted to account for interstudy variance. The results suggest a number of methodological variables that moderate the strengths of relationships found in studies of ad attitudes. Analyses were also conducted to assess the robustness of the dual-mediation path model of the effects of ad attitudes. Results indicate support for the model as well as a more important role for the indirect influence of ad attitudes on brand attitudes (via brand cognitions) than that found in previous model tests. Copyright 1992 by the University of Chicago.
Three experiments demonstrate that the allocation of subconscious resources during the processing of ads can influence the evaluation of the brand names or logos included in the ads. The evaluation of a brand name is shown to depend on its placement relative to the ad's focal information. Increases in brand name evaluation are attributed to matching activation--the elaborated processing of nonattended material in one hemisphere when the opposing hemisphere is the primary processor of the attended material. Implications for the design and layout of print ads and for the influence of advertising on purchase behavior are discussed. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.
The proposition is advanced that knowledge about the mere number of positive and negative attributes possessed by a brand is an important component of a consumer's knowledge structure. A series of experiments is presented that illustrates the unique character of frequency knowledge and its potential role in decision making. In general, it is shown that frequency knowledge can influence judgment and choice, particularly when other types of information have been poorly encoded, poorly remembered, or poorly understood.
The effectiveness of advertising messages is widely believed to be moderated by audience involvement. In this paper, psychological theories of attention and levels of processing are used to establish a framework that can accommodate the major consumer behavior theories of audience involvement. Four levels of involvement are identified (in order from low to high) as preattention, focal attention, compre- hension, and elaboration. These levels allocate increasing attentional capacity to a message source, as needed for analysis of the message by increasingly ab- stract-and qualitatively distinct-representational systems. Lower levels use rel- atively little capacity and extract information needed to determine whether higher levels will be invoked. The higher levels require greater capacity and result in increasingly durable cognitive and attitudinal effects.
Examines the attributional error of overestimating dispositions as a cause of behavior, with reference to the attitude attribution paradigm. The author observes that earlier experiments were open to criticism on artifactual grounds, but the overattribution-to-persons tendency has proved to be a remarkably robust and easily replicated phenomenon. It can be undermined or overcome when the perceived constraints on behavior are extreme or when instructions specifically set the S to consider the importance of situational factors. The functional significance of the attributional error is not clear, though it probably stems from a perceptually generated hypothesis that is insufficiently adjusted for contextual constraint. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Schemer Schema Theory: An Overview of Theory and Research on People's Assumptions about Persuasion and Marketing Tactics
- Amna Kirmani
- Peter L Wright
Kirmani, Amna and Peter L. Wright (1986), "Schemer
Schema Theory: An Overview of Theory and Research
on People's Assumptions about Persuasion and Marketing Tactics," paper presented at the Annual Consumer
Research Conference, Toronto, Canada.
Attribute Importance in Discounting Product Features in Advertising
- Douglas Stayman
- Wayne D Hoyer
- Robert Leone
Stayman, Douglas, Wayne D. Hoyer, and Robert Leone
(1987), "Attribute Importance in Discounting Product
Features in Advertising," paper presented at the American Marketing Association Summer Educators' Conference, Toronto, Canada.