This research explored the perceptions of university students about the credibility of information being shared on Facebook. The data were collected using an online questionnaire from university ...students who were Facebook users. A total of 325 usable responses were received which were analyzed using SPSS. The results revealed that these students perceive information shared on Facebook as credible and of good quality. The source credibility, medium credibility, and information quality had positive and significant relationships with each other. The age, social background, and educational level of students appeared to predict the credibility of information shared on Facebook. These results are useful for information professionals and social media managers in extent to understand and cater to the demands of information consumers. These findings would also be helpful for teachers, information providers, and researchers to understand the perspectives of developing countries' students on the credibility of social media information. Furthermore, this study is supposed to be a valuable addition in existing literature which could provide guidelines for novice researchers, interested in exploring the area, especially in the context of Facebook users in a developing country's context.
•Determining the credibility of information has always been a key challenge for social media users.•Source credibility, medium credibility, and information quality are positively correlated with each other•The students with rural backgrounds were more likely to trust Facebook information than those having urban backgrounds.•The age, and education of students appeared to predict the credibility of Facekbook information.•The library administration needs to focus on advanced levels of IL Instructions.
Airlines have introduced voluntary carbon offsetting (VCO) products to encourage consumers to mitigate emissions from their air travel. However, literature has suggested a low VCO adoption partly ...because of low perceived credibility. This study investigates the impact of source credibility (expertise and trustworthiness) on air travelers’ purchase intention for aviation VCO products. This is the first study to conceptualize and test the influence of source credibility on air travelers’ carbon offsetting behavior using communication theory. Source credibility of a message directly influences air travelers’ purchase intention of aviation VCO products in a positive way. Examining source credibility components shows that trustworthiness has a significant positive impact on purchase intention, while the impact of expertise is not significant. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed, which highlight the importance of improving source credibility, and trustworthiness in particular, to encourage consumers to mitigate air travel emissions.
Networked digital media present new challenges for people to locate information that they can trust. At the same time, societal reliance on information that is available solely or primarily via the ...Internet is increasing. This article discusses how and why digitally networked communication environments alter traditional notions of trust, and presents research that examines how information consumers make judgments about the credibility and accuracy of information they encounter online. Based on this research, the article focuses on the use of cognitive heuristics in credibility evaluation. Findings from recent studies are used to illustrate the types of cognitive heuristics that information consumers employ when determining what sources and information to trust online. The article concludes with an agenda for future research that is needed to better understand the role and influence of cognitive heuristics in credibility evaluation in computer-mediated communication contexts.
Information on social media platforms suffers from a relative lack of professional gatekeepers to monitor content. How to evaluate the information credibility on social media platform has become an ...important issue for today information consumers. Despite its importance, little research has empirically examined what factors influence the information credibility on social media platforms, which limits our understanding of the determinants of online information assessment. To fill this gap, this study examines the factors that influence individuals’ perceived information credibility on social media platforms. Drawing on the persuasion theory—the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), we identify that five factors from two dimensions of credibility (medium and message credibility) are key ingredients in the online information assessment, and develop a research model that predicts individuals’ perceived information credibility on social media platforms. We test and validate the proposed model with empirical data from 135 users of the Facebook page. The results show that interactivity, medium dependency from the medium credibility dimension and argument strength from the message credibility dimension are main determinants of the information credibility. However, we did not observe any moderating effect of personal expertise between two credibility dimensions and information credibility, which suggested from ELM.
Predictions and estimates are sometimes qualified as certain. This epistemic marker occupies a privileged position at the top of scales of verbal probability expressions, reflecting probabilities ...close to 1. But such statements have rarely been compared to plain, unqualified statements in which certainty is not mentioned. We examined in nine studies (N = 2784) whether statements explicitly claimed to be certain are perceived as (1) more (or less) credible, (2) more (or less) precise, and (3) more (or less) strongly based upon evidence, compared to plain, unmarked declarative statements. We find, in apparent contrast with assumptions made by the standard scales, that “certain” are often judged to be less trustworthy, less reliable, and held with lower confidence than unmarked statements. Plain, declarative statements are further assumed to be more precise, while certainty implies that more extreme outcomes are possible. When it is certain that Henry made four errors, it is clear he did not commit less than four, but he might have committed five errors or more. Thus certainty can indicate lower bounds of an interval whose upper bounds are not defined, and certainty statements are consequently more ambiguous than estimates that do not mention certainty. At least-interpretations of certainty affect the interpretation of options in risky choice problems, where “200 lives will be saved” was deemed by a majority to mean exactly 200, while “it is certain that 200 will be saved”, could mean 200–600 lives. We also find that credibility is affected by type of certainty, with impersonal certainty (“it is certain”) perceived to be more accurate and persuasive than personal certainty (“I am certain”), especially in predictions of future events. Moreover, mentions of certainty can reveal that that a speaker's estimate is based on subjective judgments and guesswork rather than upon objective evidence. These findings have implications for communication. Estimates can appear more consensual when claims of certainty are omitted. To convey certainty it may be better not to mention that one is certain.
•Statements claimed to be certain are compared to plain, unqualified statements.•Unqualified estimates are often judged to be more believable and less contentious.•Estimates claimed to be certain are often given an at least-interpretation.•Plain, unqualified estimates are supposed to be more strongly based on evidence.•“I am certain” is less credible than “It is certain”
Fierce competition within the fashion industry compels apparel companies to formulate a variety of marketing strategies to entice consumers, enhancing their purchase intention (PI). This study ...examines the relationship between endorser credibility (EC) and brand credibility (BC) on consumers' PI of products sold by local apparel brands in Malaysia. The study also examines the mediating effect of attitude towards BC (ABC) and attitude towards brand (AB). Data analysis was based on data collected from a sample of 245 consumers in a structured survey. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the hypothesised linkages between the mentioned variables. The findings of this study demonstrate that EC and BC have significant effects on ABC, AB and PI. The bootstrapping procedure shows that ABC and AB possess a significant influence as mediators between the EC and BC in swaying consumers' PI. The findings of this study can help managers, marketing strategists, and designers within local apparel companies to improve marketing communication and brand management for sustainable growth within the fashion industry.
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.
This article introduces grounded theory and places this method in its historical context when 1960s quantitative researchers wielded harsh criticisms of qualitative research. The originators of ...grounded theory, sociologists Glaser and Strauss, sought to defend the quality of qualitative research and argued that grounded theory increased its quality by providing a method of theory construction. Our major foci include: (1) introducing the logic of grounded theory, with emphasis on how researchers can use it to construct theory, (2) detailing criteria for quality in the major forms of grounded theory advocated by Glaser and Strauss and augmented by Glaser, Strauss and Corbin and refined by Corbin, and Charmaz and (3) providing an analysis of how constructivist grounded theorists Thornberg, Halldin, Bolmsjö and Petersson attended to the interviewing process, coding, and developing their theoretical concept of double victimizing. Students and researchers new to the method can use our concluding guidelines as a checklist to assess the quality of their constructivist grounded theory research.
Misinformation about critical issues such as climate change and vaccine safety is oftentimes amplified on online social and search platforms. The crowdsourcing of content credibility assessment by ...laypeople has been proposed as one strategy to combat misinformation by attempting to replicate the assessments of experts at scale. In this work, we investigate news credibility assessments by crowds versus experts to understand when and how ratings between them differ. We gather a dataset of over 4,000 credibility assessments taken from 2 crowd groups---journalism students and Upwork workers---as well as 2 expert groups---journalists and scientists---on a varied set of 50 news articles related to climate science, a topic with widespread disconnect between public opinion and expert consensus. Examining the ratings, we find differences in performance due to the makeup of the crowd, such as rater demographics and political leaning, as well as the scope of the tasks that the crowd is assigned to rate, such as the genre of the article and partisanship of the publication. Finally, we find differences between expert assessments due to differing expert criteria that journalism versus science experts use---differences that may contribute to crowd discrepancies, but that also suggest a way to reduce the gap by designing crowd tasks tailored to specific expert criteria. From these findings, we outline future research directions to better design crowd processes that are tailored to specific crowds and types of content.
Electronic word of mouth influences the consumer buying behavior through the online exchange of customer opinions and experiences about commodities using social networking sites. Reviews or comments ...posted on the Internet by consumers and experts are based on their personal experiences and the evaluation and expert analysis of a product. The current study explains an overview of key elements of eWOM communication antecedents, addresses eWOM motives to analyze food products purchasing factors associated with consumer engagement. We found certain factors of eWOM that should be considered in decision making according to the model for information adoption. It revealed that consumers’ need for social interaction, economic incentives, and self-worth reinforcement are the primary drivers of eWOM involvement. However, argument quality was found to be more appealing then eWOM source credibility for food product purchasing. Practitioners should make their strategies to follow the credibility standards, trustworthy vehicles, perceived values, informative and digital channels for the enhancement of eWOM communications. eWOM communication is an emerging area, further research can be focused on the meta-analysis of relative factors, such as responses, moderators, and credibility to eWOM communication.
•Electronic word-of-mouth is an online exchange of customer opinions and experiences.•The current study addresses eWOM readership from food product purchasing perspective.•Self-worth reinforcement is significantly effective compared to other involvements.•eWOM factors for information adoption should be considered in decision-making process.
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