This paper is the first study that investigates the impact of balance (the ratio of positive and negative reviews) and sequence (the order in which the reviews are presented) of a set of online ...reviews on the perceived usefulness of these reviews (objective 1). As a second objective, our study attempts to provide more understanding in the gatekeeping role of the perceived usefulness. The results do not only evidence that review balance matters, but also reveal that review sequence has an important effect on the perceived usefulness of a set of reviews. The crucial role of perceived usefulness is demonstrated in that only when reviews are perceived as relatively useful, recall of positive and negative review information affects attitude and intention formation through the impression it creates about the object.
► Positive or negative balance review sets are found more useful than neutral balance. ► “Wrapping” can enhance the reviews' perceived usefulness. ► For useful reviews, impression mediates the effect of positive recall on attitude/intention.
In a sample of 615 Belgians a model for fair trade buying behaviour was developed. The impact of fair trade knowledge, general attitudes towards fair trade, attitudes towards fair trade products, and ...the perception of the quality and quantity of fair trade information on the reported amount of money spent on fair trade products were assessed. Fair trade knowledge, overall concern and scepticism towards fair trade, and the perception of the perceived quantity and quality of fair trade information, influence buying behaviour directly and indirectly through product attitudes. Interest in fair trade products, price acceptability and product liking have a significant impact on fair trade buying behaviour. Product interest is the most important variable influencing buying behaviour. Implications for the campaigns of governments and for the marketing strategy of fair trade organisations are offered.
In a sample of 1202 Belgians, the determining factors of the usage intention of an electric car and the differences between early and late usage intention segments are investigated. The Theory of ...Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework is extended with emotional reactions towards the electric car and car driving in general. Emotions and the attitude towards the electric car are the strongest determinants of usage intention, followed by the subjective norm. Reflective emotions towards car driving and perceived behavioural control factors also play a significant role. Differences in the relative importance of the determinants of usage intention between subgroups based on environmental concern and behaviour and social values are also studied. In general, people in segments that are more inclined to use the electric car are less driven by emotions towards the electric car and more by reflective emotions towards car driving, and take more perceived behavioural concerns into account.
An Extended Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) is developed that integrates emotions towards car driving and electric cars as well as car driving habits of the DTPB, and is empirically ...validated in a Belgian sample (n = 1023). Multi-group comparisons explore how the determinants of usage intention are different between groups of consumers differing in environmentally-friendly behaviour, environmental concern, innovativeness and personal values. Besides attitudes, media, perceived complexity, compatibility and relative advantage, emotions towards the electric car and reflective emotions towards car driving have a strong effect on usage intention. Car driving habits and perceived behavioural control (facilitators and constraints) do not substantially affect usage intention. Only people differing in personal values show a different motivational structure for a number of important drivers of usage intention.
Although thousands of advergames are directed at children, little is known about how advergames affect children and whether this persuasive process differs from traditional advertising formats. ...Investigating the underlying persuasive mechanism, Study 1 shows that, for TV advertising, persuasion knowledge drives the persuasive effects while, for advergames, persuasion is mainly driven by the attitude toward the game. Adding advertising cues to the advergame does not increase persuasion knowledge but does diminish the positive attitude toward the game effect, influencing behavior indirectly. Study 2 demonstrates that, for an advergame, the persuasive mechanism does not differ between a commercial versus a social persuasive message.
The present study uses Associative Network Theory to construct a model that explains effects of brand placement in movies. Based on a field experiment (n= 167), we investigate the effects of plot ...connection and prominence on brand attitude, as well as the mediating role of brand-movie fit and the moderating role of brand familiarity. Results show that more closely connecting a brand to the plot of a movie positively impacts brand attitude by increasing the perceived fit between the brand and the movie. Brand familiarity moderates the effect of the interaction between a placement's plot connection and prominence on brand attitude. When brand familiarity is high, there is no significant effect of plot connection on brand attitude, nor is this effect moderated by the prominence of the placement. However, when brand familiarity is low, both prominently and subtly connecting the brand to the plot of the movie positively influences brand attitude. More importantly, the effect of plot connection is significantly stronger when an unfamiliar brand is prominently placed, than when it is subtly placed.
We investigate the effect of model ethnicity (in-group vs. out-group) in a charity appeal and how this interacts with the scope of the charity (local vs. global) on message recipients' attitude ...toward and intention to donate money to the charity. We also test the mediating role of the perceived trustworthiness of the models in the appeal and ad skepticism. In a controlled experiment, we exposed Caucasian (French, n = 201) and Indian (n = 194) respondents to a group of Caucasian or Indian models for either a local or a global charity. Models of the same ethnicity as the message recipient (in-group) lead to more positive responses for a local charity, while models of a different ethnicity than the message recipient (out-group) lead to more positive responses for a global charity. As expected, these effects are mediated by the perceived model trustworthiness and ad skepticism.
Based on a meta-analysis, this study aims to clarify the influence of online review valence (i.e., whether reviews in a review set are predominantly positive or negative) on various dependent ...variables, in particular on perceived usefulness of the reviews and on attitudes toward the product. The findings suggest that review valence affects perceived usefulness in a different way than it affects attitudes. We find an optimum impact level for perceived usefulness and a ceiling effect for attitudes. Primarily negative review sets that include few positive reviews show the strongest effect on perceived usefulness, while positive review sets that include few or no negative reviews are most successful in influencing attitudes. Additionally, review valence has a stronger influence on perceived usefulness when the reviews refer to experience (rather than search) products, and it has a stronger influence on attitudes for unfamiliar (rather than familiar) brands. Finally, the strongest influence of review valence refers to recommendation intentions. These findings provide several implications for researchers and practitioners.
•The positivity degree in online reviews affects perceived usefulness differently than attitudes.•Positivity shows an optimum impact level for perceived usefulness and a ceiling effect for attitudes.•Valence effects on usefulness depend on product experience.•Valence effects on attitudes depend on brand familiarity.•The strongest influence of review valence refers to recommendation intentions.
In a sample of Belgian and Irish participants, we examine the impact of individual differences in uncertainty avoidance, anxiety, and chance belief on the processing of health risk messages. We test ...a model based on the extended parallel processing model (EPPM) using multigroup comparisons in structural equation modeling (SEM). Groups differing in chance belief process health risk messages in a similar way. Perceived efficacy determines message outcomes more strongly for low-anxiety and low-uncertainty-avoidance groups. Perceived threat has a stronger impact on fear for high-anxiety individuals, while it has a stronger impact on message acceptance for low-anxiety individuals.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the boundary conditions of the effect of the valence of word-of-mouth on social networking sites (sWOM) on consumer responses (attitude toward ...the service provider, purchase intention and positive word-of-mouth intention). Specifically, the authors examine two moderators: the tone of voice (factual vs emotional) of the sWOM and service type (utilitarian vs hedonic) of the service that the sWOM is about.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 (message valence: positive vs negative) × 2 (tone of voice: factual vs emotional) × 2 (service type: utilitarian vs hedonic) full-factorial between-subjects online experiment with 400 respondents was conducted and the data were analyzed using Hayes’ PROCESS macro.
Findings
The results show that message valence exerts a greater impact on consumer responses with factual sWOM messages compared to emotional ones. Furthermore, the impact of message valence is stronger for hedonic services compared to utilitarian services. In contrast to the authors’ expectations, there is no significant impact of matching the tone of voice to the service type.
Practical implications
First, for sWOM senders, factual messages are found to be more influential: backing an sWOM up with arguments and specific details increases the chance of it affecting consumers’ responses. As a result, marketers, especially of predominantly hedonic services, should encourage their followers and customers to spread positive factual sWOM about their service.
Originality/value
The study tests two previously unstudied moderating variables that affect the relationship between message valence and consumer responses to sWOM messages. Moreover, this study provides interesting insights for marketers and bloggers or reviewers.
PDF
