EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF FASHION BLOG TYPE AND MESSAGE TYPE ON
FEMALE CONSUMER RESPONSE TOWARDS THE BRAND
Rebecca Melton
Thesis Prepared for the Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
December 2013
APPROVED:
JiYoung Kim, Committee Chair Bharath Josiam, Committee Member Sanjukta Pookulangara, Committee Member Tammy Kinley, Chair of the Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing Judith Forney, Dean of the COllege of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Melton, Rebecca. Exploring the Impacts of Fashion Blog Type and Message Type on
Female Consumer Response Towards the Brand. Master of Science (Merchandising), December
2013, 98 pp., 18 tables, 2 figures, references, 140 titles.
The current study examines the influences of blog type and blog message type on consumers’ perceptions of brand credibility and brand similarity. Additionally, the study seeks to understand the interaction effects of blog type and message type on brand credibility and brand similarity and on consumer engagement with a blog. The findings reveal that message type, specifically product message, is an important consideration when marketers want to illustrate similarities between the brand and consumers. Additionally, it was found that product messages should be considered when encouraging consumer engagement with a blog. However, blog type did not have an effect on consumer perceptions of brand credibility and similarity or consumer engagement. Copyright 2013
by
Rebecca Melton
ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. JiYoung Kim for her guidance throughout this process. Her encouragement and support in my abilities helped keep me going on this path to earning my Master degree. I would also like to express my gratitude to my committee members,
Dr. Bharath Josiam and Dr. Sanjukta Pookulangara, for their comments and suggestions to help me improve my writing.
I would also like to thank my family and friends for their continued support and encouragement while I earned this degree. Their ability to make me laugh helped break my occasional frustration and refocused me. Without their pep talks, laughter, and encouragement I would not be where I am today. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students I have met along way. They challenged me and pushed me to always ask questions and look for the answers.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iii
LIST OF TABLES ...... vii
LIST OF FIGURES ...... viii
Chapters
1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1
1.1 Overview ...... 1
1.2 Problem Statement ...... 1
1.3 Significance of Research...... 3
1.4 Purpose of Study ...... 6
1.5 Hypotheses ...... 7
1.6 Definition of Terms...... 8
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 10
2.1 Overview ...... 10
2.2 Theoretical Background ...... 10
2.2.1. Stimulus Organism Response Theory ...... 10
2.2.2. Signaling Theory ...... 12
2.3 Literature Review...... 14
2.3.1. Blogs ...... 14
2.3.2. Blog Message ...... 17
2.3.3. Cognitive Evaluation: Brand Similarity and Brand Credibility Toward a Brand ...... 19
2.3.4. Engagement...... 21
iv 2.4 Hypothesis Development ...... 22
2.4.1. Blog Type and Cognitive Evaluation ...... 22
2.4.2. Message Type and Cognitive Evaluation ...... 24
2.4.3. Interaction Effect of Blog Type and Message Type on Cognitive Evaluation25
2.4.4. Cognitive Evaluation and Behavioral Outcome ...... 26
3. METHODOLOGY ...... 28
3.1. Overview ...... 28
3.2. Research Design...... 30
3.2.1. Stimulus Design ...... 30
3.2.2. Instrument Development ...... 31
3.3. Pre-Test ...... 32
3.3.1. Procedure ...... 32
3.3.2. Pre-Test Analysis ...... 33
3.4 Data Collection ...... 35
3.4.1. Participants ...... 35
3.4.2. Procedure ...... 36
4. DATA ANALYSIS ...... 38
4.1. Overview ...... 37
4.2. Sample Description ...... 37
4.3. Scale Validation ...... 40
4.4 Hypothesis Testing...... 41
4.4.1. Blog Type, Message Type, and Credibility ...... 41
4.4.2. Blog Type, Message Type, and Similarity...... 42
v 4.4.3. Credibility, Similarity, and Engagement ...... 44
4.4.4. Post Hoc Analysis ...... 45
5. DISCUSSION ...... 51
5.1 Overview ...... 51
5.2. Empirical Findings ...... 51
5.2.1. The Effects of Blog Type and Message Type on Credibility, Similarity and Engagement...... 52
5.3. Implications...... 54
5.3.1 Theoretical Implications ...... 54
5.3.2. Managerial Implications ...... 55
5.4. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ...... 56
Appendices:
APPENDIX A: PRE-TEST RECRUITMENT MATERIALS AND COVER LETTER ...... 60
APPENDIX B: PRE-TEST SURVEY ...... 63
APPENDIX C: PRE-TEST RESULTS ...... 71
APPENDIX D: MAIN TEST CONDITIONS ...... 76
APPENDIX E: MAIN TEST COVER LETTER AND SURVEY ...... 82
REFERENCES ...... 93
vi LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 3.1 Measurement Items ...... 32
Table 3.2 Pre Test Chi Square Analysis ...... 34
Table 3.3 Pre-Test Respondent Blogging Behaviors ...... 34
Table 4.1 Survey Respondents’ Demographics ...... 38
Table 4.2 Survey Respondents’ Blogging Behavior ...... 39
Table 4.3 Scale Reliability ...... 40
Table 4.4 Two Way ANOVA Analysis of Brand Credibility ...... 42
Table 4.5 Two Way ANOVA analysis of Brand Similarity ...... 43
Table 4.6 Pairwise Comparison of message types for Brand Similarity ...... 44
Table 4.7 Linear Regression Analysis for Brand Credibility, Brand Similarity, and Blog Engagement...... 45
Table 4.8 Variable Coefficient ...... 45
Table 4.9 Two Way ANOVA Analysis for Blog Type, Message Type, and Blog Credibility .....46
Table 4.10 Two Way ANOVA Analysis for Blog Type, Message Type, and Blog Similarity .....47
Table 4.11 Pairwise Comparison of Message Type for Blog Similarity ...... 47
Table 4.12 Two Way ANOVA Analysis for Blog Type, Message Type, and Engagement ...... 48
Table 4.13 Pairwise Comparison of Message Type for Engagement ...... 49
Table 4.14 Linear Regression for Blog Credibility, Blog Similarity, and Blog Engagement ...... 50
Table 4.15 Variable Coefficients ...... 50
vii LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1.1 Current study’s application of SOR Theory ...... 7
Figure 2.1 Proposed research model ...... 27
viii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Overview
This chapter introduces the problem the current study seeks to address and how it adds to the current body of literature. The first section includes information on the growth of blogs.
Information about previous research is discussed and how the current study is significant and complements previous research is addressed. The chapter concludes with the study’s purpose and
hypotheses as well as the definitions of the study’s relevant terms.
1.2. Problem Statement
At their inception blogs were a conduit for people to share their thoughts and feelings
with family and friends. Recently, there has been a shift in discussions to include a plethora of
topics from politics and religion to business and crafting. Today, some blogs are seen as reliable
and authoritative information sources. Trammell and Keshelashvili (2005) defined blogs as “web
pages with frequently updated posts that are arranged so the most recent material is at the top of
the page” (p. 971). Socially, they considered blogs to be an outlet for “personal publishing,
encouraging the expression of thoughts, feelings, and commentary” (p. 971).
In 2012, 42 million new blogs were published. The blogosphere saw 500,000 unique postings and 400,000 comments posted daily (Rampton, 2012). With the rising popularity of
blogs, 60% of companies in the United States publish a blog (Rampton, 2012) and use it as a
marketing tool to create meaningful content and connect with consumers (Lamont, 2012). For
example, CBS has allowed Internet users to share television clips on their blogs in order to create
touch points for the network outside of the cable network. It allows for users to start
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conversations about the shows and potentially increase interest in current programming offered
by CBS (Hampp, 2007).
The highly competitive nature of the apparel industry makes it difficult to keep consumers engaged through various marketing strategies. In 2012 the United States apparel industry’s brick and mortar stores earned sales of $239.2 billion. Women’s apparel stores alone earned sales of $41.6 billion in 2012 (“Apparel & Textiles,” 2013). Online sales in 2012 were expected to grow to $225.50 billion (“U.S. e-commerce”). In the first quarter of 2013 there were over 130,000 retailers in the apparel industry (“Clothing and Clothing,” 2013). Due to the nature of the apparel industry fashion brands are attempting to be relevant to their consumers and encourage consumers to engage with the brand through social media.
Opinions differ on whether blogging is an effective way for brands to reach out to consumers. Most brands are interested in the idea of publishing a corporate blog and integrating them into the brand’s marketing strategy. However, decision makers are skeptical of a blog’s effectiveness as a marketing strategy. Therefore, the major concern for marketers is discovering what makes consumers want to engage with a corporate blog, share it with others, and increase the blog’s popularity. According to an Advertising Age article, the key to a successful blog campaign is when the information found on the blog is not about the brand’s products or services, instead it concerns the interests of the brand’s consumers. When a blog is only devoted to self-promotion of the brand, the content becomes irrelevant to consumers making the blog ineffective (Creamer, 2012).
There is a general lack of effective strategy when using blogs to connect and engage with consumers. While most brands understand that blogs can be a way to reach out to consumers, they are at a loss of how to do so (Chan & Guillet, 2011). Compounding their lack of knowledge
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brands have not evaluated the blog’s performance to see where changes could be made to make
the campaigns more effective (Michaelidou et al., 2011). Marketers believe a strategy incorporating blogs is essential; but the question remains, what makes a blog effective? This study aims to address an important trend in the industry and suggest an effective marketing strategy for brands.
1.3 Significance of Research
First, this study is significant as it addresses a gap in the previous research on social media, specifically blogs, by providing marketers with insights on how to effectively design their blogs for positive consumer response. While social media has become a popular marketing tool, research on blogs has only recently been receiving a substantial amount of attention. The available literature on blogs has been broad, providing a general discussion on how brands are using it as a part their marketing strategy. For example Fiesler, Fleck, and Meckel (2010) found that blogs could be an effective way to reach and engage consumers in discussions through linking related topics found on other blogs. Kelleher and Miller (2006) found that the conversational tone of a corporate blog is an effective relationship management strategy.
Halvorsen et al. (2013) found that fashion blogs have been able to diffuse current fashion trends as consumers seek out advice and inspiration from them. Rim and Song (2013) discovered brands have used blogs to create an open dialogue with consumers and to manage brand reputation. Each of the previously mentioned studies addressed the current trend of integrating blogs and other social media websites into a brand’s marketing strategy. However, to our knowledge, there is a lack of research conducted on specific factors that made some of the blog campaigns more successful than others.
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Second, this study adds to the current social media literature by focusing on credibility
and similarity of brands as a factor of effective blog marketing. There have been several studies
conducted on different aspects of blogs (Johnson & Kaye, 2009; Hsu & Tsou, 2011; Chang,
2011; Fu & Chen, 2012; Ahuja & Medury, 2010; Chiou & Hu, 2009), but the discussion is still relatively new and has a multitude of interesting facets left open for discussion. For example, there are studies focusing on how blogs build credibility with their readers, how consumers establish relationships with other blog readers, and how brands can increase consumer engagement via blogs (Johnson & Kaye, 2009; Hsu & Tsou, 2011). It was also found that blog readers see themselves as similar to other users through thoughts, emotions, and intellectual views on various subjects discovered through conversations (Chang, 2011), and those similarities and connections forged in conversation leads to establishing a strong relationship between users and placing value on the blog (Keng & Ting, 2009). While past studies have examined blogs through the scope of similarity and credibility of other bloggers as well as specific information on a blog (e.g. product information presented on a blog), there is a lack of research examining how consumers perceived credibility and similarity of brands when exposed to their blog campaigns
In addition, the proposed research provides implications to marketers who want to engage consumers through social media. Ahuja and Medury (2010) found corporate blogs containing relational content (i.e. consumer feedback, acknowledgment of scandals and/or rumors about the brand or its products and services, and consumer concerns) encouraged the most engagement with consumers. While their study addresses which posts are most likely to encourage a substantial amount of consumer engagement, it does not discuss why consumers are most likely to engage with that particular type of blog content. Also, the possibility of consumer engagement
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levels vary based on blog type and post type has not been addressed. Past studies also have not considered how different blog types might affect the consumer’s perception of the brand and their engagement with the brand after reading and commenting on the post(s).
Further, the proposed research is significant as it gives practical implications to the marketers in terms of designing an effective marketing strategy using appropriate blog type and blog messages. In a research study conducted by Chiu and Ho (2009) it was found that consumers had higher purchase intention because of the credibility of the blogger and the reliability of the product information. When looking for specific product information, consumers were more likely to trust the information they found on expert and consumer blogs than celebrity blogs (Chiu & Ho, 2009). Further, product information and messages were more influential on expert blogs than those of an average consumer (Chiu & Ho, 2009). While there are few studies that compared different blog and information types the impact of blog message and blog type on the brand was not considered.
Lastly, by focusing on apparel, a high involvement product, this research adds to the current literature on online apparel shopping. Kim, Damhorst, and Lee (2002) found that female consumers often times are concerned with purchase decisions made online, especially when it comes to apparel merchandise. In an online retailing environment consumers make assumptions about a product and how it meets their needs and wants based on little to no physical information
(Kim, Damhorst, & Lee, 2002). In apparel shopping situations consumers may be more willing to search for and process information to avoid making poor purchase decisions (Kim, Damhorst,
& Lee, 2002). Consumers have used their personal connections on social networks as an information source about different brands and products and to seek approval of their peers before making a purchase decision on apparel products (Park & Cho, 2012). Cha (2009) found that
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female consumers look to their social media network connections for emotional connections,
opinions, and approval on clothing, perfume, and accessories they are considering purchasing
online. Ruane and Wilson (2013) found that female consumers use social media sites for
information on where to shop and what merchandise to purchase. It was also found that female
consumers use social media for fashion inspiration and ideas from their friends, brands, and
celebrities. Social media use also fuels their apparel purchases. Female consumers feel that once
pictures have been posted of them on any social media website in a particular dress, top, or other
item of clothing it can never be worn again (Ruane & Wilson, 2013).
The current study’s results provide information to marketers and brands about which blog type and blog message type are the most effective in creating a successful blog campaign. It provides insights on the effect perceived brand credibility and perceived brand similarity have on consumer response toward a brand. The study also extends the current body of research by providing information on how marketers can encourage engagement with female apparel consumers.
1.4 Purpose of Study
The purpose of the current study is to discover if presenting consumers with a certain blog type (i.e. a corporate, sponsored, or a personal blog) and a specific form of messaging (i.e. institutional, experiential, and product) is an effective way to persuade consumers to form perceptions of credibility and similarity toward the fashion brand, which leads them to further engage with the brand’s blog. Utilizing the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory the current study has four specific objectives (1) to investigate how blog type affects customer cognitive response (i.e. credibility and similarity) toward the brand; (2) to investigate how blog message type affects consumer cognitive response (i.e.. credibility and similarity) toward the
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brand; (3) to investigate the interaction effect of blog type and blog message type on customer
cognitive response (i.e. credibility and similarity) toward the brand; and (4) to investigate the effect of consumer cognitive response on consumer intentions to engage with the blog. Figure
1.1 illustrates the current study’s application of the SOR theory.
R S O Engagement Blog Type Crediblity Behaviors Message Type SImilarity
Figure 1.1. Current study’s application of SOR theory
1.5 Hypotheses
H1: Consumers perceive credibility toward the brand differently based on corporate, sponsored, and personal blog type.
H2: Consumers perceive similarity toward the brand differently based on corporate, sponsored, personal blog type.
H3: Consumers perceive credibility toward the brand differently based on experiential, institutional, and product blog message type.
H4: Consumers perceive similarity toward the brand differently based on experiential, institutional, and product blog message type.
H5: Message type moderates the relationship between blog type and perceived brand credibility.
H6: Message type moderates the relationship between perceived brand similarity and blog type.
H7: Consumers have different engagement intentions based on perceptions of credibility toward the brand.
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H8: Consumers have different engagement intentions based on perceptions of similarity toward the brand.
1.6 Definition of Terms
Blogs. Trammell and Keshlashvili (2005) defined blogs technically and socially. The
technical definition states blogs are websites containing frequently updated posts with the newest
information read first. Socially, blogs are considered an outlet for “personal publishing,
encouraging the expression of thoughts, feelings, and commentary” (Trammell and Keshlashvili,
2005).
Blog engagement. Engagement is defined through behavioral actions of the consumer.
Positive engagement behaviors include recommending the blog to someone, saying positive
thing about the blog, or increasing the number of times someone visits the blog (Zeithmal et al.,
1996).
Brand credibility. Lankes (2007) defined credibility as how believable the source or the
actual information is considered to be. The current study defined brand credibility as how
credible consumers believe a brand to be.
Brand similarity. Keng and Ting (2009) define similarity as individuals discovering
thoughts, opinions, attitudes, and emotions they have in common with each other. In this study
similarity is the similarities blog readers perceive toward the brand.
Corporate blogs. Blogs published by an employee(s) with the backing of a corporation to reach the corporation’s goals (He & Zhu, 2007).
Experiential message. Experiential messages emphasize emotional appeals of a brand such as “sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational values” more so than a product’s features and benefits (Schmitt, 1999) by providing content seemingly unrelated to the brand itself yet conveys a positive experience.
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Institutional message. Institutional messages are a communication type designed to
encourage positive opinions about a brand (Jiang & Tao, 2011), which includes public relations,
promotion of brand image, and support of “political, social, and economic issues” (Hwang,
McMilllian, & Lee, 2003).
Personal blogs. Personal blogs typically concern intimate stories, pictures, and events in
the blogger’s life. They are a vehicle for individuals to share their daily lives with friends and
family (Jung, Song, & Vorderer, 2012).
Product message. Product messages are the traditional form of marketing where the
message’s emphasis is on the benefits, features, and performance quality of a product (Schmitt,
1999).
Signal. A signal is any information an informed party uses to provide a consumer with
clues about other individuals, the firm itself or the products the firm provides to its consumers
(Connelly et al., 2011). In the current study the signal is the brand message found on corporate,
personal, and sponsored blogs.
Sponsored blogs. Sponsored blogs are a form user generated content (UGC) related to a
specific brand. An individual unaffiliated with a brand publishes sponsored blogs. Sponsored
bloggers may receive some form of compensation from a brand (Castellani, 2011).
User generated content. User generated content is new online content (i.e. videos, blog posts, social media posts, and product reviews) created by the average consumer (Cheong &
Morrison, 2008)
9 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Overview
This chapter builds the foundation for the current study. The following section includes information on the stimulus organism response theory and the signaling theory, the theoretical backgrounds the current study is grounded in. The following sections include a review of the previous research on blog type, message type, engagement, and cognitive evaluation (i.e. credibility and similarity). The chapter concludes with the study’s proposed research model and hypotheses development.
2.2. Theoretical Background
2.2.1. Stimulus-Organism-Response Theory
The current study utilizes the stimulus organism response (SOR) theory developed by
Meharabian and Russell (1974) to examine the effect of blog messaging found on different types of blogs has on consumer’s perception of credibility and similarity toward a brand. The current study also examined a consumer’s engagement intentions based on SOR theory. The next few paragraphs discuss the development of the SOR theory and its components.
The SOR theory was developed in order to better explain why consumers behave the way they do in various situations. When researchers first began studying consumers’ reactions to various situations there was no clear in pattern to explain the consumers’ behaviors (Belk, 1975).
Because of this inconsistency researchers began to believe that a consumer’s behavior depended on the situation he/she found him/herself in (Wysong et al., 2012). Environmental psychology researchers prior to the formalized SOR theory were mainly concerned with an individual’s emotional response to the stimulation and the stimulation’s effect on the individual’s behavior
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(Meharabian & Russell, 1974). In order to gain better understanding of behavioral responses the
SOR theory included the most prevalent variables presented in prior research; physical environmental stimuli such as color, temperature, texture, sound and noise, the speed at which individuals process the environmental stimuli, emotional responses of pleasure, arousal, and dominance, approach and avoidance behaviors, which included physical approach, exploration, affiliation, performance, and social interaction (Meharabian & Russell, 1974).
According to SOR theory in every situation there are tangible (i.e. objects) or intangible
(i.e. social situations) stimuli. Intangible situational stimuli include the individuals’ personality characteristics, how they sense physical conditions such as temperature and how quickly they process information from the stimuli (Meharabian & Russell, 1974). Tangible situational stimuli include the physical objects in an environment. If the environment were a retail store setting the tangible stimuli would be clothes on a rack, the chairs to sit in, etc.
Depending on how the individual’s emotions were provoked determines what response behaviors (R) are performed. The behaviors may be approach or avoidance actions depending on the consumer. The researchers also included “physical approach or avoidance, work performance, exploration and social interaction” as potential behaviors (Meharabian & Russell,
1974). Approach behaviors have been considered to be “a desire to stay, to look around and explore the environment, and to communicate with others in the environment,” where avoidance behaviors the opposite is seen and is illustrated by a desire to leave without exploring or talking with others (Jang & Namkung, 2009). Approach behaviors in an online context may include spending more time on the website, exploring the website further, and website involvement
(Richard, 2005).
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SOR theory has been also been applied in various online shopping research studies to
determine if different website signals alter consumer purchase decisions. Eroglu, Machleit, and
Davis (2001) proposed that the stimuli (S) are considered to be any noticeable website signal,
both visual and auditory; dominance was the relevant factor to the consumer’s emotional state
(O) because the consumer has more control over his or her shopping experience. The approach
behaviors (R) included were the consumer’s intention to spend more time on and explore the
website. The avoidance behaviors (R) are the consumer’s intention to leave the website without
further exploration. Ha and Lennon (2010) further developed the stimuli variables to discover
how different visual merchandising signals on a clothing retailer’s website affected high and low
involvement consumer’s pleasure and arousal as well as their purchase intentions. The stimuli
included pictures of the merchandise, website navigation tools, and information on product
pricing, sales, benefits, return policies, music, website color schemes, animation, and other items
used for visual appeal.
While SOR theory was applied in an online retailing context, few studies have explored
the effect of SOR in the social media setting. As this study aims to provide practical implications to marketers along with theoretical contribution, SOR theory is applied to better understand what stimuli (i.e. blog message and blog type) affects the consumer organism (i.e. credibility and
similarity towards a brand) which in turn leads to positive response (i.e. engagement intention).
2.2.2. Signaling Theory
A second component to the current study’s theoretical framework is the signaling theory.
Signaling theory comes into play with the information found in the blog messages. The
following section discusses signaling theory and how previous studies utilized it.
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According to signaling theory, in most situations one individual knows more than another causing an unequal balance in the relationship, resulting in information inequality (Wang, Beatty
& Fox, 2004). Because of this information inequality, the less informed individual has to make assumptions based on the signals they are given by the other individual(s) (Wang, Beatty & Fox,
2004). In order to illustrate how signals provide information Spence (1973) used labor markets as an example. In hiring situations potential managers lack information about applicants’ qualifications. Therefore, in order to provide potential employers with information about their qualifications, employees earn a degree in the appropriate area to illustrate their abilities to perform job functions. While the original research addressed labor markets all industries and situations are able to use signaling theory to reduce information inequality (Connelly et. al.,
2011).
Signaling theory has been applied in consumer behavior research where varying amounts of information and type of information is provided to consumers. In previous research it was found that companies have used luxury brand label (Han et al., 2010), product warranties
(Boulding & Kirmani, 1993; Soberman, 2003), brand alliances (Tsao & Chen, 2011), and country of origin and prestige level signals (Moore & Carpenter, 2008) in order to signal product quality and firm credibility to consumers. In the current study signaling theory is applied through information provided in the different message types (i.e. institutional, experiential, and product) and blog type (i.e. corporate, sponsored, and personal) presented to consumers. By creating different combinations of blog types and message types the consumer is exposed to different information signals about the brand. These signals are meant to act as an aid to consumers in processing the information and develop perceptions of credibility and similarity towards the brand.
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2.3. Literature Review
2.3.1. Blogs
A blog is a website that is updated frequently with personal opinions and external links to
other websites (Ahuja & Medury, 2010). Blogs have several different components that make
them unique from other websites and social media pages including easy-to-use content management system, time based structure (posts are seen from newest to oldest), available links to posts published previously, links to other websites or blogs, and the functionality to allow comments on individual posts or others’ comments (Cho & Huh, 2010).
Blogs have been used as an effective business tool for “promoting corporate relationships
and professional image; a means for rapid information and sales tracking among corporate
employees; inner knowledge sharing for employees in relation to work efficiency; and a way to
help observe corporate policies and norms” (Huang, Chou, & Lin, 2010). Blogs have also been
used as an information source for products or services for potential consumer purchase decisions
(Lee, Hwang, & Lee, 2006; Cho and Huh, 2010; Ahuja & Medury, 2010; Huang et. al., 2010).
The following sections discuss the different blog types that were utilized in the current study.
2.3.1.1. Corporate Blogs
He and Zhu (2007) described corporate blogs as blogs published with the backing of a
corporation to reach that corporation’s goals. Corporate blogs are also used to provide product
reviews and consultations to consumers, news about new products, announcements about the
brand, and industry news (“State of the,” 2011). The goals of corporate blogs are to assist
customers’ search for product information, help customers learn about corporate promotional
campaigns, respond to various issues regarding the corporation or its products/services, new
product development, product line expansion, advertising, customer service, and providing
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readers with insights into the company and its industry (Ahuja & Medury, 2010; Lee et. al.,
2006). Unique aspects of corporate blogs include a casual tone in the text compared to other advertising media, an open conversation with consumers that can result in forming a social group, updating and adding new content regularly, and transparent rules for posting content by the brand itself and readers (Mazurek, 2008). The content of corporate blogs is managed by the brand and the brand’s employees publish the blog’s content.
2.3.1.2. Sponsored Blogs
One of the most popular brand marketing tools in blogosphere is the sponsored blog
(“IZEA Releases 2011,” 2011). A sponsored blog is considered to be a blog that is published by
an individual unaffiliated with the company who allows various types of advertisements on their
own blog such as contextual links and product reviews. The blog’s contextual links connect to a
brand’s corporate page, merchandise website, or other related web pages. Most often bloggers
write their own sponsored post(s) about the brand or product in their personal voice and
perspective. The post does not always include information about specific companies or their
products/services, yet still fit the topic of the blog and may include links in the content directing
the reader to the appropriate company pages (Castellani, 2011). When a sponsored blog
specifically mentions a brand or its products/services, it is done via a product review and written
in the blogger’s personal style about how the product fits into their everyday life. While the
brand has no control over how much a blogger likes or dislikes a product, most times readers
only see positive product reviews, as bloggers do not write about products they dislike (Arango,
2009). In order to be effective when reaching consumers, the blog content must sound
conversational and in the blogger’s personal style to ensure they do not lose authenticity even if
the content is not positive towards the brand (Owyang, 2009).
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In 2009 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) developed regulations and guidelines to protect consumers from bloggers and social media advertisements/recommendations for brands
and their products (Klassen, 2009). The FTC proposed individuals spreading any form of word-
of-mouth marketing on blogs would be held liable for false claims (Bush, 2009). The regulations state that the individual bloggers must provide information to their readers about how they are
connected to the brand being recommended and are highly encouraged to explain how they receive compensation (if any) from the brand. Compensation is typically given in two forms; free products in hopes the blogger creates a positive review and monetary compensation for posting about the brand (Arango, 2009). Bloggers can be fined up to $11,000 per post if they do not provide information on their compensation (Ostrow, 2006).
2.3.1.3. Personal Blogs
The large majority of blogs in the blogosphere are personal blogs. The content of personal blogs includes anecdotes from the bloggers’ private lives and photos of life events posted to share with family members and friends. However, in most cases blogs are open to the public allowing strangers to view the blog as well (Jung et al., 2012). Bloggers publish their thoughts and feelings publicly for several reasons including to freely express themselves, nurture relationships with friends and family members who live in other areas, stay up-to-date on current trends, organize and store information in one place, sharing information with others on specific subjects, personal enjoyment, and to boast about their abilities and popularity with others (Lee et. al., 2008). Due to the massive amount of conversation about fashion occurring within the blogosphere brands can monitor and mine the information to learn about what their consumers want and provide better merchandise (Rickman & Cosenza, 2007). “As fashion and trends are
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mainly driven by inspiration between peers,” fashion blogs have the potential to impact
consumer purchase decisions (Halvorsen et al., 2013).
2.3.2. Blog Message
2.3.2.1. Institutional Message
Institutional messages focus on the public image of the brand, which concerns advocacy,
issue, and corporate social responsibility-related advertising to support a company’s position
regarding social, environmental, and political issues (Kim, Hayley, & Koo, 2009). One form of
institutional messaging is a “corporate societal marketing” campaign. It allows the brand to
advocate for a current social issue and illustrate its opinion on the matter (Hoeffler & Keller,
2002). Societal marketing has the potential to increase the brand’s credibility in the eyes of the
consumer if the social issue is related to the brand and its industry in some way. Brands also may
be able to increase consumer-brand engagement through institutional messages (Hoeffler &
Keller, 2002).
In addition, institutional messages can also be utilized to better manage consumer’s brand
knowledge. It is thought that institutional messages can improve a brand’s reputation in the eyes
of the consumer and potentially lead to higher sales revenue because of the positive reputation.
Jiang and Tao (2011) found that linking an institutional message within a product category
increased the chances of activation of positive feelings toward the company. Kim, Haley, and
Koo (2009) developed a study concerning how different forms of involvement are affected by institutional messages. The researchers found that with institutional messages consumer behavior was influenced more by involvement with the message itself than prior knowledge of the product, the product category, or previous purchase experiences.
7
Discussion surrounding institutional messages on social media has been lacking. In a
loosely related study Fieseler, Fleck, and Meckel (2010) discussed using a blog as a way to
promote a brand’s corporate social responsibility efforts in order to engage consumers. The study
looked at how the structure of a social networking website, the structure of the blogosphere, and
the relationship between individuals connects a blog to other sites throughout the Internet. The
researchers found that blogging is an effective way to reach consumers by linking different
discussions to each other and creating more touch points between the brand and consumers.
2.3.2.2. Experiential Message
Experiential messages are different from institutional and product messages in that it
looks at the consumption process differently. Experiential messages focus more on emotional
appeals by discussing values and lifestyles. An experiential message brings the product to life
within the message and allows the consumer to imagine using the product in various situations in
his/her life. Experiential messages emphasize emotional appeals such as “sensory, emotional,
cognitive, behavioral, and relational values” more so than a product’s features and benefits or the
brand’s public campaigns (Schmitt, 1999). It attempts to illustrate how the product fits into the
consumer’s daily routine and enhances it.
Experiential messages see consumers as both logical and emotion-driven decision makers and appeals to both of those characteristics by showing the features of the product and
illustrating how the product enhances the consumer’s consumption experience (Schmitt, 1999).
When experiential messages are shown on blogs they are paired with consumer comments
discussing how the consumer feels about the product and how it fit her value system. Fu and
Chen (2012) found that experiential messages on blogs combined with consumer comments were
most influential on consumer purchase decisions in low product involvement situations.
8
2.3.2.3. Product Message
Product messages emphasize the benefits of the product and its features. By focusing on the product’s features and benefits, the company is assuming consumers make purchase decisions on logical, need-based thoughts alone (Schmitt, 1999). Product messages on blogs attempt to persuade consumers to purchase the product by providing information about a product’s features, benefits, and performance quality. It was discovered in previous research that a consumer’s engagement both with a product category and the product message positively influence a consumer’s attitude toward a product message and the product itself (Kim, Haley, &
Koo, 2009). Informational messages found on blogs such as product messaging tend to be most effective with consumers who are highly involved with the product and the purchase decision. Fu and Chen (2012) found that in high involvement situations consumers were influenced more by the information found in the product message including the product’s features, benefits, and performance quality than emotional appeals. Chiu and Ho (2009) had similar results in their study. They compared blog types (celebrity endorsement, expert, and an ordinary consumer) and product types (search and experience) to determine which combination had the most advertising message effectiveness on consumer opinion of the product and ad message. It was found that consumers were influenced most by product messages posted on expert and consumer blogs, which lead to higher purchase intentions (Chiu & Ho, 2009).
2.3.3. Cognitive Evaluation: Brand Similarity and Brand Credibility
2.3.3.1. Similarity Toward a Brand
Kim, Haley, and Koo (2009) suggested that consumers make assumptions about a brand based on perceived similarities between themselves and the brand. Consumers can sense similarities between themselves and the company through shared values and social responsibility
9
interests expressed in various marketing messages. Those shared similarities increase a
consumer’s positive opinion of a brand, its products, and the message itself. The positive
consumer opinions potentially lead to increased purchase intention behaviors.
While there is a lack of research focused on the effect of blog marketing in increasing the
perceived brand similarity of the readers (i.e. consumers), previous research has examined the
similarity as a critical factor in strengthening the relationships among blog users. According to
Keng and Ting (2009) blog readers perceive other readers to be similar to them through
examining others’ thoughts, emotions, and intellectual views discussed on various subjects. It
was found that the more similar blog users feel about each other the stronger the relationship
between users becomes (Keng & Ting, 2009).
2.3.3.2. Credibility Toward a Brand
Lankes (2007) defined credibility as how believable the source or the actual information
is considered to be. Consumers decide for themselves whether a source is credible or not based
on the information provided (Johnson & Kaye, 2009). Consumers perceive information sources to be credible when the source seems knowledgeable, honest, and authentic. Information relevance and comprehensiveness are vital to customers deciding if the information is useful
(Johnson & Kaye, 2009). The relationship between a brand’s marketing message and perceived brand credibility has been examined in previous literature. For example, Lafferty and Goldsmith
(1999) found that institutional messages had the greatest influence of consumer feelings, thoughts, and purchase behaviors when the message came from a brand that is considered highly credible. Also, when consumers lack knowledge or experiences with a brand, credibility shown through institutional messages significantly influenced purchase decisions. Further, when consumers perceive an endorser to be credible, they are more likely to have a positive opinion of
10
the message and the brand. Consumers had higher purchase intentions as a result of their positive opinions (Lafferty, Goldsmith, & Newell, 2000).
2.3.4. Engagement
Consumer engagement is conceptualized as positive or negative post consumption behaviors that may influence consumer loyalty (Hollebeek, 2001; Van Doorn et al., 2010)
Positive behaviors include referring the brand or blog to an acquaintance, while negative behaviors may include written complaints on consumer report and social media websites and some sort of protest against the brand. Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1996) examined how brand performance affected consumer engagement intentions. When consumers have a positive experience with the brand, they are likely to speak positively about the brand as well as recommend the brand to others (Zeithaml, Berry, & Parasuraman, 1996).
In order to better understand consumer engagement in virtual communities, Brodie et al.
(2013) developed a qualitative study through which they discovered engagement levels varied based on the interaction between an individual’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It was also found that customers first engage with an object (i.e. a brand, product, or service) and then connect with other members in the community. Creating new user generated content is considered an engagement behavior (Ahuja & Medury 2010). New user generated content is unique online content (i.e. videos, blog posts, social media posts, and product reviews) created by the average consumer (Cheong & Morrison, 2008). Ahuja and Medury (2010) conducted an exploratory study on corporate blogs to discover how to encourage engagement between the brand and consumers. The study found that relational posts (i.e. consumer feedback, acknowledging scandals and/or rumors about the brand or its products and services, and consumer concerns) encouraged the most consumer engagement.
11
2.4. Hypotheses Development
2.4.1. Blog Type and Cognitive Evaluation
The current study looks to compare corporate blogs, sponsored blogs, and personal blogs
to see which is the most effective in creating perceptions of brand credibility and similarity
within the consumer. Previous research on the effect of blog type and consumer attitudes and
behaviors has presented contradictory results. Chang (2011) reported that consumers concerned with their purchase decisions had more positive attitudes towards a blog, website, or other information source when it was produced by a “typical consumer” compared to a corporate blog.
They also had higher purchase intentions after viewing the consumer’s blog compared to a corporate blog. Alternately, Kulkarni et al. (2013) found that corporate blogs containing content mentioning corporate events created higher engagement levels in readers than blog content that did not mention corporate events.
While there are several studies that focused on the effect of blog features on blog credibility, there is little research thus far that has examined the blog features that influence brand credibility (Lee et al., 2006). For example, Flanangin and Metzger (2007) found that blog features, content provided, and the party publishing the blog change the consumer’s perception of the blog’s credibility. Halveson et al. (2013) also maintain that fashion blogs have established credibility with their readers through their “specialty knowledge and expertise in fashion trends.”
Previous literature on blog type and credibility has yielded mixed results. Sweetser and
Metzgar (2007) found that corporate blogs develop credibility with consumers by participating in conversations with consumers and not ignoring problems or issues that have been made public.
Lee et al. (2006) also reveal that corporate blogs, published by employees, increase the consumer’s perception of the brand’s credibility when they provide logical and well-thought
12
assessments of the brand (Lee et. al., 2006). However, in Cristol’s (2002) study, personal blogs
were found to be more credible to consumers as their content was not edited and they are not
published for corporate gain. Therefore, the current study hypothesized:
H1: Consumers perceive credibility toward the brand differently based on corporate, sponsored, and personal blog type.
Virtual communities have established a sense of similarity by creating connections through similar interests, hobbies, personal values, and preferences (Lee et. al., 2009). Health issue related personal blogs published by individuals who shared similar characteristics (i.e. shared values and hobbies) connected with users more easily than other blog types (Shirong,
2013). Yeh and Choi (2011) discovered that consumers establish relationships with a brand in a virtual brand community by creating connections based on shared attitudes and values. There is a lack of research examining the influence of various blog features on brand similarity. A loosely related study conducted by Halveson et al. (2013) revealed that fashion blogs published by individuals create a sense of similarity through personal connections with readers. The connections are formed through conversations on the blog related to questions about fashion trends and sharing personal experiences making the blogger feel more like a friend than stranger
(Halveson et. al., 2013). As there is a lack of previous literature to support a specific relationship, following hypothesis is proposed:
H2: Consumers perceive similarity toward the brand differently based on corporate, sponsored, and personal blog type.
2.4.2. Message Type and Cognitive Evaluation
The main focus of previous research on message credibility has been related to product
messages. In high involvement situations, when a source is considered credible through their
expertise and trustworthiness consumers believed a comparative product message to be more
13
credible than a product message that does not compare two products (Gotlieb & Sarel, 1991).
Consumers were also found to have more positive opinions about a brand’s credibility when they
are presented with highly credible product messages (Kavanoor, Grewal, & Blodgett, 1997). Kim
and Choi (2012) found in an online retail setting that a brand considered highly credible signaled
message credibility in product messages to consumers making purchase decisions. Yoo and
MacInnis (2005) found that when consumers are presented with product messages containing
strong objective thoughts they were more likely to see the message as credible.
Previous research produced mixed result in terms of the effect of message type (i.e.
institutional, experiential and product) on consumers’ perception and behavior intention toward a
brand. For example, Fu and Chen (2012) found that experiential messages (i.e. how well the
product fit a consumer’s lifestyle and values) were the most influential on consumer purchase decisions (Fu and Chen, 2012). On the other hand, Yan et al. (2012) found that when consumers were presented with extremely informative institutional messaging related to a brand’s environmentally friendly practices they were more likely to connect with the brand and positive feelings towards the brand increased (Yan et al., 2012). Huang et al. (2010) also maintain that when consumers evaluate all message information, both product information and consumer experiences, consumer’s preference for the brand increases when a consumer felt a brand fit their
“feeling or ideals”. In contrast if a brand links an institutional message within its product category the chances that positive feelings would be activated by priming and amplified positive opinions toward the product and company are increased (Jiang and Tao, 2011). Yoo and
MacInnis (2005) found that when consumers are presented with experiential appeals they first make a connection emotionally developing a sense of shared similarity before making rational connections to the brand. Therefore, the study hypothesized:
14
H3: Consumers perceive credibility toward the brand differently based on institutional, experiential, and product message type.
H4: Consumers perceive similarity toward the brand differently based on institutional, experiential, and product message type.
2.4.3. Interaction Effect of Blog Type and Message Type on Cognitive Evaluation
When discussing the effectiveness of blog and message type on consumer evaluation a general consensus has not been found on which combination is the most effective in consumer purchase situation. When consumers search product messages on expert blogs and consumer blogs they were more likely to trust that information over a celebrity blog because of the credibility and reliability of the information. However, it was also found that product information and messages were more influential on expert blogs than those of an average consumer (Chiu and Ho, 2009). Alternately, emotional appeals made by the brand on its corporate blog are able to touch the consumer in a way that encourages engagement with the blog (Sinha et al., 2011).
When product messages were presented on corporate blogs in high involvement situations, consumers were influenced more by the information found in the product message. Information presented included logical and objective comments regarding the product’s features, benefits, and performance quality than any other factor (Fu and Chen, 2012). Comparatively, the personal touch consumers experienced on personal blogs was more influential when considering product messages in purchase decision situations (Morimoto and Trimble, 2012).
Based on the previous research it can be hypothesized that blog and message type interacts to influence perceptions of a brand. However, because there has not been any research specifically examining the direction of the effects of blog type and message type, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H5: Message type moderates the relationship between perceived similarity and blog type.
15
H6: Message type moderates the relationship between perceived credibility and blog type.
2.3.4. Cognitive Evaluation and Behavioral Outcome
Lee, Kim, and Kim (2011) found that consumers were more likely to engage with a brand through consumer managed brand communities because they identify with similar attitudes, opinions, and values expressed. Karaosmanoglu, Bas, and Zhang (2011) found that when consumers connect with a brand based on similar values and attitudes illustrated through brand messages they were more likely to engage with the brand by communicating with the brand and recommending the brand to others. Tuskej, Golob, and Podnar (2013) found that the more consumers identified with their favorite brand through similar thoughts and attitudes led them to connect with the brand and participate in engagement behaviors such as word of mouth recommendations. Based on the above discussion the following hypothesis was developed:
H7: Perceived brand similarity positively influences consumer engagement on blogs.
In purchase situations consumers are faced with uncertainty about a brand’s performance and quality. Because of this uncertainty the company has the motivation to show the consumer it delivers on its promises. Brand credibility is signaled by the blog and message type utilized by the brand illustrating its willingness and ability to be truthful about its products and services as well as follow through on its promises. It was found that if consumers perceive the brand to be credible, it increases their intentions to participate in word of mouth activities such as recommending the brand to uninformed consumers (Sweeney and Swait, 2008). Choi and Rifon
(2002) found that when consumers believe a product message’s source to be credible they believed the message was as well leading to improved brand attitudes and higher engagement intention. Walker and Kent (2013) found that when consumers believe a brand’s efforts to raise
16
awareness for philanthropic efforts are credible they were more likely to engage with the brand through word of mouth behaviors, such as brand and issue support.
Based on the above discussion the following hypothesis was developed:
H8: Perceived brand credibility positively influences consumer engagement on blogs.
Figure 2.1 illustrates the current study’s proposed research model incorporating the signaling theory and SOR model.
Figure 2.1. Proposed research model
17
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Overview
The purpose of this study was to discover the impact of blog type and message type on
brand credibility and similarity and if it led to consumer engagement. This chapter describes the
methods and processes undertaken to develop the experiment, survey instrument, and data
collection. Information on the population and sample of study participants is also included. The
methods section ends with information on the data collection.
3.2. Research Design
3.2.1. Stimulus Design
This study employed a 3 (blog type: corporate, sponsored, and personal) x 3 (brand
message type: institutional, experiential, and product) between-subjects design. Mock fashion
blogs and messages were developed in order to provide a realistic blogging experience for the
survey participants. In conjunction with the experiment, a survey questionnaire was developed to
measure the participant’s perceptions of brand similarity, brand credibility, and their intention to
engage with the blog.
I developed a hypothetical brand named The Green Hanger. It was developed as a
relatively new casual fashion apparel brand for women; its product categories include
accessories, shoes, dresses, tops, and bottoms. In order to familiarize participants with The Green
Hanger a brand introduction page was presented.
3.2.1.1. Blog Type Design
All blog types were designed to have a background, blog name, “About Me” section, three brand messages and two dummy messages. The blogs’ background graphic was identical
18
for all three blog types in order to avoid bias due to respondent preference towards certain blog
presentations. The blog name presented on the corporate blog (i.e. Green Hanger) was different
from the blog names presented on sponsored and personal blogs (i.e. Color Dashed with
Glamour). This was to reflect reality where the difference between a blog managed by a brand
versus an individual is often shown through their blog names.
The “About Me” section for the corporate blog focused on the introducing brand, its
history and vision. The sponsored blog’s “About Me” section included a brief description about the blogger, her name, and a disclaimer stating that she receives compensation in some form but their posts are her opinions and thoughts alone. A drawback of including the disclosure statement was that it might influence the study participants to perceive the blogger as an employee of the brand instead of a private individual. However, it was decided to include the disclosure statement because it follows the current FTC regulations about sponsored content on social media pages.
The personal blog’s “About Me” section contained brief information about the blogger’s interests, their name, and who they are as a person.
The messages presented on the corporate blog gave names and titles of the employees that published the individual post. However, the messages presented on the sponsored and personal blogs did not need employee information because an individual published them. The number of messages presented on each blog type was the same, three brand messages and two dummy messages.
In order to control for any differences based on the blog’s visual element the layout of the blogs were kept consistent. Each blog was presented with the same font types, font sizes and colors. The placement of the “About Me” section, and the graphics within each post were the same size and found in the same location within the different blog types.
19
3.2.1.2. Message Type Design
Each message type was designed to look as if it would be on a fully functional website including graphics, texts, and hyperlinks. In order to test the effect of each message type condition on consumer response five messages were presented (i.e. three treatment messages and two dummy messages). For example, for the “institutional message type” condition, three institutional messages were presented with two dummy messages. This was done to present a more realistic design of a blog that is identical with those found on the web, which usually has several messages presented on one page instead of just one or two.
Institutional messages were designed to express the brand’s intentions and point of view on various social, environmental, and occasionally political issues. In order to avoid offending any of the participants and create bias, political messages were not included in this study.
Institutional messages included information such as a brand’s attempt to be more environmentally friendly by using sustainably grown organic cotton and implementing a clothing recycling campaign. The brand’s attempt at raising awareness for philanthropic causes such as the RED campaign that raises awareness about the AIDS epidemic in Africa was also presented.
The experiential messages’ content showed how the brand’s products could fit into the consumer’s daily life and activities by focusing more on how the brand or product complements the experience. The messages included were how to throw a great party, enjoying brunch on an outside patio, and what to pack when traveling to Italy. Each message briefly mentioned products throughout its content but was carefully designed to be subtle and focused more on the experience of planning party and enjoying good food and company during brunch.
20
The product messages focused on the features and benefits of various products the Green
Hanger offered. Product messages included were the benefits of seersucker fabric, what to look for when purchasing a certain shoe type, and the benefits of layering items.
The wording for each blog post was written in a conversational tone matching the tone of voice in most blog posts found on the web today. Further, content of each message type presented on each blog type was the same. For example, five messages for the product message type condition (i.e. three treatment messages and two dummy messages) were identical on each blog type (i.e. corporate, sponsored, and personal) in terms of pictures, content, and hyperlinks.
However, the messages’ tone was slightly different based on the blog type in order to reflect the nature of the blog. For example, the product message type conditions included identical information but when it was presented on the corporate blog, the messages were more obvious the brand was attempting to sell its merchandise. Alternately, the personal and sponsored blog conditions maintained a tone closer to product reviews. For more information see Appendix C for the mock blog pages developed for this study.
3.2.2. Instrument Development
A five-point Likert scale survey with answer choices ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree was developed to measure the study participants’ perceived brand similarity, credibility and their intentions to engage based on those perceptions.
All measures employed in the current study were modified from previous research studies of related topics. Four items were adopted from Chang (2011) and two items were adopted from
Lu et al. (2010) to measure brand similarity. Lu et al. (2010) had a Cronbach’s alpha level of 0.7 indicating high reliability of the measures. Three items were adopted from Johnson and Kaye
(2004) and four items were adopted from Erdem and Swait (1999) to study brand credibility.
21
Johnson and Kaye (2004) had a Cronbach’s alpha level of 0.79 indicating a high level of
reliability. Four items were adopted from Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1996) to measure
engagement. Table 3.1 summarizes the measurement items utilized in the main test survey.
Additional questions related to the participants demographics and their social media usage were
also asked. See Appendix D for the main test survey information.
Table 3.1
Measurement Items
Variable Description Source Similarity The blog/brand is similar to me The blog/brand are alike Chang, 2011; Lu, The blog/brand and I share similar opinions Zhao, & Wang, 2010 The blog/brand and I share similar attitudes Credibility The blog/brand is accurate Erdem and Swait, The blog/brand is believable 1998; Johnson and The blog/brand doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t Kaye, 2004 Engagement I would say positive things about this blog/brand Zeithaml, Berry, and I would recommend this blog/brand to someone Parasuraman, 1996
3.3. Pre-Test
3.3.1. Procedure
I first administered a pre-test manipulation check to ensure the blog types and message
types are clear and easily differentiated. The manipulation check also allowed the researcher the
opportunity to include any missing measures, blog or message content, and make any other
minor adjustments needed before conducting the final test. A group of 93 university students
participated in the manipulation check. I recruited the student participants to participate in the
pre-test by offering five points of extra credit. Prior to reaching out to the students I approached
the professor of each class to receive their approval for offering extra credit. A Power Point
presentation was made to provide the students with information about the pre-test. See Appendix
A for the pre-test’s recruitment materials.
22
The participants were shown screenshots of each blog type (i.e. corporate, personal, and
sponsored). Afterwards, they were asked which of the following options (i.e. corporate blog,
personal blog, sponsored blog and none of the above) suit the blog type they have just seen. Then
they were shown with screenshots of each message type followed by four answer options (i.e.
institutional, experiential, product and none of the above). A brief description on what each
option meant was included in the questionnaire in order to help participants clearly understand
each option. For example, blog type descriptions included a blog published by a company (i.e.
corporate blog), a blog published by someone who is a big supporter of a company and does not
receive any compensation for their blog posts”(i.e. personal blog), a blog published by someone
who is a big supporter of a company and receives payment in some form for providing
information in their blog posts (i.e. sponsored blog), and none of the above. The message type
descriptions included a message that talks about a lifestyle or social event” (i.e. experiential
message), a message that talks about a product's benefits and/or uses for the consumer (i.e.
product message), a message that talks about positive activities done for the community/the
environment/individuals in need by a company (i.e. institutional message) or none of the above.
See Appendix B for more information on the pre-test survey.
3.3.2. Pre-Test Analysis
Of the 93 respondents that participated in the pre-test survey, responses from 76 participants provided usable data. In order to determine if respondents perceived any noticeable
difference between different blog types and message types a chi-square analysis was conducted
on the blog type and message type conditions. Chi-square analysis was used to find any
significance in the pre-test results. The current study ran the chi-square analysis with an expected score of 25% for each response, the degrees of freedom were 3, p ≤ 0.05, and χ2 = 7.815. The
23
Chi-square analysis results indicated a significant difference for all blog and message types with
p < .05 and χ2 > 7.815. Table 3.2 shows the chi-square analysis result for each of the blog type and message type. Table 3.3 summarizes the pre-test respondents’ blogging behaviors. See
Appendix D for more information on participants’ pre-test responses.
Table 3.2
Pre Test Chi Square Analysis
Total Chi-Square Blog/Message Type Score Result Sponsored Blog 23.304* Reject null hyp Corporate Blog 51.460* Reject null hyp Personal blog 38.718* Reject null hyp Institutional message 92.252* Reject null hyp Institutional message 85.676* Reject null hyp Institutional message 44.270* Reject null hyp Experiential message 91.472* Reject null hyp Experiential message 87.436* Reject null hyp Product message 154.576* Reject null hyp Product message 155.666* Reject null hyp Product message 147.412* Reject null hyp * p < .05, χ2 = 7.815
Table 3.3
Pre-Test Respondent Blogging Behaviors
Question /Answer Frequency Percentage Have you ever visited a blog before? Yes 78 91.8 No 7 8.2 Do you publish a blog yourself? Yes 18 23.4 No 59 76.6 How long have you been reading or creating blog posts? 6 months or less 21 27.6 6 months to 1 year 14 18.4 1 year to 2 years 13 17.1 2 to 3 years 12 15.8 3 years or more 16 21.1 How much time do you spend per week reading blog posts? 1 hour or less 44 57.9 1 to 2 hours 24 31.6 2 to 3 hours 6 6.57.9 3 hours of more 2 2.6 (table continues)
24
Pre-Test Respondent Blogging Behaviors
Question /Answer Frequency Percentage How many blog posts do you read per week? 1 to 4 posts 54 70.1 5 to 7 posts 11 14.3 8 to 10 posts 6 7.8 More than 10 posts 6 7.8 How many blog posts do you publish per week? 0 62 81.6 1 to 4 posts 12 15.8 5 to 7 posts 0 0 8 to 10 posts 0 0 10 or more posts 2 2.6 How many blog posts do you comment on per week? 0 59 76.6 1 to 4 posts 14 18.2 5 to 7 posts 4 5.2 8 to 10 posts 0 0 More than 10 posts 0 0 How many blog posts do you share with others per week? 0 42 56.0 1 to 4 posts 26 34.7 5 to 7 posts 3 4.0 8 to 10 posts 2 2.7 More than 10 posts 2 2.7
3.4 Data Collection
3.4.1. Participants
The population of the study included female adults (25 – 49 years old) residing in cities across the United States. According to a Pew Research study over 70% of bloggers are between the ages of 21 and 50 years old (Levine, 2010). This demographic group was chosen because they make up $7 trillion of consumer business in the United States. They also make 85% of all purchase decisions or are extremely influential in the buying process (Walter, 2012).
Through a marketing research firm that recruits consumer panels for research purposes, a total of 530 usable data were collected. Because of the current study’s focus, screening questions
about the respondents’ age, gender and familiarity with blogs were asked.
25 3.4.2. Procedure
The experiment and survey questionnaire was administered to a consumer panel for two weeks through an online survey. They were informed that completing the self-administered survey is anonymous and completely voluntary. They were also told that they did not have to answer all the questions and they may end the survey when they chose. The experiment and survey was administered without the researcher present. While this reduced the control the researcher has, it provided the researcher with a higher volume of respondents that fit the study’s demographics.
26 CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS
4.1. Overview
This chapter discusses the results of the hypotheses tested. The data analysis was done in two parts. The first tested the blog and message type’s effect on the participants’ response toward the brand as well as the blog type and message type’s interaction effect. The post hoc analysis tested the blog and message type’s effect on the participants’ response toward the blog. The following sections discuss the sample and scale validation. The chapter ends with the results of the hypothesis testing and post hoc analysis.
4.2. Sample Description
The age groups of the survey respondents seem to be evenly spread out. The bulk of the respondents were between the ages of 25 to 29 years old with the second largest group of respondents being between 30 to 34 years old. Most respondents were either married or single, have earned a bachelor’s degree, and earn $55,000 or less annually.
The respondents also reported their blogging behaviors. The overwhelming majority did not publish a blog. Most have been participated in blogging activities for at least one year and spend about one to two hours each week reading blog posts. Most of the respondents stated they share and comment on one to four blog posts each week. Table 4.1 goes into more detail about the respondents’ demographics and Table 4.2 summarizes their blogging behaviors.
27 Table 4.1
Survey Respondents’ Demographics
Characteristics Frequency Percentage Age 25 – 29 151 28.7 30 -34 113 21.5 35 -39 101 19.3 40 - 44 84 16.0 45 -49 76 14.5 Marital Status Single 129 24.5 Married 316 60.1 Divorced 26 4.9 Domestic Partnership 50 9.5 Widowed 5 1.0 Education Level Elementary/Middle 0 0 Some high school 4 .8 High school 67 12.7 Some college 102 19.3 Associates/Technical 74 14.0 Bachelor’s 195 36.9 Graduate/Professional 87 16.4 Income Level Less than $35,000 137 26.0 $35,001 - $55,000 135 25.6 $55,001 - $75,000 108 20.5 $75,001 - $95,000 61 11.6 $95,001 - $105,000 18 3.4 $105,001 - $125,000 34 6.5 $125,001 - $145,000 15 2.8 $145,001 or higher 19 3.6
28 Table 4.2
Survey Respondents Blogging Behavior
Question /Answer Frequency Percentage Do you publish a blog? Yes 149 28.1 No 381 71.9 How long have you been creating/reading blog posts? 6 months or less 36 6.8 6 months to 1 year 46 8.7 1 to 2 years 94 17.8 3 years or more 77 14.6 How much time do you spend reading blog posts each week? 1 hour or less 160 30.5 1 to 2 hours 172 32.8 2 to 3 hours 99 18.9 3 hours or more 93 17.7 How many blog posts do you read each week? 0 posts 217 41.3 Less than 4 posts 88 16.8 4 to 5 posts 45 8.6 6 to 7 posts 175 33.3 How many blog posts do you publish each week? 0 posts 331 63.2 Less than 4 posts 127 24.2 4 to 5 posts 29 5.5 6 to 7 posts 17 3.2 8 to 9 posts 6 1.1 10 or more posts 14 2.7 How many blog posts do you comment on each week? 0 posts 133 25.3 Less than 4 posts 205 39.0 4 to 5 posts 89 17.0 6 to 7 posts 39 7.4 8 to 9 posts 17 3.2 10 or more posts 42 8.0 How many blog posts do you share with others each week? 0 posts 132 25.0 Less than 4 posts 230 43.5 4 to 5 posts 86 16.3 6 to 7 posts 37 7.0 8 to 9 posts 14 2.6 10 or more posts 30 5.7
29 4.3. Scale Validation
The multi-item scales were subjected to a scale reliability analysis to ensure the survey results provided reliable data. Based on prior research on blog credibility, brand credibility, brand similarity, and consumer engagement (Johnson & Kay, 2004; Chang, 2011; Lu, Zhao, &
Wang, 2010; Erdem & Swait, 1998; Zeithaml, Berry, & Parasuraman, 1996) a Cronbach’s Alpha level of at least .7 was desired. The analysis results found the constructs were reliable. Table 4.3 provides each survey construct’s reliability level.
Table 4.3
Scale Reliability
Cronbach’s Item Construct Alpha The Green Hanger is biased The Green Hanger is believable Brand The Green Hanger is accurate Credibility .744 You can't believe what the Green Hanger says The Green Hanger doesn't pretend to be something it isn't The Green Hanger is reasonable The Green Hanger is trustworthy
The Green Hanger is similar to me The Green Hanger and I are alike Brand The Green Hanger and I share similar opinions Similarity The Green Hanger and I share similar attitudes .969 The Green Hanger and I share similar concerns The Green Hanger and I have the same interests
I would say positive things about this blog. I would recommend this blog to someone. I would share this blog post through email. Engagement I would share this blog's post(s) through social media sites. Intentions .954 I would comment on this blog's post(s). I would create a new blog post on my blog about this blog's post(s). I would say positive things about The Green Hanger I would recommend The Green Hanger to someone. I would create a new blog post on my blog about The Green Hanger.
30 4.4 Hypothesis Testing
A two-way ANOVA analysis was employed to explore the hypothesized relationships and determine if blog type (i.e. corporate, personal, and sponsored), message type (i.e. experiential, institutional, and product), or an interaction of blog type and message type had effect on consumer cognitive evaluation and engagement.
4.4.1. Blog Type, Message Type, and Brand Credibility (H1, 3, 6)
Interaction effect. The interaction effect between blog type and brand message type was
found to be an insignificant indicator of the respondents’ perception of credibility towards the
brand with F (2, 8) = 1.954 and p = .100. The lack of significance resulted in the rejection of
Hypothesis 6.
Blog Type. The results indicated that blog type was not a significant indicator of the
respondents’ perceptions of brand credibility with F (2, 8) = .255 and p = .775. The lack of
significance resulted in the rejection of Hypothesis 1.
Message Type. The results illustrated that brand message type was an insignificant indicator of
brand credibility with F (2, 8) = .321 and p = .725. The lack of significance resulted in the
rejection of Hypothesis 3.
Table 4.4 provides the two way ANOVA analysis results for the blog type, message type,
and interaction effect of blog and message type on a brand’s credibility.
31 Table 4.4
Two Way ANOVA Analysis for Blog Type, Message Type, and Brand Credibility
Type III Sum Source of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Corrected Model 2.408a 8 .301 1.173 .313 Intercept 3740.710 1 3740.710 14579.616 .000 Blog Type .131 2 .065 .255 .775 Message Type .165 2 .082 .321 .725 Blog Type * Message 2.005 4 .501 1.954 .100 Type Error 132.904 518 .257 Total 3906.524 527 Corrected Total 135.312 526 a. R Squared = .018 (Adjusted R Squared = .003) *p < .05
4.4.2. Blog Type, Message Type, and Brand Similarity (H2, 4, 5)
Interaction Effect. The interaction effect between blog type and message type was found to be
insignificant for the respondents’ perceptions of similarity towards the brand with F (2,8) =
1.375 and p = .241. The lack of significance led to the rejection of Hypothesis 5.
Blog Type. The results indicate that blog type did not have a significant effect on the
respondents’ perception of similarity towards the brand with F (2,8) = .089 and p = .915. The
lack of significance led to the rejection of Hypothesis 2.
Message Type. It was found that brand message type was significantly related to the
respondents’ perception of similarity towards the brand with F (2, 8) = 7.684 and p = .001. The resulting significance level led to the acceptance of Hypothesis 4.
Table 4.5 provides the two way ANOVA analysis results of blog type, message type, and the interaction effect of blog and message type on a brand’s similarity.
32 Table 4.5
Two Way ANOVA Analysis of Blog Type, Message Type, and Brand Similarity
Type III Sum Source of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
a Corrected Model 15.906 8 1.988 2.552 .010 Intercept 4017.687 1 4017.687 5156.301 .000 Blog Type .139 2 .070 .089 .915 Message Type 11.974 2 5.987 7.684* .001* Blog Type * 4.285 4 1.071 1.375 .241 Message Type Error 403.615 518 .779 Total 4485.756 527 Corrected Total 419.521 526 a. R Squared = .038 (Adjusted R Squared = .023) F statistic = 3.113 * p < .05
A pairwise comparison of means was conducted to decipher where the differences between brand message types were seen. It was found that the significant difference of consumer perception of brand similarity was found between product and institutional brand messages with a significance level of p = 0.000 illustrating that product messages were a stronger indicator of brand similarity than institutional messages. Table 4.6 provides information on the differences discovered between blog message pairs and their effect on brand similarity.
33 Table 4.6
Pairwise Comparison of Message Types for Brand Similarity
Mean (I) Message (J) Message Difference Std. Sig.b 95% Confidence Interval for Type Type (I-J) Error Differenceb Lower Bound Upper Bound Product Experiential .157 .094 .291 -.070 .384 message Message * Institutional .364 .093 .000* .141 .588 Message Experiential Product -.157 .094 .291 -.384 .070 Message message Institutional .208 .096 .094 -.024 .439 Message * Institutional Product -.364 .093 .000 -.588 -.141 Message message Experiential -.208 .096 .094 -.439 .024 Message * p <.05
4.4.3. Brand Credibility, Brand Similarity, and Blog Engagement (H7,8)
After running a regression analysis it was found that brand credibility and similarity were good indicators of user engagement with F (2,523) = 396.333, p = .000, and Durbin-Watson =
1.746. When looked at more closely the coefficients it seemed that brand similarity might be a stronger predictor than brand credibility for consumer engagement with T-values of 17.882 and
5.883 respectively. The reported results led to the acceptance of Hypotheses 7 and 8. Table 4.7 provides the linear regression analysis of brand credibility and similarity’s effect on consumer engagement. Table 4.8 provides more detailed information on brand credibility and similarity individual effect on consumer engagement.
34 Table 4.7
Linear Regression Analysis for Brand Credibility, Brand Similarity, and Blog Engagement
Sum of Squares Mean Square Model df F Sig. Regression 250.142 2 125.071 396.333 .000* Residual 164.728 522 .316 Total 414.870 524 a. Dependent Variable: Engagement b. Predictors: Brand Similarity, Brand Credibility *p < .05
Table 4.8
Variable Coefficients
Unstandardized Standardized Model Coefficients Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) .096 .132 .728 .467 Brand .363 .062 .207 5.883* .000 Credibility Brand .628 .035 .630 17.882* .000 Similarity a. Dependent Variable: Engagement *p < .05
4.4.4. Post Hoc Analysis
Due to the discovery that the effects of blog type and message type on brand credibility
and the effect of blog type on brand similarity were insignificant an additional analysis was run
to see if blog type and message type had any significant effect on blog credibility and similarity.
4.4.4.1. Blog Credibility
The interaction effect of blog type and brand message type on the respondent’s perceptions of credibility toward the blog was found to be insignificant as well with F (2, 8) =
2.011 and p =. 092. The results indicated that blog type did not have a significant effect on the respondents’ perception of credibility towards the blog with F (2,8) = .932 and p = .394. It was also found that message type did not have a significant effect on perceptions of blog credibility
35
with F (2, 8) = .109 and p = .897. Table 4.9 provides the two way ANOVA analysis results of
blog type, message type, and the interaction effect of blog and message type on blog credibility.
Table 4.9
Two Way ANOVA Analysis for Blog Type, Message Type, and Blog Credibility
Type III Source Sum of df Mean F Sig. Squares Square Corrected Model 2.757a 8 .345 1.267 .258 Intercept 3584.843 1 3584.843 13178.585 .000 Blog Type .507 2 .254 .932 .394 Message Type .059 2 .030 .109 .897 Blog Type * 2.189 4 .547 2.011 .092 Message Type
Error 140.635 517 .272
Total 3758.929 526
Corrected Total 143.392 525 a. R Squared = .019 (Adjusted R Squared = .004) *p < .05
4.4.4.2. Blog Similarity
The interaction effect between blog type and brand message type was found to be an insignificant indicator of the respondents’ perceptions of similarity toward the blog with F (2, 8)
= 1.337 and p = .255. It was found that blog type did not have a significant effect on perceptions
of blog similarity with F (2, 8) = .685 and p = .505. It was found that message type had a
significant effect on blog similarity with F (2,8) = 5.332 and p = .005. In regards to the
respondent’s perception of similarity towards the blog a pairwise mean comparison was
conducted to discover where the differences lie between brand message types. It was found that
product and institutional brand message types were significantly different with a significance
level of p = .004, meaning that product messages had a greater effect on blog similarity than
institutional messages. Table 4.10 provides the two way ANOVA analysis results of blog type,
36 message type, and the interaction effect of blog and message type on blog similarity. Table 4.11 provides information on the pairwise comparisons between blog message type pairs and their effect on blog similarity.
Table 4.10
Two Way ANOVA Analysis for Blog Type, Message Type, and Blog Similarity
Type III Sum Source of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Corrected Model 10.658a 8 1.332 2.103 .034 Intercept 3328.817 1 3328.817 5255.150 .000 Blog Type .868 2 .434 .685 .505 Message Type 6.756 2 3.378 5.332* .005* Blog Type * Message 3.387 4 .847 1.337 .255 Type Error 330.022 521 .633 Total 3717.657 530 Corrected Total 340.680 529 a. R Squared = .031 (Adjusted R Squared = .016) *p < .05
Table 4.11
Pairwise Comparison of Message Type for Blog Similarity
Mean 95% Confidence (I) Message Type (J) Message Type Difference Std. Sig.b Interval for Differenceb (I-J) Error Lower Upper Bound Bound Experiential .139 .085 .306 -.065 .343 Product Message Message Institutional .273* .084 .004* .072 .474 Message Experiential -.139 .085 .306 -.343 .065 Product message Message Institutional .134 .087 .364 -.074 .342 Message Institutional -.273* .084 .004* -.474 -.072 Product message Message Experiential -.134 .087 .364 -.342 .074 Message *p < .05
37 4.4.4.3 Blog Engagement
The results indicated that the interaction effect was not a significant indicator of blog
engagement with F (2,8) = 1.054 and p = .379. Blog type was also found to not be a significant
indicator of the respondents’ intention to engage with the blog with F (2,8) = .142 and p = .868.
Message type was a significant indicator of respondents’ intention to engage with the blog. The
type of brand message’s affect on respondent intention to engage with a blog was seen in F (2, 8)
= 4.414 and p = .013. A pairwise mean comparison was conducted to discover where the differences lie between brand message types. It was found that the only significant differences were between product and institutional messages with a significance level of p = 0.010.
Meaning that product messages had a greater effect on blog engagement than institutional messages. Table 4.12 provides information on the two way ANOVA analysis results of blog type, message type, and the interaction effect of blog and message type on consumer engagement. Table 4.13 provides information on the pairwise comparison between blog message types and their effect on consumer engagement.
Table 4.12
Two Way ANOVA Analysis for Blog Type, Message Type, and Engagement
Type III Source Sum of df Mean F Sig. Squares Square a Corrected Model 9.937 8 1.242 1.592 .124 Intercept 4132.493 1 4132.493 5296.643 .000 Blog Type .222 2 .111 .142 .868 Message Type 6.887 2 3.444 4.414* .013 Blog Type * Message 3.288 4 .822 1.054 .379 Type Error 406.489 521 .780 Total 4606.700 530 Corrected Total 416.427 529 a. R Squared = .024 (Adjusted R Squared = .009) *p < .05
38 Table 4.13
Pairwise Comparison of Message Type for Engagement
Mean (I) Message (J) Message Difference Std. Sig.b 95% Confidence Interval for Type Type (I-J) Error Differenceb Lower Upper Bound Bound Product Experiential .160 .094 .247 -.066 .386 message Message Institutional .274* .093 .010* .052 .497 Message Experiential Product -.160 .094 .247 -.386 .066 Message message Institutional .114 .096 .552 -.116 .344 Message Institutional Product -.274* .093 .010* -.497 -.052 Message message Experiential -.114 .096 .552 -.344 .116 Message *p < .05
Blog Credibility and Blog Similarity. A linear regression analysis was run to determine if blog credibility and similarity were able to predict blog engagement. It was found that blog credibility and similarity were good indicators of user engagement with F (2, 523) = 429.63, p = .000,
Dubin-Watson = 1.886, R-squared = .622, and Adjusted R-squared = .620. When looking at the coefficients it seemed that blog similarity might be a stronger predictor than blog credibility for consumer engagement with T-values of 17.41 and 6.479 respectively. Table 4.14 provides information on the linear regression results of blog similarity and credibility on consumer engagement. Table 4.15 provides more detailed information on blog credibility and blog similarity’s effect on consumer engagement.
39 Table 4.14
Linear Regression for Blog Credibility, Blog Similarity, and Blog Engagement
Sum of Model Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Regression 257.983 2 128.992 429.636* .000 Residual 157.023 523 .300 Total 415.006 525 Dependent Variable: Engagement Predictors: Blog Credibility and Blog Similarity *p < .05
Table 4.15
Variable Coefficients
Unstandardized Standardized Model Coefficients Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) .064 .122 .525 .600 Blog Similarity .683 .039 .619 17.414 .000 Blog Credibility .392 .060 .230 6.479 .000 Dependent Variable: Engagement *p < .05
Appendix C provides visual representations of the nine experimental conditions utilized in the current study. Links to the blog websites are included in order to provide the entire blog to the readers. Appendix D provides the cover letter for the main test as well as the survey instrument.
40 CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION
5.1 Overview
The purpose of the current study was to investigate female consumers’ intention to
engage with a blog by examining their perceptions of brand credibility and similarity based on
The Stimulus-Organism- Response (SOR) Theory and the Signaling Theory. This chapter
summarizes the empirical findings of the research and discusses the theoretical and managerial
implications. The limitations of the current study and future research are discussed at the end of
the chapter.
5.2. Empirical Findings
5.2.1. The Effects of Blog Type and Message Type on Credibility, Similarity and Engagement
Significant results were found in the effect of message type on brand similarity, blog
similarity and blog engagement. Specifically, product messages had a significantly larger effect
compared to institutional messages when developing brand similarity, blog similarity, and blog engagement intention. This supports out initial hypotheses that stated there would be differing effects of message type on cognitive evaluation and engagement outcomes. According to the
Social Media Report published by Nielsen and NM Incite, active social media users are more likely to read product reviews online and 3 out of 5 users create their own product and service reviews. Women are more likely than men to tell others about products they like (81% of females vs. 72% of males). Further, consumer-generated reviews and product ratings are the most preferred sources of product information among social media users. The report is in line with our study results illustrating that consumers were more inclined to rely on messages
41 presenting in-depth product information when forming their evaluation toward an unfamiliar brand (i.e. mock brand Green Hanger).
In addition, while consumers may appreciate that a brand is making an effort to be stewards of the environment and provide products that help protect it, the institutional message should be carefully designed to achieve the best company-cause fit in order to maximize the effect of institutional messages. According to Lee et al. (2012), perceived consumer fit between the company and the CSR activity undertaken influences consumer perception of Company–
Consumer identification and consumer loyalty. This result indicates that for the institutional message to yield positive outcomes for the company, brands should design the message in a way that perceived fit between the message and the brand image is positive. As the brand-CSR
message fit was not emphasized in the current study, institutional messages were consistent to
speak about certain environmental activities, which may have decreased the perceived company-
CSR message fit, leading to institutional message having a less significant impact than product
message.
However, the results revealed that blog type did not influence consumers’ perception of
brand similarity, brand credibility, blog similarity, blog credibility or blog engagement. Fu and
Chen (2012) found that in blogging situations, consumers are more focused on the information in
message appeals than the blog itself. When messages provided consumers information that met
their need sets (i.e. product information or emotional influences) the more effective the message
is without consideration of blog type (Fu & Chen, 2012). This is congruent with the current study
finding a significant effect of message type on positive business outcomes while the blog type
was not a significant indicator. Also, the level of cognition participants need in information
searches may have affected their ability to process the blog type information to lead to positive
42 company outcomes (i.e. similarity, credibility and engagement). Consumers who actively seek to discover information from various sources about products process information differently from consumers who seek out information through their social circles (Morimoto &Trimble, 2012). In the current research, blog type was only differentiated through the blog name (i.e. Green Hanger vs. Color Dashed with Glamour) and the “About Me” section. Therefore, participants who process information through social cues may have missed the indication of different blog types.
As the current study’s focus was not to differentiate consumers with different information processing styles, it may have masked the true relationship between blog type and the business outcomes.
Contrary to our expectations, blog type and message type were not significant indicators for the consumers’ perception of brand credibility or blog credibility. This indicates that using different blog types or message type was not enough to yield a perception of credibility either toward the brand or the blog itself. Previous studies found that the more consumers use blogs the more comfortable they are with the information blogs provide and perceive blogs to be trustworthy and credible sources (Johnson & Kaye, 2009). Venkatesh and Morris (2000) revealed that as female consumers spend more time with blogs and other technology they become more comfortable with blogs. As the sample consists of experienced blog users, they might have already had established a sense of credibility toward the medium (i.e. blog) before they came into the experiment, resulting in indifferent levels of blog credibility regardless of the different conditions presented.
An explanation of the insignificant result regarding brand credibility could be based on the nature of our sample demographic: female consumers. In order for female consumers to believe in a source’s credibility, they need to be exposed to the source for a longer period of time
43 (Midha, 2012). Because of the study’s use of mock brands, participants may have not had
enough time to establish perceived credibility and may have had an increased belief to view the
brand’s information cautiously. Therefore, the lack of exposure and unfamiliarity of the brand
may explain why the study respondents did not perceive a difference in brand credibility between
blog types or message types.
5.3. Implications
5.3.1 Theoretical Implications
The findings of the current study advance our knowledge of female consumers’
engagement intention in both a theoretical and a practical sense. The study provides theoretical
insight into understanding the blog features that influence female consumers’ perception of a
brand’s credibility and similarity. While previous research focused on how brands have used
blogs as a way to connect with their consumers in the social media field (Johnson and Kaye,
2009; Hsu and Tsou, 2011; Chang, 2011; Fu and Chen, 2012; Ahuja and Medury, 2010; Chiou
and Hu, 2009; Keng and Ting, 2009) there has not an effective marketing strategy developed
from the research. The current study aimed to highlight the components of an effective blog
marketing strategy. Additionally, previous research has studied how blogs illustrate their credibility to consumers (Johnson & Kaye, 2004; Johnson & Kaye, 2009); the current study sought to extend previous research by determining how and if blog type and message type had an
effect on a brand’s credibility with its consumers. Further, similarity has been studied by looking
at the relationships between blog users (Lee, Kim, & Kim, 2011; Lee et al., 2009; Yeh & Choi,
2011); the current study aimed to shed light on how and if blog type and message type have an
effect on the perceived similarity between the consumer and a brand.
44 5.3.2. Managerial Implications
The current study provides insights into how marketers for a fashion brand can develop their blogging activities if they choose to incorporate blogs into their marketing strategies targeting female consumers.
Although the researcher realizes that the initial study does not fully answer marketers’ needs in developing effective blogging activities, important information has been discovered.
The current study’s findings suggest that marketers should incorporate product messages into whichever blog type they choose to employ especially if the brand is unfamiliar to the target market. Since current study utilized mock brands and blogs this implication may be beneficial to brands that are new to the market or brands that are aiming for a new target market. According to the study results, blog type was not a factor in determining a brand’s credibility, similarity, or the consumers’ engagement intention. In light of these results it can be suggested that marketers should choose the blog type that best fits the brand and how it reaches out to consumers. In regards to message type an emphasis should be placed on product messages to better develop brand similarity, blog similarity and blog engagement. Utilizing product messaging in their blogging activities is suggested due to the results of product messages’ higher significance level over institutional messages. Also, other message types should not be ignored in order to reduce boredom, keep the consumer interested, and returning to the blog for new content.
By examining the influence of brand credibility and similarity on engagement, the current study provides information to marketers as to how to encourage consumer blog engagement.
Suggestions for potential strategies include involving consumers in conversations about potential new items, merchandise improvements, or product line expansions. These strategies can be implemented by creating blog posts discussing with consumers what it is they like about the
45
brand’s merchandise or service, if there are changes they would like to see made, or even allow the consumers to get involved in creating a new product or service. These strategies can be seen on Starbucks’ website under its My Starbucks Idea webpage (“My Starbucks Idea”). Nike has also engaged consumers in conversations about its products through its Nike+ program. Nike has been able to experiment with its Nike+ product offerings as well as get direct input from consumers about how they run and what type of shoe they prefer to wear while running
(Ramaswamy, 2008). Creating a continuous series of blog posts dedicated to new and current products and encourage consumer communication is an avenue for developing a similar strategy.
To reduce the potential of consumers getting bored with product message content, experiential messages and institutional messages could be utilized on the blog as well.
5.4. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
The choice of creating a mock blog and brand created trade-offs that could limit the generalizations made by the study. While the experiment process was carefully designed and mock blogs were fully functional for a realistic look, not employing well known blogs and brands may have prohibited the examination of the respondents’ perceived similarity and credibility according to different blog types and message types. In future research studies, the use of existing blogs or brands may be beneficial to further understand consumer behavior in a blogging context. By considering established and popular blogs and/or brands consumers are more familiar with may provide richer details and allow for a more generalized results when determining perceived brand similarity and credibility.
Second, current study’s focus on fashion blogs does not provide the opportunity to provide blog campaign strategies for multiple industries. Fashion apparel is a high involvement product; the current study’s focus on fashion apparel products may have limited the study’s
46 scope as well as its results. In the future, researchers may want to consider using the current study’s model but include only low involvement products that have a more utilitarian value to consumers. This may provide the researcher with a greater depth of knowledge by providing an alternate perspective on consumer behavior in a blogging environment. Also, other high involvement items may be considered such as technology products or service experiences in the hospitality and tourism industry to determine if the current study’s results were due to its focus on apparel products. Researchers may also consider comparing high involvement and low involvement products to discover if the product type may alter the study results. By comparing products with varying levels of consumer involvement may provide a greater depth of knowledge. Comparing products may also illustrate how blogs alter consumer perceptions of brand credibility and similarity based on involvement level. The different products may also illustrate differences in how consumers engage with a brand and blog based on involvement level as well.
Third, current study was designed to reduce bias towards one mock blog over another based on its presentation, meaning that the blogs’ features, graphics, fonts, etc. were identical.
This may have made it difficult for the respondents to differentiate the blogs based on publisher.
A second research study may be developed utilizing the same blog and message types, but develop more differentiation between the blog types. In the future study, providing more information such as logos and color schemes specific to the brand may be beneficial in offering further implications. Further, future studies can focus on the message type. Instead of employing experiential messages a potential avenue is utilizing messages that discuss customer service issues (i.e. bad products, unpleasant shopping experiences, etc.) or public relations topics (i.e. manufacturing worker endangerment, employee pay scale discrepancies, executive scandals,
47 fraudulent accounting practices, etc.). These alterations may provide different results regarding perceptions of brand credibility, brand similarity, and engagement as well as provide more insight for blogging campaigns.
Fourth, another consideration for blog type’s inability to foster strong perceptions of credibility, similarity, or engagement intention may be related to the About Me section of the blogs. Consumers participating in blogging activities may not consider the About Me section.
That is not to say the About Me section is unimportant in blogging behaviors or that the study respondents did not peruse the information provided in the mock blogs’ About Me sections, but that it may not be a defining feature when establishing and building upon a foundation of credibility, similarity, and engagement. Cho and Huh (2010) found that different blog features or cues alter a blog’s influence with consumers. Consumers were presented with several different cues that illustrated the blog’s level of influence. The blog features included links to outside related blogs (i.e. blog rolls), what phrases or sentences were copied from a blog and its posts’ content (i.e. trackbacks). The current study’s mock blogs were not designed to include these features and may have affected the analysis results. An avenue that is open for further exploration is to include different blog features. The features may include links to other blogs
(i.e. blog rolls), various social media share buttons (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), the number of followers of the blog, the number of likes for the individual blog posts, and links to archived blog posts that are not shown on the screen presented to study participants.
Lastly, the current research focused on the initial stage of blog exposure when consumers are reading the blog messages and digesting information rather than them actively participating in knowledge sharing. Brand communities on social media 1) support their members in terms of sharing necessary information from various sources (Szmigin & Reppel, 2001), 2) provide
48 opportunities for being in touch with highly devoted customers (Anderson, 2005), and 3) facilitate effective communication with other customers for obtaining valuable information (Von
Hippel, 2005), and for co-creating value from closely interacting with other customers (Schau et al., 2009). Perhaps the most important advantage for companies in supporting social media brand communities is highly efficient communication and distribution channel (Kaplan & Haenlein,
2010), and bringing together different and likeminded people (Hagel and Armstrong, 1997).
Therefore, a future study can be suggested to extend the result of the current research by incorporating elements that enable survey participants to be part of the knowledge sharing process. While current study examined engagement as an outcome for blog features (i.e. blog type and message type), further research in investigating engagement as an antecedent to building credibility and similarity will provide valuable insight to marketers as well.
49 APPENDIX A
PRE-TEST RECRUITMENT MATERIALS AND COVER LETTER
50 Recruitment Slide (extra credit given)
Pre-Test Recruitment Slide (no extra credit given)
Pre Test Cover Letter
Hello,
I am from University of North Texas and I plan to study you, consumers who use blogs and your engagement with them (for example, talking about a blog or sharing it through social media). In particular, this study is being conducted to understand if brand messages found on a blog affect your perception of the brand and blog as well as your engagement with a brand. This study is expected to provide valuable insight not only to apparel brands, but also to marketers concerned
51 with discovering ways to engage with their consumers. Your participation is critical to the success of this study because it will allow me to develop more realistic conclusions.
To participate, simply click the “survey” button below. It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete the survey. You may choose not to answer any question and you may stop participating at any time. After completing the survey, please remember to click “finish.” By completing the survey, you give your consent to participate in the research.
If you are in class 0000, you will be receiving extra points for participating. After you click ‘Finish’, you will be directed to a new page in which asks for your name and email address. The list will be stored separately and will be sent to your professor so that you can receive your extra points. Your name and email address will not be linked back to your survey and will only be used to give extra credits to the participants. For those who do not want to participate in the research, same amount of extra credit will be offered upon completion of the alternative activity. Please contact the professor for the activity.
To protect the confidentiality of your responses, please do not write your name UNLESS you are in class 0000 that offers extra credit. Your demographic information will only be used to help the analyses and will be published in an aggregated form.
There are no foreseeable risks involved in this study.
Your participation in the study is voluntary. Your decision to participate or to withdraw will involve no penalty or loss of rights or benefits. Your decision to participate or to withdraw from the study will have no effect on your standing in this course or your course grade.
If you have any questions, please contact me, Jiyoung Kim (Assistant Professor, Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing, University of North Texas, [email protected], 940- 565-3344) or Rebecca Melton (Graduate Student, Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing, University of North Texas, [email protected]). This research project has been reviewed and approved by the UNT Institutional Review Board (940) 565-3940. Contact the UNT IRB with any questions regarding your rights as a research subject.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Jiyoung Kim, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing, University of North Texas [email protected], 940-565-3344
Rebecca Melton, Graduate Student Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing, University of North Texas [email protected]
52 APPENDIX B
PRE TEST SURVEY
53 What type of blog is this? o A blog published by a company o A blog published by someone who is a big supporter for a company o A blog published by someone who receives payment in some form for providing certain types of information o None of the above
What type of blog is this? o A blog published by a company o A blog published by someone who is a big supporter for a company o A blog published by someone who receives payment in some form for providing certain types of information o None of the above
What type of blog is this? o A blog published by a company o A blog published by someone who is a big supporter for a company o A blog published by someone who receives payment in some form for providing certain types of information o None of the above
54 What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities done for the community/the environment/individuals in need by a company o None of the above
What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities done for the environment/the community/individuals in need by a company o None of the above
What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities done for the community/environment/individuals in need by a company
55
o None of the above
What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities for the community/environment/individuals in need done by a company o None of the above
What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer
56 o A message that illustrates positive activities for the community/environment/individuals in need done by a company o None of the above
What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities for the community/environment/individuals in need done by a company o None of the above
57 What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities for the community/environment/individuals in need done by a company o None of the above
What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities for the community/environment/individuals in need done by a company o None of the above
58 What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities for the community/environment/individuals in need done by a company o None of the above
59 What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities for the community/environment/individuals in need done by a company o None of the above
What type of message is this? o A message that talks about a lifestyle or a social event o A message that talks about a product’s benefits and uses for the customer o A message that illustrates positive activities for the community/environment/individuals in need done by a company o None of the above
60 APPENDIX C
PRE-TEST RESULTS
61 Table C1
Based on the Information Provided in the Picture Above, What Type of Blog is This?
Blog Type Frequency Percentage Corporate 7 9.1 Personal 23 29.9 Sponsored 32 41.6 None of the above 15 19.5 Total 77 100.0
Table C2
Based on the Information Provided in the Picture Above, What Type of Blog is This?
Blog Type Frequency Percentage Corporate 42 54.5 Personal 13 16.9 Sponsored 17 22.1 None of the above 5 6.5 Total 77 100.0
Table C3
Based on the Information Provided in the Picture Above, What Type of Blog is This?
Blog Type Frequency Percentage Company blog 5 6.5 Personal Blog 38 49.4 Sponsored blog 15 19.5 None of the above 19 24.7 Total 77 100.0
62 Table C4
Based on the Information Provided in the Picture Above, What Type of Blog is This?
Message Type Frequency Percent Experiential 5 6.6 Product 21 27.6 Corporate 48 63.2 None of the above 2 2.6 Total 76 100.0
Table C5
Based on the Information Found in the Above Blog Message, What Type of Information is
Provided?
Message Type Frequency Percentage Experiential 7 9.2 Product 19 25.0 Corporate 50 65.8 None of the above 0 0 Total 76 100
Table C6
Based on the Information Found in the Above Blog Message, What Type of Information is
Provided?
Message Type Frequency Percent Experiential 16 21.1 Product 23 30.3 Corporate 36 47.4 None of the above 1 1.3 Total 76 100
63 Table C7
Based on the Information Found in the Above Blog Message, What Type of Information is
Provided?
Message Type Frequency Percentage Experiential 56 73.7 Product 5 6.6 Corporate 5 6.6 None of the above 10 13.2 Total 76 100
Table C8
Based on the Information Found in the Above Blog Message, What Type of Information is
Provided?
Message Type Frequency Percent Experiential 45 59.2 Product 27 35.5 Corporate 3 3.9 None of the above 1 1.3 Total 76 100.0
Table C9
Based on the Information Found in the Above Blog Message, What Type of Information is
Provided?
Message Type Frequency Percentage Experiential 48 63.2 Product 19 25.0 Corporate 4 5.3 None of the above 5 6.6 Total 76 100
64 Table C10
Based on the Information Found in the Above Blog Message, What Type of Information is
Provided?
Message Type Frequency Percentage Experiential 4 5.3 Product 59 78.7 Corporate 8 10.7 None of the above 4 5.3 Total 75 100.0
Table C11
Based on the Information Found in the Above Blog Message, What Type of Information is
Provided?
Message Type Frequency Percentage Experiential 4 5.3 Product 60 78.9 Corporate 8 10.5 None of the above 4 5.3 Total 76 100.0
Table C12
Based on the Information Found in the Above Blog Message, What Type of Information is
Provided?
Message Type Frequency Percentage Experiential 5 6.7 Product 58 77.3 Corporate 8 10.7 None of the above 4 5.3 Total 75 100.0
65 APPENDIX D
MAIN TEST EXPERIMENT CONDITIONS
66 Condition 1
Corporate blog with product messaging http://thegreenhanger1.blogspot.com/
Condition 2
Personal blog with product messaging http://colordashedwithglamour1.blogspot.com/
67 Condition 3
Sponsored blog with product messaging http://colordashedwithglamour2.blogspot.com/
Condition 4
Personal blog with experiential messages http://colordashedwithglamour3.blogspot.com/
68
Condition 5
Sponsored blog with experiential messages http://colordashedwithglamour4.blogspot.com/
Condition 6
Corporate blog with experiential messages http://thegreenhanger2.blogspot.com/
69 Condition 7
Personal blog with institutional messages http://colordashedwithglamour5.blogspot.com/
Condition 8
Sponsored blog with institutional messages http://colordashedwithglamour6.blogspot.com/
70 Condition 9
Corporate blog with institutional messages http://thegreenhanger3.blogspot.com/
71 APPENDIX E
MAIN TEST COVER LETTER AND SURVEY
72 Hello,
I am from University of North Texas and I plan to study you, consumers who use blogs and your engagement with them (for example, talking about a blog or sharing it through social media). In particular, this study is being conducted to understand if brand messages found on a blog affect your perception of the brand and blog as well as your engagement with a brand. This study is expected to provide valuable insight not only to apparel brands, but also to marketers concerned with discovering ways to engage with their consumers. Your participation is critical to the success of this study because it will allow me to develop more realistic conclusions.
To participate, simply click the “survey” button below. It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete the survey. You may choose not to answer any question and you may stop participating at any time. After completing the survey, please remember to click “finish.” By completing the survey, you give your consent to participate in the research.
To protect the confidentiality of your responses, please do not write your name in any part of the survey. Your demographic information will only be used to help the analyses and will be published in an aggregated form.
There are no foreseeable risks involved in this study.
Your participation in the study is voluntary. Your decision to participate or to withdraw will involve no penalty or loss of rights or benefits.
If you have any questions, please contact me, Jiyoung Kim (Assistant Professor, Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing, University of North Texas, [email protected], 940- 565-3344) or Rebecca Melton (Graduate student, Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing, [email protected]). This research project has been reviewed and approved by the UNT Institutional Review Board (940) 565-3940. Contact the UNT IRB with any questions regarding your rights as a research subject.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Jiyoung Kim, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing, University of North Texas [email protected], 940-565-3344
Rebecca Melton, Graduate Student Department of Merchandising, University of North Texas [email protected]
73 SQ1 I have read and understood the above consent form and desire of my own free will to participate in this study. Yes No
SQ2 What is your gender? Female Male
SQ3 Is your age between 25 to 49? Yes No
SQ4 Do you use social media (e.g. Facebook and/or blogs)? Yes No
TS02 Based on your previous experience with blogs, please answer the following questions.
Q1 Have you ever visited a blog in the past? Yes No
Q2 If yes, what are the top three blogs you visit frequently?
Q3 Do you publish a blog yourself? Yes No
Q4 How long have you been reading and/or creating blog posts? 6 months or less 6 months to 1 year 1 to 2 years 2 to 3 years 3 years or more
74 Q5 How much time do you spend per week reading blog posts? 1 hour or less 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 hours or more Q6 How many blog posts do you read per week? 4 to 5 posts 6 to 7 posts 8 to 9 posts 10 or more posts
Q7 How many blog posts do you publish per week? 0 Less than 4 posts 4 to 5 posts 6 to 7 posts 8 to 9 posts 10 posts or more
Q8 How many blog posts do you comment on per week? 0 Less than 4 posts 4 to 5 posts 6 to 7 posts 8 to 9 posts More than 10 posts
Q9 How many blog posts do you share with others per week? 0 Less than 4 posts 4 to 5 posts 6 to 7 posts 8 to 9 posts More than 10 posts blog1 Please click on the following link to The Green Hanger Blog http://thegreenhanger1.blogspot.com/
Blog 2 Please click the following link to the Color Dashed with Glamour blog. http://colordashedwithglamour1.blogspot.com/
75 Blog 3 Please click the following link to the Color Dashed with Glamour blog. http://colordashedwithglamour2.blogspot.com/
Blog 4 Please click on the following link to the Color Dashed with Glamour blog. http://colordashedwithglamour3.blogspot.com/
Blog 5 Please click the following link to the Color Dashed with Glamour blog. http://colordashedwithglamour4.blogspot.com/
Blog 6 Please click the following link to The Green Hanger blog. http://thegreenhanger2.blogspot.com/
Blog 7 Please click the following link to the Color Dashed with Glamour blog. http://colordashedwithglamour5.blogspot.com/
Blog 8 Please click the following link to the Color Dashed with Glamour blog. http://http://colordashedwithglamour6.blogspot.com/
Blog 9 Please click the following link to The Green Hanger blog. http://thegreenhanger3.blogspot.com/
TS2 We will now ask you questions based on the blog you just viewed.
76 Q5 Based on reading the blog please answer the following questions regarding the blogger. (Pick the answer choice that best describes your opinion). Strongly Agree Neither Agree Disagree Strongly Agree nor Disagree Disagree The blogger is similar to me. The blogger and I are alike. The blogger and I share similar opinions. The blogger and I share similar attitudes The blogger has similar concerns to me The blogger and I share the same interests. I have a fondness for the blogger. The blogger doesn't pretend to be something he/she isn't.
77 Q6 Based on reading the blog please answer the following questions regarding the blog. (Pick the answer choice that best describes your opinion). Strongly Agree Neither Agree Disagree Strongly Agree nor Disagree Disagree The blog is biased The blog is believable The blog is accurate. You can’t believe what this blog says. The blog doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. The blog is reasonable. The blog is trustworthy.
78 Q7 Please answer the following questions about the posts that you read. (Pick the answer choice that best describes your opinion). Strongly Agree Neither Agree Disagree Strongly Agree nor Disagree Disagree The Green Hanger is biased The Green Hanger is believable. The Green Hanger is accurate. You can't believe what The Green Hanger says. The Green Hanger doesn't pretend to be something it isn't The Green Hanger is reasonable. The Green Hanger is trustworthy.
79 Q8 Based on the blog that you viewed please answer the following questions about the brand. (Pick the one that best describes your opinion). Strongly Agree Neither Agree Disagree Strongly Agree nor Disagree Disagree The Green Hanger is similar to me. The Green Hanger and I are alike. The Green Hanger and I share similar opinions. The Green Hanger and I share similar attitudes The Green Hanger and I share similar concerns The Green Hanger and I have the same interests
80 Q9 Based on reading the blog please answer the following questions about your engagement intentions and behaviors about the blog and brand. (Pick the answer choice that best describes your opinion). Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly Agree Agree nor Disagree Disagree I would say positive things about this blog. I would recommend this blog to someone. I would share this blog post through email I would share this blog's post(s) through social media sites. I would comment on this blog's post(s). I would create a new blog post on my blog about this blog's post(s). I would say positive things about The Green Hanger I would recommend The Green Hanger to someone. I would create a new blog post on my blog about The Green Hanger.
81 Q10 Please answer the following questions about your demographic background. The personal information will only be used to help with statistical analysis. Any information you provide will not be used to identify you.
Q11 What is your age?
Q12 What is your gender? Male Female Q13 What is your occupation?
Q14 What is your marital status? Single Married Divorced Domestic Partnership Widowed
Q15 What is your highest level of education? Elementary/middle school Some high school High school graduate Some college/no degree Associate/technical degree Bachelor's degree Graduate/professional degree
Q16 What is your income level? Less than $35,000 $35,001 - $55,000 $55,001 - $75,000 $75,001 - $95,000 $95,001 - $105,000 $105,001 - $125,000 $125,001 - $145,000 $145,001 or higher
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