Sanne Kruikemeier, Guda van Noort, Rens Vliegenthart and Claes H. de Vreese
The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal relationship between interactive and personal campaigning on social media and political involvement, and the mechanisms that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal relationship between interactive and personal campaigning on social media and political involvement, and the mechanisms that explain the effects. Specifically, this study examines whether personal and interactive communication on Twitter increases political involvement among citizens through social presence and perceived expertise.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental design – a 2 (low vs high interactivity)×3 (depersonalized vs individualized vs privatized communication) between-subjects design – is used.
Findings
The findings show that interactive communication leads to a stronger sense of social presence and source expertise, which positively affect involvement. The effects of personal campaigning differ. Individualized communication positively affects involvement via source expertise. Interestingly, privatized communication positively affects involvement via social presence, but negatively via source expertise.
Originality/value
Although a growing body of work examines the political consequences of social media, there is still very little understanding why social media affect citizens. The current study fills this void by investigating how the use of social media affects political involvement among citizens.
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Keywords
Judith Moeller, Damian Trilling, Natali Helberger, Kristina Irion and Claes De Vreese
This paper aims to shed light on the impact of personalized news media on the shared issue agenda that provides democracies with a set of topics that structure the public debate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to shed light on the impact of personalized news media on the shared issue agenda that provides democracies with a set of topics that structure the public debate. The advent of personalized news media that use smart algorithms to tailor the news offer to the user challenges the established way of setting the agenda of such a common core of issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper tests the effects of personalized news use on perceived importance of these issues in the common core. In particular, the authors study whether personalized news use leads to a concentration at the top of the issue agenda or to a more diverse issue agenda with a long tail of topics.
Findings
Based on a cross-sectional survey of a representative population sample (n = 1,556), we find that personalized news use does not lead to a small common core in which few topics are discussed extensively, yet there is a relationship between personalized news use and a preference for less discussed topics. This is a result of a specific user profile of personalized news users: younger, more educated news users are more interested in topics at the fringes of the common core and also make more use of personalized news offers.
Research limitations/implications
The results are discussed in the light of media diversity and recent advances in public sphere research.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about algorithmic news dissemination. While, currently, much attention is reserved for the role of platforms as information gatekeepers in relationship to the news media, maybe their ability to enable or hinder the audience in discovering and distributing news content is part of what really characterizes their influence on the market place of ideas.
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Afef Sahli and Yuan Zhai
The purpose of this study is to show that as technologies expand the personalization capabilities of advertisers and that intrusive ad formats online and in mobile contexts raise…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to show that as technologies expand the personalization capabilities of advertisers and that intrusive ad formats online and in mobile contexts raise privacy and control concerns, this emerging area requires better understanding.
Design/methodology/approach
The model tests antecedents and outcomes of advertising intrusion based on surveys of 170 respondents and structural equation modeling. Personalized mobile ads, privacy concerns and perceived vulnerability heighten intrusion, leading to resistance behaviors like avoiding ads and negative brand attitudes.
Findings
The findings offer several practical implications for marketers targeting youth to balance relevance with transparency in personalized communications to avoid irritation that damages brand perceptions and relationships. The authors believe the article contributes uniquely to the literature at the intersection of interactive marketing technologies, privacy concerns and adolescent consumers – an impactful yet understudied demographic. The rigorous methodology also advances knowledge of advertising intrusion phenomena.
Research limitations/implications
As with all research, it is important to recognize the limitations of this work that can be taken advantage of in future avenues of research. Firstly, the authors did not consider demographic variables, such as gender, and psychographic variables (lifestyle, personality, etc.), as factors that may influence advertising intrusiveness. Secondly, the authors limited the consequences of intrusion to the variable resistance over time, since several consequences can be studied in this context. Further investigations may remedy those limitations by integrating additional variables into the models, as well as resistance proxies. Besides, a new path for research would consider a breakdown of the age range of teenagers, i.e. the beginning, the middle and the late teenage years.
Practical implications
The discoveries from this study have significant implications for marketers and organization. The authors therefore recommend that companies commit to creating value through personalization and implement techniques to reduce consumers’ privacy concerns “personalizing mobile advertising involves several important aspects including choosing the right target market, sending users relevant and wanted information and creating personalized advertising contents” (Wang et al., 2019). One way forward, in an environment that will be even more connected in the future, is for companies to request only the data that is relevant and necessary for the smooth running of their business and to integrate privacy practices into their operations.
Originality/value
This research can contribute to the development of a theory on the role of advertising intrusion in shaping adolescent behavior. The research model has enabled us to deduce the impact of personalization on the perception of an advertising intrusion, providing us with information on the importance of elements provided by the company, such as the importance of the characteristics and beliefs of the adolescent consumer, i.e. perceived privacy concerns and risks, in deciding whether or not to participate in personalization. The conclusions of the study therefore highlight the need for companies to adapt their marketing strategy to remain consistent with new expectations, i.e. to conceive personalization and privacy as two consubstantial issues.