Erik Hermann, Martin Eisend and Tomás Bayón
The purpose of this paper is to apply cultivation theory to social network sites by investigating how Facebook uses cultivates users' ethnic diversity perceptions and attitudes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply cultivation theory to social network sites by investigating how Facebook uses cultivates users' ethnic diversity perceptions and attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ investigations include an online and offline survey study with 476 Facebook users and a follow-up experiment with 75 individuals.
Findings
The authors provide empirical support that Facebook use cultivates ethnic diversity perceptions and ethnic diversity-related attitudes. They show that Facebook use relates to perceptions of ethnic minorities that resemble the world on Facebook that is characterized by high ethnic diversity. The authors further demonstrate that the cultivation of ethnic diversity-related attitudes is mediated by diversity perceptions related to users' close social environment.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should consider culturally and educationally diverse samples as well as longitudinal research designs to address external validity and causality issues.
Practical implications
Algorithms determining the content users are exposed should be thoughtfully curated to avoid attitudinal and ideological polarization.
Social implications
Facebook can play an important role in positively shaping intergroup relations, thereby countering negative outgroup attitudes, social anxieties and radical right-wing parties.
Originality/value
The authors’ studies extend the scope of cultivation research by identifying a new media vehicle as a source of cultivation influences and shed light on the cultivation-based process of attitude change on social network sites.
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Surprise has been recognized as a key process in humor. Past studies have seldom tested elements that could increase the surprise in humor advertising, subsequently increasing…
Abstract
Purpose
Surprise has been recognized as a key process in humor. Past studies have seldom tested elements that could increase the surprise in humor advertising, subsequently increasing perceived humor and positive ad outcomes. The purpose of this paper was to test the effects of priming a lower arousal baseline before humor ad exposure. It proposed that this would generate greater humor ad surprise because of contrast effects, leading to greater perceived humor and positive ad effects.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experiments tested the effects of arousal and valence of primes on humor ads. Attention, perceived humor and ad effectiveness of the humor ads were measured.
Findings
Evidence of lower (vs higher) arousal primes leading to greater humor ad evaluations was found across three experiments. Felt arousal of the ad mediated the relationship between the prime conditions and perceived humor.
Originality/value
No study has focused on context effects of the unique process of humor ads. This study advanced the arousal theory of incongruity-resolution humor and further emphasized the role of surprise. The findings implicate that the surroundings of the humor ad could increase its effectiveness.
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Scientific communication takes place within two main fields: research and publication. Whereas twentieth century audio‐visual media did not become established in the scientific…
Abstract
Scientific communication takes place within two main fields: research and publication. Whereas twentieth century audio‐visual media did not become established in the scientific communication system, the Internet, with its variety of communication options, is able to enter both fields of communication and has even revolutionised this communication system to some extent. The investigation of this relationship is based on data from a study of social scientists taken in Berlin in autumn 1999. The Internet substitutes written communication media and complements forms of spoken communication in the field of research. It also complements traditional publisher‐oriented forms of publication and is even a substitute for works that have previously avoided publication. Therefore, the Internet should not be regarded as a new alternative to traditional and institutionalised structures of communication of scientific publications, as it has already become institutionalised in the field of research as a medium of interpersonal communication.
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Dieter Ahlert, Rainer Olbrich, Peter Kenning and Hendrik Schroeder
This study aims to apply and test the effectiveness of message sidedness and conclusiveness in Google Ads advertising.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to apply and test the effectiveness of message sidedness and conclusiveness in Google Ads advertising.
Design/methodology/approach
Four field experiments on Google Ad campaigns were conducted on the topics of energy and environment, the water–energy–food nexus, and a Higher-Ed program (at the national and local levels).
Findings
Two-sided search engine advertisements are more effective than one-sided advertisements in national campaigns but less effective in local campaigns. In national campaigns, conclusive search engine advertisements are more effective in increasing impressions and clicks, but inconclusive advertisements are more effective in increasing the click-through rate (CTR); in local campaigns, inconclusive advertisements are more effective when being one-sided, while conclusive advertisements are more effective when being two-sided. Overall, the two-sided and inconclusive advertisement generates the best results in a national campaign, but the one-sided and inconclusive advertisement generates the best results in a local campaign.
Originality/value
As the first to test sidedness and conclusiveness with Google Ads advertising, the paper provides theoretical and practical suggestions to search engine marketers by identifying the effective copywriting strategies, moderating factors and more measurements of effectiveness.
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Nina Åkestam, Sara Rosengren, Micael Dahlén, Karina T. Liljedal and Hanna Berg
This paper aims to investigate cross-gender effects of gender stereotypes in advertising. More specifically, it proposes that the negative effects found in studies of women’s…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate cross-gender effects of gender stereotypes in advertising. More specifically, it proposes that the negative effects found in studies of women’s reactions to stereotyped female portrayals should hold across gender portrayal and target audience gender.
Design/methodology/approach
In two experimental studies, the effects of stereotyped portrayals (vs non-stereotyped portrayals) across gender are compared.
Findings
The results show that advertising portrayals of women and men have a presumed negative influence on others, leading to higher levels of ad reactance, which has a negative impact on brand-related effects across model and participant gender, and for gender stereotypes in terms of physical characteristics and roles.
Research limitations/implications
Whereas previous studies have focused on reactions of women to female stereotypes, the current paper suggests that women and men alike react negatively to stereotyped portrayals of other genders.
Practical implications
The results indicate that marketers can benefit from adapting a more mindful approach to the portrayals of gender used in advertising.
Originality/value
The addition of a cross-gender perspective to the literature on gender stereotypes in advertising is a key contribution to this literature.
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Erlinde Cornelis, Verolien Cauberghe and Patrick De Pelsmacker
This study aims to address the credibility effects of refutational versus non-refutational two-sided messages. Additionally, it aims to unravel the moderating role of issue…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to address the credibility effects of refutational versus non-refutational two-sided messages. Additionally, it aims to unravel the moderating role of issue ambivalence and argument type.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial experimental design (N = 853 adolescents) investigates the effect of eight anti-binge drinking and anti-marijuana messages on source and message credibility.
Findings
The results show that refutation increases credibility compared to non-refutation. Additionally, a three-way interaction effect is found: credibility depends on the ambivalence of the issue and the argument type.
Originality/value
First, this study clarifies the inconsistencies found in previous literature regarding (non-)refutational two-sided messages by addressing two important (and so far neglected) moderating variables. Second, we provide useful new insights for health practitioners who develop campaigns to prevent drug abuse among adolescents.
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Pachayappan Murugaiyan and Venkatesakumar Ramakrishnan
Little attention has been paid to restructuring existing massive amounts of literature data such that evidence-based meaningful inferences and networks be drawn therefrom. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Little attention has been paid to restructuring existing massive amounts of literature data such that evidence-based meaningful inferences and networks be drawn therefrom. This paper aims to structure extant literature data into a network and demonstrate by graph visualization and manipulation tool “Gephi” how to obtain an evidence-based literature review.
Design/methodology/approach
The main objective of this paper is to propose a methodology to structure existing literature data into a network. This network is examined through certain graph theory metrics to uncover evidence-based research insights arising from existing huge amounts of literature data. From the list metrics, this study considers degree centrality, closeness centrality and betweenness centrality to comprehend the information available in the literature pool.
Findings
There is a significant amount of literature on any given research problem. Approaching this massive volume of literature data to find an appropriate research problem is a complicated process. The proposed methodology and metrics enable the extraction of appropriate and relevant information from huge quantities of literature data. The methodology is validated by three different scenarios of review questions, and results are reported.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed methodology comprises of more manual hours to structure literature data.
Practical implications
This paper enables researchers in any domain to systematically extract and visualize meaningful and evidence-based insights from existing literature.
Originality/value
The procedure for converting literature data into a network representation is not documented in the existing literature. The paper lays down the procedure to structure literature data into a network.
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Kevin W. Cruthirds, Valerie L. Wang, Yong J. Wang and Jie Wei
The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of humor styles used in US and Mexican television advertising.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of humor styles used in US and Mexican television advertising.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 97 television commercials broadcasted by major US and Mexican national television networks were classified under the four humor styles described by Martin et al.
Findings
Humor styles used in television advertising significantly differ between the two countries. US commercials use more affiliative, aggressive, and self‐defeating humor than do Mexican advertisements, while self‐enhancing humor is the predominant humor style of Mexican commercials and is used more frequently in Mexico when compared to the USA.
Practical implications
The findings reveal the frequency and types of humorous television commercials used in the USA and Mexico.
Originality/value
The study suggests that cultural differences should be taken into consideration when humorous advertising is used across borders.
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Wagner Junior Ladeira, Joanna Krywalski Santiago, Fernando de Oliveira Santini and Diego Costa Pinto
This study aims to investigate the effects of brand familiarity on attitude formation across different advertising channels, product types and brand settings.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of brand familiarity on attitude formation across different advertising channels, product types and brand settings.
Design/methodology/approach
A meta-analysis containing 107 empirical studies with 183 effects sizes tests a theoretical model according to situational moderators and methodological factors of brand familiarity.
Findings
Brand familiarity has stronger positive impacts on attitude formation under particular advertising tools (online and real advertising), product types (hedonic and mature products) and brand characteristics (memory-based recall). The findings also depend on methodological factors such as student samples, laboratory settings and non-estimated effect sizes.
Originality/value
This meta-analytic study reconciles prior inconsistencies and advances the understanding of brand familiarity across key advertising, product and brand moderators.