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Article
Publication date: 10 December 2021

Iqra Bashir, Amara Malik and Khalid Mahmood

Social media is a popular source for information sharing in the contemporary world. Social media allow individuals to create, publish and diffuse contents directly. This openness…

Abstract

Purpose

Social media is a popular source for information sharing in the contemporary world. Social media allow individuals to create, publish and diffuse contents directly. This openness has increased the risk of running into misinformation and raised questions about credibility of information shared. This study aims to examine the credibility of social media through the perceptions of university students. It also intends to see the difference in opinions based on their gender, academic disciplines and programs of study.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was based on a cross-sectional survey; a structured questionnaire was developed by consulting the relevant literature. Students were selected on convenient basis from all the programs of four universities of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Four hundred students were selected randomly from each university.

Findings

The findings indicated that students considered social media partially credible. Currency, community wellness, understandability and completeness of information were the highly rated facets, while factual and unbiased information was the low rated aspects. The perceived credibility of social media among the university students was the same across genders, programs of study and academic disciplines.

Research limitations/implications

The study may be helpful for social media service providers to address the concerns that students had in their perception regarding its credibility.

Originality/value

This study may likely benefit faculty members, researchers, librarians/information professionals and digital libraries to understand the students’ concerns about social media credibility from a developing country’s perspective. Such understanding will enable them to better address, educate and train university students at how to evaluate the quality of information on social media by offering information literacy programs. It is direly needed that university libraries should train the students to be proficient in assessing the quality of information by offering information or digital literacy programs. Moreover, the study may be helpful for social media service providers to address the concerns that students had in their perception regarding its credibility.

Details

Digital Library Perspectives, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5816

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2020

Camelia Catharina Pasandaran and Nina Mutmainnah

The purpose of this paper is to test hypotheses on the effects of native advertising on young media consumers. First, it aims to discover whether the young audience activates…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test hypotheses on the effects of native advertising on young media consumers. First, it aims to discover whether the young audience activates news-based schema or advertising schema when exposed to different themes of native advertising. Second, this research tests whether there is a relationship between the theme of native advertising and the credibility of the media in which it is placed and the ability of young media consumers to recognize the advertising. Third, it attempts to seek a possible relationship between the recognition of native advertising and the credibility of the advertiser.

Design/methodology/approach

An experimental study was carried out using 186 university students in the greater Jakarta area whose ages ranged between 18 and 22 years. Participants were randomly assigned to six groups (2 × 3 experimental design) and asked to respond to a set of questions related to their awareness of native advertising. They were also asked their opinions on the advertiser’s credibility before and after they were told that the content was native advertising.

Findings

Results show that most of these young media consumers could not spot native advertising and have difficulties in recognizing political native advertising. The findings also point out a more profound decline in advertiser credibility among groups exposed to political native advertising compared to nonpolitical native advertising.

Research limitations/implications

Results show that most of these young media consumers could not spot native advertising and have difficulties in recognizing political native advertising. The findings also point out a more profound decline in advertiser credibility among groups exposed to political native advertising compared to non-political native advertising.

Originality/value

This research shows that the theme of the native advertising has a significant influence on the ability of media consumers to recognize native advertising. The results indicate that non-commercial native advertising is highly deceptive. This finding is valuable for the improvement of advertising regulation, especially on non-commercial native advertising.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2023

Utkal Khandelwal and Trilok Pratap Singh

This study aims to establish two aspects: first, whether green advertising through multiple media (repetition versus reversal) generates a positive purchase intention than green…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to establish two aspects: first, whether green advertising through multiple media (repetition versus reversal) generates a positive purchase intention than green advertising with a single medium repeat one medium at different levels of product involvement (high versus low level). Second, whether a green advertisement presented through multiple media influences green message credibility, green advertiser credibility, green advertisement credibility, green brand credibility, green ad engagement, attitude toward the green brand and green purchase intention (GPI) than a green advertisement presented through single medium repetition under different level of product involvement, green advertising, media effects, consumer attitude, purchase intention and product involvement.

Design/methodology/approach

3 × 2 mixed factorial design is used to examine the audience exposure towards repetitive green ads on multiple media sources such as television, the internet and print. This has a more significant impact on environmental claims in terms of green message credibility, green advertiser credibility, green advertisement credibility, green brand credibility, green ad engagement, attitude toward the green brand and GPI compared to audiences exposed to the same ads on a single medium under high level and low level of product involvement.

Findings

The audience was exposed to several media situations, repeating green advertising, has a more significant impact on environmental claims in terms of green message credibility, green advertiser credibility, green advertisement credibility, green brand credibility, green ad engagement, attitude toward the green brand and purchase intention rather than for the audience who encounter a green ad with a high and low degree of product involvement in a single medium.

Originality/value

Only a few studies have measured media synergy effects, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no one has measured media effects on green advertisements. By examining different media combination effects of green ads on the audience, the knowledge of green marketing communication and its marketing strategies has been expanded.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2019

Salla-Maaria Laaksonen, Alessio Falco, Mikko Salminen, Pekka Aula and Niklas Ravaja

This study investigates how media brand knowledge, defined as a structural feature of the message, influences emotional and attentional responses to, and memory of, news messages.

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates how media brand knowledge, defined as a structural feature of the message, influences emotional and attentional responses to, and memory of, news messages.

Design/methodology/approach

Self-reports, facial electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography were used as indices of emotional valence, arousal and attention in response to 42 news messages, which varied along the valence and involvement dimensions and were framed with different media brands varying along the familiarity and credibility dimensions.

Findings

Compared to the no-brand condition, news framed with brands elicited more attention. The memory tests indicated that strong media brands override the effect of involvement in information encoding, whereas details of news presented with Facebook were not well encoded. However, the headlines of news framed with Facebook were well retrieved. In addition, negative and high-involvement news elicited higher arousal ratings and corrugator EMG activity. News framed with familiar and high-credibility brands elicited higher arousal ratings.

Research limitations/implications

Relevant for both brand managers and audiences, the findings show that building credibility and familiarity both work as brand attributes to differentiate media brands and influence information processing.

Originality/value

The results highlight the importance of media brands in news reading: as a structural feature, the brand is used as a proxy to process the message content. The study contributes by investigating how the type of source influences the reception and encoding of the mediated information; by investigating the emotional effects of brands; and by confirming previous findings in media psychology literature.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2020

Ruobing Li, Michail Vafeiadis, Anli Xiao and Guolan Yang

Sponsored social media content is one of the advertising strategies that companies implement so that ads appear as native to the delivery platform without making consumers feel…

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Abstract

Purpose

Sponsored social media content is one of the advertising strategies that companies implement so that ads appear as native to the delivery platform without making consumers feel that they are directly targeted. Hence, the current study examines whether prominently featuring corporate information on social media ads affects how consumers perceive them. It also investigates whether an ad's evaluation metrics on Twitter (e.g. number of likes/comments) influence its persuasiveness and consumers' behavioral intentions towards the sponsoring company. Underlying cognitive and affective mechanisms through which sponsored content operates are also investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

A 2 (corporate credibility: low vs high) by 2 (bandwagon cues: low vs high) between-subjects experiment was conducted.

Findings

The findings showed that corporate credibility and bandwagon cues can influence social media ad effectiveness. Sponsored content from high-credibility companies – evoked more favorable attitudes and behavioral intentions – is perceived as less intrusive, and elicits less anger than equivalent posts from low-credibility companies. Furthermore, it was found that bandwagon cues work via different pathways. For high-credibility corporations, a high number of bandwagon cues improved ad persuasiveness by mitigating consumers' anger towards intrusive sponsored content. Conversely, for low-credibility corporations high bandwagon cues enhanced ad persuasiveness, and this triggered more positive attitudes towards it.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to test corporate credibility and bandwagon effects in social media ads, while also exploring consumers' cognitive and affective responses to sponsored content. Implications for how companies with varying popularity levels should promote products on social media are discussed.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 November 2018

Suliman Aladhadh, Xiuzhen Zhang and Mark Sanderson

Social media platforms provide a source of information about events. However, this information may not be credible, and the distance between an information source and the event…

Abstract

Purpose

Social media platforms provide a source of information about events. However, this information may not be credible, and the distance between an information source and the event may impact on that credibility. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to address an understanding of the relationship between sources, physical distance from that event and the impact on credibility in social media.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors focus on the impact of location on the distribution of content sources (informativeness and source) for different events, and identify the semantic features of the sources and the content of different credibility levels.

Findings

The study found that source location impacts on the number of sources across different events. Location also impacts on the proportion of semantic features in social media content.

Research limitations/implications

This study illustrated the influence of location on credibility in social media. The study provided an overview of the relationship between content types including semantic features, the source and event locations. However, the authors will include the findings of this study to build the credibility model in the future research.

Practical implications

The results of this study provide a new understanding of reasons behind the overestimation problem in current credibility models when applied to different domains: such models need to be trained on data from the same place of event, as that can make the model more stable.

Originality/value

This study investigates several events – including crisis, politics and entertainment – with steady methodology. This gives new insights about the distribution of sources, credibility and other information types within and outside the country of an event. Also, this study used the power of location to find alternative approaches to assess credibility in social media.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 43 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 August 2023

Jean Paolo Gomez Lacap, Mary Rose Maharlika Cruz, Antonino Jose Bayson, Richard Molano and John Gilbert Garcia

This paper aims to explore how parasocial relationships with Korean celebrity endorsers on social media result in brand credibility and loyalty.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how parasocial relationships with Korean celebrity endorsers on social media result in brand credibility and loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

The participants were identified through a purposive sampling approach, and they were composed of consumers who purchased Korean-celebrity-endorsed products and services of a telecommunications company. The hypothesized relationships were gauged using a predictive approach as a research design via partial least squares (PLS) path modeling.

Findings

The findings show that all hypothesized relationships are supported. In particular, social media interaction was found to have a substantial, positive and significant effect on self-disclosure. Moreover, self-disclosure has a considerably significant and direct effect on parasocial relationships and was found to indirectly affect the link between social media interactions and parasocial relationships. The results further reveal that social media interactions and parasocial relationships predict source trustworthiness, leading to brand credibility and loyalty.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present undertaking is the only study that examined how parasocial relationships on social media are built when foreign celebrities, in this case, the well-known Korean popular group BTS, endorse telecommunications products and services.

Objetivo

La presente investigación explora cómo las relaciones parasociales con celebridades coreanas en las redes sociales generan credibilidad de marca y lealtad.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Los participantes se identificaron mediante un muestreo intencional y estaban compuestos por consumidores que compraban productos y servicios de una empresa de telecomunicaciones avalados por famosos coreanos. Las relaciones hipotetizadas se midieron utilizando un enfoque predictivo como diseño de investigación mediante un modelo de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS).

Resultados

Los resultados muestran que todas las relaciones hipotetizadas se confirman. En particular, la interacción con los medios sociales tiene un efecto sustancial, positivo y significativo en la autodivulgación. Además, la autodivulgación tiene un efecto considerablemente significativo y directo en las relaciones parasociales y se descubrió que afecta indirectamente al vínculo entre las interacciones en los medios sociales y las relaciones parasociales. Los resultados revelan además que las interacciones en los medios sociales y las relaciones parasociales predicen la fiabilidad de la fuente, lo que conduce a la credibilidad de la marca y a la lealtad.

Originalidad

El presente trabajo es el único estudio que examina cómo se construyen las relaciones parasociales en los medios sociales cuando celebridades extranjeras, en este caso, el conocido grupo popular coreano BTS, promocionan productos y servicios de telecomunicaciones.

目的

本研究探讨了在社交媒体上与韩国名人的寄生关系如何建立品牌可信度和忠诚度。

设计

通过目的性抽样确定参与者, 包括购买韩国名人代言的电信公司产品和服务的消费者。研究设计使用偏最小二乘法(PLS)模型对假设关系进行预测测量。

结果

研究结果表明, 所有假设关系都得到了证实。特别是, 社交媒体互动对自我披露具有实质性的、积极的和显著的影响。此外, 自我披露对寄生关系也有明显的直接影响, 并被发现间接影响社交媒体互动与寄生关系之间的联系。研究结果进一步揭示了社会化媒体互动和寄生关系能够预测来源的可信度, 从而提高品牌可信度和忠诚度。

结果

研究结果表明, 所有假设的关系都得到了证实。特别是, 社交媒体互动对自我披露具有实质性的、积极的和显著的影响。此外, 自我披露对寄生关系也有明显的直接影响, 并被发现间接影响社交媒体互动和寄生关系之间的联系。研究结果进一步揭示了社会化媒体互动和寄生关系能够预测来源的可信度, 从而提高品牌可信度和忠诚度。

独创性

本文是唯一一篇研究外国名人在社交媒体上推广电信产品和服务时如何建立寄生社会关系的研究。

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2010

Chung Joo Chung, Hyunjung Kim and Jang Hyun Kim

The purpose of this paper is to discover the primary components of credibility of three types of online newspapers and how the credibility of news differs by type.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discover the primary components of credibility of three types of online newspapers and how the credibility of news differs by type.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper participants were recruited at a large north‐eastern US university. All items of credibility scales were measured using seven‐point Likert‐type scales. For each of the three credibility scales, the mean was computed and the scales were analysed for similarities and differences. The scales were factor analysed to determine their underlying dimensions.

Findings

Three factors (expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness) were common to the three types, but the different factor structure of each type was identified. The result of multiple comparisons shows that the differences between all three types of online newspapers were significant. Also the summated scores of the mainstream type were the highest on most items. However, the summated score of the index type of online newspaper was the highest on attractiveness. Overall participants rated the independent type of online newspapers lowest in credibility.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations and implications of findings are examined in three dimensions: theoretical implications, implications for the online newspaper industry, and implications for strategic media use.

Originality/value

The paper divides online newspapers into three categories according to their characteristics: mainstream, independent, and index type. These three types of online newspapers were evaluated in terms of credibility structure, which made this study useful and unique.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Pianpian Yang, Hong Sheng, Congcong Yang and Yuanyue Feng

This research examines the underlying psychological process of customers' impulsive buying on social media through the lens of customer inspiration. Drawing on the customer…

Abstract

Purpose

This research examines the underlying psychological process of customers' impulsive buying on social media through the lens of customer inspiration. Drawing on the customer inspiration theory, it identifies the factors influencing customer inspiration on social media from three perspectives: source characteristics, platform characteristics and personal characteristics, which subsequently lead to impulsive buying. Since the conceptualization of source credibility includes three mostly reported components: attractiveness, expertise and trustworthiness, it further contrasts the effects of three dimensions of source credibility on customer inspiration.

Design/methodology/approach

A structural equation model of customers' impulsive buying on social media was developed through the lens of customer inspiration. An online survey with 625 participants was conducted to test the hypotheses, and the partial least squares (PLS3) method was used.

Findings

This research found that source credibility, social presence and customer innovativeness are antecedents of customer inspiration on social media, which positively influence the inspired-by state of the customers, which impacts the inspired-to state and further leads to impulsive buying. By comparing the three dimensions of source credibility, the authors found that attractiveness and expertise positively affect the inspired-by state, while trustworthiness has no significant effect.

Originality/value

This research establishes the link between impulsive buying and customer inspiration, which provides a new psychological perspective to understand impulsive buying. In addition, it investigates the source characteristics of customer inspiration by comparing the effect of three dimensions of source credibility on customer inspiration, which provides the first evidence for connecting customer inspiration and source credibility.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 124 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2018

Abhishek Dwivedi, Lester W. Johnson, Dean Charles Wilkie and Luciana De Araujo-Gil

The ever-growing popularity of social media platforms is evidence of consumers engaging emotionally with these brands. Given the prominence of social media in society, the purpose…

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Abstract

Purpose

The ever-growing popularity of social media platforms is evidence of consumers engaging emotionally with these brands. Given the prominence of social media in society, the purpose of this paper is to understand social media platforms from a “brand” perspective through examining the effect of consumers’ emotional attachment on social media consumer-based brand equity (CBBE).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops a model that outlines how emotional brand attachment with social media explains social media CBBE via shaping consumer perceptions of brand credibility and consumer satisfaction. An online survey of 340 Australian social media consumers provided data for empirical testing. The inclusion of multiple context-relevant covariates and use of a method-variance-adjusted data matrix, as well as an examination of an alternative model, adds robustness to the results.

Findings

The findings of this paper support the conceptual model, and the authors identify strong relationships between the focal variables. A phantom model analysis explicates specific indirect effects of emotional brand attachment on CBBE. The authors also find support for a fully mediated effect of emotional brand attachment on social media brand equity. Further, they broaden the nomological network of emotional brand attachment, outlining key outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This paper offers a conceptual mechanism (a chain-of-effects) of how consumer emotional brand attachment with social media brands translates into social media CBBE. It also finds that a brand’s credibility as well as its ability to perform against consumer expectations (i.e. satisfaction) are equally effective in translating emotional brand attachment into social media CBBE.

Practical implications

Social media brands are constantly challenged by rapid change and ongoing criticism over such issues as data privacy. The implications from this paper suggest that managers should make investments in creating (reinforcing) emotional connections with social media consumers, as this will favorably impact CBBE by way of a relational mechanism, that is, via enhancing credibility and consumer satisfaction.

Social implications

Lately, social media in general has suffered from a crisis of trust in society. The enhanced credibility of social media brands resulting from consumers’ emotional attachments will potentially serve to enhance its acceptance as a credible form of media in society.

Originality/value

Social media platforms are often examined as brand-building platforms. This paper adopts a different perspective, examining social media platforms as brands per se and the effects of emotional attachments that consumers develop towards these. This paper offers valuable insights into how consumers’ emotional attachments drive vital brand judgments such as credibility and satisfaction, ultimately culminating into social media CBBE.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 53 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 24000