Showing papers in "International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising in 2019"

Exploring the anteceding impact of personalised social media advertising on online impulse buying tendency

Abstract: Online impulse buying is a critical factor that can result in desired outcomes for online retailers and advertisers. Personalisation is progressively being used in marketing practices on social media. However, largely unexplored is the potential relationship between personalisation and online impulse buying tendency on social media. This study provides insights about the significance of personalisation on social media as an antecedent of customer's online impulse tendency, an especially important topic for online retailers. Specifically, this study develops and tests a conceptual model using different factors to determine the predictive power of perceived personalisation of social media ads on online impulse buying tendency. A noteworthy finding from the survey was the positive influence of perceived personalisation of social media ads on perceived relevance, which subsequently predicted customer's online impulse buying tendency. Results also indicate the impact of perceived personalisation on perceptions of value, relevance and novelty of social media ads. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Gamification in a servicescape context: a conceptual framework

Abstract: While gamification has gained in popularity across different research domains, there is still scarce knowledge on gamification in a servicescape context. The little research that exists in this field does not point in any clear direction. However, further investigation of gamification can provide researchers and practitioners with opportunities to further understand, embed and implement gamification into their marketing activities. To solve these issues, this research reviews contemporary servicescape and gamification literature and conceptualises a framework showing how gamification and its mechanics are linked to the concept of servicescapes and its marketing outcomes. This review highlights gamified mechanics in servicescapes as visible, non-visible and platform dependent. These are shown to influence cognitive and affective responses such as engagement, motion, flow and emotions, which subsequently have impact on long and short-term marketing outcomes. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

The effect of social media and advertising activities on affiliate marketing

Abstract: The study uses data from a service company to analyse if social media and advertising activities affect affiliate marketing results. The dataset spans a six month period, registering 611,081 ad impressions, 15,082 clicks, and 2,672 social media messages. The results from affiliates using social media are analysed and then compared to the results of affiliates not using social media. The study adds to the affiliate marketing literature by analysing the used ad media, commission amount, length of partnership, and business focus as campaign variables. Further, it adds to the multichannel literature: microblogging social media activities of affiliates positively affect the number of ad impressions and to a lesser extent the number of affiliate leads. As social media activities of affiliates affect the results of the affiliate marketing campaign, merchants may include social media data to get a more detailed picture of affiliate activities and performances.

eWOM via social networking site: source versus message credibility

Abstract: New media has brought customers closer, they extensively indulge in eWOM. Unlike face to face WOM, which originates from known sources, eWOM on social media may originate from lesser known/unknown sources. Drawing on source credibility theory and persuasion research, aim of this study is to understand the interactive and distinct role of source and message credibility of eWOM towards consumer's brand attitude. Brand attitude may be influenced differently by different levels and combinations of source and content (message) credibility. Using the Facebook interface 246 between subject factorial design experiments are conducted. Two-way interaction effect of source and message credibility over consumer's brand attitude is tested; further one-way analysis of variance is tested to examine the varying influence of different levels and combinations of source and message credibility. A significant two-way interaction of source and message credibility moderate brand attitude. Results suggest that different levels and combinations of perceived source and message credibility, on social networking site influence consumer's brand attitude inconsistently. Study recommends caution to marketers while selecting online influencers for 'induced eWOM' campaign as believability may be moderated by all the different cues of credibility differently.

User response to e-WOM in social networks : how to predict a content influence in Twitter

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to find influential factors on electronic word of mouth effectiveness for e-retailers in Twitter social media, applying data mining and text mining techniques and through R programming language. The relationship between using hashtag, mention, media and link in the tweet content, length of the content, the time of being posted and the number of followers and followings with the influence of e-WOM is analyzed. 48,129 tweets about two of the most famous American e-retailers, Amazon and eBay, are used as samples; Results show a strong relationship between the number of followers, followings, the length of the content and the effectiveness of e-WOM and weaker relevance between having media and mention with e-WOM effectiveness on Twitter. Findings of this paper would help e-retailing marketers and managers to know their influential customers in social media channels for viral marketing purpose and advertising campaigns.

Engagement and brand loyalty through social capital in social media

Abstract: This paper examines the process of brand-customer engagement based on the establishment of social capital through social media - Facebook. An online survey of 576 Facebook users in Saudi Arabia was conducted to examine customer engagement in Facebook. Although individuals indicated that they are more likely to engage in brands' Facebook pages if the posts offer more hedonic benefits (e.g., socialising and entertainment) than utilitarian benefits (e.g., coupons and discounts), they are more likely to become loyal to the brand if they receive utilitarian benefits from the brand's Facebook page. Many marketers depend on engagement metrics found in the common social media such as likes, shares and comments. But using only those engagement measures will be misleading because the effectiveness of utilitarian content might not be visible as hedonic content for marketers because it tends to generate less likes. Utilitarian content is the one that directly drives brand loyalty.

Attitudes of college students towards online advertisement in social networking sites: a structural equation modelling approach

Abstract: Social media and social networking sites (SNSs) are now considered to be an integral part of the marketing mix of firms and organisations across the world. Advertisement in SNSs takes a growing part of the advertising budget, replacing traditional media, due to its characteristics in terms of ROI and interactivity. However, the attitudes of consumers towards advertisement affect the efficiency of advertisements in SNSs as well. In this paper, we are examining the attitudes of 512 college students in the region of Western Macedonia towards advertisement in the SNSs. In accordance with relevant literature, five main categories of attitudes towards SNSs advertisement are identified, namely information, entertainment, credibility, irritation, value corruption through confirmatory factor analysis, and the effect they have on the attitudes towards advertisement and advertisement value is assessed with the use of a structural equation model. Our results validate the positive effect that entertainment, information and credibility have in advertisement value.

Exploring the brand personalities of Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn

Abstract: For decades, marketers have applied brand personality to brands and organisations in order to facilitate relationships with consumers. This phenomenon has been studied across different product categories and industries however; it has not been reported for social media brands. Aaker's brand personality scale (BPS), rooted in the big five personality theory, has been the preferred measurement for most studies on brand personality. This research assessed the structure of the BPS across different samples on three social media platforms - Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The findings indicate that social media brand personalities do not follow the original structure of the BPS.

The role of cloud computing and citizens relationship management in digital government transformation

Abstract: Cloud computing is expected to be a fundamental part of e-government strategy in the upcoming years, contributing to the digital government transformation at national, regional and local-municipal level. Citizens relationship management (CiRM) represents a combination of methods and ICT applications used by governments to manage their relationship with citizens. Provided through appropriate cloud computing deployment and services models, CiRM can support governments to adopt a new paradigm shift by viewing and managing citizens as customers, in order to respond quickly and accurately to citizen requests or inquiries and to provide access to e-government services, thus fostering more open, innovative, participatory and trustworthy communities. The paper analyses the role of cloud computing and citizens relationship management and proposes a theoretical model for the exploration of digital government transformation. Furthermore, it explores the advantages, barriers and challenges that are associated with cloud computing and CiRM in the public sector and suggests appropriate cloud computing models for CiRM deployment.

Consumer attitudes towards mobile advertising: an updated vision

Abstract: Mobile advertising plays a significant role in the digital world, where consumers respond and react according to the content of the message. The short messaging service (SMS) is one of the mobile phone communication tools marketers use. This research examines the well-known and widely cited paper by Tsang et al. (2004), and replicates their research. We obtained some contradictory results; specifically, we found that the only variable that substantially affected attitude was entertainment. Within the proposed model, attitudes, intentions and behaviour are interconnected, confirming the hypothesis. At the same time, permission-based mobile marketing is on the rise due to high consumer exposure to advertisements. Our findings about mobile advertising have important theoretical and practical managerial implications.

Are SMEs 'cutting corners' on social media marketing? An exploratory study in the Italian context

Abstract: The recent rise of social media has presented small and medium size firms with renewed challenges and benefits. Despite the impact of social media on businesses' activities has been largely acknowledged, research on their adoption and use by SME is still limited. Therefore, the scope of this study is twofold: bridging a theoretical gap and answering a business problem. In particular, the study aims to analyse social media adoption, level of usage, strategies and barriers in the context of SMEs. Empirical data were collected in two phases: a cross-sectional survey (122 completed questionnaires) followed by a multiple case study analysis of seven SMEs. The findings show that, despite a high adoption rate of social media, its actual usage often seems to be improvised and lacking a clear strategy. SMEs seem to be deficient of an adequate organisational structure, skilled human resources and financial resources. A positive relationship between the presence of a marketing function and social media use also emerged.

From dancing on the street to dating online: evaluating guerrilla street marketing performance

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to explore how marketing communication professionals assess the performance of street guerrilla marketing campaigns. The article is based on a literature review and qualitative interviews with 20 marketing communications professionals from large internationally recognised marketing communication agencies and smaller independent guerrilla marketing communication-specialist agencies. Professionals carefully and purposefully select appropriate environments and combine distinctive instruments to track cognitive, affective and behavioural responses. The effects of guerrilla street marketing are moving from performance on street level to acquiring and quantifying online diffusion. The results of the study are important for both researchers and practitioners who design and organise campaigns as well as users of alternative out-of-home media channels. Understanding the practices of experienced professionals helped to identify practical techniques used to evaluate contemporary street guerrilla marketing instruments. This article is one of the first to explore the effects of contemporary guerrilla marketing on the street as well as online.

Tracking content marketing performance using web analytics: tools, metrics, and data privacy implications

Abstract: This paper first compiles content marketing metrics based on an analysis of content marketing goals. Subsequently, current web analytics tools are reviewed for their potential to support the introduced content marketing goals and associated metrics. This results in an overview of content marketing metrics and additional informative dimensions which can be tracked by web analytics tools. The tracking of the described metrics and additional informative dimensions is discussed with respect to data privacy. For this discussion, the European General Data Protection Regulation enacted in May 2018 serves as reference framework. The findings of this study are based on interviews with eight experts working as chief digital officers and digital managers of multinational enterprises as well as managing directors and content strategists of leading media agencies. Moreover, tools and features of current web analytics tools have been studied and compared, in order to realise this study.

Understanding the role of personality traits on Facebook intensity

Abstract: The present study aims to examine the influence of the five personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness and conscientiousness) on both Facebook usage and users' preferences for specific Facebook features. Hierarchical regression analysis was used for hypothesis testing. Survey data from 367 university students in Greece indicate that, agreeable individuals use Facebook to express their orientation to other people rather than to themselves. Extroverts use Facebook as a relationship building mechanism, whereas neurotics strive to bring out the best of themselves. Openness and conscientiousness do not seem to affect significantly Facebook use.

Comparing blogs with print ads for corporate branding. The role of source credibility

Abstract: The explosion of new media and usage represents one of the most significant trends in marketing communications today. One of the major challenges in this environment is which type of media is most effective at communicating a corporate message. Across two studies, we demonstrate that a message in a blog generates a more positive corporate-brand attitude and higher engagement than the identical one in a print ad, and that source credibility mediates this effect. A blog is perceived as having higher source credibility than a print ad.

The development of an in-house affiliate marketing network - a case study

Abstract: The aim of this case study is to present the influence of some organisational and managerial activities on the structure of an in-house affiliate marketing network. The data has been obtained particularly based on interviews with the affiliate marketing manager during a period of over two years. The influence of incentives, monitoring, and enforcement carried out within the operation of in-house affiliate marketing on the evolution of a respective affiliate marketing network is demonstrated. This case study enriches the literature devoted to affiliate marketing by the identification and specification of how managerial activities affect relationships and structure in the affiliate marketing network.