392 research outputs found
The Influence of Type of Implicit EWOM on Purchase Intention
Electronic Word-of-mouth (eWOM) helps shape consumers’ purchasing decisions and companies’ marketing choices. Researchers and practitioners have extensively studied textual or word-based eWOM in online reviews, blogs, e-mails, and product sites. The effect of implicit eWOM, eWOM using paralinguistic cues, on consumer behavior has been infrequently studied even though marketers often seek to use implicit eWOM to influence consumers. On Facebook, the most popular social networking platform in the world, three of the most frequently used forms of implicit eWOM are the emoticon, the emoji, and the GIF. A comparison of the effect of types of implicit eWOM on the purchase intention of eWOM receivers was made in two studies. Four theories, specifically, (Social Presence Theory, Short et al., 1976), Affect as Information Theory, (Clore & Storbeck, 2006), the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1984) and the Foote, Cone, and Belding Grid Model (Vaughn, 1980, 1986), were used to frame the studies. In Study 1, four independent groups were shown product reviews that were text only, text plus emoticon, text plus emoji, or text plus GIF. Half of each group were shown a product review of candy and half were shown a product review of a computer. The products represent different levels of engagement and cognitive/affective processing. Study 2 included four independent groups shown product reviews that were text only or text followed by either an emoticon, an emoji, or a GIF. Each participant was shown reviews of three products (candy, a chair, or a computer), chosen to represent different levels of engagement and cognitive/affective processing. All pairs of groups were compared using an independent groups t-test. No significant increase in purchase intention due to implicit eWOM was found in either study. In two comparisons between text only and 1) text plus emoticon and 2) text plus emoji, purchase intention was higher for the text only review than for the review that included a paralinguistic cue
Investigating effects of emoji on neutral narrative text: evidence from eye movements and perceived emotional valence
Digital images of faces such as emoji in virtual communication have become increasingly popular, but current research findings are inconsistent regarding their emotional effects on perceptions of text. Similarly, emoji effects on reading behaviours are largely unknown and require further examination. The present study (N = 41) investigated how the position and emotional valence of emoji in neutral narrative sentences influenced eye movements during reading and perceptions of sentence valence. Participants read neutral narrative sentences containing smiling or frowning emoji in sentence-initial or sentence-final positions and rated the perceived emotional valence of the sentence. Results from linear mixed-effects models demonstrated significantly longer fixations on sentence-final emoji and longer sentence reading times when emoji were in sentence-final positions. These findings are comparable to sentence ‘wrap-up’ effects witnessed in the processing of lexical units during sentence reading, providing new evidence towards the way readers integrate emoji into contextual processing. However, no impact of emoji valence or position on first-pass target word processing or sentence-valence ratings were found. This would refute previous suggestions that digital faces influence text valence, raising questions about reader preference for emoji or sentence sentiment, the influence of sentence formatting, and delivery/display mechanism on these effects
Motives, frequency and attitudes toward emoji and emoticon use
Electronic Mediated Communication (EMC) has become highly prevalent in our daily lives. Many of the communication formats used in EMC are text-based (e.g., instant messaging), and users often include visual paralinguistic cues in their messages. In the current study, we examined the usage of two of such cues - emoji and emoticons. Specifically, we compared self-reported frequency of use, as well as attitudes (6 bipolar items, e.g., “fun” vs. “boring”) and motives for their usage (9 motives, e.g., “express how I feel to others”). We also examined these indicators according to age and gender. Overall, participants (N = 474, 72.6% women; Mage = 30.71, SD = 12.58) reported using emoji (vs. emoticons) more often, revealed more positive attitudes toward emoji usage, and identified more with motives to use them. Moreover, all the ratings were higher among younger (vs. older) participants. Results also showed that women reported to use emoji (but not emoticons) more often and expressed more positive attitudes toward their usage than men. However, these gender differences were particularly evident for younger participants. No gender differences were found for emoticons usage. These findings add to the emerging body of literature by showing the relevance of considering age and gender, and their interplay, when examining patterns of emoji and emoticons use.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Using emoji in an e-commerce context: effects in brand perception, quality of service and intention to recommend
The increasing development of digital technologies has lead to business model disruption,
transformation and developed new means of providing services and products (e.g., e-banking
and e-commerce). In order to cope with, and benefit from these changes, people have changed
their habits. Such is the case of Electronic Mediated Communication (EMC) that changed
how and what people communicate (e.g., Skype, e-mail). Text-centric EMC (e.g., IM, e-mails)
has itself evolved to allow the expression of emotion between sender and receiver, namely
through the use of emoji. However how service providers and brands relate with their
progressively more digital customer base in electronic contexts, and what may be the
outcomes of that relationship is still an unexplored area of research. In the present work, we
present two experiments that aimed to examine the influence of emoji use in brand-consumer
communication during an online ticket selling transaction, on consumers perception of brand,
quality of service and intention to recommend. Besides manipulating emoji presence (or
absence), we additionally manipulated message valence (e-commerce transaction success or
failure - Experiment 1) and product scarcity (Experiment 2). Overall, results suggest that
guaranteeing service success is more determinant of brand and quality of service evaluation
than the type of language used. Specifically, in Experiment 1, emoji use seems to have
influenced the perception of language informality, while in Experiment 2, seems to have
influenced the perception of brands social presence and warmth, language informality and
funniness, as well as quality of service.A evolução das tecnologias digitais levou ao surgimento de novos modelos de negócio, e
formas de fornecer serviços e produtos (e.g., e-commerce). Adaptando-se a estas mudanças,
as pessoas alteraram parte dos seus hábitos. Um exemplo é o caso da Comunicação mediada
por meio Eletrónicos (EMC), que mudou a forma e o conteúdo do que as pessoas comunicam
(e.g., Skype, e-mail). A EMC em formato de texto (e.g., e-mails) evoluiu, permitindo a
expressão da emoção entre emissor e recetor, nomeadamente através da utilização de emoji.
No entanto, a forma como marcas e prestadores de serviço se relacionam com clientes em
contextos eletrónicos, e quais os possíveis resultados desse relacionamento, é uma área de
pesquisa pouco explorada. Neste trabalho apresentamos dois experimentos que examinam a
influência do uso de emoji na comunicação da marca-consumidor durante uma venda de
bilhetes on-line, na perceção da marca, qualidade do serviço e intenção de recomendar dos
consumidores. Para além da presença (ausência) de emoji, manipulámos a valência da
mensagem (sucesso ou insucesso da transação - Experimento 1) e a disponibilidade de
produto (Experimento 2). Globalmente, os resultados sugerem que garantir o sucesso de
serviço é mais determinante para a avaliação de marca e qualidade de serviço do que o tipo de
linguagem utilizado. Especificamente, no Experimento 1, o uso de emoji parece influenciar a
perceção de informalidade da linguagem, enquanto no Experimento 2, parece ter influenciado
a perceção de presença social e calor da marca, de linguagem ser informal e divertida, assim
como qualidade de serviço
Perception of meaning and usage motivations of emoticons among Americans and Chinese users
Do people of different cultures agree on the meaning and use of emoticons? This study addresses this question from an inter-cultural perspective and explores the use of emoticons in the American and Chinese Computer-mediated communication (CMC) communities. The research indicates that both the Americans and Chinese participants use emoticons for entertaining, informational and social interaction motivations but the Americans are more likely to use emoticons for information motivations than the Chinese and the Chinese participants are more likely to use emoticons for social interactions than the Americans participants. The results correspond to the cultural differences between the two countries in low-/ high-context and individualism/collectivism dimensions. Moreover, the results also show that the Americans and the Chinese disagree on the meaning of most emoticons used in the study
THE PERSUASIVE IMPACT OF EMOTICONS IN ONLINE WORD-OF-MOUTH COMMUNICATION
The present research proposes a conceptual framework to examine the effect of emoticons on online WOM persuasion. Using a laboratory experiment, we demonstrate that emoticons enhance recipients’ empathy for the communicator, and this effect is moderated by message valence. Enhanced empathy heightens perceived trustworthiness of the communicator and perceived quality of the message, both of which lead to an increase in the persuasiveness of the WOM message. We conclude by discussing the contributions of this research and identifying the directions for future research
The perception of active listening practice on social networks as a determinant of brand engagement
A evolução da internet nos últimos anos levou a uma mudança no ambiente dos
negócios, dando origem a uma infinidade de desafios e oportunidades para as empresas.
Essa mudança do ambiente físico para o ambiente virtual afetou o relacionamento
consumidor-marca, uma vez que a interação entre as duas partes começou a ocorrer
principalmente através da mediação da internet, exigindo assim novas formas de
colecionar os "insights" dos consumidores para serem aplicados nas estratégias das
empresas. Simultaneamente, as redes sociais começaram a tornar-se atraentes para as
empresas devido à sua natureza interativa, facilitando conversas com consumidores, mas
também o aumento do "online consumer brand engagement". Além disso, as redes sociais
e as comunidades de marcas "online" aumentaram a possibilidade dos consumidores
desenvolverem um papel ativo no processo de tomada de decisão das empresas, através
da criação de "user generated content", juntamente com a partilha de opinião e a troca direta
de informações com marcas e outros membros da internet.
Para evitar o erro das marcas em relação ao uso das plataformas "online" como
apenas outro canal de comunicação e permitir que obtenham os benefícios destas
plataformas interativas, a atual dissertação sugere a adaptação da prática da escuta ativa
no campo "online", como uma tentativa de melhorar as estratégias de comunicação das
marcas. Assim sendo, procura demonstrar que esta prática pode melhorar o
relacionamento consumidor-marca através do desenvolvimento de dois estudos
qualitativos, como principal abordagem, onde os resultados extraídos no primeiro serão
utilizados como insumos para o estudo seguinte.The evolution of the internet over the last few years led to a shift in the business
operations environment, giving rise to a plethora of challenges and opportunities for
companies. This change from physical to virtual environment affected the consumerbrand relationship, since the interaction between both parties begun to occur primarily
through internet’ mediation, thereby requiring new ways of collecting consumers’
insights to be applied into companies’ strategies. Simultaneously, social networks started
becoming attractive for companies due to its interactive nature, facilitating conversations
with consumers, but also increasing the possibility of enhancing the online consumer
brand engagement. Additionally, social networks and online brand communities
increased consumers’ possibility of developing an active role in companies’ decisionmaking process, through the creation of user generated content, together with the opinion
sharing and directly information exchange with brands and other internet users.
Therefore, to avoid brands’ mistake of using online platforms as another ongoing
channel and to allow them to yield the great benefits from these interactive platforms, the
current dissertation suggests the adaptation of the active listening practice on the online
field, as an attempt to enhance the communication strategies held by brands. Hence, this
dissertation seeks to demonstrate that this practice can improve, in some way, the
consumer-brand relationship through the development of two qualitative studies, as main
approach, where the findings extracted in the first study will be used as inputs to the
following
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