Dimensions of web site credibility and their relation to active trust and behavioural impact

This paper discusses two trends that threaten to undermine the effectiveness of online social marketing interventions: growing mistrust and competition. As a solution, this paper examines the relationships between Web site credibility, target audiences’ active trust and behaviour. Using structural equation modelling to evaluate two credibility models, this study concludes that Web site credibility is best considered a three-dimensional construct composed of expertise, trustworthiness and visual appeal, and that trust plays a partial mediating role between Web site credibility and behavioural impacts. The paper examines theoretical implications of conceptualizing Web sites according to a human credibility model, and factoring trust into Internet-based behavioural change interventions. Practical guidelines suggest ways to address these findings when planning online social marketing interventions

How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter “Greenwashing”: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication.

Of the many ethical corporate marketing practices, many firms use corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication to enhance their corporate image. Yet consumers, overwhelmed by these more or less well-founded CSR claims, often have trouble identifying truly responsible firms. This confusion encourages “greenwashing” and may make CSR initiatives less effective. On the basis of attribution theory, this study investigates the role of independent sustainability ratings on consumers’ responses to companies’ CSR communication. Experimental results indicate the negative effect of a poor sustainability rating for corporate brand evaluations in the case of CSR communication, because consumers infer less intrinsic motives by the brand. Sustainability ratings thus could act to deter “greenwashing” and encourage virtuous firms to persevere in their CSR practices.attribution theory; ethical corporate marketing; sustainability ratings; CSR communication;

Detecting and Tracking the Spread of Astroturf Memes in Microblog Streams

Online social media are complementing and in some cases replacing person-to-person social interaction and redefining the diffusion of information. In particular, microblogs have become crucial grounds on which public relations, marketing, and political battles are fought. We introduce an extensible framework that will enable the real-time analysis of meme diffusion in social media by mining, visualizing, mapping, classifying, and modeling massive streams of public microblogging events. We describe a Web service that leverages this framework to track political memes in Twitter and help detect astroturfing, smear campaigns, and other misinformation in the context of U.S. political elections. We present some cases of abusive behaviors uncovered by our service. Finally, we discuss promising preliminary results on the detection of suspicious memes via supervised learning based on features extracted from the topology of the diffusion networks, sentiment analysis, and crowdsourced annotations

Is there Still a PR Problem Online? Exploring the Effects of Different Sources and Crisis Response Strategies in Online Crisis Communication Via Social Media

This study examined the effects of source and crisis response strategy on crisis communication outcomes in the context of social media. A 3 (source: organization, CEO, or customer) × 2 (strategy: accommodative or defensive) × 2 (crisis type: airline crash or bank hacking) mixed experimental study was conducted with 391 participants. The organizational sources were more likely to be perceived as more credible than the non-organizational sources. In particular, the CEO appeared to be the most trustworthy and credible source in delivering crisis messages. The path analysis indicated that perceived source credibility mediated the effect of source on reputation and behavioral intentions. This mediation appeared to be contingent on the type of crisis response strategy

How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter "Greenwashing": A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication

Of the many ethical corporate marketing practices, many firms use corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication to enhance their corporate image. Yet consumers, overwhelmed by these more or less well-founded CSR claims often have trouble identifying truly responsible firms. This confusion encourages "greenwashing" and may make CSR initiatives less effective. On the basis of attribution theory, this study investigates the role of independent sustainability ratings on consumers' responses to companies' CSR communication. Experimental results indicate the negative effect of a poor sustainability rating for corporate brand evaluations in the case of CSR communication, because consumers infer less intrinsic motives by the brand. Sustainability ratings thus could act to deter "greenwashing" and encourage virtuous firms to persevere in their CSR practices.ethical corporate marketing, CSR communication, attribution theory, sustainability ratings

DETERMINANT FACTORS FOR THE EVALUATION OF LIBRARY WEBSITE CREDIBILITY BY THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated determinant factors for the evaluation of library website credibility by the undergraduate students in Kwara State University, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted and a sample of 378students were selected across the faculties that make up of Kwara State University by using multi-stage sampling technique (Stratified and Simple Random Sampling Technique). A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect data from 378 respondents, out of which 358 copies of the questionnaire were returned and completely filled. Frequency counts and percentages were used to analyze the data collected for the five research questions while T-test was used to test the null hypothesis of the study. The study found that the author and the information on the library websites is accurate and credible; and the accessibility speed of the library website is low. Majority of the respondents also claimed that the information on Kwara State University library website is current; and the respondents rarely use the library website while poor internet network; epileptic power supply; lack of consistency in the layout of the website; and lack of online help are some of the challenges that undergraduate students encountered while using library website. The result also showed that there is a significant difference in the use of library website between male and female undergraduate students. The study recommends that good internet facilities, generator or solar inverter should be provided for effective use of library website

Users' trust in information resources in the Web environment: a status report

This study has three aims; to provide an overview of the ways in which trust is either assessed or asserted in relation to the use and provision of resources in the Web environment for research and learning; to assess what solutions might be worth further investigation and whether establishing ways to assert trust in academic information resources could assist the development of information literacy; to help increase understanding of how perceptions of trust influence the behaviour of information users

Credibility: A multidisciplinary framework

No Abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61241/1/1440410114_ftp.pd

The MAIN Model: A Heuristic Approach to Understanding Technology Effects on Credibility

Part of the Volume on Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility Historically, credibility assessments assume a relatively explicit, effortful evaluation of message source and content, but this chapter argues that four technological features -- modality, agency, interactivity, and navigability -- can profoundly influence credibility judgments that are made more subtly and automatically while accessing information. Based on research evidence that suggests today's youth pay more attention to these technological aspects than to source and content aspects, this chapter examines the ways in which they may shape credibility perceptions during digital media use. These features are conceptualized as "affordances" (or action possibilities) that suggest certain functions and/or transmit certain cues that trigger cognitive heuristics (or mental shortcuts) leading people to their impressions of the quality and credibility of the underlying information