A new model of how celebrity endorsements work: attitude toward the endorsement as a mediator of celebrity source and endorsement effects

This research introduces attitude towards the endorsement as a mediating variable in the relationships between celebrity source and endorsement factors and brand attitude. It also includes perceived celebrity motive, a variable rarely studied in the previous literature, as an endorsement factor. In a survey study, respondents evaluated four celebrity endorsement campaigns. Mediation analyses show that attitude towards the endorsement mediates the effects of three variables on brand attitude; these variables are celebrity expertise, celebrity–brand fit, and perceived celebrity motive. Moreover, results show that if consumers perceive that the celebrity was motivated to do the endorsement not only by money but also by product quality, this has a significant positive effect on attitude towards the brand

Credibility and interactivity: Persuasive components of ideological group websites

The quickly growing presence of ideological groups on the Internet has garnered interest into how these groups use technology to persuade others. This study extends current research on the influential effects of website credibility and interactivity to the context of ideological group websites. Results of this study indicated that credibility and interactivity had direct and interactive effects on outcomes of agreement with the ideology, negative affective responses, and strength of argument when responding to the website. A number of these results may be due to (in)consistency with previous beliefs or violations of expectations regarding ideological group websites. Limitations and future directions are also discussed