Self-persuasion as marketing technique: the role of consumers’ involvement

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate that self-persuasion can be used as a marketing technique to increase consumers’ generosity and that the efficacy of this approach is dependent on consumers’ involvement with target behavior. Design/methodology/approach An experimental field-study was conducted to investigate the effects of self-persuasion versus direct persuasion attempts versus no persuasion attempts on consumers’ tipping behavior in a lunchroom. Additionally, in a lab experiment, the moderating role of involvement on self-persuasion versus direct persuasion was tested. Findings The results reveal that self-persuasion is more effective than direct persuasion attempts or no persuasive messages in increasing consumers’ generosity. This is moderated by consumers’ involvement with the target behavior. For consumers with high involvement, self-persuasion is more effective than direct persuasion, while no differences were found for consumers with moderate or low involvement. Practical implications The scope of self-persuasion is not limited to the inhibition of undesired behavior, but it also extends to the facilitation of desired behavior, which considerably broadens the scope of this technique. Self-persuasion might be used as a marketing technique to influence consumers’ purchase behavior. This might be particularly viable in situations in which consumers feel high involvement with products or behavior. Originality/value Recently, research in health psychology demonstrated that self-persuasion is a very effective way of inhibiting undesired, addictive behavior and being more successful than direct persuasion. Yet, insufficient knowledge is available about the efficacy of self-persuasion with regard to promoting other target behaviors. In particular, its potential as a marketing technique to influence consumers’ behavior and its boundary conditions are still understudied

The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2014

The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2014 (IDP2014) is the first publicly available data product of the international GEOTRACES programme, and contains data measured and quality controlled before the end of 2013. It consists of two parts: (1) a compilation of digital data for more than 200 trace elements and isotopes (TEIs) as well as classical hydrographic parameters, and (2) the eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas providing a strongly inter-linked on-line atlas including more than 300 section plots and 90 animated 3D scenes. The IDP2014 covers the Atlantic, Arctic, and Indian oceans, exhibiting highest data density in the Atlantic. The TEI data in the IDP2014 are quality controlled by careful assessment of intercalibration results and multi-laboratory data comparisons at cross-over stations. The digital data are provided in several formats, including ASCII spreadsheet, Excel spreadsheet, netCDF, and Ocean Data View collection. In addition to the actual data values the IDP2014 also contains data quality flags and 1-? data error values where available. Quality flags and error values are useful for data filtering. Metadata about data originators, analytical methods and original publications related to the data are linked to the data in an easily accessible way. The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas is the visual representation of the IDP2014 data providing section plots and a new kind of animated 3D scenes. The basin-wide 3D scenes allow for viewing of data from many cruises at the same time, thereby providing quick overviews of large-scale tracer distributions. In addition, the 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context that is crucial for the interpretation and assessment of observed tracer plumes, as well as for making inferences about controlling processes

Opting opt-in or out?:How defaults affect data protective behaviors

In societal and academic debate, privacy by design and individual control have become important topics of interest. This study emphasizes the importance of privacy by design, by demonstrating that default settings affect the extent to which individuals take ownership over their data. Specifically, it is demonstrated that privacy by default in the form of opt-in choice design increases the extent to which individuals value their data (Study 1), the extent to which they experience ownership of their data (Study 2), and the degree to which they actually protect their data (Study 2). By doing so, this study provides an important first step in demonstrating that granting individuals more control over their data by default affects the way they think about their data, and helps them further in taking control. This work also provides a theoretical contribution by demonstrating that endowing individuals with privacy by default results in enhanced experiences of ownership. Hence, this work demonstrates that Psychological Ownership is at least partly responsible for the endowment effect in this specific context

Responses to Online Behavioral Advertising Disclosures:Effects of Source Integrity and Perceived Hypocrisy on Advertising Effectiveness

This study demonstrates that for a less trusted social media platform, the effects of Online Behavioral Advertising Disclosures (OBADs) on ad effectiveness depend on perceived integrity of the OBAD’s source. A trust-cue effect occurs, such that experienced vulnerability as a result of personalized advertising decreases when an OBAD is placed by a trustworthy third-party. Hence, rather than warning individuals on the risks of OBA, such disclosure might rather serve as heuristic cues that decreases perceptions of vulnerability, and subsequently increase willingness to click on a personalized ad

Opting opt-in or out?:Effects of Defaults on Psychological Ownership and Valuation of Personal Data

This study emphasizes the importance of privacy by design, by demonstrating that default settings affect the extent to which individuals take ownership over their data. It is demonstrated that privacy by default in the form of opt-in choice design increases the extent to which individuals value their data (Study 1), the extent to which they experience ownership of their data (Study 2), and the degree to which they actually protect their data (Study 2). By doing so, this study provides an important first step in demonstrating that granting individuals more control over their data by default affects the way they think about their data, and helps them further in taking control. This work also provides a theoretical contribution by demonstrating that endowing individuals with privacy by default results in enhanced experiences of ownership. Hence, this work demonstrates that Psychological Ownership is at least partly responsible for the endowment effect in this specific context

Does the GDPR Enhance Consumers' Control over Personal Data?: An Analysis From a Behavioural Perspective

Because of increased technological complexities and multiple data-exploiting business practices, it is hard for consumers to gain control over their own personal data. Therefore, individual control over personal data has become an important subject in European privacy law. Compared to its predecessor, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) addresses the need for more individual control over personal data more explicitly. With the introduction of several new principles that seem to empower individuals in gaining more control over their data, its changes relative to its predecessors are substantial. It appears however that, to increase individual control, data protection law relies on certain assumptions about human decision making. In this work, we challenge these assumptions and describe the actual mechanisms of human decision making in a personal data context. Further, we analyse the extent to which new provisions in the GDPR effectively enhance individual control through a behavioural lens. To guide our analysis, we identify three stages of data processing in the data economy: (1) the information receiving stage (2) the approval and primary use stage, and (3) the secondary use (reuse) stage. For each stage, we identify the pitfalls of human decision-making that typically emerge and form a threat to individual control. Further, we discuss how the GDPR addresses these threats by means of several legal provisions. Finally, keeping in mind the pitfalls in human decision-making, we assess how effective the new legal provisions are in enhancing individual control. We end by concluding that these legal instruments seem to have made a step towards more individual control, but some threats to individual control remain entrenched in the GDPR