The means to justify the end: How the way in which decisions to intervene are communicated to users can combat cyber harassment in social media

Cyber harassment does not only have harmful effects for social network sites, because victims tend to exit the service (Avery 2010; Martin and Smith 2008), but the emotional distress brought on by the online aggression has also caused victims to take their own lives (Parker 2012). At the same time, social media users are often upset when network providers intervene with the network and deem such an intrusion an unjust occurrence (Brunk 2012; Davis 2007; Pruitt 2003). The general aim of this paper is to answer the call for “making a difference” research that the Association for Consumer Research North American Conference 2013 has put out. Our intention has been to explore how the aforementioned catch-22 can be resolved through framing the ways in which decisions to intervene are communicated to users. This work expands on existing persuasion and victim identification effects. First, we contend that a decision to intervene based on a story has a more positive effect on user perception that the decision is just than an analytical, factual format. We further distinguish two main components of identity: personal and social (Dollinger et al. 1996; Reid and Deaux 1996). We explore whether the effect of the story over the analytical format holds across both components. Second, we further understanding of the mechanism underlying the presentation format effect. We examine whether the narrative transportation that people experience may lead to a justice perception that the story events imply. Third, we move beyond the prediction that presentation format will be associated with justice perception by exploring an intraindividual moderator that influences this relationship. The current research investigates why self-referencing may lead to either less or more positive justice perceptions under the framework of the story and analytical presentation forma

Need for narrative

What do consumers need from a narrative? How can videographers satisfy those needs? Through semi-structured interviews with 55 Eurostar passengers from 14 countries, this film documents how people define narratives, why they need them, and how they experience the effects of need for narrative. The adjoining commentary contributes to the development of videography as an attractive method by introducing the videographer’s perspective and elucidating key story elements that can help satisfy viewers’ needs for narrative. The suggested approach maintains the vivid quality of videography and respects its methodological rigour, while increasing its effectiveness in close alignment with a consumer society that visual communication increasingly permeates. As such, the commentary and the film jointly unveil videographers’ etic and viewers’ emic use and evaluation of the videographic method

The Seven Stages of the Digital Marketing Cycle

The theme of this book is digital marketing. We now live in the digital age – indeed, there are more than 3 billion people connected to the internet. For every 100 people on the planet, there are 96 mobile telephone subscriptions. And more and more of our everyday objects –cuddly toys, cars, even kettles – have created an “internet of things.” It is no surprise, therefore, that companies are eager to harness this digital world. Marketers, in particular, hope that so-called digital marketing will allow them to gain new customer insights, refine customer segmentation, and communicate to customers more efficiently and effectively. They anticipate that the digital age will offer possibilities for new product innovation, advanced methods for engaging customers and original vehicles for creating brand communities. Despite the pervasiveness of digital technologies, however, digital marketing is seemingly still in its infancy. To begin, what exactly is digital marketing? The term is commonly used, but its meaning – its scope, outline, boundary and limits – is far from concise. This book explores the realities of digital marketing, with contributions from both academics and practitioners who are experts in the field

In stories we trust: How narrative apologies provide cover for competitive vulnerability after integrity-violating blog posts

Consumers' confidence in companies has fallen due to recent and widespread violations of integrity and consumers' voicing of discontent in weblog (blog) posts. Current research on integrity restoration offers little guidance regarding appropriate responses. We posit that not only what (with which content) but also how (in which format) the company responds, contributes to an effective restoration of integrity and a reduction of consumers' intentions to switch. The results of Study 1 show that the combination of denial content and analytical format as well as apologetic content and narrative format works better than combinations of opposing response content and format. Comparing narrative apologies and denials in two consecutive studies, we demonstrate that the concept of "transportation"-the engrossing effect of a narrative-is the mechanism underlying narrative-based integrity restoration. We further assess in Study 2 how the use of empathy accounts for higher levels of transportation and perceived integrity. In Study 3, we establish that a personal response by the involved employee is more effective than a response issued by the company's spokesperson. Consumers trust in stories from the involved employee. © 2010 Elsevier B.V