Abstract
The present article connects advertising by means of mass communication with social influence processes. Predictions derived from a theoretical model on the impact of mass communication on consumers who were not directly exposed to the message (distant consumers) were tested with two field experiments (Experiment 1: n = 77 participants, n = 261 peers; Experiment 2: n = 97 participants, n = 289 peers). Both studies addressed consumer behavior in the media sector. The results suggest that mass communication changes the behavior of distant consumers, that recipients' opinion leadership enhances the indirect impact of mass communication, and that recipients' consumer behavior mediates the influence of mass communicated messages on distant consumers. The role of word-of-mouth is also examined.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1353–1368 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of Applied Social Psychology |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2013 |
Fields of science
- 501001 General psychology
- 501003 Occupational psychology
- 501004 Differential psychology
- 501 Psychology
- 501016 Educational psychology
- 501021 Social psychology
- 501020 Legal psychology
- 508007 Communication science
- 508009 Media research
JKU Focus areas
- Management and Innovation
- Social Systems, Markets and Welfare States
- Social and Economic Sciences (in general)