University of Twente Student Theses
Does social proof and scarcity work for opera lovers? A study into the effectiveness of online persuasion cues on consumer responses within the online ticketing store
Keizer, T.H.T. (2017) Does social proof and scarcity work for opera lovers? A study into the effectiveness of online persuasion cues on consumer responses within the online ticketing store.
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| Abstract: | Online shopping is very popular nowadays. By making use of Cialdini’s principles of persuasion, many companies try to persuade consumers to buy their products or services on their website. Despite the frequent usage of the principles of persuasion, little is known within the academic literature about the online effectiveness of these principles on consumer responses. The goal of this study is to investigate whether social proof and scarcity heuristics have an influence on consumer responses within the online ticketing store. Stimulus material of the ticketing website of Dutch National Opera, in which different persuasion messages were implemented, was created. In a 2 (social proof vs. no social proof message) x 2 (scarcity vs. no scarcity message) x 2 (orange vs. green text) between subject experimental research design consumers’ time pressure, product value, and purchase intention were measured with an online questionnaire. In total, 268 Dutch visitors, with a high educational level and who regularly visit opera performances, of Dutch National Opera participated in this study. The results demonstrated a positive effect of scarcity on the level of time pressure. However, a negative effect of scarcity on the level of purchase intention was found. In addition, effects of interaction between color and scarcity on time pressure and of color and social proof on purchase intention were found. Based on the literature, it was expected that persuasion knowledge and uncertainty avoidance had a moderating effect. This was only the case for uncertainty avoidance, meaning that high uncertainty avoidance resulted in a higher level of time pressure after exposure to the social proof and scarcity message, while for low uncertainty avoidance, only the scarcity message increased the level of time pressure. To conclude, persuading people with the principles of persuasion should be used with caution, because it can backfire, and especially scarcity can have a negative effect on the purchase intention. However, this effect was only visible for this specific target group of highly educated and senior aged opera visitors. Therefore, more research is needed to test the online effectiveness of the principles of persuasion in different areas and for more product and service categories. The findings of this study can help marketers to understand the online effectiveness of the principles of persuasion on consumers’ behavior and can be used in the development and testing of online marketing communication strategies. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies |
| Programme: | Communication Studies MSc (60713) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/71740 |
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