Die soziale Einflussnahme virtueller Gruppen als möglicher Treiber für die Brand Selfie-Intention von Konsument:innen in sozialen Medien

  • Sabine Fehringer

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

The importance of electronic word of mouth (EWOM) is increasing. In particular, the visual form of EWOM through selfies and brand selfies on social media platforms has become increasingly important in recent years due to the popularity of smartphones. Brand selfies are of great interest to companies, as they are more closely linked to actual purchase interest. Although research has already been conducted on brand selfies, there are only a few studies that specifically address the key factors that facilitate attitude change in social media and that can motivate consumers to create a brand selfie who previously did not want to participate in visual EWOM through brand selfies to create a brand selfie. Therefore, this thesis aims to analyse the role of the social influence of virtual groups on consumers’ brand selfie intention on Instagram based on social impact theory. The focus is on how the perceived strength of the relationship with the person who posted a brand selfie, as well as the perceived number of virtual group members who have interacted with an existing brand selfie in the form of likes and comments, influence consumers’ brand selfie intention. To answer this question, a theoretical impact model was first developed, and the intended effects were tested in an online experiment with 206 participants, who were divided into four experimental groups. The scenarios presented varied in terms of the perceived relationship to the person and in terms of the number of perceived virtual group members. Possible moderating effects of susceptibility to social influence and product involvement were also examined. Attitudes towards the brand and selfies were included as covariates. The results show that the number of virtual group members has a significant impact on brand selfie intention. The more virtual group members interact with a brand selfie through likes and comments, the more likely they are to socially influence other consumers. On the other hand, no significant effect was found for the strength of the relationship with the person who posted the brand selfie. This suggests that the normative influence of groups is more important in this context than the relationship with the person who posted the brand selfie. Furthermore, susceptibility to status competition and product involvement were shown to have a significant impact on brand selfie intentions. People with higher status concerns and higher involvement are more likely to post brand selfies on their Instagram account.
Date of Award2024
Original languageGerman (Austria)
SupervisorWolfgang Jonas Weitzl (Supervisor)

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