Jisu Huh

The Third-Person Effect and its Influence on Behavioral Outcomes in a Product Advertising Context:: The Case of Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising

This study explored the third-person effect in the context of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. A survey of 264 adults examined perceptions of DTC ad effects and their relationship to support for DTC ad regulation. Results support the third-person-effect perceptual component. The study revealed that for DTC advertising, the third-person effect operates in a multidimensional fashion through four factors (Negative DTC Ad Effects, Learning and Involvement, Patient/Provider Interaction, and Distrust of DTC Ad Information) and that negative content-based third-person effects were greater than positive effects. However, the current study showed weak support for the third-person effect behavioral component. Only perceived self-effect for Distrust of DTC Ad Information and attitude toward DTC advertising were significant predictors of regulatory support. The findings are discussed in relation to existing theoretical work, and future research recommendations are provided.

Is the Information ''Fair and Balanced'' in Direct-to- Consumer Prescription Drug Websites?

This study applies the Food and Drug Administrations (FDAs) “fair-balance disclosure” provision to examine the content of prescription drug websites, specifically focusing on the quantity and quality of risk information. The results show that even though most prescription drug websites provide both risk and benefit information, the two types of information are presented differently. This study suggests directions for regulators to consider in writing a more specific rule to ensure that information on prescription drug websites is balanced.

Content analysis of corporate blogs as a relationship management tool

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how major corporations in the USA utilize corporate blogs for building and maintaining relationships with various publics.Design/methodology/approach – Applying the relationship management framework, a longitudinal content analysis of corporate blogs is conducted in 2006 and 2008. The blogs are identified by a thorough search of blogs operated by corporations listed on Fortune 500 companies or Interbrand Top 100 global brands. A systematic coding scheme is developed based on the existing research on relationship maintenance strategies and corporate communication.Findings – A growing number of major corporations in the USA have adopted blogs as a corporate communication tool and the popularity of topic‐oriented blogs appears to have increased over time. While corporate blogs tend to apply various relationship maintenance strategies, the application of such strategies tends to be concentrated on a certain type of strategies.Practical implications – Despite t...

Parental mediation of teenagers’ video game playing: Antecedents and consequences

This study analyzed nationally representative survey data of teenagers and parents in the USA to investigate parental mediation of teenagers’ video game playing and its influence on various types of teenagers’ gaming behaviors. Three forms of parental mediation of video game playing were examined: co-playing, game rating checking, and stopping children from playing games. A weak and negative correlation was found between teenagers’ age and parental mediation. Also, parents who presumed negative influence of video games were more likely to restrict video game playing of their teenage children. Parental mediation — particularly game rating checking — was found to be significantly related to teenagers’ game playing frequency and engagement in deceptive gaming behaviors.This study analyzed nationally representative survey data of teenagers and parents in the USA to investigate parental mediation of teenagers’ video game playing and its influence on various types of teenagers’ gaming behaviors. Three forms of parental mediation of video game playing were examined: co-playing, game rating checking, and stopping children from playing games. A weak and negative correlation was found between teenagers’ age and parental mediation. Also, parents who presumed negative influence of video games were more likely to restrict video game playing of their teenage children. Parental mediation — particularly game rating checking — was found to be significantly related to teenagers’ game playing frequency and engagement in deceptive gaming behaviors.

Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising: Understanding Its Consequences

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising is one of the fastest-growing advertising categories in the USA and has generated a great deal of controversy among policy makers, physicians and consumer advocates. Previous studies have demonstrated that consumers are generally aware of DTC advertising and that DTC advertising influences consumer behaviours. However, a relatively unexplored area of research is the process of how DTC advertising influences consumer behaviours and how various consumer demographic and predispositional variables moderate the procedure. This study examined three types of consumer behaviours induced by DTC drug ad exposure, using the FDA’s 1999 national survey data. The study found that exposure to DTC drug advertising was strongly related to ‘drug information seeking’, ‘thinking about communication with doctors’ and ‘actual communication with doctors’. Other factors, including prescription drug use, health conditions, control over healthcare, and various demographic variables were found to influence the behavioural outcomes. The small amount of increase in explanatory power of these variables suggested they were more likely to indirectly affect key behavioural variables through DTC drug ad exposure.

The Information Utility of DTC Prescription Drug Advertising

This study examined consumer perceptions of the information utility of direct-to-consumer advertising, focusing particularly on how older consumers respond to this unique form of advertising. Consumers are neutral, not positive, about the information utility of DTC ads, but perceptions vary by demographic and predispositional variables. Older consumers are less negative and see more usefulness in DTC advertising than younger consumers, especially in terms of its ability to prepare them to ask intelligent questions of their doctors. Regardless of age, however, perceptions of DTC advertising utility were positively associated with health care decision-making behavior, indicating that DTC advertising has value as an educational tool and plays a beneficial role in motivating preventive health care decisions.

The Influence of Sender Trust and Advertiser Trust on Multistage Effects of Viral Advertising

A viral advertising message has two different sources: the advertiser as the message creator and a sender as the message distributor. This study examined the influence of sender trust and advertiser trust on four stages of viral advertising effects. Results from a field experiment demonstrated that sender trust and advertiser trust have differential influences on effect stages. Significant interaction effects show that if a viral ad is sent by a trusted sender, the influence of advertiser trust becomes non-significant or reduced, suggesting that a viral ad from a trusted sender can overcome the handicap a less trusted advertiser might have.

The state of public research on over‐the‐counter drug advertising

Purpose – The over‐the‐counter (OTC) drug market is highly competitive, and consumer advertising is a prominent influence in OTC drug purchase and consumption. Given current marketplace conditions, it is important to summarize OTC drug advertising research. This paper aims to review the state of the public research literature on OTC drug advertising and provide a research agenda derived from the findings.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was conducted to identify the key themes in OTC drug advertising research and secondary data were collected about the regulation, nature, functions, and scope of OTC drug advertising.Findings – Most pharmaceutical advertising studies have focused on prescription drugs, including the majority of direct‐to‐consumer advertising investigations. OTC drug advertising has received considerably less empirical attention. Since the mid‐1970s, only 24 OTC drug advertising studies have appeared sporadically in the literature. The cumulative findings are interesting an...

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Skepticism and the Use and Perceived Usefulness of Prescription Drug Information Sources

This study investigates advertising skepticism in the context of consumers’ prescription drug information seeking behavior. Results of a telephone survey found that: (a) the overall level of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) skepticism among consumers was neutral; (b) DTCA skepticism was unrelated to age, positively related to education and income, and varied by race; (c) however, when all the antecedent variables were considered concurrently, only education emerged as a significant predictor (consumers with higher education were more skeptical of DTCA); (d) DTCA skepticism was not significantly related to perceived importance of prescription drug information; (e) DTCA skepticism was not associated with use of advertising and interpersonal sources of prescription drug information; and (f) DTCA skepticism was negatively related to perceived usefulness of advertising sources but unrelated to perceived usefulness of professional interpersonal sources (i.e., physicians and pharmacists). The article concludes with a discussion of findings and directions for future research.

Source Selection in Prescription Drug Information Seeking and Influencing Factors: Applying the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking in an American Context

This study investigates source selection in prescription drug information seeking and influencing factors on selection and seeking behaviors applying a modified Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking in an American context. Survey results suggest consumers engage in prescription drug information search before and after visiting a doctor, but search is not extensive. Consumers turn to the Internet, pharmacists, and doctors most frequently for prescription drug information. Information-seeking behaviors are rather universal across demographic and health-related characteristics; however, higher income consumers are more likely to search. Although our study shows some support for the modified Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking, the results indicate influencing factors vary by information source types examined, suggesting the model is more complex than predicted. The study advances research on health communication, information-seeking behaviors, and prescription drug decision making.