Peter Steyn

From whence it came: Understanding source effects in consumer generated advertising

Web 2.0 technologies are empowering consumers to co-produce online brand communications and thereby co-create brand meaning. As both consumers and marketers are increasingly using video-sharing websites to showcase their brand communication efforts, viewers of these ads are inadvertently becoming part of the co-production process as they create context around the ads (in the forms of reviews, comments and ratings). The environment in which such online advertisements are viewed has significant effects on consumer perceptions of the ad message, and ultimately impacts the persuasive properties and efficacy of the ad. This study reports on research conducted to test the source effects of consumer-generated advertising. Schlinger’s Viewer Response Profile (VRP) is used to assess the impact of three source variables: ad creator, ad popularity and motivation for creation of the ad. Findings confirm the importance of popularity ratings on consumer ad evaluation, and also suggest that certain source effects result in consumers being more critical in their evaluation of the ads.

Eleven years of scholarly research in the Journal of Services Marketing

Purpose – The publication of papers in scholarly journals is an important channel for the dissemination of academic knowledge. Analyzing academic content provides useful insights into how services marketing evolves over a selected time frame. The purpose of this paper is to determine key trends published in the Journal of Services Marketing during the recent 11‐year period from 1998 to 2008.Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a content analysis of the papers published in the Journal of Services Marketing during the period 1998‐2008. A total of 417 papers, excluding book reviews, were analyzed. Descriptive statistics provide an overview of the research contributions.Findings – The main finding is that most of the papers published in the Journal of Services Marketing during the recent 11‐year period are research‐based papers. Other findings include a trend towards co‐authorship, the use of surveys and empirical data, adults as research subjects, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, a...

You know you've got to, express yourself : A comparative study of self-expression through brand, women in six Asian nations

Consumers express themselves in a multitude of ways; one expression mechanism is brand consumption. Self-expression can be an important driver of consumer preference and choice. Despite the importance of self-expression, additional research is needed as to how brands are used as a means of self-expression. Previous studies indicate that the importance of brands for self-expression can differ across cultures. This study explores how female consumers in six Asian nations differ in the extent to which they express themselves through the use of their favorite brands.

Trustworthiness of product review blogs: A source trustworthiness scale validation

The authors would like to acknowledge the data collection in Australia sponsored by Pulse Group PLC, a global provider of online consumer panels.

Consumer Skepticism and Blogs: Implications for Marketing Communicators

Blogs have become a pervasive and powerful forms of communication in the milieu enabled by Web 2.0, and are assuming important roles in the arsenals of marketing communicators. Yet little evidence currently exists of the extent to which consumers believe the content of blogs or not. This paper presents the results of a study that examines the extent of skepticism toward blogs within a reasonably large sample. Using a scale adapted from the advertising literature to measure skepticism, the research compared levels of skepticism among consumers by age, level of education and gender, as well as the frequency with which consumers accessed blogs, and the number of blogs they accessed. Some preliminary observations on psychometric properties of the adapted scale are also made. The paper concludes by acknowledging the limitations of the research, identifying the implications for management, and noting avenues for future research.