The Effect of Perceived Blogger Credibility and Argument Quality on Message Elaboration and Brand Attitudes

ABSTRACTTo understand information processing on blogs, this study investigates how perceived blogger trustworthiness affects blog readers’ elaboration of brand-related messages and its interaction effects with argument quality. The results reveal that the degree of perceived blogger trustworthiness affects the extent of message elaboration, and findings from a 2 × 2 (perceived blogger trustworthiness × argument quality) factorial experiment suggest a significant interaction effect on brand attitudes. This interaction reveals that when perceived blogger trustworthiness is high, argument quality has a greater impact on brand attitudes than when perceived blogger trustworthiness is low. The authors discuss some implications and suggestions for further research. Acknowledgement:The authors thank Dr. Patricia Stout and Dr. Wei-Na Lee for their valuable insights on a previous version of this article.Additional informationABOUT THE AUTHORSShu-Chuan Chu (M.A., The University of Texas at Austin) is a doctoral student at the Department of Advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests are in the areas of cross-cultural consumer behavior, new media effects, multicultural marketing, and branding strategy in China. Her current research includes use of social networking sites, keyword advertising effectiveness, brand personality structures in China, and consumer attitude toward global brands. E-mail: kellychu0830@gmail.com.Sara Kamal (M.A., The University of Texas at Austin) is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests are multicultural marketing and cross-cultural consumer behavior. In the future, she hopes to integrate her research with policy issues pertaining to commercial communication and the impact of media in emerging markets. E-mail: sarakamal@mail.utexas.edu.