CEOs’ self-disclosure on Instagram and consumer-brand relationships: the moderating effect of relationship norms

Taeyeon Kim, Yongjun Sung

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    10 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This study examined the effects of chief executive officers’ (CEOs) self-disclosure on consumer–brand relationships and the moderating role of brand relationship norms. To test the proposed hypotheses, a 2 × 2 factorial design was implemented with self-disclosure (high vs. low) and relationship norms (exchange v. communal) as the between-subjects factors. The results showed the interplay between the level of CEOs’ self-disclosure on Instagram and the type of relationship norms between consumers and brands and their effects on consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral responses. For participants primed with the communal norm, high CEO self-disclosure induced more positive attitudes toward the CEO and the brand as well as higher consumer intentions for self-disclosure, than the low CEO self-disclosure; these results were reversed for participants in the exchange norm condition. This study advances the theoretical understanding of brands’ social media engagement using CEOs and provides practical implications.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)897-921
    Number of pages25
    JournalInternational Journal of Advertising
    Volume40
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2019S1A3A2099973).

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2020 Advertising Association.

    Keywords

    • Instagram
    • Self-disclosure
    • brand relationship norms
    • consumer– brand relationship
    • social media

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Communication
    • Marketing

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