The Mind-Set to Share: An Exploration of Antecedents of Narrowcasting Versus Broadcasting in Digital Advertising

Abstract

Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing has recently attracted a great deal of attention from marketers, especially since the emergence of social media. Three field experiments demonstrate the effects of consumer mind-set (i.e., competition versus collaboration) on narrowcasting and broadcasting intentions and actual behaviors. The results show that a collaborative mind-set promotes narrowcasting, whereas a competitive mind-set encourages broadcasting. Further, self-affirmation moderates the relationship between consumer mind-set and broadcasting. Our findings provide important insights into investment prioritization and resource allocation when managing WOM campaigns.

FUNDING

This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (ZYGX2016J236).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank the editor, the production editor, and reviewers.