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Analysis of commercial rumors from the perspective of marketing managers : rumor prevalence, effects, and control tactics

Author

Listed:
  • A.J. Kimmel
  • Anne-Françoise Audrain

    (Pôle de Recherche - Rouen Business School - Rouen Business School)

Abstract

This study examines commercial rumors from the perspective of marketing managers. American and French respondents (N = 133) completed a rumor questionnaire intended to assess the prevalence and types of commercial rumors that reach their ear, the severity of rumor effects, the effectiveness of rumor control tactics, and the psychological and situational variables associated with rumor onset and spread. Based on a variation of the critical incidents technique involving recalled commercial rumors, the results conform to rumor theory in terms of the psychological and situational factors (i.e. anxiety, importance, credulity, and uncertainty) underlying rumor transmission, and offer support for our proposed rumor model. The findings also highlight the prevalence and potentially negative impact of rumors in marketing sectors. As an initial attempt to discern cross-cultural differences in commercial rumor activity, preliminary findings suggest differences in effectiveness of marketing communication tactics for rumor control across the two country samples studied. Overall, the provision of requested information and attempts to increase trust emerged as the most effective rumor control tactics.

Suggested Citation

  • A.J. Kimmel & Anne-Françoise Audrain, 2010. "Analysis of commercial rumors from the perspective of marketing managers : rumor prevalence, effects, and control tactics," Post-Print hal-00826287, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00826287
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    Cited by:

    1. Silvia Platania & Kyle Maurice Woosnam & Manuel Alector Ribeiro, 2021. "Factors Predicting Individuals’ Behavioural Intentions for Choosing Cultural Tourism: A Structural Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-20, September.
    2. Hervé Laroche & Véronique Steyer & Christelle Théron, 2019. "How Could You be so Gullible? Scams and Over-Trust in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(3), pages 641-656, December.
    3. Kathrin Eismann, 2021. "Diffusion and persistence of false rumors in social media networks: implications of searchability on rumor self-correction on Twitter," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(9), pages 1299-1329, November.
    4. Hye‐Jin Paek & Thomas Hove, 2019. "Mediating and Moderating Roles of Trust in Government in Effective Risk Rumor Management: A Test Case of Radiation‐Contaminated Seafood in South Korea," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(12), pages 2653-2667, December.

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