IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/irpnmk/v18y2021i2d10.1007_s12208-020-00271-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thumbs down on “likes”? The impact of Facebook reactions on online consumers’ nonprofit engagement behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Min Chung Han

    (Kean University)

Abstract

Businesses and marketers have long pursued users’ “likes” on Facebook, but some have doubts about the effect of the presence of Facebook reactions such as “like” and “love.” This study addresses the long-overdue question of whether the presence of social media reactions (e.g., “likes” and “loves”) influences consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions towards nonprofits after being exposed to nonprofit organizations’ (NPOs’) social media posts. This study, drawing on signaling theory, investigated the impact of social media reactions on individuals’ engagement behavior intentions toward nonprofits. The results show that a higher number of reactions is not always good. The higher number of Facebook reactions positively influence individuals’ trust, but that number showed either a negative or no effect on engagement behaviors toward nonprofits. This study has important implications for marketing practitioners, particularly in the nonprofit sector, such as being careful how they approach pursuing “likes” on social media. Facebook marketing could be used more effectively to improve social media users’ attitudes towards a nonprofit organization than to influence their engagement behavior, such as making a donation.

Suggested Citation

  • Min Chung Han, 2021. "Thumbs down on “likes”? The impact of Facebook reactions on online consumers’ nonprofit engagement behavior," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 18(2), pages 255-272, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:irpnmk:v:18:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s12208-020-00271-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s12208-020-00271-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12208-020-00271-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12208-020-00271-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Vries, Lisette & Gensler, Sonja & Leeflang, Peter S.H., 2012. "Popularity of Brand Posts on Brand Fan Pages: An Investigation of the Effects of Social Media Marketing," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 83-91.
    2. Kim, Kyongseok & Kim, Jooyoung, 2011. "Third-party Privacy Certification as an Online Advertising Strategy: An Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Relationship between Third-party Certification and Initial Trust," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 145-158.
    3. Cheng Hong & Cong Li, 2020. "How to turn lurkers into donors? A study of online social support interactions between nonprofit organizations and their followers," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 17(4), pages 527-547, December.
    4. Hajli, M. Nick, 2014. "The role of social support on relationship quality and social commerce," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 17-27.
    5. Stefanie Ringelhan & Jutta Wollersheim & Isabell M Welpe, 2015. "I Like, I Cite? Do Facebook Likes Predict the Impact of Scientific Work?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-21, August.
    6. Tülin Erdem & Michael P. Keane & Baohong Sun, 2008. "A Dynamic Model of Brand Choice When Price and Advertising Signal Product Quality," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(6), pages 1111-1125, 11-12.
    7. Kathryn M. Kimery & Mary McCord, 2006. "Signals of Trustworthiness in E-Commerce: Consumer Understanding of Third-Party Assurance Seals," Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations (JECO), IGI Global, vol. 4(4), pages 52-74, October.
    8. Moorthy, Sridhar & Hawkins, Scott A., 2005. "Advertising repetition and quality perception," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 354-360, March.
    9. Michael Spence, 2002. "Signaling in Retrospect and the Informational Structure of Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(3), pages 434-459, June.
    10. Berinsky, Adam J. & Huber, Gregory A. & Lenz, Gabriel S., 2012. "Evaluating Online Labor Markets for Experimental Research: Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 351-368, July.
    11. Taj, Saud A., 2016. "Application of signaling theory in management research: Addressing major gaps in theory," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 338-348.
    12. Shyam Gopinath & Jacquelyn S. Thomas & Lakshman Krishnamurthi, 2014. "Investigating the Relationship Between the Content of Online Word of Mouth, Advertising, and Brand Performance," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(2), pages 241-258, March.
    13. repec:cup:judgdm:v:5:y:2010:i:5:p:411-419 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Rita Ferreira Gomes & Beatriz Casais, 2018. "Feelings generated by threat appeals in social marketing: text and emoji analysis of user reactions to anorexia nervosa campaigns in social media," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 15(4), pages 591-607, December.
    15. Benlian, Alexander & Hess, Thomas, 2011. "The Signaling Role of IT Features in Influencing Trust and Participation in Online Communities," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 58026, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    16. Pradeep K. Chintagunta & Shyam Gopinath & Sriram Venkataraman, 2010. "The Effects of Online User Reviews on Movie Box Office Performance: Accounting for Sequential Rollout and Aggregation Across Local Markets," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(5), pages 944-957, 09-10.
    17. Marco Bellucci & Giacomo Manetti, 2017. "Facebook as a tool for supporting dialogic accounting? Evidence from large philanthropic foundations in the United States," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(4), pages 874-905, May.
    18. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wasike, Ben, 2022. "When the influencer says jump! How influencer signaling affects engagement with COVID-19 misinformation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    2. Han, Min Chung, 2023. "Checkout button and online consumer impulse-buying behavior in social commerce: A trust transfer perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ferdinand Thies & Sören Wallbach & Michael Wessel & Markus Besler & Alexander Benlian, 2022. "Initial coin offerings and the cryptocurrency hype - the moderating role of exogenous and endogenous signals," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(3), pages 1691-1705, September.
    2. Julian Löbbers & Sebastian Lins & Theresa Kromat & Alexander Benlian & Ali Sunyaev, 2022. "A multi-perspective lens on web assurance seals: contrasting vendors’ intended and consumers’ perceived effects," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1573-1615, December.
    3. Domenico Sardanelli & Francesca Conte & Agostino Vollero & Alfonso Siano, 2021. "CSR signals: exploring their use in controversial industries," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(3), pages 249-266, September.
    4. Fan, Liu & Zhang, Xiaoping & Rai, Laxmisha, 2021. "When should star power and eWOM be responsible for the box office performance? - An empirical study based on signaling theory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    5. Darryl B. Rice & Regina M. Taylor & Yiding Wang & Sijing Wei & Valentina Ge, 2023. "My Company Cares About My Success…I Think: Clarifying Why and When a Firm’s Ethical Reputation Impacts Employees’ Subjective Career Success," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 159-177, August.
    6. Daniel Kaimann & Joe Cox, 2014. "The Interaction of Signals: A Fuzzy set Analysis of the Video Game Industry," Working Papers Dissertations 13, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    7. Daniel Kaimann & Joe Cox, 2014. "The Interaction of Signals: A Fuzzy set Analysis of the Video Game Industry," Working Papers CIE 84, Paderborn University, CIE Center for International Economics.
    8. Fabrizio Zerbini, 2017. "CSR Initiatives as Market Signals: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 1-23, November.
    9. Schell, Sabrina & de Groote, Julia K. & Moog, Petra & Hack, Andreas, 2020. "Successor selection in family business—A signaling game," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3).
    10. Unai Arzubiaga & Alfredo De Massis & Amaia Maseda & Txomin Iturralde, 2023. "The influence of family firm image on access to financial resources in family SMEs: a signaling theory perspective," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 233-258, January.
    11. Rod Mccoll & Yann Truong & Antonella La Rocca, 2019. "Service guarantees as a base for positioning in B2B," Post-Print hal-02326105, HAL.
    12. Nakabayashi, Masaki, 2011. "Schooling, employer learning, and internal labor market effect: Wage dynamics and human capital investment in the Japanese steel industry, 1930-1960s," MPRA Paper 30597, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Shih‐Chu Chou & Zhe‐An Li & Tawei Wang & Ju‐Chun Yen, 2023. "How the quality of initial coin offering white papers influences fundraising: Using security token offerings white papers as a benchmark," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 3-18, January.
    14. Cristina Robledo-Ardila & Juan Pablo Román-Calderón, 2022. "Potential: in search for meaning, theory and avenues for future research a systematic review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(1), pages 149-186, February.
    15. Jascha-Alexander Koch & Michael Siering, 2019. "The recipe of successful crowdfunding campaigns," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 29(4), pages 661-679, December.
    16. Trevon D. Logan & Manisha Shah, 2013. "Face Value: Information and Signaling in an Illegal Market," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 79(3), pages 529-564, January.
    17. Danny Zhao‐Xiang Huang, 2022. "An integrated theory of the firm approach to environmental, social and governance performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1567-1598, April.
    18. Naiditch, Claire & Vranceanu, Radu, 2011. "Remittances as a social status signaling device," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 305-318, December.
    19. Fatima, Samar & Desouza, Kevin C. & Denford, James S. & Dawson, Gregory S., 2021. "What explains governments interest in artificial intelligence? A signaling theory approach," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 238-254.
    20. Besancenot, Damien & Faria, Joao Ricardo & Vranceanu, Radu, 2009. "Why business schools do so much research: A signaling explanation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1093-1101, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:irpnmk:v:18:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s12208-020-00271-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.