| By: |
Zarema Khon (Nazarbayev University, Graduate School of Business);
Yi-Ju Chen (University of Bath School of Management);
Yvetta Simonyan (University of Bath School of Management);
Haiming Hang (University of Bath School of Management);
Samuel G.B. Johnson (University of Waterloo, Department of Psychology) |
| Abstract: |
Consumers tend to dislike companies that use immoral marketing persuasion
tactics. How do consumers decide what persuasion is morally acceptable and
what persuasion is not? Three studies show that morality of marketing
persuasion depends on consumers' beliefs about information processing—Dual
Process Intuitions. If consumers think persuasion aims at emotions and
intuition—bypassing deliberative reasoning—they will evaluate it as more
immoral and manipulative than persuasion believed to be processed
deliberately. This is because consumers find system 1 processing (fast and
effortless; e.g., encountering fear appeal ad) more automatic than system 2
processing (slow and effortful; e.g., reading about a product). Since system 2
(rather than system 1) persuasion is considered less immoral, it yields
greater positive attitude change than that of system 1. These findings
contribute to the literature on lay theories about persuasion, beliefs about
information processing, and morality in marketing. Practitioners may use these
results to better tailor their persuasion messages, especially if their
customers are usually sensitive to persuasion—by creating the perception of
autonomous choice using system 2 persuasion. |
| Keywords: |
beliefs, dual process theory, persuasion knowledge, brand attitudes, lay theories |
| Date: |
2022–07 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asx:nugsbw:2022-07&r= |