The relationship between spokesperson credibility and purchase intentions : a proposed theory and experimental evaluation

Authors

Oscar Winston DeShields, Florida International University

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Business Administration

First Advisor's Name

Frank J. Carmone, Jr.

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Barnett A. Greenberg

Third Advisor's Name

Eugene J. Kelley

Fourth Advisor's Name

F. B. Seaton

Fifth Advisor's Name

John Tsalikis

Sixth Advisor's Name

Henry A. Laskey

Keywords

Advertising -- Psychological aspects, Motivation research (Marketing), Communication -- Psychological aspects

Date of Defense

5-1-1992

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to develop and evaluate an expanded spokesperson credibility model to address issues uncovered in Ohanian's (1991) study about linkages between spokespersons ' credibility and consumers ' purchase intentions. Based on Tajfel's social categorization theory (1981), 12 hypotheses were developed to test direct and indirect relationships between spokesperson's credibility and purchase intentions.

The sample for the study consisted of 1,162 respondents 82.9% students and 17.1% nonstudents; 48.2% males and 51.4% females; 31.3% Caucasian (American); 24.5% Cuban (American); 19.6% other Hispanics and 22.5% other ethnic groups. The data were collected .by having respondents either view a video tape or listen to an audio tape in a classroom or shopping mall setting. The respondents were told that they would hear a spokesperson presenting a message. After listening to the message they would then be asked to complete a questionnaire.

The spokesperson credibility model was tested using covariance structure analysis as implemented in the LISREL software. A series of ANOVAs were used to test the impact of the moderating variables on purchase intentions.

The findings indicate that Ohanian's (1991) credibility constructs i.e., attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise are significantly related to purchase intentions. In addition, the following interactions were found to be statistically significant:

Identifier

FI14062249

Recommended Citation

DeShields, Oscar Winston, "The relationship between spokesperson credibility and purchase intentions : a proposed theory and experimental evaluation" (1992). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2779.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2779