Title page for ETD etd-06302009-154228

Type of Document

Dissertation

Author

Gevorgyan, Gennadi

Author's Email Address

ggevor1@tigers.lsu.edu

URN

etd-06302009-154228

Title

Culture and Persuasion Online. Predicting Attitudes, Cognitions, and Behavioral Intentions In a Culturally Diverse Online Marketplace

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Mass Communication

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name	Title
Lance Porter	Committee Chair
Kevin Grobman	Committee Member
Margaret DeFleur	Committee Member
Meghan Sander	Committee Member
Ronald Garay	Committee Member
Kristopher Fletcher	Dean's Representative

Keywords

individualism
collectivism
marketing communications
online advertising
ethnic marketing
cultural appeals

Date of Defense

2009-06-03

Availability

unrestricted

Abstract

With an online experiment and a focus group, I examined the role of cultural appeals in online persuasive communication. The results of the study revealed that culturally oriented Web sites and online advertisements influence individual attitudes and behavioral intentions. These effects were particularly strong when cultural appeals were consistent across advertisements and their hosting Web sites. I observed the main effect of culture on persuasiveness of Web sites and advertisements both the American and the Chinese samples of participants.
The results of the study did not, however, support the expectation that ethnic identity and need for cognition would interact with the effects of cultural appeals. Participants had uniform reactions across various levels of ethnic identity and need for cognition.
The findings of my study suggest that online marketers and advertisers should focus not only on the message, but also on the media when targeting ethnic consumers. In fact, the cultural relevance between an advertisement and its hosting Web site is a prerequisite for a successful advertising campaign.

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