The recent addition of Instagram feature, ad labels for sponsored posts, enables users to explicitly identify sponsored posts, increasing the level of transparency of posts (O’Brien, 2017). In sponsored posts in social media, followers are aware the marketing efforts that go on behind the user generated contents and message threads. Thus, the impact of postings on the followers’ behavioral response may vary depending on the levels of trust that followers have with the brand sponsored Instagram posts. In that regards, retailers implementing Instagram platform have faced creating more persuasive postings that can build the posting credibility and generate positive responses toward the brand. Grounded upon the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), this study attempted to identify determinants of persuasive postings that build the message credibility of brand sponsored Instagram posts and positive responses toward the brand and to examine how the levels of trust followers have with the brand sponsored Instagram moderate the persuasion process when followers elaborate the postings. Data was collected via online survey and a total of 263 responses were determined to be usable in this study. Structural equation modeling was used to test the study hypotheses. The study results showed that post popularity and the argument quality of the post were determinants of the persuasive posting, increasing message credibility and yielding positive response towards the sponsored brand. Interestingly, post attractiveness was not a persuasive post characteristic. The results implied that post popularity and argument quality of post increased Instagram post credibility. These characteristics of posts have persuasive power to increase the post credibility, leading to a positive response toward the sponsored brand. Consumers’ levels of trust on the Instagram post sponsored brand moderated the persuasive process. The result supported that consumers with a low level of trust on the Instagram post sponsored brand carefully read a wide range of information and pay more attention to argument quality of posts, which consisted of the post content and other followers’ input regarding the product. Through the lens of Elaboration Likelihood Model, this study suggests that retailers should pay particular attention on the argument quality of a post and post popularity. The argument quality of a post is the influential factor determining persuasive and credible posts, further leveraging post credibility for consumers with a low level of trust on the sponsored post.

The hotel industry has been reaching their existing and prospecting customers via emails throughout a customer’s journey, from pre-arrival information/promotions to post-stay emails for the reviews (Huang, 2016). In different from other email marketing campaigns containing pure promotional materials for acquiring customers, post-stay e-mails can be used to send personalized messages and build an emotional connection with customers by thanking and rewarding their stays. As an increasing number of customers open and read emails via mobile devices on the move (Jordan, 2015), effectively designed post-stay emails with persuasive messages can be a powerful communicating method keeping customers in the lines of dialog with the brands. However, there is lack of studies on how the post-stay email marketing campaign works to retain customers. This study aimed to identify post-stay email features that affect customers’ intention to revisit the same hotel brand depending on their levels of involvement in choosing hotels for leisure purpose. Grounded on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), this study identified what causes “motivation” to process a post-stay email and which email features can be more effectively positioned to persuade consumers with different elaboration levels. This study developed hypotheses regarding the effects of email features on attitude and intention to revisit the hotel brands. A total of 189 responses was determined to be usable in this study. Using Path Analysis, this study tested multivariate regression model with direct effect of email features on attitude and indirect effects of email features on intention to revisit the hotel brand. In addition, this study tested a moderating effect of leisure involvement on the hypothesized paths. The results showed that consumers with a low level of leisure involvement tended to be influenced by financial and interactivity features on their attitude towards the hotel brand while personalization features yielded favorable attitude towards the hotel brand for consumers with a high level of leisure involvement. Attitude towards the hotel brand was a significant predictor of behavioral intention to revisit the hotel brand that sends post-stay emails in this study. Industry professionals and researchers can utilize this study to better design their e-mails as customer retention strategies. The email features analyzed in this study can be strategically included in the post-stay e-mail according to their target market. The initiative can assist in reinforcing or persuading their guests to revisit the hotel brand and build stronger customer relationships.

The unique benefits offered by mobile shopping services have created new value propositions that motivate consumers choosing the mobile shopping channel over other channels. Consumers use the mobile shopping channel in different situational contexts regardless temporal and spatial constraints. The situational motivations using mobile shopping services are from consumer expectations of the benefits they can obtain in a specific situation, driving consumers to use the services again in the situation. Drawing upon assimilation-contrast theory (LaTour & Peat, 1979) and the notion of compatibility in Perceived Characteristics of Innovation (PCI) framework (Rogers, 1995), consumers tend to compare consumption experiences to their internalized standards (e.g., expectations, performance norms) for subsequent evaluations (LaTour & Peat, 1979). When consumer experience of using the product/service is consistent with their internalized standards, consumers will perceive the product or service is compatible, fulfilling their needs and values. Thus, once compatibility of the product or service is determined, consumer continued intention to use the product or service could be increased. By applying this conceptual framework to consumer mobile shopping behavior, this study examined the different sets of situational motivations (i.e., variety seeking, information in planned, time pressure, pleasure in bargain) of mobile shopping and how the different motivational factors may increase compatibility of mobile shopping services and further lead continued intention to use the services. A total 305 completed responses were collected via online. The sample consisted of slightly more female (52.1%) than males (47.9%); ages ranging from 19 to 63. The two steps of structural equation modeling were used to validate measurement model and to test hypotheses using Amos 22.0.The measurement model was evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, showing a good fit to the data (χ2 = 294.218 with 103 df at p-value .000, CFI of .926, and RMSEA of .078). The fit statistics of the structural model indicated a good fit to the data (χ2 = 317.925 with 107 df at p-value .000, CFI of .919, and RMSEA of .081). The study found that variety seeking (Г = .942, t = 5.254, p-value < .001) and time pressure (Г = .205, t = 1.970, p-value= .049) motivations were positively related with mobile shopping compatibility and the compatibility had positive effect on continued intention to use mobile shopping services (β = .836, t = 14.362, p-value < .001). This study results suggest that variety seeking and time sensitive consumers perceive that mobile shopping channel fulfills their needs. This study also found that these specific motivations could increase the degree of mobile shopping channel compatibility, resulting in continued intention to use the mobile shopping channel. The findings of this study enable academics and retailers to understand consumer situational motivations in using the mobile shopping channel and serve to help retailers develop mobile shopping services and apps meeting consumer needs in different situations.

While it was found that consumers’ experience on purchase intention is significantly affected by greater involvement in blogging (Hsu & Tsou, 2011), not many fashion companies use blogs to improve online consumption and relationship with their employee or customer (Fieseler & Fleck, 2013). Further, despite the growing significance of blog communication, there is a lack of understanding for the impact of accumulation of social capital in the blogosphere on the consumers’ attitude and engagement in previous research. This study is designed to address this gap, and particularly the role of three dimensions of social capital (i.e., structural, relational, and cognitive) in understanding blog user’s attitude and engagement. The purpose of this study is to investigate 1) the effect of blog user’s motivation (i.e., perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, reputation, altruism, enjoyment, community identification) on their level of social capital within the blog 2) the influence of structural social capital and cognitive social on user’s relational social capital and 3) the impact of relational social capital on blog user’s attitude and engagement. Data was collected through a marketing research firm utilizing online survey method. With 530 usable data, the results of this study indicated enjoyment have positive significant effect on structural social capital while community identification have negative significant effect on structural social capital. For the effect of blogging motivation on cognitive social capital, the result showed positive significant effect of perceived usefulness, altruism and community identification on cognitive social capital Further, structural social capital does not have relationship with relational social capital while cognitive social capital has significant effect on relational social capital. The results also indicated that the relational social capital has influence on blogging attitude, which in turn has strong positive relationship with blogging engagement. The findings of this study contribute some useful knowledge about fashion blog and the relationships of the three social capital dimensions to the literature. Also, this study not only provides theoretical insight into understanding the influence of fashion blog user’s motivation on blogging behavior and satisfaction of needs of belong, it also exposes the influence of relationships building in blog community on user’s blogging attitude and engagement. Previous studies focused more on social influence on knowledge sharing motivation, and most of the researchers paid attention to the interaction of cognitive social capital and relational capital. This study employs the knowledge sharing motivation findings of previous studies, and it uses the effective motivation factors to test if they have the same impacts on people’s blogging behavior.