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Involvement has long been theoretically specified as a crucial factor determining the persuasive impact of messages. In social judgment theory, ego-involvement makes people more resistant to persuasion, whereas in dual-process models, high-involvement people are susceptible to persuasion when argument quality is high. It is argued that these disparate predictions might be reconciled by either different involvement types (i.e., value relevant vs. outcome relevant) or different attitude modification processes (i.e., attitude change vs. attitude formation). An experiment (N = 684) varying topic, position advocated, outcome relevance, and argument quality tested these moderators. The data were consistent with existence of two different types of involvement, but none of the theoretical predictions were consistent with the data. Instead, a main effect for argument quality had the largest impact on attitude change. Regardless of valuerelevant involvement, outcome-relevant involvement, and attitude modification process, participants were more persuaded by high-rather than low-quality arguments, with boomerang effects observed for low-quality arguments. These findings highlight the importance of sound message design in persuasion.

The current study reveals that a corporate statement on a controversial social issue is effective in changing an individual’s attitude toward the issue depending on how much the issue is relevant to the individual’s goals and/or if the corporate statement is supported by other corporations. Advocacy fit, corporate credibility, the bandwagon heuristic, and position advocated were varied in a fully crossed 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 experiment ( N = 677). The relevance of the controversial social issue to each participant’s goals and values was also considered. Findings indicate that the fit of an issue mattered for attitude change when the issue was relevant to one’s goals. The number of corporations that agreed with the corporate statement affected attitude change when the issue was relevant to each participant’s goals and values. Corporate credibility did not have any significant effect on whether individuals changed their attitudes. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

This study investigates the communication elements within organizations that enhance social exchanges and influence an individual's willingness to spread positive information about their employer. Findings from a survey of employees in a United States-based health care organization (N = 223) indicate that organizational commitment mediates the relationship between employee-centered internal communication by organizations and employee advocacy. Employees with strong organizational commitment perceive that their organization values the exchange relationship, and employees, in turn, report they are likely to take extra steps to support their organization. To encourage organization-supportive employee advocacy behavior, organizations should engage in open and supportive communication with employees and cultivate lasting relationships with them.

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