Power and Need-for-Justification: Asymmetrical Effects on Senders and Receivers in Marketing Communications

Abstract

This research reveals how a fundamental and pervasive psychological state, feeling powerful, asymmetrically impacts consumers’ construction of and response to communications. For senders, power reduces consumers’ need-for-justification and lowers the degree of support they seek and use to construct their communications. This lowered degree of support is evidenced by reduced information search, the use of fewer rational-based arguments, and a greater reliance on more concise language. In contrast, for receivers, power increases consumers’ expectations for others to justify their positions. As a result, high-power receivers require a greater degree of support in communications from others. Based on a need-for-justification mechanism, the current work derives and demonstrates theoretically driven boundary conditions (e.g., attenuation when a heightened need-for-justification or support already exists) of this relationship. Together, these results provide new insights into how power influences consumers’ need-for-justification and how this need affects the ways that consumers construct and respond to communications.

Effects of interaction between brand positioning and chatbot conversational style on perceived fit and brand attitudes

“…Additionally, the power status of consumers is associated with their expectations regarding how a brand ought to communicate (Fan et al, 2023; Thrassou et al, 2012). For instance, Fan et al (2023) highlighted that the perceived power state of consumers affects the asymmetry in consumer responses to communication. Consumers in a high power state see little need to back up their claims with reason and evidence but expect others to do so.…”

“…Several studies have demonstrated that a consumer's power state influences the type of brand positioning (Jin & Huang, 2019; Paharia et al, 2011) and brand communication style (Fan et al, 2023; Thrassou et al, 2012) they prefer. Therefore, the conversational style adopted by a brand with a given position resonates with consumers differently depending on their power state.…”

Combating lookalike product through adapting advertising appeals to consumer value: Strategic implications to brand imitation management

“…To generate the external validity in Study 4, we used more representative sample of real world consumers from Credamo, an online subject pool similar to Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Furthermore, in all four studies, lab experiments were used to infer causal relationship, which has been widely adopted in consumer behavior studies (Fan et al, 2023). And consistent with To and Patrick (2021), various brands and product categories (e.g., Ray‐Ban glasses, D&G watches, LV bags) were employed as stimuli, which was aimed at confirming the robustness of our findings and enhancing the external validity.…”

“…The study used a single factor, between‐subjects experimental design (Fan et al, 2023) to examine the effect of utilitarian versus hedonic ad appeal on consumer purchase intention. Participants were 62 undergraduate and graduate students (aged 18–31 years; 61.3% female) recruited from a major university in China at a cosmopolitan city, with monetary payment provided in exchange for their participation.…”

Varieties of silence – A mixed-methods study exploring reasons and justifications for nondisclosure of the use of complementary therapies to physicians

“…Justi cations, reasons, and beliefs are closely related in everyday discourses, each having different connotations in different contexts (71,72). Therefore, in this study, we de ne justi cation as an acceptable reason for doing something that justi es an act or way of behaving, showing something to be right or reasonable by a person.…”