For one or many? Tie strength and the impact of broadcasted vs. narrowcasted advice

Consumers’ and marketers’ growing reliance on digital and social media has significantly influenced the nature of communications. Importantly, new communication mediums have made it easier for communicators to provide recommendations to a single individual (i.e., a one-to-one communication known as narrowcasting) as well as to large numbers of individuals (i.e., a one-to-many communication known as broadcasting). The current research assesses the impact of advice scope (either narrowcasted or broadcasted advice) on consumers’ likelihood of taking advice. Across two experiments, we demonstrate that the acceptance of broadcasted or narrowcasted advice is dependent upon tie strength between the advisor and the advisee. Furthermore, we highlight the role of psychological reactance in consumers’ response to narrowcasted and broadcasted advice. Our results extend prior research on consumer advice utilization and identify situations where broadcasted advice may be more persuasive than narrowcasted advice.