How language abstractness affects service referral persuasiveness |
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| Institution: | 1. Marketing Area, LUISS University, Viale Romania, 32, 00197 Rome, Italy;2. LUISS University, Viale Romania, 32, 00197 Rome, Italy;3. University of Bari, Via Lago Maggiore Angola Via Ancona, 74121 Taranto, Italy;1. University of Nevada, Reno, NV, United States;2. Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States;3. University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States;1. University of Iowa, 21 E. Market St., Iowa City, IA 52242, United States;2. University of Wisconsin–Madison, 975 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706, United States;3. University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, 800 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI 53190, United States;1. Div. of Marketing & International Business, College of Business (Nanyang Business School), Nanyang Technological University, S3-B2B-46, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798;2. Department of Marketing, Aalto University (School of Business), Runeberginkatu 14-16, 00100 Helsinki, Finland;3. Kedge Business School, France;1. International Business School Suzhou at Xi''an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, BB236, 111 Ren''ai Road, Dushu Lake Higher Education Town, SIP Suzhou 215123, People''s Republic of China;2. Macquarie University, Faculty of Business and Economics, Room 639, Building E4A, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia;3. National University of Singapore, Business School, BIZ 1, 8-6, Mochtar Riady Building, 15 Kent Ridge Drive, 119245 Singapore, Singapore;4. Charles Sturt University, School of Management & Marketing, 1411/420, Panorama Avenue, Bathurst, NSW 2795, Australia;1. Department of Business Administration, ITAM, Río Hondo 1, Ciudad de México 01080, Mexico;2. College of Business Administration, Florida International University, 11200 S.W. 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, United States |
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| Abstract: | Due to the inherent risk and uncertainty characterizing pre-purchase service evaluation, consumers tend to rely on referrals from other consumers who already have experiences with that service. Thus, companies are eager to stimulate such referrals and improve their effectiveness. To this end, this research investigates how consumers' linguistic framing of service recommendations influences recipients' attitudes and behavioral intentions. Specifically, this study focuses on one key dimension of language—its abstractness (vs. concreteness)—and hypothesizes that the effect of language abstractness on referral persuasiveness depends on recipients' prior knowledge about the service in question. The results of two experiments in the context of financial and medical services demonstrate that abstract language is more effective than concrete language for recipients with high prior knowledge. Moreover, this research shows that recipients' engagement in mental imagery processing is that makes abstract language more effective for those with high prior knowledge. This articles ends with a discussion of the study's implications for academic research, social communication and service management, along with its limitations and future research directions. |
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