No abstract

Purpose Advergames, or integrated brand messages within digital games, have received considerable attention from researchers and practitioners. Despite increased use of advergames as a brand promotion strategy by a range of well-known brands, limited understanding exists about a number of issues related to the effective use of such games. This paper aims to critically review the literature on advergames by performing a detailed analysis of existing research in this area and propose an organizing framework. Based on this framework, the authors discuss key issues with current understanding and propose important questions for future research. Design/methodology/approach This literature review follows Webster and Watson’s (2002) concept-driven systematic review methodology elaborating on the key antecedents and consequences identified in advergame studies (what we know: current knowledge), followed by the discussion of key factors that should be investigated as antecedents and consequences (literature gaps). Findings This paper presents a review and synthesis of advergame studies based on Terlutter and Capella’s (2013) integrated marketing communication framework. It identifies game, individual and social factors and suggests how these factors could affect a consumer’s brand-related cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral responses. The authors further propose an advergame framework that identifies two different “unit of analysis” (antecedents and consequences of game factors and antecedents and consequences of individual and social factors), which can be used by scholars to center their research efforts in a more detailed fashion. Research limitations/implications Research questions posed in this literature review indicate that future research in the area of advergames should focus on investigating the effects of various game, individual and social factors on consumers’ cognitive, affective and behavioral responses. Practical implications The advergame framework provided here provides firms with a guide to the factors that may affect their consumers’ cognitive, affective and behavioral responses and helps them in developing effective advergames. Originality/value The paper provides a comprehensive review of the advergame literature that has not been done before and develops a general advergame framework that can be applied in all contexts and will guide future studies in the area. Overall, the study helps the researchers to identify critical issues and concepts related to advergames and shapes future research in the field.

No abstract

No abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate an empirical model examining the job seekers’ perception about information quality of corporate employment websites and its impact on their attitude toward the websites through perceived playfulness and usefulness. Furthermore, the study also examines the job seekers’ e-trust as condition under which these mechanisms generate website attitude. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 385 active job seekers was selected through systematic random sampling. A web-based questionnaire was used to elicit responses for the study. Structural equation modeling was used to validate the proposed model. Findings Results indicate that the information quality dimensions positively influence perceived playfulness and perceived usefulness, which in turn evoke the website attitude. Furthermore, e-trust was found to moderate the above said relationships. Originality/value The study contribution lies in an empirical validation of a model showing the mechanisms and the condition through which the relationship exists between perceived information quality of e-recruitment websites and job seekers’ website attitude, and thus responds to the call for additional research that generalizes the influence of information characteristics of websites on job seekers’ behavioral outcomes.