An Exploration of Social Media-Enabled Voter Relationships through uses and Gratifications Theory, Psychological Contract and Service-Dominant Orientation

Abstract

The relationship that develops between voters and political entities on social media is under-researched. This study offers insight into this contemporary phenomenon by exploring the factors that initiate and drive social media-enabled voter relationships. Data were collected by conducting three focus groups with young voters. Uses and gratifications theory was used to explore the motivations that stimulate young voters to follow political entities on social media. Secondly, the drivers of the resulting relationship were explained using the concept of the psychological contract. Lastly, the various online interactions that underpin this relationship were investigated using the concept of service-dominant orientation. The findings reveal that social, informational and entertainment gratifications are the primary initiators of this relationship. Further, developmental, individuated, relational and ethical interactions fortify online voter relationships. However, a lack of trust, unmet expectations and an absence of individuated interactions are major challenges. The study recommends humanising politicians through social and emotional content, along with an educational approach towards social media marketing.

Managing the effectiveness of e-commerce platforms in a pandemic

“…The author, drawing on uses and gratification theory (UGT), also takes pandemic fear into account to identify contingencies for the framework. UGT explains why consumers use a specific medium to satisfy their needs ( Kaur et al, 2020 ), providing valuable insight into the nascence of e-commerce platform adoption, information-seeking behavior, and social interactions ( Abid and Harrigan, 2020 ). In fact, rather than being a cause to worry, the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be a catalyst to testify a firm's effectiveness in operating its business activities more sustainably.…”

Company versus consumer performance: does brand community identification foster brand loyalty and the consumer’s personal brand?

“…Such relationships within the context of social media have rarely been investigated. Recently, apart from Bae (2018), also Abid and Harrigan (2020) have explored social media-enabled voter relationships through uses and gratifications theory via qualitative methods. Li et al (2015) focused on the gratification motives of online gamers, whereas Gan and Li (2018) identified media appeal as a critical motive of WeChat communicator users.…”

Inappropriately Disclosed Default Option May Promote Anti-environmental Behaviors with a Pro-environmental Justification

“…We name this condition with low perceived appropriateness the hypocritical condition, since the content of disclosure is deliberately altered to disguise the actual intention of the vendor. In this way, the psychological contract between consumers and the hypocritical marketer might be broken, leading to adverse effects like negative impression [30], disappointment, and the sudden decline of trust especially when a rapport has existed previously when consumers once have the notion of an environmentally friendly brand. Ideally, not only that the baseline preference of the default option would diminish in this case, but also that a backfire effect on the default option would be created [28], decreasing its selection.…”