Date of Award
Spring 5-2021
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Communication
Committee Chair
Dr. Fei Xue
Committee Chair School
Communication
Committee Member 2
Dr. David R. Davies
Committee Member 2 School
Communication
Committee Member 3
Dr. Christopher Campbell
Committee Member 3 School
Communication
Committee Member 4
Dr. Cheryl Jenkins
Committee Member 4 School
Communication
Committee Member 5
Dr. Husain Ebrahim
Abstract
Native advertising through online influencers is one of the fastest-growing online advertising formats that public relations practitioners use worldwide. However, there is a lack of research about how public relations practitioners utilize native advertising in social media in the Middle East. The current study focused on Kuwait, one of the areas with the most notable growth in Instagram usage in recent years.
This study examines the effects of persuasion knowledge, the congruence between influencer and product, and parasocial relationships on ad credibility, influencer credibility, sharing intention, brand interest, and purchase intention. The scholar utilized a 2 (persuasion knowledge: active vs. not active) × 2 (influencer-product congruence: high vs. low) ×2 (parasocial relationships: high vs. low) factorial design to explore correlations among dependent and independent variables.
Three hundred and eight college students at Kuwait University participated in this experiment. The results supported the hypotheses partially and answered the research questions. Significant results were found related to the effects of influencer-product congruence on sharing intention, brand interest, and purchase intention, as well as the effects of parasocial relationships on ad credibility, influencer credibility, brand interest, and purchase intention. Furthermore, significant interaction effects were found between the influencer-product congruence and persuasion knowledge and between the parasocial relationships and persuasion knowledge.
The findings were presented with in-depth discussion and implications that public relations practitioners, marketers, and advertisers can use. The study also recommended directions for future research.
ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0704-2142
Copyright
Alhaidar, 2021
Recommended Citation
Alhaidar, Ahmad, "Using Native Ads in Public Relations Campaigns: A Study of Instagram Influencers in Kuwait" (2021). Dissertations. 1878.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1878