Date of Award
1-1-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Business Administration
First Advisor
Barry J. Babin
Second Advisor
Christopher Newman
Third Advisor
Cong Feng
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Commenting on a world replete with conspiracy theories, fake news, and virality on social media, some have dubbed the era we are currently living in as the “post-truth” era, defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”. The post-truth era is said to affect how individuals make decisions, form opinions, and communicate with one another. Although many frameworks have emerged along the way that describe how consumers deal with persuasive communication, truthful or otherwise, emerging technology has added a new layer to the way individuals view persuasive interactions - meaning, the way individuals view marketing and marketing communications has also significantly changed. For researchers to fully understand marketing’s role in today’s society, the framework for persuasive communications must be updated to include increasing societal pressures, the effect of emerging technology, and how the evolving concept of truth is involved. The following dissertation addresses this overarching research problem through a real-world case study and literature review, followed by a novel conceptual framework for a general theory of persuasion and two distinct but related empirical studies using structural equation modeling and linear regression. Ultimately, the findings suggest that covert influences, such as artificial intelligence or whether the information is verified as true, do affect the way individuals process marketing information and can affect curiosity as well as behavior towards the information.
Recommended Citation
Welch, Emma, "Persuasion Knowledge in A Post-Truth Era" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2898.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2898