"The Review is Sponsored by": The Effect of Sponsorship Disclosure on Blog Loyalty

• Published in: Advances in Consumer Research Vol. 44; p. 454
• Main Authors: Gerrath, Maximilian H E E, Usrey, Bryan
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Urbana Association for Consumer Research 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Blogs; Corporate sponsorship; Loyalty
• ISSN: 0098-9258

Gerrath and Usrey examine the impact of firm sponsorship on blog loyalty and whether disclosure of sponsorship can mitigate any negative effects. They also investigate the role of review balance and attribution in influencing blog loyalty. The study consists of four experiments. In the first experiment, 600 YouTube video blogs were analyzed to determine the effect of sponsorship on blog attitude. The results showed that sponsored posts had a higher dislike ratio compared to nonsponsored posts. The second experiment involved a written online review, and it confirmed that sponsorship significantly reduced blog loyalty. The third experiment examined the impact of voluntary and involuntary disclosure of sponsorship, as well as the moderating effect of review balance. The results showed that voluntary disclosure had a positive effect on blog loyalty. In the fourth experiment, the researchers investigated the effect of internal vs external disclosure statements and review balance on blog loyalty and attribution. The findings indicated that internal disclosure enhanced blog loyalty, and a one-sided review had a negative effect on blog loyalty when an external disclosure statement was given. The study contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating that firm sponsorship has a negative effect on blog loyalty.