Assistant Professor at the University of Salzburg, Austria
Citation
Glaser, M., Reisinger, H., & Florack, A. (2024). You Are My Friend, But We Are from Different Worlds: Actor-Type Effects on Audience Engagement in Narrative Video Advertisements.
Journal of Advertising, 53(4), 568–587. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2023.2275773
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Abstract
Narrative video ads often use either celebrities or unknown actors to engage consumers and convey their messages. Although research suggests that celebrities (versus unknown actors) may enhance the effects of narrative videos on brand attitudes, this hypothesis has yet to be empirically tested, and the mechanisms behind such potential effects remain unclear. We compared the effects of celebrities and unknown actors in narrative video ads on brand attitudes and examined potential pathways through which actor type might increase or decrease persuasion. In Studies 1(a) through 1(c) and 3 we used a narrative video in two distinct versions: the original with a celebrity and an alternative where we used face-swapping technology to replace the celebrity with an unknown actor. In Study 2 we analyzed responses to unmodified ads. In Studies 1(a) through 1(c) and 2 we found no evidence that the celebrity actor increased transportation into the story or identification with the actor, but we consistently observed that celebrities increased perceptions of a parasocial relationship with the actor. However, this effect was not enhanced for a narrative video ad compared to a nonnarrative one in Study 3. Furthermore, celebrity actors were associated with reduced retrospective reflection in the path models.
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Citation
Glaser, M., Choi, YK., & Baumgartner, H. (2024). (Un)Bothered by the Story’s Ambiguity: How Individual Differences in Consumers’ Need for Closure Affect Transportation and Brand Attitude in Narrative Ads.
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 9:1, 46-57. https://doi.org/10.1086/727833
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Abstract
Narrative ads tell stories to communicate with consumers; and the persuasive power of narrative ads depends on whether they succeed in transporting viewers into their story world. Previous research has shown that subjective comprehension promotes transportation, which in turn improves brand attitudes, and that a strong link between the product and the story enhances subjective comprehension. We test this extended transportation-imagery model in two studies conducted in a Western European and East Asian country and provide evidence for its (cross-cultural) generalizability. We also propose that individual differences in need
for closure (people’s tolerance for ambiguity and desire for definitive answers) moderate the relationship between subjective comprehension and transportation and, as a result, influence
the extent to which a strong product-story link increases product attitudes via subjective comprehension and transportation. Support for the predicted moderator effect is obtained primarily in the Western European country.
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Citation
Glaser, M., & Reisinger, H. (2022). Don’t Lose Your Product in Story Translation: How Product–Story Link in Narrative Advertisements Increases Persuasion.
Journal of Advertising, 51(2), 188–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2021.1973623
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Abstract
Story advertisements combine entertainment and persuasion. To persuade effectively these ads must meaningfully link the story with the product. A disconnect between story and product has a negative effect on persuasion. The link between product and story is essential because it helps viewers comprehend meaning, which is embedded in the story. In story ads subjective comprehension of meaning is necessary for an unhindered immersion in the story ad, which in turn drives persuasion. Thus, we extend the transportation-imagery model in a narrative ad context. We outline a taxonomy of types of product–story link and, based on it, create an index to make the link measurable and test the hypotheses. Study 1 empirically validates the index and Study 2 applies the index to test the model empirically. Study 3 employs an experimental design that manipulates strength of product–story link while keeping the ad’s story structure stable. We find evidence that the positive effect of product–story link on brand attitude is mediated by subjective comprehension and narrative transportation. This finding indicates the importance of linking the story with the product to obtain maximum impact and discourages the advertising practice of loose links. Further theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Citation
Glaser, M., Jirasek, M., & Windsperger, J. (2020). Ownership Structure of Franchise Chains: Trade-Off Between Adaptation and Control.
International Journal of the Economics of Business, 27(3), 357–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/13571516.2020.1718460
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Abstract
This study provides a new explanation of the ownership structure of franchise firms by highlighting a trade-off between adaptation and control under increasing uncertainty. Franchise chains are formed to reduce transaction costs by combining franchisee outlets as an adaptation mechanism and company-owned outlets as a control mechanism. We argue that under low to moderate uncertainty, franchisors prioritize local responsiveness to profit opportunities by operating a lower proportion of company-owned outlets (PCO); by contrast, under high environmental uncertainty, franchisors prefer more central control through a higher PCO to coordinate interdependent local market outlets better. Hence, the franchisor must find an optimal PCO by balancing the PCO decreasing effect of higher local adaptation with the PCO increasing effect of higher central coordination under increasing uncertainty. Therefore, we posit a U-shaped relationship between the PCO and environmental uncertainty. Data from German and Swiss franchise systems provide support for the study’s hypotheses.
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