Running head: THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
Graduate School of Communication
Master’s program Corporate Communication Science
Master’s Thesis
Human voice or corporate voice?
The influence of the organizational tone of voice on brand trust and
brand commitment
written by: Laura Meurs 11351268 supervised by: Dr. Theo Araujo 27th of June 2017THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to understand how a different tone of voice on organizational
blogs contributed to the level of brand trust and brand commitment of consumers, and
particularly how corporate reputation influences this relationship. In this experimental study,
the effect of the organizational tone of voice was examined using a fictitious blog post.
Furthermore, the corporate reputation of the organization was influenced using an online
news article. Contrary to previous research, findings revealed that the levels of brand trust
and brand commitment did not correlate with the use of a conversational human voice or
corporate voice on organizational blogs. In addition, it was found that there was a direct
effect of corporate reputation and message credibility on brand trust and brand commitment.
This study expanded on previous research by exploring to what extent the relationship
between tone of voice and brand trust and brand commitment is influenced by corporate
reputation. Including the influence of message credibility and personality.
Keywords: tone of voice, conversational human voice, organizational blogs, corporate
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Introduction
In recent years, an increasing amount of organizations use organizational blogs as a
tool for corporate communication to reach out to their consumers (Cho & Huh, 2010). These
organizational blogs offer unique ways for developing favorable relationships between
organizations and consumers because of the unique way of reaching a mass audience while
communicating in an intimate way (Kelleher & Miller, 2006; Cho & Huh, 2010).
Previous research has shown that the communication in these organizational blogs
have become even more important in the current competitive landscape because of the
difficulty of establishing and maintaining advantages relative to competitors (Vernuccio,
2014; Harris & Chernatony, 2001). It has been advocated to adopt a conversational tone of
voice for corporate communication to fully use the potential of blogs and involve a broad
range of consumers (Vernuccio, 2014). Hon and Grunig (1999) state that organizations can
use a conversational human voice (CHV) or a corporate voice in their communication on
organizational blogs. CHV describes a more engaged and natural style of communication in
comparison to a corporate voice whereby the provision of information in a clear and
structured way is the main objective (Noort & Willemsen, 2012).
In the fast evolving digital environment it is important that organizations understand
their consumers. The understanding of how consumers perceive such organizational blogs is
important as it is a key step for building and maintaining relationships (Kelleher & Miller,
2006; Islam & Rahman, 2016; Cho & Huh, 2010).
As Park and Cameron (2014) describe, blogs remain important online platforms for
information sharing. In the current research, blogs are used as a research context because both
consumers and organizations can initiate blogs and therefore enable a real and equal situation
(Noort & Willemsen, 2012). Organizational blogs are more likely to facilitate platforms for
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to Social Networking Sites such as Facebook, organizational blogs are perceived as providers
of more in-depth information that receive meaningful feedback (Park & Cameron, 2014).
Previous research has shown that the use of a CHV on organizational blogs is a key factor for
effective corporate communication, which in turn can affect the reputation of the organization
(Kelleher, 2009).
A positive corporate reputation is seen as an important factor that differentiates an
organization from its competitors (Park & Cameron, 2014). This has caused a shift in
approach towards a more collaborative relationship between organizations and consumers
(Kelleher & Miller, 2006). By applying the right communication approach (i.e. the use of a
CHV), organizations can increase the effectiveness of their corporate communication, and
build a positive relationship with consumer (Kelleher & Miller, 2006; Islam & Rahman,
2016).
When using a CHV in organizational blogs, an increase in brand trust can occur.
Brand trust is defined as “the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another
party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the
trust or, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that other party” (Mayer, Davis &
Schoorman, 1995, p. 712). Consumers trust an organization if they see that an organization
treats people fairly, and do what they promise (Kelleher, 2009; Hon & Grunig, 1999).
Secondly, an increase in brand commitment can occur which is “the extent to which each
party believes and feels that the relationship is worth spending energy to maintain and
promote’’ (Hon & Grunig, 1999, p. 20). In order to have a strong commitment to a brand,
involvement and loyalty towards the organization is important (Wang, 2002).
Previous research has focused on the effect of the organizational tone of voice on
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2006). However, there is a research gap on factors that may influence this relationship, like
message credibility. This factor has become more relevant in the current Internet environment
because people increasingly rely on the Internet for gathering information, while the evidence
that the information is potentially inaccurate and biased also increased (Flanagin & Metzger,
2000). Secondly, the impact of the already existing corporate reputation was also not part of
previous research. This reputation is the result of previous impressions and events of
consumers with an organization over time, and is important for a positive relationship
between an organization and its consumers (Abratt & Kleyn, 2012). And thirdly,
within-individual dynamics were also not considered in previous research, like differences in
personalities. Personality traits are seen as factors that can influence the online behavior of
individuals (Salgado, 2002; Zhao & Seibert, 2006). Although individual characteristics can
influence the commitment of consumers in the relationship with organizations, little evidence
exists on the extent to which personality traits are influenced by the tone of voice of corporate
communication. Therefore, this study will take two traits of the Big Five personality traits
into account (Gosling, Rentfrow & Swann, 2003). Openness because LePin, Colquitt and
Erez (2000) showed that people high on openness are more willing to engage, and
conscientiousness because it has been discussed that conscientious people are successful in
maintaining relationships (Javaras, Schaefer & Van Reekum, 2012).
The current study aims to fill the above mentioned research gap by providing insight
on the effect of corporate reputation and message credibility on the relationship of the
organizational tone of voice, as well as brand trust and brand commitment. Also, to see to
what extent personality influences the relationship of an organization and its consumers.
Based on the previous assumptions the research question of this study is as follows:
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relational outcomes, brand trust and brand commitment, and what role do corporate
reputation, message credibility, and personality play in this relationship?
The results are expected to shed light on how organizations can respond to challenges
concerning corporate communication by providing guidelines on how to communicate with
its consumers in order to strengthen their relationship and increase the consumer’s trust and
commitment. Furthermore, this study contributes to current literature by adding
understanding of the effect of using a CHV on organizational blogs by demonstrating
whether and how this effect is influenced by other variables like reputation.
Theoretical Framework Organizational Tone of Voice
Organizations use organizational blogs to manage the valuable relationships with their
consumers. But due to the expanding use of these blogs and their growing interactivity, the
focus has increased on online communication (Vernuccio, 2014; Kelleher & Miller, 2006;
Park & Cameron, 2014). Communication with a personal approach is used within this online
communication space where organizations can provide more personal messages instead of
using press releases (Park & Cameron, 2014). The way an organization communicates its
corporate brand shapes the perception of consumers and affects the way the information is
received and processed (Yang, Kang, & Johnson, 2010; Noort & Willemsen, 2012). For this
communication strategy organizations can use a CHV or a corporate voice for effective
online communication.
Organizational communication with a corporate voice is a formal way of
communicating without the use of emotions and no intention to imply personal contact (Park
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information to consumers in a clear and structured way and is often perceived as profit-driven
and having a persuasive intent (Noort & Willemsen, 2012). It has been argued that this form
of communicating is less interesting for consumers because it gives the impression that the
organization has little interest in them (Searls & Weinberger, 2000).
Organizations that use a CHV use a more natural style of communicating that is
written in the first-person and is directly aimed at consumers (Kelleher & Miller, 2006). This
form of communication is often perceived as being more engaged and based on interactions
between an organization and its consumers (Kelleher, 2009). A CHV can be seen as a key
factor in enhancing a positive attitude towards the organization and positively affects
concepts such as trust and commitment (Yang et al., 2010). The use of a CHV can increase
the perception of interactivity in online communication (Noort & Willemsen, 2012), and it
can generate the perception of organizational openness and transparency (Park & Cameron,
2014). Previous studies have shown that the use of a CHV can play an important role in
online communication in building relationships with consumers because it creates openness
and assurance, and in turn generates a trusting relationship (Park & Cameron, 2014; Kelleher
& Miller, 2006; Islam & Rahman, 2016).
Previous studies of, among others, Kelleher and Miller (2006), and Kelleher (2009)
have shown that a CHV positively affects a variety of relational outcomes by stating that the
organization is open to dialog and use conversational communication. Furthermore, Park and
Cameron (2014) support previous findings by stating that the addition of a personal
dimension to online communication has a positive effect and is more likely to be accepted
than messages with a corporate tone. However, the effectiveness of a CHV on brand trust and
brand commitment have barely been discussed in previous research and will be the focus
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Message credibility
The level of message credibility is the extent to which individuals perceive a message
as believable and trustworthy (Roberts, 2010; Flanagin & Metzger, 2000). These aspects are
important because the credibility judgments of the message can be an important determinant
for its effectiveness (Park & Cameron, 2014; Flanagin & Metzger, 2000). According to Park
and Cameron (2014) “credibility is assumed to influence people’s evaluations of a message”
(p. 491), which is affected by the beliefs and expectations of the audience.
Previous research has stated that the consumer’s evaluation of a message has an effect
on the judgment of the organization that provided that message (Park & Cameron, 2014).
This credibility evaluation (and with that the consumer’s expectations and perceived
truthfulness of the organization) is a key factor for consumers to determine their involvement
with the organization (Park & Cameron, 2014; Roberts, 2010; Flanagin & Metzger, 2000).
In order to increase the effectiveness of their corporate communication, organizations
can create a trustworthy message by using a CHV (Yang et al., 2010; Kelleher, 2009). By
implementing a human voice in their communication, a positive perception can be created
which can frame the beliefs of the consumers about the provider of the message (Park &
Cameron, 2014; Kelleher, 2009; Flanagin & Metzger, 2000). This is important because it
becomes harder for consumers to differentiate possible incorrect information in the growing
amount of online information (Kelleher, 2009; Flanagin & Metzger, 2000).
The level of message credibility can have an effect on how consumers perceive the
information but also how they perceive the organization that provided the information.
Previous research showed that this credibility is higher when consumers trust the information
that is provided, therefore it is expected that this trust will increase when a CHV is used. As a
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H1: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to higher levels of perceived
message credibility, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
Relational Outcomes
The changing communication environment has resulted in changes in the relationship
building process of organizations and consumers. This environment is important for
maintaining and promoting these relationships as well as for creating favorable relational
outcomes (Dwyer, Hiltz & Passerini, 2007; Hon & Grunig, 1999; Chaudhuri & Holbrook,
2001).
Relational outcomes refer to indicators of the effectiveness of public relations efforts
over time, which can evaluate relationships between organizations and consumers (Hon &
Grunig, 1999). According to Kelleher (2009) the focus increased on relational outcomes as
“important goals for public relations work, emphasizing the role of organizational and public
behaviors while acknowledging the importance of communication in building and
maintaining organization-public relationships” (p. 172). This shows that public relations have
the ability to create relationships with its consumers via relational outcomes (Kelleher, 2009).
One of the ways to build and maintain these relationships is by engaging consumers.
As previously stated, the use of a CHV in corporate communication can have a positive
influence on the consumer’s attitude towards the organization due to the engagement of the
organization and the interaction with its consumers. In turn, this can lead to an increase of
concepts like trust and commitment (Noort & Willemsen, 2012).
Brand trust is based on the relationship that organizations build with their consumers
and vice versa, and is generated by the consumer’s evaluation of their experiences with the
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actions towards the consumer (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001; Wang, 2002). Trust is a crucial
aspect for developing relationships and successful (online) interaction (Dwyer et al., 2007;
Islam & Rahman, 2016). By creating brand trust the quality of the relationship between an
organization and its consumers can increase resulting in more engaged consumers who are
more likely to have a positive response towards an organization (Islam & Rahman, 2016).
Brand commitment is defined by Kimpakorn & Tocquer (2010) as “a strong belief in
and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, a willingness to exert considerable
effort on behalf of the organization, and a strong desire to maintain membership in the
organization” (p. 381). In establishing an affective brand commitment, identification,
involvement and loyalty towards an organization are important aspects (Kimpakorn &
Tocquer, 2010; Wang, 2002).
Positive brand trust and brand commitment are needed to exert the willingness to stay
with the organization (Burmann & Zeplin, 2004). In other words, both indicators are
important for maintaining an important and valued relationship (Chaudhuri & Holbrook,
2001). The right tone of voice in the corporate communication can enhance this relationship
(Kelleher, 2009; Kelleher & Miller, 2006). By using a CHV, organizations show that they are
involved and focused on the thoughts and concerns of their consumers (Kelleher & Miller,
2006; Kelleher, 2009). By doing so, a sense of identification and involvement can be evoked,
which influences the emotional attachment of the relationship with consumers (Wang, 2002;
Kimpakorn & Tocquer, 2010). Moreover, the use of a CHV can also lead to higher levels of
message credibility as previously stated, which in turn can have a positive effect on the trust
and commitment of consumers (Yang et al., 2010; Kelleher, 2009).
Given the suggested influence of the organizational tone of voice on brand trust and
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following hypotheses are proposed:
H2a: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to a higher level of brand trust, in
comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
H2b: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to a higher level of brand
commitment, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
H3a: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to an increase in brand trust
through the perceived level of message credibility, in comparison to blogs with a
corporate voice.
H3b: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to an increase in brand
commitment through the perceived level of message credibility, in comparison to
blogs with a corporate voice.
Corporate Reputation
Corporate reputation is a “collective representation of a firm’s past behavior and
outcomes that depicts the firm’s ability to render valued results to multiple stakeholders”
(Fombrun, Gardberg & Sever, 2000, p. 243). This reputation reflects the position of an
organization both internally, with employers, and externally, with other stakeholders and its
environments (Gardberg & Fombrun, 2002).
Corporate reputation is important because it can contribute to an organization's
performance and it is the aspect that differentiates an organization from its competitors,
which can result in a continuing support for the organization. For this reason it is important
for organizations to maintain a high reputation as a high corporate reputation is an asset for
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positive effect on the earlier mentioned concepts brand trust and brand commitment (Park &
Cameron, 2014; Kelleher, 2009; Hon & Grunig, 1999).
The already-existing relationship between consumers and an organization is one of
the factors that can influence the relationship building process (Hallahan, 2003). This
reputation is based on all activities of the organization (Tucker & Melewar, 2005). Hallahan
(2003) describes that people who already have knowledge of an organization and have a
positive attitude towards this organization are more likely to process the organization's
information. An open and interactive relationship is important in this process (Vernuccio,
2014), which can result from the use of a CHV in the corporate communication (Kelleher &
Miller, 2006; Park & Cameron, 2014; Islam & Rahman, 2016).
As previously stated, blogs with a CHV can have a positive influence on relational
outcomes (Park & Cameron, 2014; Kelleher, 2009). This positive effect can lead to a
favorable reputation according to Kelleher (2009) because it reduces negative perceptions of
consumers towards an organization. Furthermore, corporate reputation can also affect the
behavior of consumers towards the organization (Chun, 2005), as a result of the assessment
of the organization’s ability to provide valued outcomes to its consumers (Fombrun et al.,
2000).
Whereas a high corporate reputation can have a positive effect on trust and
commitment, a low reputation can affect the relational outcomes in a negative way (Nguyen
& Leblanc, 2001). Previous research showed that a corporate reputation is fragile because the
impact of bad actions is much stronger than positive actions (Nguyen & Leblanc, 2001;
Herbig & Milewicz, 1994). Therefore, it can be concluded that the reputation of an
organizations is of great importance as the reputation will have a considerable impact on the
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Cameron, 2014). As a result, it is expected that the use of a human voice will have a positive
effect for organizations with a high reputation, and a negative effect for organizations with a
low reputation due to the lack of credibility and trust for the organization (Hallahan, 2003;
Gardberg & Fombrun, 2002; Flanagin & Metzger, 2000).
Corporate reputation is often considered a mirror of the reflection of an
organization’s past (Park & Cameron, 2014; Nguyen & Leblanc, 2001). However, previous
research did not focus on the effect of already existing reputation of organizations on the
relationship of the organizational tone of voice and relational outcomes. Thus, because
organizations with a positive image can influence the relationship building process in their
favor and vice versa, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H4a: Companies with a high corporate reputation have higher levels of brand trust
when using blogs with a conversational human voice, in comparison to blogs with a
corporate voice.
H4b: Companies with a low corporate reputation have lower levels of brand trust
when using blogs with a conversational human voice, in comparison to blogs with a
corporate voice.
H5a: Companies with a high corporate reputation have higher levels of brand
commitment when using blogs with a conversational human voice, in comparison to
blogs with a corporate voice.
H5b: Companies with a low corporate reputation have lower levels of brand
commitment when using blogs with a conversational human voice, in comparison to
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Personality Dimensions
Personality traits are seen as a non-cognitive skill that can have important
consequences for the decision-making process of consumers (Cobb-Clark & Schurer, 2011).
The importance of personality in the interaction between individuals and organizations has
already been addressed in previous research (George & Zhou, 2001). It has been stated that
the Big Five personality traits are predictors for specific criteria and involve interactions that
can influence the online behavior of consumers (Salgado, 2002; Zhao & Seibert, 2006).
This study expects that the individual characteristics, conscientiousness, and openness
will most likely have an effect on brand trust and brand commitment because these traits are
most relevant for the online relationship with an organization. More specifically, previous
research of Roccas, Sagiv, Schwartz and Knafo (2002) stated that an important motivator of
conscientiousness is maintaining good interpersonal relationships (Roccas et al., 2002).
Conscientiousness indicates the degree of being careful and responsible (Barrick & Mount,
1991). Also, it has been suggested that individuals high on conscientiousness are better at the
regulation of negative emotions, i.e. they will process negative information better than
individuals low on conscientiousness (Javaras, et al., 2012; Rothbart & Sheese, 2007). These
motivators are in line with the main objective of using a CHV, namely engaging a broad
range of loyal consumers by creating a good relationship (Vernuccio, 2014), and will
therefore have more impact on individuals with this specific trait (Roccas et al., 2002).
Openness is a personality trait that characterizes the level of intellect and sensitivity
(Roccas et al., 2002). Due to the curiosity of individuals high in openness, they might be
attracted to online activities as they see it as an opportunity to explore (Swickert, Hittner &
Harris, 2002; Roccas et al., 2002). Individuals whom are open tend to be more willing to
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ideas and appreciation of beauty and nature” (Roccas et al., 2002, p. 792). This attitude
towards the organization can be increased by the right communication strategy (Yang et al.,
2010; Noort & Willemsen, 2012). CHV is often perceived as more engaged and based on
interactions, and with that enhances a positive attitude towards the organization for
individuals high on openness (Yang et al., 2010; Kelleher, 2009).
Given the suggested motivation of maintaining personal relationships of consumers
high on conscientiousness and the willingness of consumers high on openness to engage with
organizations, it is expected that conscientiousness and openness will have an influence on
the relationship between an organization and its consumers, therefore the following
hypotheses are proposed:
H6a: Consumers with higher levels of Conscientiousness will have higher levels of
brand trust when blogs with a conversational human voice are used, in comparison to
blogs with a corporate voice.
H6b: Consumers with higher levels of Openness will have higher levels of brand trust
when blogs with a conversational human voice are used, in comparison to blogs with
a corporate voice.
H7a: Consumers with higher levels of Conscientiousness will have higher levels of
brand commitment when blogs with a conversational human voice are used, in
comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
H7b: Consumers with higher levels of Openness will have higher levels of brand
commitment when blogs with a conversational human voice are used, in comparison
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE 16 Figure 1 Conceptual model Method Design
An experiment was conducted for this research using a 2 (CHV vs. corporate voice) x
2 (high reputation vs. low reputation) factorial design in order to study the effect of
organizational tone of voice and corporate reputation on brand trust and brand commitment.
An online survey was conducted by means of the tool Qualtrics using a convenience sample.
The respondents were reached out to via Social Media and e-mail, and were randomly
assigned to one of the four experimental groups.
Pre-test and stimuli
A pre-test was conducted in order to assure internal validity of the manipulation of the
stimuli. The stimuli embodied a corporate blog post of a fictitious company, named Pure
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past experiences or associations with the company. The corporate blog post consisted of two
web pages, one containing a news article of one of the largest online news websites of the
Netherlands, nu.nl, and one with a blog post of the organization's website. The article started
with a picture followed by a news headline, and the text. The blog had a blog title followed
by the blog post and at the bottom a Twitter section (see Appendix A for the four conditions).
The layouts of the posts were identical to avoid respondents being biased towards certain
styles and to control for different perceptions caused by visual elements. The information was
the same in each condition but the wording of the blog posts differed to test the effect of
reputation and tone of voice.
First, the news article contained information about past actions that showed how the
organization was perceived. The information in the condition with high reputation was
presented in a positive way whereas this was negative in the condition with low reputation.
Second, the blog with a CHV was written in the first person, using informal and everyday
language. Whereby the reactions in the Twitter section contained personal as well as
informational comments. While the blog with the corporate voice provided formal and
straightforward information, within the Twitter section there was merely informational
comments.
A pre-test was conducted in order to analyze whether the respondents were able to
differentiate content with a CHV from a corporate voice, and to distinguish positive content
concerning the reputation of the organization from the one with negative content. A total of
12 respondents (75% female) participated in the pre-test.
Corporate reputation was measured on a 6-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 6 =
strongly agree) consisting of 16 items by Fombrun et al. (2000). A paired sample t-test was
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negative content differently. There was a significant difference between high reputation (M =
4.61, SD = 0.45) and low reputation (M = 2.85, SD = 1.01), t(11) = -5.25, p < .001. This
means that the manipulation of the corporate reputation was successful and that the
respondents noticed the difference between the news articles.
The 6-point scale of the organizational tone of voice (1 = strongly disagree, 6 =
strongly agree) was measured with ten items by Kelleher (2009). A paired sample t-test
showed that there was no significant difference between the blog post with a CHV (M = 3.93,
SD = 0.78) and a corporate voice (M = 3.55, SD = 0.79), t(11) = 1.20, p = .256. The results
suggested that the respondents were not able to distinguish the difference between the blog
posts. Therefore, both blog posts had to be manipulated again in order to make the stimulus
more distinct from one another. However, due to limited time a second pre-test was not
conducted.
Procedure
For the online survey the participants were recruited through a convenience sample by
acquaintances of the researcher over a four-week timeframe in May 2017. The survey was
completely confidential and started with an introduction that explained the purpose of the
study followed by an informed consent, which had to be agreed on before continuing.
The respondents were exposed to the news article followed by the blog post, after
which they answered multiple questions. The experiment had four conditions: low reputation
with CHV, low reputation with corporate voice, high reputation with CHV, and high
reputation with corporate voice. Finally, after answering some socio-demographic and
personality questions, the respondents were thanked for their participation. The complete
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Sample
A total of 206 respondents participated in the survey. Though, only 140 respondents
filled in the complete survey of which another 6 respondents did not agree on the ethical
terms of the study. This resulted in a total drop of 72 responses. The final sample was
composed of 134 responses (68.7% female), with an age varying from 18 to 64 years (M =
28.51, SD = 10.78). A total of 55.2% of the respondents had a bachelor’s degree, and 40.3%
an income of less than €10.000.
Measures
Organizational tone of voice. The organizational tone of voice was measured with
ten items by Kelleher (2009) on a 6-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 6 = strongly agree).
Participants were asked to what extent they agreed with the statements such as ‘Invites people
to conversation’ and ‘Tries to be interesting in communication’. A principal component
analysis (PCA) revealed two components with an Eigenvalue above 1, namely: 4.68 and 1.42.
Nevertheless, a reliable scale was constructed with all ten items that explained a total of 60.99% of the variance (α = .87) because the reliability would not be improved if items were deleted (M = 3.61, SD = 0.71).
Message credibility. Message credibility was assessed with the use of the five items
by Flanagin and Metzger (2000): ‘believable’, ‘accurate’, ‘trustworthy’, ‘biased’ and
‘complete’. The items were tested on a 5-point scale (1 = none at all, 5 = a great deal). A
PCA showed two components with an Eigenvalue above 1, which resulted in the use of four
items for the message credibility scale (M = 2.76, SD = 0.73) that explained 71.92% of the variance. The reliability analysis proved that the scale was reliable (α = .87). The item ‘biased’ was excluded from further analysis.
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Relational outcomes. The relational outcomes consisted of two constructs, namely
brand trust and brand commitment which were both measured on a 6-point scale (1 = strongly
disagree, 6 = strongly agree). Brand trust was measured using four items of Chaudhuri and
Holbrook (2001): ‘I trust this company’, ‘I rely on this company’, ‘This is an honest
company’ and ‘This company is safe’. For further analyses a mean scale was constructed of
the four items (M = 3.36, SD = 0.98, α = .91). Together, the PCA showed that these items explained 77.85% of the variance in the variables.
Brand commitment was measured by five items of Hon and Grunig (1999) consisting
of items such as: ‘I feel that this organization is trying to maintain a long-term commitment to
people like me’. The PCA showed that the five items loaded on one component explaining
63.52% of the variance. A reliable scale was constructed for the five items (M = 3.41, SD = 0.88, α = .85).
Corporate Reputation. Corporate reputation was measured using 16 items of
Fombrun et al. (2000) consisting of items such as ‘I trust this company’ and ‘I admire and
respect the company’. A PCA showed one component explaining 69.62% of the variance. A
mean scale was constructed using all items (M = 3.45, SD = 1.08) with a reliability of α = .97.
Personality dimensions. The BFI-S (Short 15-item Big Five Inventory) by Lang,
John & Lüdtke (2011) was used to measure personality dimensions. Two constructs will be
used for this study that will be measured on a 6-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 6 =
strongly agree). Openness consists of three items: ‘Is original, comes up with new ideas’,
‘Values artistic, aesthetic experiences’ and ‘Has an active imagination’. A mean scale was
constructed of the three items (M = 4.23, SD = 0.86, α = .73) because the PCA showed that the items loaded on one component explaining 65.73% of the variance. Conscientiousness
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efficiently’. A PCA showed one component explaining 50.62% of the variance. However, the reliability was low (α = .45). After excluding the item ‘Tends to be lazy’, the reliability increased (α = .56). A mean scale was constructed using two items, which explained 69.75% of the total variance (M = 4.62, SD = 0.66).
Results Randomization check
In order to check whether the randomization was successful the distribution of gender,
age, education, and income over the four conditions was investigated. A one-way Welch
ANOVA was conducted for age as dependent variable and condition as factor because the
Levene’s test showed that the homogeneity of variance was not met (p = .034). The results
indicated no significant differences between the four conditions, F(3, 69.80) = 0.97, p = .414.
The distribution of gender, education and income was checked by conducting Chi-square
tests for the variables with the factor condition. No significant difference between the conditions was found with regard to education, χ² (12, N = 134) = 9.44, p = .665, and income, χ² (15, N = 134) = 15.98, p = .383. However, a significant difference was found between the conditions for gender, χ² (3, N = 134) = 10.18, p = .017. The number of females was considerably higher in three conditions. Concluding that the randomization was successful,
except for gender. As the randomization of gender was not successful, gender is used as a
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
22
Table 1
Frequencies for gender per condition
Condition Male Female Total
low reputation & cv 8 (21.6%) 29 (78.4%) 37 low reputation & chv 10 (28.6%) 25 (71.4%) 35 high reputation & cv 16 (55.2%) 13 (44.8%) 29 high reputation & chv 8 (24.2%) 25 (75.8%) 33
Manipulation check
Before testing the hypotheses the manipulation checks for the final experiment were
conducted. A Welch t-test was conducted to compare the blogs with high and low corporate
reputation because the Levene's test (p = .027) showed the violation of the homogeneity of
variances. The results showed a significant difference in the scores for blogs with low
reputation (M = 2.69, SD = 0.77) and high reputation (M = 4.34, SD = 0.59), t(130.16) =
13.92, p < .001. These results suggested that the participants interpreted the blogs with high
reputation more positive than blogs with low reputation. Therefore, it can be concluded that
the manipulation of the corporate reputation was successful.
An independent sample t-test was conducted to compare the use of a CHV and a
corporate voice in organizational blogs as the Levene’s test showed that there was
homogeneity of variances (p = .089). There was a significant difference in scores for blogs
with CHV (M = 3.79, SD = 0.63) and corporate voice (M = 3.43, SD = 0.75), t(132) = -2.95, p
= .004. These results suggested that the participants who read the blog with a CHV interpret
the blog content as including more human voice. Therefore, it can be concluded that the
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
23
Hypothesis testing
Hypothesis 1. For the first hypothesis a one-way ANCOVA was conducted to
determine if the dependent variable message credibility was different for conditions with a
different tone of voice, when controlling it for gender. All assumptions to carry out the
analysis were met except the assumption of normality (p < .05). However, the robustness of
the ANCOVA allowed the researcher to perform the analysis. The difference of message
credibility between blogs with a corporate voice and a CHV was not significant, F(1, 131) =
0.10, p = .757, η² = .001. Also, the covariate (gender) was not significantly related to message credibility, F(1, 131) = 1.64, p = .203, η² = .01. Therefore, H1 could not be supported.
Hypothesis 2. In order to determine if the dependent variable brand trust was
different for conditions with a different tone of voice with gender as a factor, a one-way
ANCOVA was conducted for hypothesis 2a. All assumptions to carry out a one-way
ANCOVA were met except the assumption of normality (p < .05), but the analysis could be
performed due to the robustness of the test. The ANCOVA showed no significant difference
between the condition with CHV and corporate voice, F(1, 131) = 1.52, p = .220, η² = .01. Also, the covariate (gender) was not significantly related to brand trust, F(1, 131) = 0.99, p = .322, η² = .01. Therefore, hypothesis 2a was not supported.
A one-way Welch ANOVA was conducted to test the differences for the dependent
variable brand commitment for conditions with a different tone of voice for hypothesis 2b
because the assumption of normality was not met for blogs with CHV (p = .068) and the
Levene’s test showed that there was no homogeneity of variance (p = .026). Welch’s F(1,
132.73) = 1.46, p = .230, showed no significant difference between the conditions. Therefore,
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
24
Hypothesis 3. To test the mediation effect of hypothesis 3, multiple linear regression
analyses were conducted. All the assumptions to carry out a regression analysis were met.
First for hypothesis 3a, a linear regression was run using tone of voice as independent
variable and brand trust as dependent variable. This model was not significant, F(1, 132) =
1.82, p = .180, R² = .01. The second linear regression was run using tone of voice as
independent variable and message credibility as dependent variable, resulting in a
non-significant model F(1, 132) = 0.20, p = .655, R² = .002. The third linear regression was
proven significant with message credibility as independent variable and brand trust as
dependent variable, F(1, 132) = 208.09, p < .001, R² = .61. Message credibility has a
significant strong association with brand trust, b* = 0.78, t = 14.43, p < .001, 95% CI [0.91,
1.20]. However a mediation analysis was not performed because there was no direct effect
between tone of voice and brand trust, and tone of voice and message credibility. Therefore,
there is no mediation effect of message credibility, and hypothesis 3a could not be supported.
The same analyses were conducted for hypothesis 3b. First, a linear regression using
tone of voice as independent variable and brand commitment as dependent variable showed a
non-significant result, F(1, 132) = 1.47, p = .228, R² = .01. Second, a linear regression using
message credibility as independent and brand commitment as dependent variable, F(1, 132) =
96.90, p < .001, R² = .42. Showing that message credibility has a significant moderate
association with brand commitment, b* = 0.65, t = 9.84, p < .001, 95% CI [0.63, 0.95]. Also
for hypothesis 3b, a mediation analysis was not performed because there is no direct effect
between tone of voice and brand commitment, and therefore no mediation effect. Hypothesis
3b could also not be supported.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
25
reputation moderates the relationship between the independent variable tone of voice and
dependent variable brand trust when controlling it for gender, using a two-way ANCOVA.
All assumptions to carry out the analysis were met. The results indicated no significant
interaction effect of tone of voice and corporate reputation, F(1, 129) = 0.77, p = .383, η² = .01. The main effect of tone of voice was also not significant, F(1, 129) = 1.21, p = .273, η² = .01. However, the main effect of corporate reputation showed a significant but weak effect,
F(1, 129) = 27.80, p < .001, η² = .18, showing a significant difference between low reputation
(M = 2.99, SD = 0.91) and high reputation (M = 3.79, SD = 0.89). Nevertheless, the covariate
(gender) was not significant related to brand trust, F(1, 129) = 2.78, p = .097, η² = .02. Therefore, hypotheses 4a and 4b could not find support because no significant interaction
effect of tone of voice with corporate reputation was found.
Hypothesis 5. A second two-way ANCOVA was conducted to test the moderation
effect of corporate reputation on the relationship between the independent variable tone of
voice and dependent variable brand commitment of hypothesis 5, when controlling it for
gender. All assumptions to carry out the analysis were met. The results showed no significant
interaction effect of tone of voice and corporate reputation, F(1, 129) = 0.30, p = .587, η² = .002. The main effect of tone of voice was also not significant F(1, 129) = 0.81, p = .370, η² = .01, and there was a significant but weak main effect of corporate reputation F(1, 129) =
12.41, p = .001, η² = .09, showing a significant difference between high reputation (M = 3.67,
SD = 0.85) and low reputation (M = 3.19, SD = 0.86). Also, the covariate (gender) was
significantly related to brand commitment, F(1, 129) = 4.55, p = .035, η² = .03. However, hypothesis 5a and 5b could not be supported because no significant interaction effect was
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
26
Hypothesis 6. For hypothesis 6a, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to test
if conscientiousness moderated the relationship of the independent variable tone of voice and
dependent variable brand trust, when controlling it for gender. All the assumptions to carry
out a regression analysis were met, except the assumption of autocorrelation of residuals
(Durbin-Watson = 0.07). Therefore, the results should be interpreted with caution. The
explained variance of the model was found to be non-significant, R² = .02, F(4, 129) = 0.76, p
= .554, and the results also showed no significant interaction effect of tone of voice and
conscientiousness, b* = -0.04, t = -0.48, p = .635, 95% CI [-0.22, 0.14]. These results indicate
that no moderation effect is evident.
A second multiple regression analysis was conducted for hypothesis 6b to test the
moderation effect of openness on the relationship of the independent variable tone of voice
and dependent variable brand trust, when controlling it for gender. All the assumptions to
carry out a regression analysis were met, except the assumption of autocorrelation of
residuals (Durbin-Watson = 0.09). Therefore, the results should be interpreted with caution.
The explained variance of the model was found to be non-significant, R² = .03, F(4, 129) =
1.05, p = .385. Also, the results indicated no significant interaction effect of tone of voice and
openness, b* = 0.02, t = 0.23, p = .815, 95% CI [-0.15, 0.19]. These results indicate that no
moderation effect is evident, therefore hypotheses 6a and 6b could not be supported. The
results of the analysis are shown in Appendix C table 1 and 2.
Hypothesis 7. For hypothesis 7a, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to test
the moderation effect of conscientiousness on the relationship of the independent variable
tone of voice and dependent variable brand commitment, when controlling it for gender. All
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
27
of residuals (Durbin-Watson = 0.95). Therefore, the results should be interpreted with
caution. The explained variance of the model was found to be not significant, R² = .03, F(4,
129) = 1.13, p = .345. The interaction effect of tone of voice and conscientiousness also
showed no significant result, b* = -0.04, t = -0.45, p = .652, 95% CI [-0.20, 0.12], indicating
that no moderation effect is evident.
For hypothesis 7b a second multiple regression analysis was conducted to test if
conscientiousness moderated the relationship of the independent variable tone of voice and
dependent variable brand commitment, when controlling it for gender. All the assumptions to
carry out a regression analysis were met, except the assumption of autocorrelation of
residuals (Durbin-Watson = 0.92). Therefore, the results should be interpreted with caution.
The explained variance of the model was found to be non-significant, R² = .04, F(4, 129) =
1.29, p = .278. The interaction effect of tone of voice and openness also showed
non-significant results, b* = 0.01, t = 0.09, p = .929, 95% CI [-0.15, 0.16]. Therefore, hypothesis
7a and 7b could not find support. The results of the analysis are shown in Appendix C table 3
and 4.
Table 2
Results hypotheses
Hypothesis Results
H1: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to higher levels of perceived message credibility, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H2a: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to a higher level of brand trust, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H2b: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to a higher level of brand commitment, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H3a: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to an increase in brand trust through the perceived level of message credibility, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
28 H3b: Blogs with a conversational human voice lead to an increase in brand
commitment through the perceived level of message credibility, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H4a: Companies with a high corporate reputation have higher levels of brand trust when using blogs with a conversational human voice, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H4b: Companies with a low corporate reputation have lower levels of brand trust when using blogs with a conversational human voice, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H5a: Companies with a high corporate reputation have higher levels of brand commitment when using blogs with a conversational human voice, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H5b: Companies with a low corporate reputation have lower levels of brand commitment when using blogs with a conversational human voice, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H6a: Consumers with higher levels of Conscientiousness will have higher levels of brand trust when blogs with a conversational human voice are used, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H6b: Consumers with higher levels of Openness will have higher levels of brand trust when blogs with a conversational human voice are used, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H7a: Consumers with higher levels of Conscientiousness will have higher levels of brand commitment when blogs with a conversational human voice are used, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
H7b: Consumers with higher levels of Openness will have higher levels of brand commitment when blogs with a conversational human voice are used, in comparison to blogs with a corporate voice.
☒
Conclusion & Discussion
The aim of this research was to show potential effects of the organizational tone of
voice (CHV vs. corporate voice) on brand trust and brand commitment. Specifically, this
study aimed to explain the mediating role of message credibility and the moderating role of
corporate reputation and personality on this relationship. With this the current study tries to
fill the research gap on how these variables influence the relationship of the tone of voice and
brand trust and brand commitment in the growing interactive online landscape, where
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
29
with its consumers (Kelleher & Miller, 2006; Cho & Huh, 2010).
The communication on these online platforms calls for a more engaged and natural
approach in order to create favorable relationships with consumers (Noort & Willemsen,
2012). Therefore, it was assumed that the use of a human voice on organizational blogs
would have an effect on the levels of trust and commitment.
Contrary to the initial expectations, this study did not show significant results for the
hypotheses being investigated, meaning that no significant differences were found between
the relationship of blogs with a CHV or a corporate voice on brand trust and brand
commitment. This contradicts previous findings of, among others, Kelleher and Miller
(2006), and Park and Cameron (2014) who stated that a CHV positively affects relational
outcomes. Also, the results showed that corporate reputation and personality, as well as
message credibility, do not have a significant effect on the relationship of tone of voice and
trust and commitment. The research question of this study ‘How is the organizational tone of
voice in organizational blogs related to the relational outcomes, brand trust and brand commitment, and what role do corporate reputation, message credibility, and personality play in this relationship?’ is thereby answered.
However, the results have yielded a number of interesting findings that contribute to
current research. Firstly, the significant effect of corporate reputation on brand trust and
brand commitment supports previous research of Park and Cameron (2014), and Hon and
Grunig (1999). The results showed that the existing reputation of an organization has an
effect on the level of trust and commitment of consumers. Also, the effect of message
credibility on trust and commitment was found to be significant. This contributes to research
of Flanagin and Metzger (2000), and Roberts (2010) by showing that creating a credible
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
30
trust and commitment. Concluding, organizations with a high corporate reputation will
generate higher levels of brand trust and brand commitment. Also, the information
organizations present need to be credible in order to reach higher levels of trust and
commitment of their consumers. However, these relationships do not increase when a CHV is
used in comparison with a corporate voice.
A possible explanation for the lack of differences between blogs with a CHV and a
corporate voice may lie in the increase in the use of a human voice on organizational blogs.
Consumers might have gotten used to this tone of voice in the communication of
organizations allowing them to link this to communication strategies or even more persuasive
purposes, and thereby no longer recognize a human voice or perceive it as an advantage
causing a minimal effect of a CHV on organizational blogs. Future research should therefore
not only focus on the tone of voice of organizational blogs but also focus on additional
factors that can influence the perception of consumers.
Altogether, the significant results of corporate reputation and message credibility on
brand trust and brand commitment implicate that there is a correlation. As a result,
organizations should focus on creating a positive corporate reputation and high levels of
message credibility for effective corporate communication. By carefully consider their
communication strategy and focus on their reputation and the credibility of the message
instead of the use of a CHV, organizations can increase the levels of brand trust and brand
commitment, and positively influence their relationship with consumers.
Nevertheless, some limitations of this study should be discussed. Firstly, the sample
of the present study might have had an effect on the results. The sample size (N = 134) was
small and the diversity of characteristics of the respondents limited. Almost 70% of the
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
31
representation of the population. Also the demonstration of significant associations was
undermined because the experimental groups were unequally sized and gender was not
equally distributed over the four groups due to the exclusion of the incomplete responses.
Future research with a larger and more diverse sample could provide further insight on this
matter.
Secondly, the choice of using a fictitious company might have hindered the expected
effects of tone of voice due to the lack of previous experiences with the organization. In
addition, the setup of the experiment with the use of screenshots instead of real time blogs
might have generated a different experience, which had an effect on the relationship building
process of the participants. It would therefore be interesting for future research to consider
using familiar companies and actual blogs in order to test real-life data. Consumers with
previous experiences and a sense of engagement towards the organization can help
researchers better understand how to implement the right tone of voice in order to improve
relational outcomes. Future research could also extend the results of the current study by
repeatedly exposing the participants to blogs to create familiarity with the organization and
their blogs in order to create a sense of engagement with the organization.
A final limitation can be found in the way the organizational tone of voice was
measured for this study. The use of subjective measurements (e.g. ‘Uses a sense of humor in
communication’) can be interpreted in different ways by the participants. For example,
individuals might interpret the expression by expecting actual jokes in the blogs, while others
think of humor as a pleasant form of communicating. Future research should therefore
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
32
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Appendix A: Stimuli material Blog with a conversational human voice
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
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Appendix B: Research questionnaire
Q1 Welcome to this survey! Thank you for participating. For my master Corporate
Communication at the University of Amsterdam, I'm conducting an online experiment for my thesis. The main topic is corporate branding and the way it effects relational outcomes. First you will be shown a news article and a blog post. Please read them thoroughly and
afterwards answer the questions. It will take about ten minutes to complete all the questions. This study is completely anonymous and your information will solely be used for academic purposes. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions. Please fill in the questions based on your personal opinion. Even if you're not sure about an answer, try to respond to the best of your abilities. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact me: laura.meurs@student.uva.nl.
Thank you again! Laura Meurs
Q2 I hereby declare that I have been informed in a clear manner about the nature and method of the research, as described in the invitation for this study. I agree, fully and voluntarily, to participate in this research study. With this, I retain the right to withdraw my consent, without having to give a reason for doing so. I am aware that I may halt my participation in the experiment at any time. If my research results are used in scientific publications or are made public in another way, this will be done such a way that my
anonymity is completely safeguarded. My personal data will not be passed on to third parties without my express permission. If I wish to receive more information about the research, either now or in future, I can contact laura.meurs@student.uva.com. Should I have any complaints about this research, I can contact the designated member of the Ethics
Committee representing the ASCoR via ascor-secr-fmg@uva.nl; Postbus 15793, 1001 NG Amsterdam; 020‐525 3680.
I understand the text presented above, and I agree to participate in the research study. (1) I understand the text presented above, and I do not agree to participate in the research study.
(2)
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL TONE OF VOICE
42 Q3 Bellow you see a news article of nu.nl followed by some questions about the reputation of the company that is discussed. Please read the article carefully before answering the questions.