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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 2017

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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

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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

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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

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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,

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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32

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Appendix A: Stimuli material Blog with a conversational human 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)

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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.

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Items such as type and structure of the computer simulation models, how disease progression in prediabetes and diabetes states was simulated, the evidence base used to inform the