Purpose

Prosocial advertisers widely use assertive messages to encourage prosocial attitudes and behaviors, but ironically, assertive messages may cause reactance. By applying cultural theories and the reciprocity principle, this study aims to observe whether consumers’ responses to assertive messages hold across culturally different audiences (Americans vs South Koreans) and different consumption situations (price discount vs no discount).

Design/methodology/approach

American and Korean participants take part in three experimental studies examining the interactions of nationality, price discounts and assertive messaging for influencing consumer responses, first to a prosocial ad encouraging recycling (Study 1), the second for a campaign requesting donations for disadvantaged children (Study 2) and the third to prosocial messages encouraging water conservation (Study 3).

Findings

The three experiments strongly support the moderating role of price discounts and cultural backgrounds in the persuasiveness of assertive prosocial messages. American consumers generally dislike assertive messages, but feel reciprocal obligations if marketers include price discounts, whereas South Korean consumers accept both assertive and nonassertive messages without resistance, and discounts have no effects on persuasion.

Research limitations/implications

The findings make two key contributions to the literature and to prosocial advertising practices. First, although many corporations have adopted philanthropic strategies, few researchers have examined how specific consumption contexts determine the effectiveness of prosocial persuasion. The findings show how price discounts and message framing potentially alter the effectiveness of prosocial messages across Eastern and Western cultures. Second, assertive language evokes reactance, but the findings suggest that reactive responses to prosocial advertising are culture-specific.

Practical implications

International nonprofit organizations and brands using philanthropic strategies might use the guidelines of this study for tailoring strategic, practical prosocial messages that will appeal to consumers from diverse cultural backgrounds. In particular, pro-environmental and charity campaigns targeting North American or Western European populations may consider bundling discounts into promotions to evoke reciprocity.

Originality/value

Findings provide novel implications for social marketers regarding on how to couple message assertiveness and price discounts to maximize the success of prosocial messages in different cultures.

中文翻译：

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亲社会广告中的信息自信和价格折扣：美国人和韩国人之间的差异

目的

亲社会广告商广泛使用自信的信息来鼓励亲社会的态度和行为，但具有讽刺意味的是，自信的信息可能会引起反应。通过应用文化理论和互惠原则，本研究旨在观察消费者对自信信息的反应是否适用于不同文化的受众（美国人与韩国人）和不同的消费情况（价格折扣与无折扣）。

设计/方法/方法

美国和韩国的参与者参加了三项实验研究，研究国籍、价格折扣和自信信息之间的相互作用以影响消费者的反应，首先是一个鼓励回收的亲社会广告（研究 1），第二个是要求为弱势儿童捐款的运动（研究2) 第三个是鼓励节约用水的亲社会信息（研究 3）。

发现

这三个实验强烈支持价格折扣和文化背景在自信的亲社会信息的说服力中的调节作用。美国消费者通常不喜欢自信的信息，但如果营销人员提供价格折扣，他们会感到对等义务，而韩国消费者则毫无抵抗地接受自信和不自信的信息，而且折扣对说服力没有影响。

研究限制/影响

研究结果对文献和亲社会广告实践做出了两个关键贡献。首先，尽管许多公司采取了慈善策略，但很少有研究人员研究特定的消费环境如何决定亲社会说服的有效性。研究结果表明，价格折扣和信息框架如何潜在地改变东西方文化中亲社会信息的有效性。其次，自信的语言会引起反应，但研究结果表明，对亲社会广告的反应是特定于文化的。

实际影响

使用慈善战略的国际非营利组织和品牌可以使用本研究的指导方针来定制战略、实用的亲社会信息，以吸引来自不同文化背景的消费者。特别是，针对北美或西欧人群的环保和慈善活动可能会考虑将折扣捆绑到促销活动中以唤起互惠。

原创性/价值

研究结果为社会营销人员提供了关于如何将信息自信和价格折扣结合起来以最大限度地提高不同文化中亲社会信息的成功率的新意义。