Modelling P2P Airbnb online host advertising effectiveness: the role of emotional appeal information completeness creativity and social responsibility

© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This study aims to examine the factors that influence peer-to-peer online host advertising effectiveness (POHAE). The study posits that POHAE is a multidimensional construct supported by emotional appeal, information completeness, advertising creativity and social responsibility practices influencing purchase intention and positive word of mouth. Perceived value is hypothesised as the moderating variable for the relationship between POHAE and purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative data were collected from New Zealand through a quasi-experimental survey. A total of 95 people participated in the experiment. The study uses one-way repeated measures design ANOVA to test Hypothesis 1 and MEMORE model to test the effects of mediation and moderation for repeated measures. Findings: Results are significant to the study model. ANOVA results show that the assumption of sphericity is not violated: Mauchly’s W, Greenhouse–Geisser, Huynh–Feldt estimates are equal to one, suggesting that the data are perfectly spherical. The mediation and moderation effects for repeated measure designs are also significant. The tests are based on 95 per cent Monte Carlo confidence interval and 20,000 bootstrapping samples. Research limitations/implications: This study enhances the hierarchy of effects theory (HOE) (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961), which posits that consumers respond to a specific marketing communication through three components: the cognitive component, which is measured by an individual’s intellectual, mental or rational states; the affective component that refers to an individual’s emotional and feeling states; and finally the conative or motivational state, that is, the striving state relating to the tendency to treat objects as positive or negative. This study observes significant paths from POHAE to purchase intention and word of mouth. Limitations include a small sample size (95) and not regressing the POHAE variables individually on purchase intention and word of mouth. Practical implications: Given the absence of a brand, as in the Airbnb host advertisement, attention should be given to writing the adverts effectively. Advertising creativity does not only hold for graphics and personal pictures but also for the hosts who need to be creative in crafting their advertisement text. Elements such as social responsibility practice and creativity should also not be overlooked. Social implications: This study provides insights on how to effectively communicate with potential customers in a peer-to-peer marketplace. Originality/value: This study provides an insight into peer-to-peer marketplaces on the importance of marketing communication strategies by providing more attention to writing advertisement texts. It is important to understand the variables that influence consumers’ motivation in responding to Airbnb online advertisements.