Understanding ad avoidance on Facebook: Antecedents and outcomes of psychological reactance

Seounmi Youn (Emerson College, Boston, MA, USA) and Seunghyun Kim (University of Oklahoma, USA) published in Computers in Human Behavior Volume 98 (September 2019)

Highlights

• Using psychological reactance theory, we examine why Facebook users avoid ads.
• We test a model that integrates antecedents and outcomes of reactance against ads.
• Users' perception of autonomy to control ad exposure decreases ad intrusiveness.
• Ad intrusiveness and freedom threat to use Facebook affect reactance positively.
• Psychological reactance influences cognitive and behavioral ad avoidance on Facebook.

Abstract

Applying psychological reactance theory (PRT) as a theoretical framework, this study investigates reactance-related factors to better understand why consumers avoid advertising on Facebook.

An online survey was conducted to develop and empirically test a conceptual model that integrates the antecedents and outcomes of reactance against Facebook newsfeed ads. Specifically, the study employs Facebook users' perceptions of autonomy, freedom threat, and intrusiveness as antecedents of reactance and measures two sub-constructs of reactance: negative cognitions and anger.

As the outcomes of reactance, two types of ad avoidance are examined: cognitive and behavioral.

The major findings reveal that users’ perceived autonomy decreases their perceptions of ad intrusiveness. Subsequently, ad intrusiveness and freedom threat to use Facebook have a positive effect on reactance, which influences ad avoidance.

Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

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‘It’s all hands-on, even for management’: Managerial work in the UK cafe sector

an article by Caroline Lloyd (Cardiff University, UK) and Jonathan Payne (De Montfort University, UK) published in Human Relations Volume 67 Number 4 (April 2014)

Abstract

The growth in managerial jobs is often presented by policy makers as evidence of the UK’s success in developing high-skilled, well-paid employment. At the same time, concerns have been raised that the lack of higher level qualifications in the managerial workforce has a detrimental impact on productivity and performance.

This article focuses on the relatively neglected figure of the first line manager in private services through a study of the UK cafe sector. It explores the content and quality of the cafe manager’s job, and interrogates the purported benefits of upskilling through graduate level qualifications. The findings indicate that these jobs leave much to be desired in terms of pay and work content, and that managers are highly constrained by the degree of centralised control wielded by head office.

Limited autonomy and, in many cases, poor job quality raise crucial questions about the ability of lower level managers to influence performance, even allowing for higher level qualifications.

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Autonomy: the panacea for self-employed women’s work-life balance?

an article by Anne Annink and Laura den Dulk (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands) published in Community, Work & Family Volume 15 Issue 4 (November 2012)

Abstract

This study aims to increase our knowledge of the work-life balance (WLB) of self-employed workers, a changing but often neglected group in work-family research.

A growing number of women are starting their own business in order to combine paid work and family life.

This interview study (N=24) examines how self-employed women with children feel they manage paid work and other life domains in the Netherlands. Autonomy appeared to be an important resource, allowing them to combine their work more easily with childcare, household duties, and social and personal life.

However, the degree and nature of that autonomy and the ability to use it varied among the self-employed in this study owing to work-related factors such as sector, work location, employees, and years of experience.

Another important resource leading to greater satisfaction with the WLB was the ability to define and reflect on personal goals in work and other life domains.

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