The Value in Lurking: The Effect of a Mere Opportunity for Two-Way Communication on Consumers' Psychological Ownership and Valuation of Digital Content

摘要

Two-way communication capabilities in media empower digital consumers by enabling them to express themselves and extend their influence (Labrecque, vor dem Esche, Mathwick, Novak, & Hofacker, 2013), thereby enhancing the potential for consumers to develop a sense of psychological ownership and valuation of digital content (Fuchs, Prandelli & Schreier, 2010). However, most consumers are actually lurkers rather than active participants in content creation (Schlosser, 2005). Thus, we pose the question of whether consumers' sense of ownership of digital content is affected merely by the opportunity for two-way communication. When consumers are recreationally-oriented, their own behavioral rules are likely to be relatively unconstrained (Mischel, 1973), and an invitation to communicate should feel empowering. On the other hand, when consumers are focused on accomplishing a specific task, a marketer's invitation to communicate may feel controlling and intrusive rather than empowering. We predict that a mere opportunity for two-way communication enhances economic valuation by enhancing feelings of psychological ownership of digital content, but only when consumers' motivation is recreationally-oriented (versus task-oriented; Study 1). This interaction will be dampened when consumers feel less (versus more) connected to other users (Study 2) and when they are high (versus low) in need for cognition (Study 3).