König, Sa ah; Maie , E ik
A icle — Published Ve sion
The e ec o g een in luence message cha ac e is ics:
F aming, cons ual, and iming
Psychology & Ma ke ing
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John Wiley & Sons
Sugges ed Ci a ion: König, Sa ah; Maie , E ik (2024) : The e ec o g een in luence message
cha ac e is ics: F aming, cons ual, and iming, Psychology & Ma ke ing, ISSN 1520-6793, Wiley,
Hoboken, NJ, Vol. 41, Iss. 9, pp. 1979-1996,
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Accep ed: 30 Ap il 2024
DOI: 10.1002/ma .22021
RESEARCH ARTICLE
The e ec o g een in luence message cha ac e is ics:
F aming, cons ual, and iming
Sa ah König |E ik Maie
HHL Leipzig G adua e School o Managemen ,
Leipzig, Ge many
Co espondence
E ik Maie , HHL Leipzig G adua e School o
Managemen , Jahnallee 59, 04109 Leipzig,
Ge many.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
Abs ac
This esea ch explo es he cha ac e is ics o g een in luence messages on ollowe
engagemen by examining he in e play be ween message aming (gain s. loss),
cons ual le el (high s. low), and pos iming (weekdays s. weekends). G een
in luence s (also: g een luence s o sus ainable in luence s) a e conside ed a key
agen o a change o mo e sus ainable consump ion. A pilo ield s udy o 1000
g een in luence s, howe e , indica es ha he cu en communica ion p ac ices o
g een in luence s (which s ongly ocus on gain ames, low cons ual, and pos s
du ing he week) a e no ideal o maximizing engagemen and sus ainable
beha io al in en ions. Two expe imen s eplica e his inding and es ablish he
p ocess h ough which g een in luence pos s a ec engagemen : gain ames
inc ease luency, which inc eases engagemen ; low cons ual le els dec ease
psychological dis ance, which inc eases engagemen . Timing mode a es hese
p ocesses in ha weekend pos s inc ease he engagemen wi h gain ames and
week pos s inc ease he engagemen wi h low‐cons ual ames. These indings
highligh ha he e is no sil e bulle in g een in luence messages, bu ha g een
in luence s need o adap he aming and cons ual o hei messages o he pos s'
iming o inc ease hei con ibu ion o mo e sus ainable li es yles and he
g ea e good.
KEYWORDS
day‐o ‐ he‐week e ec , g een consump ion, g een luence , g een in luence s, in luence
ma ke ing, sus ainable consump ion
1|INTRODUCTION
Ma ke ing ac i i ies a e inc easingly used o p omo e he common good,
such as ma ke ing helping o induce mo e sus ainable consump ion and
li es yle choices (DeBe y‐Spence e al., 2023). In his, g een in luence s
a e an inc easingly impo an s akeholde g oup (None e al., 2022), as
many consume s use social media as an impo an (sus ainable) li es yle
guide (Jans e al., 2018). G een in luence s (o : “g een luence s”)
communica e abou and p omo e an ecologically sus ainable way o li e
(Pi man & Abell, 2021). Because g een in luence s a e shaping
consume s' in en ions o engage in en i onmen ally iendly consump ion
p ac ices (Pi man & Abell, 2021), adop g eene li es yles (Chwialkowska,
2019), o e en engage in en i onmen al ac i ism hemsel es
(Knup e e al., 2023), he media e en e e s o hem as “sus ainabili y
supe he oes”(Townsend, 2022)o a“sec e weapon o sus ainabili y”
(O meshe , 2023).
Psychol Ma k. 2024;41:1979–1996. wileyonlinelib a y.com/jou nal/ma
|
1979
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License, which pe mi s use, dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium,
p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
© 2024 The Au ho s. Psychology & Ma ke ing published by Wiley Pe iodicals LLC.
G een in luence s design hei messages no only o inspi e
sus ainable beha io bu also o engage hei audience (Kapoo , 2023;
Zhu e al., 2022). Fo ins ance, g een in luence s o en copy he
communica ion p ac ices o nong een in luence s in using gain
ames (i.e., he bene i s and agency o sus ainable beha io in
igh ing clima e change s. loss‐ amed messages abou he dange s
o clima e change) and messages wi h low cons ual le els (i.e.,
speci ic ecommenda ions and s eps o ake s. high‐le el calls o
ac ion) ha a e ac ionable and c ea e a s ong emo ional connec ion
(Lee & Theoka y, 2021). A pos by @sus ainabledaisy exempli ies his
ocus on gain ames and low cons ual: “[…] In es ing in eusable
glass con aine s and e illing hem on ou ine is a way o you o help
o se pa o his massi e was e p oblem. You' e go he powe o
do a lo o good […]!”(see Suppo ing In o ma ion S1: Table A.1 o
de ails).
Addi ionally, message iming is a key conce n o many
in luence s, as p ac ical guides and ecommenda ions show (e.g.,
“When is he bes ime o pos on Ins ag am?”: Gaglia di, 2024).
Cu en ly, g een in luence s ime hei messages mos ly du ing he
week (De G oss & on Wangenheim, 2022; Ru z & Bucklin, 2008;
V ies e al., 2012) and no on he weekend, in line wi h
ecommenda ions om he manage ial li e a u e (Coope &
Cohen, 2023; Gaglia di, 2024; Lang, 2024). Howe e , hese p ac ices
and ecommenda ions igno e ha iming migh in e ac wi h o he
cha ac e is ics o a message, namely, he aming and cons ual le el
o he message. The p esen esea ch, he e o e, s udies how each o
he message cha ac e is ics ( aming and cons ual) in e ac s wi h
message iming (weekend s. week) o op imize engagemen and
inc ease he sus ainable beha io al in en ions o he ollowe s o
g een in luence s.
Exis ing s udies abou nong een ma ke ing messages ha e
explo ed he e ec i eness o message cha ac e is ics. Message
aming and cons ual ea u e p ominen ly in ex an esea ch (Chang
e al., 2015): Gain‐ amed messages a e iewed as mo e c edible han
loss‐ amed pos s, a ec ing consume s' beha io al in en ions
(B adley e al., 2023). Low ( s. high) cons ual inc eases c edibili y
and s eng hens he ela ionship be ween in luence and ollowe
(Balaji e al., 2021; B adley e al., 2023). Addi ionally, ex an esea ch
shows ha he iming o in luence messages ma e s, in ha pos s
on weekends inc ease engagemen (Hughes e al., 2019). I is,
howe e , di icul o ans e hese indings om nong een ma ke ing
messages and “no mal”in luence s o g een in luence s. Fi s ,
audience expec a ions migh di e : G een luence s a e expec ed o
p omo e en i onmen al sus ainabili y, which could equi e a di e en
message‐ aming s a egy (e.g., a mo e loss‐ amed message in he
ace o en i onmen al c ises). Second, en i onmen al opics migh
equi e a highe cons ual le el, as he issues a e global and
consequences o indi idual ac ions a e ela i ely empo ally and
spa ially dis an (Reczek e al., 2018); on he o he hand, a mo e low
cons ual messaging migh be necessa y o ini ia e di ec ac ion ( s.
mo e abs ac nong een in luence messages: Kapoo e al., 2023).
Finally, we lack an unde s anding o he in e ac ion o message
aming and iming as well as o cons ual le el and iming.
Speci ically, pos ing on he weekend ( s. du ing he week) migh
equi e di e en message cons ual and ames—which has no been
in es iga ed.
Ou esea ch s udies he e ec o g een in luence messages
wi h changing aming (loss s. gain), cons ual (low s. high), and
iming (week s. weekend). We sugges ha luency and psychologi-
cal dis ance media e he e ec o he message cha ac e is ics aming
and cons ual o (g een) in luence s (Reczek e al., 2018; Whi e
e al., 2011). Addi ionally, we heo ize ha exis ing le els o luency
and psychological dis ance a e pe cei ed di e en ly on he weekend
( s. he week): consume s on he weekend end o a o luen
messages, while hey app ecia e low dis ance du ing he week. This,
in u n, in luences he engagemen wi h di e en messages h ough a
mode a ed media ion.
Apilo ields udyand woexpe imen s ind ha g een
in luence s cu en ly employ messages ha a e subop imal
ega ding ollowe s' engagemen and, in u n, en i onmen al
beha io al in en ions. Ou pilo ield s udy shows ha g een
in luence s mos ly ocus on gain‐ amed, low‐cons ual messages
on he weekend (47% o all pos s), while loss‐ amed, low‐
cons ual messages c ea e mo e engagemen du ing he week in
ou ield and expe imen al s udies. A he same ime, g een
in luence s a ely pos on he weekend (21% o all pos s), and
hen mos ly wi h gain‐ amed, low cons ual messages—ou da a,
in con as , consis en ly show he gain‐ amed, high cons ual
messages obemo ee ec i eon heweekend.Thesee ec sa e
media ed h ough luency and psychological dis ance, whose
e ec is mode a ed by iming (weekend s. week).
Ou s udy con ibu es h ee old o ex an esea ch: Fi s , by
es ablishing he e ec o message aming and cons ual o g een
in luence s; second, by showing ha engagemen wi h in luence s is
media ed by luency and psychological dis ance and mode a ed by
he iming o he message; and, inally, by p o iding an o e iew o
cu en communica ion p ac ices o g een in luence s.
2|CHARACTERISTICS OF INFLUENCER
MESSAGES IN EXTANT RESEARCH
Ex an esea ch es ablished he posi i e e ec o in luence s on
sus ainable beha io al in en ions (e.g., Johns one & Lindh, 2022;
Kapoo e al., 2023; König & Maie , 2024; Pi man & Abell, 2021;
Zhang e al., 2021). In his, di e en cha ac e is ics o g een
in luence pos s a e inc easingly in ocus, such as he le el o
b agging o a pos (Pi man & Mil eld, 2023), o he calib a ion o a
pos conce ning e hical o mone a y goals (Jacobson & Ha ison, 2022
o in o ma ional ( s. en e aining) con en (Zhao e al., 2024). This
esea ch ocuses on how message cha ac e is ics ha ha e been
es ablished as highly ele an o in luence ma ke ing, namely,
message aming and cons ual, each in e ac wi h he iming o he
g een in luence messages, because consume s' pe cep ion o
consequences o aming and cons ual le el a e likely mode a ed
by he iming o he message (Dai & Gong, 2024; see Figu e 1).
1980
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KÖNIG AND MAIER
2.1 |Message aming
P ospec heo y sugges s ha people's esponses o messages can
a y based on whe he hey emphasize bene i s (gain‐ amed) o
disad an ages (loss‐ amed; e.g., Kahneman & T e sky, 1979). Fo
ins ance, by aming a p oduc as a solu ion o a p oblem (gain ame),
consume s may be mo e likely o pu chase i . As Table 1highligh s,
also he aming o in luence messages al e s consume s' esponses
o a message. Balaji e al. (2021) ind ha gain‐ amed messages o
(nong een) in luence s a e pe cei ed as mo e c edible han loss‐
amed pos s, posi i ely a ec ing consume s' beha io al in en ions.
Message aming also ma e s among g een in luence s. G een
in luence s' gain ames highligh he enjoyabili y and posi i e
po en ial o sus ainable beha io (e.g., “[…] By emb acing h i ing
as a way o li e, you can […] make a di e ence in he wo ld.”by
@alli a , see Suppo ing In o ma ion S1: Table A.1), while loss ames
ocus on he nega i e implica ions o nonac ion (e.g., “We can' ix
ou en i onmen al issues i we don' s op hem a he sou ce. e.g.,
we'll ne e ecycle ou way ou o ou #plas icpollu ion c isis […].”by
@g een4ema). While mos g een luence s use gain aming
(Townsend, 2022), he e a e examples o loss aming, such as he
ac i is and in luence G e a Thunbe g, who mainly uses nega i e
sen imen s and wo ds (e.g., “clima e c isis”: Balles a e al., 2022). To
he bes o ou knowledge, no s udies o da e in es iga e he e ec
o message aming in g een in luence messages.
2.2 |Cons ual le el
The Cons ual le el heo y desc ibes how psychological dis ance
om an objec o e en ( empo al, spa ial, social, and hypo he ical)
in luences consume beha io (Ba ‐Anan e al., 2006). High‐le el
cons uals in ol e a big‐pic u e pe spec i e, ocusing on o e a ching
ideas, while low‐le el cons uals del e in o de ails and di e ences. As
FIGURE 1 Concep ual model and hypo heses.
TABLE 1 Ex an esea ch on in luence message cha ac e is ics ( aming, cons ual, and iming)— esea ch on di e en message
cha ac e is ics no included.
Re e ence
F aming (gain
s. loss)
Cons ual (high
s. low)
Timing (day o
he week) Sus ainabili y ocus Media o
Balaji e al. (2021)√√ Message c edibili y
Balles a e al. (2022)√√—
Lee and
Theoka y (2021)
√In luence expe ise
B adley e al. (2023)√—
Kapoo e al. (2023)√√Message au hen ici y and
sus ainabili y image
Hughes e al. (2019)√—
Chung e al. (2023)√—
Ou con ibu ion √√√ √Fluency, psychological dis ance
KÖNIG AND MAIER
|
1981
Table 1highligh s, he cons ual le el o in luence messages al e s
consume s' esponses o a message. Mos esea ch inds ha
speci ic, low‐cons ual messages c ea e a o able consume eac ions
(e.g., Lee & Theoka y, 2021), o ins ance by allowing in luence s o
build in ima e, us ing ela ionships wi h hei ollowe s (B adley
e al., 2023). Lowe cons ual messages o g een in luence s can
in ol e speci ic and easy‐ o‐implemen calls o ac ion (e.g., “[…]
Wea secondhand and slow down you pu chases. […] Ge in o
na u e and ge o sc eens […],”by @ ocke _science), see Suppo ing
In o ma ion S1: Table A.1), while high‐le el‐o ‐cons ual messages
in ol e abs ac calls o a beha io change (e.g., “[…] We may be
sepa a ed, bu emembe : We a e all in his oge he , and we' e all on
his plane oge he . […] We a e connec ed by ou challenges and a
ie ce and u gen de e mina ion o o e come hem […],”by @sus ai-
nabledaisy. G een in luence s equen ly use low le els o cons ual
messages, po en ially p esen ing objec i e and con ex ‐speci ic
sus ainabili y in o ma ion ha can showcase hei expe ise (Knigh
e al., 2022).
The e is limi ed esea ch on message cons ual le el wi h ega d
o sus ainabili y: Kapoo e al. (2023) ind ha low‐le el messages in
g een in luence communica ion we e mo e e ec i e in d i ing
sus ainable consump ion, due o he highe pe cei ed au hen ici y o
he message and he imp o ed image o he p oduc 's sus ainabili y.
Also o sus ainabili y messages beyond in luence communica ion,
de ailed, speci ic, and i id in o ma ion ha e been shown o aise
consume s' au hen ici y pe cep ions (Alhou i e al., 2016; Pé ez
e al., 2020). Au hen ici y, in u n, is a key ac o in shaping
consume s' iews on and in en ions owa d sus ainable p oduc s
(Akba & Wyme , 2017; Joo e al., 2019; Zhu e al., 2022).
2.3 |Timing: Day o he week
The day‐o ‐ he‐week e ec (F ench, 1980) has been documen ed
ac oss many esea ch a eas. Fo ins ance, websi es ocusing on
business a e busie du ing he week and en e ainmen websi es on
weekends, implying ha consume s ocus on se ious, u ili a ian
ma e s du ing he week and mo e hedonic pu sui s on he weekend
(Bussiè e, 2015). Twi e messages e eal ha people end o be in a
be e mood du ing he weekends (Mayo & Bie i, 2021). Findings on
engagemen and beha io al e ec s o he iming o social media
e ec s a e mixed: On he one hand, esea ch es ablishes ha social
media and ad e ising messages du ing he week ecei e mo e
engagemen , po en ially because on weekends consume s spend
mo e ime on leisu e ac i i ies, iends, and amily (Ru z &
Bucklin, 2008; V ies e al., 2012). On he o he hand, o he esea ch
inds ha in luence pos s on he weekend gene a e mo e engage-
men and inc ease consume s' beha io al esponse, as consume s
end o alloca e mo e ime o social media ac i i ies du ing he
weekends (Chung e al., 2023; Hughes e al., 2019; Lee e al., 2023).
The mixed indings o message e ec i eness on he weekend
( s. week) poin o a po en ial in e ac ion o message iming wi h
a iables ha ex an s udies on message iming ha e no add essed
(e.g., aming o cons ual). To he bes o ou knowledge, he e is no
esea ch on g een in luence message iming, bu an in e ac ion
be ween message cha ac e is ics (e.g., aming) and iming is likely
(Dai & Gong, 2024).
In summa y, ex an esea ch has no ye in es iga ed how
aming, cons ual le el, and he iming o messages in e ac . While
some s udies conside only a single message cons uc (e.g., Flo ence
e al., 2022), ex an esea ch calls o a join in es iga ion o aming
and cons ual le els in d i ing consume beha io (Chen e al., 2020;
Whi e e al., 2011). Fu he mo e, he e is e y limi ed esea ch ha
s udies message cha ac e is ics in he con ex o g een in luence s,
whe e consume beha io migh di e om nong een opics. Finally,
he e is limi ed anspa ency on he psychological p ocess h ough
which aming and cons ual le els d i e consume beha io and he
way message iming a ec s his p ocess.
3|THEORY
We sugges ha message aming and cons ual le el in luence
engagemen and, in u n, sus ainable beha io al in en ions, h ough
wo media ion p ocesses ( luency and and psychological dis ance),
which a e mode a ed by message iming (see Figu e 1).
3.1 |Message aming and luency
Se e al s udies es ablish he posi i e beha io al e ec s o gain
ames in ad e ising messages (e.g., Yan e al., 2010). We sugges
ha also he e ec o message aming in g een in luence messages
is media ed by luency (see Figu e 1, uppe pa ).
Gain ames migh enable mo e luen p ocessing: Eye‐mo emen
measu emen has shown e idence o a sho e o al eading ime o
gain‐ amed messages, while loss ames we e pe cei ed as mo e
complex; consequen ly, posi i ely amed messages we e easie p o-
cessed, leading o imp o ed ecall (Liu e al., 2021). Fu he mo e, gain
aming encou ages people o speci ic beha io s such as dona ing o a
good cause (Tug ul & Lee, 2018).Wesugges ha alsogain‐ amed
messages om g een in luence s should inc ease luency.
Addi ionally, esea ch also highligh s he impo ance o a i be ween
message aming and con en (e.g., Whi e e al., 2011)ininc easing
message luency and, in u n, imp o ing downs eam consequences such
as pe suasi eness (Lee & Aake , 2004)o pu chasein en ions(Lab oo&
Lee, 2006). When a message is designed in a way ha aligns wi h a use 's
expec a ions, i becomes easie o p ocess he in o ma ion ( egula o y i
heo y: Higgins, 1997). This i is gi en when g een in luence s
communica e abou sus ainabili y issues (Boe man e al., 2022).
Fu he mo e, he message aming can also i wi h an audience's
expec a ions. As in luence messages a e mos ly gain‐ amed (B e es
e al., 2019; Hughes e al., 2019) ollowe s o g een in luence s a e
likely o also expec gain‐ amed messages. Recei ing such messages
would i consume s' expec a ions, inc ease luen p ocessing, and, in
u n, os e engagemen and mo e a o able sus ainabili y in en ions
1982
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KÖNIG AND MAIER
and ac ions (Whi e e al., 2011). In con as , i a g een message is less
luen , consume s wan o ecei e mo e in o ma ion and wan o
know how well he sus ainabili y message aligns wi h hei exis ing
knowledge (Hanks e al., 2016).
We conclude ha bo h a di ec e ec o gain‐ amed messages
and hei i wi h audience expec a ions ende s hem easie o
p ocess o he audience, leading o mo e engagemen (i.e., likes,
sha es, and commen s). Fo mally:
H1a: Gain (loss) message aming inc eases (dec eases)
engagemen wi h sus ainable in luence messages h ough
highe (lowe ) luency.
3.2 |Cons ual le el and psychological dis ance
Message cons ual le els in luence consume s' pe cei ed psychological
dis ance (Adle & Sa s ed , 2021;T ope&Libe man,2010). Ma ke ing
messages equen ly employ low‐cons ual‐le el calls o ac ion o
mo i a e consume s in o a ce ain beha io (Whi e e al., 2011). In his,
a lowe (highe ) cons ual le el educes (inc eases) consume s' psycho-
logical dis ance and, in u n, inc eases ( educes) hei willingness o
engage in a a ge beha io (Yang e al., 2015).
Message cons ual le el is also likely o in luence eac ions o
messages o g een in luence s (see Figu e 1, lowe pa ). Fo ins ance,
ex an esea ch shows ha he manipula ion o cons ual le el can
al e consume s' pe cei ed psychological dis ance and, in u n,
willingness o pa icipa e in sus ainable beha io (he e: second‐
hand pu chasing; Liu e al., 2021). Fu he mo e, ex an esea ch
sugges s ha dis ancing migh educe he pe cei ed esponsibili y o
ac because consume s eel ewe emo ions o mo e dis an e en s
(Wang e al., 2022). In con as , i a po en ial en i onmen al h ea
eels close, hen consume s a e mo e likely o ac . Fo ins ance, Smi h
and Leise owi z (2014) ound ha when indi iduals ha bo app e-
hensions abou clima e change o expe ience analogous nega i e
emo ions, hey end o iew i as a h ea close o hem and, in u n,
exhibi an inc eased willingness o engage in mi iga ion beha io .
Fu he mo e, Reczek and colleagues (2018) show ha conc e e, low‐
cons ual communica ion can inc ease he appeal o a p oduc i he
la e is ma ched wi h de ailed in o ma ion abou he p oduc 's
sus ainabili y capabili ies. Consequen ly, we expec ha low‐
cons ual messages should be mo e success ul in g een in luence
messages, as hese messages educe pe cei ed dis ance, leading o
highe engagemen . Fo mally:
H1b: High ( s. low) cons ual messages dec ease (inc ease)
engagemen h ough highe (lowe ) psychological dis ance.
3.3 |The mode a ing e ec o message iming
The e ec o bo h message aming and cons ual le el inc eases i
he la e i s consume s' mindse s (Boe man e al., 2022; Reczek
e al., 2018; Whi e e al., 2019). Consume mindse s exhibi empo al
luc ua ions h oughou he week, in luenced by indi idual ou ines
as well as b oade cul u al and socie al dynamics (Cha m e al., 2020).
This likely a ec s consume s' esponses o pe cei ed luency: The
“Thank God i 's F iday”e ec desc ibes ha consume s associa e he
weekend wi h posi i e emo ions (such as happiness, enjoymen , and
laugh e : Helliwell & Wang, 2014; S one e al., 2012) and ease
(Lasauskai e e al., 2017). As asks associa ed wi h posi i e emo ions
seem easie , as p oposed by he implici ‐a ec ‐p imes‐e o model
(Gendolla, 2015), engagemen wi h luen in luence messages should
be s onge . In line wi h his, pos s om nong een in luence s—which
a e usually gain‐ amed and should, hus, be pe cei ed mo e luen ly
— ecei e highe engagemen s on he weekends (Chung e al., 2023;
Hughes, 2019).
We, he e o e, sugges ha on he weekend ( s. du ing he wo k
week) consume s espond mo e posi i ely o mo e (less) luen
messages, while hey expec messages wi h low (high) psychological
dis ance du ing he week. Ou concep ual model (Figu e 1) highligh s
his mode a ed media ion (PROCESS model 15). This mode a ed
media ion should esul in a mode a ion o he main e ec o
message aming (H2a): I he luency e ec on engagemen is
exace ba ed on he weekend, we would expec ha gain‐ amed
messages, which we hypo hesize o inc ease luency (H1a), would
lead o mo e engagemen on he weekend ( s. du ing he week). A
he same ime, we sugges ha he e ec o he media o ( luency) is
la ge on he weekend (H2b). Fo mally, we hypo hesize:
H2a: Pos ing on he weekend mode a es he e ec o
message aming on engagemen , in ha gain‐ amed
messages c ea e mo e engagemen on he weekend.
H2b: Pos ing on he weekend mode a es he e ec o
luency om message aming on engagemen , in ha he
luency e ec on engagemen is mo e posi i e on he
weekend.
Simila ly, he pe cei ed psychological dis ance is likely o in e ac
wi h he iming o he (g een) in luence message. Gi en ha he
weekend is a ime when many people ha e mo e ee ime and ewe
obliga ions, high‐dis ance messages could wo k be e , because a lack
o immedia e demands and dis ac ions migh allow o a g ea e
ocus on abs ac ea u es. In con as , on weekdays, consume s
o en ha e many appoin men s and asks o keep ack o (Ellis
e al., 2015), pu ing hem in o conc e e p oblem‐sol ing and
s uc u e‐seeking mindse s (Huang & Zhang, 2022). Du ing he week,
consume s a e, he e o e, likely o engage in mo e low‐le el hinking
and possess a “ge hings done”mindse , ha i s well wi h a low
pe cei ed psychological dis ance o an in luence message. In
con as , abs ac messages ha induce high psychological dis ance
migh be pe cei ed mo e nega i ely du ing he week. We, he e o e,
expec he low (high) psychological dis ance o an in luence message
leads o mo e (less) engagemen du ing he week (see Figu e 1). H3a
speci ically add esses he mode a ion o he main e ec o message
KÖNIG AND MAIER
|
1983
cons ual, while H3b ocuses on he mode a ion o he media o
e ec h ough message iming (PROCESS model 15). Fo mally:
H3a: Pos ing du ing he week ( s. on he weekend)
mode a es he e ec o message cons ual le el on
engagemen , in ha high cons ual le el messages c ea e
mo e (less) engagemen du ing he week.
H3b: Pos ing du ing he week ( s. on he weekend)
mode a es he e ec o psychological dis ance pe cep ions
om message cons ual on engagemen , in ha high
psychological dis ance educes engagemen mo e s ongly
du ing he week.
3.4 |Sus ainable beha io al in en ion
Exposu e o sus ainabili y con en on social media can in luence
consume 's sus ainable habi s and consump ion beha io (Con e o
e al., 2023). I indi iduals pe cei e hey ha e con ol o e hei beha io ,
hey a e mo e likely o exp ess sus ainable beha io al in en ions (Theo y
o planned beha io : Ajzen, 1991). We sugges ha being able o
demons a e one's own opinion ia engaging wi h g een in luence
messages migh inc ease consume s' pe cei ed beha io al con ol and,
he e o e, inc ease hei sus ainable beha io al in en ions. Fu he mo e,
when indi iduals eel mo e engaged and con iden in hei abili ies, hey
a e mo e likely o in en ionally adop sus ainable beha io s (Yan
e al., 2024). Addi ionally, when ollowe s sha e a social media pos wi h
hei iends and amily, hey signal in e es in he opic and suppo o
he pos s' con en . The e o e, we sugges ha :
H4: Highe engagemen leads o highe sus ainable
beha io al in en ions.
4|PILOT FIELD STUDY
4.1 |Design
The pilo s udy in es iga es he p e alence o message aming and
cons ual in he ield and o e s a i s indica ion o whe he he usage
o gain ( s. loss) ames and high ( s. low) cons ual le el messages
in luences ollowe s' engagemen wi h in luence pos s. In a mixed‐
me hod app oach, he pilo ield s udy o e s ex e nally alid
obse a ions om ac ual in luence pos s, which a e subsequen ly
supplemen ed by wo expe imen al s udies, which, howe e , migh
be limi ed by hei hypo he ical se ing (Ka man & Lipowski, 2024).
A he ime o he s udy, no comp ehensi e da abase o g een
in luence s exis ed. We, he e o e, u ilized exis ing da abases wi h limi ed
each o conduc a sys ema ic sea ch on Ins ag am. Fi s , we compiled a
lis om wo exis ing da abases p esen ing a o al o 200 g een
in luence s wi hou duplica ions (Am a & Elma, 2023,a ull‐se ice
ma ke ing agency, and he company Feedspo , 2023). We ex ended his
lis by sc eening he ollowe s o he ini ial lis , as many g een in luence s
ollow each o he —yielding ano he 200 in luence s wi hou duplica es.
We classi ied he in luence s in o mac oin luence s (100,000 up o
1,000,000 ollowe s), mic oin luence s (10,000 up o 100,000 ollowe s),
and nanoin luence s (1000 up o 10,000 ollowe s). We hen andomly
selec ed 200 in luence s, equally by class o ollowe s. F om each o hese
in luence s, we collec ed he las i e pos s (i.e., 1000 pos s in o al; da a
a ailable upon eques ).
We ex ac ed he ex o each pos and calcula ed he
engagemen as he sum o likes and commen s di ided by he
ollowe coun (Fishe , 2009). Two independen code s classi ied
he pos s by aming (gain s. loss: κ
MessageF aming
= 0.72) and
cons ual le el (low s. high: κ
Cons ualLe el
= 0.66), and econciled
di e ences h ough discussion. We excluded 23 pos s due o ei he
missing ex (only isual pos s) o due o he lack o ecogni ion o
cons ual le el o message aming because o oo ew wo ds (e.g.,
only hash ags wi hou ex ). The a e age g een in luence in ou
sample had 134,762 (s anda d de ia ion [SD] = 1,042,110) ollowe s,
ollowed 1598 (SD = 1412) o he in luence s, had pos ed 925
(SD = 942) messages and an accoun age o 7.6 (SD = 3.3) yea s.
4.2 |RESULTS
Figu e 2summa izes he obse ed message cha ac e is ic equen-
cies o he pilo ield s udy. Fi s , he majo i y o g een in luence
pos s occu du ing he week (79% o all pos s), while only 21%
happen du ing he weekend. Second, he pos ype does no a y
depending on he iming: as expec ed, combina ions o gain aming
and low cons ual domina e (59% o all pos s) bo h du ing he week
(59%) and he weekend (57%), ollowed by gain ames wi h high
cons ual (29% o all pos s, 28% o he week pos s, 33% o he
weekend pos s). Loss ames a e a he uncommon (12% o all pos s).
Figu e 3desc ip i ely highligh s he e ec s o di e en
combina ions o message aming, cons ual, and iming on engage-
men . I espec i e o iming (Panel A), we see ha loss‐ amed
messages wi h low cons ual gene a e he highes engagemen
(M= 5.22%) while gain‐ amed messages wi h low cons ual show he
lowes engagemen (M= 2.99%). Gain ames wi h high cons ual—
FIGURE 2 Message cha ac e is ic equencies in he ield s udy.
1984
|
KÖNIG AND MAIER
he mos common pos cha ac e is ic—gene a e he second lowes
engagemen (M= 3.06%).
These e ec s e e se depending on he iming: while gain ames
ha e highe engagemen on he weekend, i espec i e o he
cons ual (Panel B: M
HighCons ual
= 5.20% and M
LowCons ual
= 2.95%),
low cons ual le el pos s wo k be e du ing he week—i espec i e
o he aming (Panel C: M
Loss
= 3.85% and M
Gain
= 5.66%). While
hese esul s align wi h ou hypo heses, we e ain om o mally
es ing ou hypo heses due o (a) he non andomized na u e o he
obse a ional da a and (b) he limi ed sample size o some
combina ions o he message cha ac e is ics (e.g., N
Loss, Low Cons ual,
Weekend
= 9). The subsequen expe imen s will o e a causally mo e
obus in es iga ion o di e en message cha ac e is ics. In summa y,
he esul s o he ield s udy o e a i s indica ion ha g een
in luence s migh no be pos ing wi h message cha ac e is ics ha
a e no ideal o he goal o inc easing message engagemen .
5|STUDY 1
5.1 |Design
S udy 1 uses a 2 (message aming: gain s. loss) × 2 (cons ual le el:
high s. low) × 2 ( iming: weekend s. week) be ween‐subjec design.
Pa icipan s we e andomly assigned o message ames and
cons ual le els, o ensu e message exposu e was no biased by
pe sonali y‐d i en sel ‐selec ion in o ollowing ce ain in luence s
(e.g., pe cei ed li e con ol [Zhang e al., 2023] o age [Casalegno
e al., 2022], which migh also ela e o sus ainable consump ion). The
iming o he messages was non andomized, bu conduc ed on wo
subsequen days; we published he same su ey a wo di e en ime
poin s on he pla o m P oli ic: on a Sunday a e noon (weekend) and
a Monday a e noon (weekday).
As s imuli, we designed ou ypes o pos s om ic ional
in luence s (using he design o Ins ag am) wi h di e en aming
(gain s. loss) and cons ual le els (high s. low) ac oss ou opics
( a el, DIY, upcycling, and ze o was e). We used he ex o he pos s
as well as he images (gene a ed h ough Adobe Fi e ly) o
manipula e he message cha ac e is ics while keeping as many
elemen s o he pos as possible consis en . Fo example, in he
a el ca ego y (which we also selec ed based on a subsequen ly
epo ed p es udy), all pos s show a beach (see Figu e 4). Howe e ,
while he gain‐ amed beaches a e na u al and unspoiled, he loss‐
amed beaches a e co e ed wi h was e, and he adjacen o es is
des oyed. The ex and hash ags unde line he aming (gain: “sa e
he en i onmen ,”o loss “you des oy ou en i onmen ”). We
manipula ed low cons ual le els h ough (a) he p esence o a
speci ic solu ion/cause o he p oblem (a ain o an ai plane), and (b)
FIGURE 3 Resul s o he pilo ield s udy: Gene al engagemen (a), engagemen on weekdays (b) and on weekends (c). (Engagemen in
pe cen , ba s ep esen 95% con idence in e als).
KÖNIG AND MAIER
|
1985
FIGURE 4 Pos ypes in he expe imen s.
1986
|
KÖNIG AND MAIER
exace ba ed o messages pos ed du ing he wo k week ( s. he
weekend). No e ha we do no hypo hesize, es o no ind a h ee‐
way in e ac ion o aming, cons ual le el, and iming— a he , iming
in e ac s wi h each message dimension in wo wo‐way in e ac ions.
7.3 |Limi a ions and u u e esea ch
We acknowledge se e al limi a ions ela ed o he design o ou
s udies. Fi s , ou in es iga ion ocuses on pos s o g een in luence s
on Ins ag am ( s. e.g., TikTok). The e migh also be cul u al in luences
on ollowe s' expec a ions o g een in luence pos s, which ou
ocus on eac ions o in luence pos s in he Uni ed S a es does no
allow us o explo e. Fu he mo e, pos s a e only one means o
communica ion o g een in luence s; di e en ypes o con en (e.g.,
blog pos s, Twi e /X pos s, ideos) and beha io s (e.g., endo sing
g een p oduc s, pa icipa ing in g een ini ia i es) a e likely o also
a ec consume engagemen and beha io . Second, while he pilo
ield s udy aligns wi h ou expe imen al indings, he dependen
a iables in he la e we e hypo he ically measu ed and no incen i e‐
aligned, which migh a ec he well‐documen ed (g een) in en ion‐
beha io gap (e.g., F ank & B ock, 2018;Hinsche al.,2021). Thi d, ou
esea ch did no analyze he ole o b ands in g een in luence s' pos s
(Ge a h & Us ey, 2021). B ands migh equi e in luence s o use a
ce ain message aming (e.g., gain ames wi h low cons ual o
highligh he b and as a solu ion). Fu he mo e, isible o o icially
disclosed b and suppo migh in luence ollowe engagemen h ough
accusa ions o g eenwashing (Lee e al., 2018). Finally, ano he ui ul
a ea o u u e esea ch is he ela ionships be ween g een in luence s
and hei ollowe s, as bonds be ween in luence s and ollowe s play a
c ucial ole in (g een) in luence e ec i eness (e.g., Dekoninck
e al., 2023). In his, u u e esea ch could explo e i consume s would
accep i ual g een in luence s (e.g., Ge a h e al., 2024; Gu uleac
e al., 2024) ha c ea e he pe ec messages con incing consume s o
li e a mo e sus ainable li es yle—and hese in luence s migh also be
happy o pos messages du ing he ( ee) weekend.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Open Access unding enabled and o ganized by P ojek DEAL.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The da a ha suppo he indings o his s udy a e a ailable om he
co esponding au ho upon easonable eques .
ORCID
E ik Maie h p://o cid.o g/0000-0003-3751-6521
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