Abstract

Nonverbal communication has important applications in all areas of marketing, including advertising, sales, and service interactions. Not only do nonverbal cues motivate inferences about the qualities of the displayers, but they also communicate the displayers' social and interaction intentions. These inferences subsequently influence consumer behavior and marketing communication outcomes. Using both lab and field experiments in my two essays, I examine the role of nonverbal communication across various marketing contexts. In the first essay, I investigate how the size of a spokesperson's face in relative to the size of the marketing communications affects consumer response. Results of the first essay demonstrate that higher facial prominence of the spokesperson within marketing communications negatively affect communication outcomes. My second essay examines the impact of a spokesperson's expression of power on consumer responses to communications about a corporate crisis. Findings in this essay indicate that the decision of whether to use powerful or powerless expressions during crisis communications can have important consequences and the impact of those communications depends on the level of relevance of the brand transgression to the audience. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications of these essays are also discussed.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2021

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Wang, Ze

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Business Administration

Degree Program

Business Administration; Marketing

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008609;DP0025340

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0025340

Language

English

Release Date

August 2026

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

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