Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Science))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic & Business Sciences, 2017 / With the contemporary diffusion of media technology, the majority of researchers have come to position the Internet as a political instrument that has the potential to stimulate consumer behaviour. The Internet has expanded persistently as a news source and digital technologies have become more accessible and abound with user generated content. These digital media backdrops afford a valuable opportunity to empirically examine the effects of digital media effects on consumer decision-making. It is therefore important to examine how consumer perceptions and attitudes towards voting impact their decision-making in order for political marketers or politicians to develop coherent strategies that offer a conducive environment sufficient to influence voting decision-making. Whereas previous studies on voting behaviour have merely explored voting behaviour in a global context, the current study investigates the effect of digital media exposure on perceptual and cognitive constructs within a Zimbabwean context. Moreover, few studies have explored this topic in a consumer behaviour context amongst the Zimbabwean constituency. This study aims to determine whether digital media exposure influences voter-consumers’ intention to vote in subsequent Zimbabwe presidential elections. In order to empirically test the effect of digital media exposure on perceived image of a political party (PI); perceived image of a presidential candidate (PPC); attitude towards voting (ATV) and voting intention (VI), a conceptual model premised on the reviewed political marketing literature was developed. The model proposed four distinct domains that drive voting intentions. In this conceptualised model, digital media exposure is the predictor variable, while perceived image of the presidential candidate, attitude towards voting, perceived image of the political party, are mediators and voting intention is the single outcome variable. By exploring the significance of digital media use on voter behaviour, this study contributes towards specific contextual knowledge on consumer behaviour and political marketing in developing countries particularly Zimbabwe. The present study is positioned in the positivist research methodology, and assumes a deductive approach within the quantitative paradigm to test the proposed hypotheses. This study uses stratified probability sampling to arrive at the required number of provinces for the study. Using quantitative methodologies based on the nature of the research questions, data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 305 eligible voters from selected Provinces and Districts in Zimbabwe selected through stratified probability sampling to arrive at the required number of provinces for the study.The measuring instrument was designed from existing scales, which were adapted to suit the present study. The data analysis ii | P a g e was done in SPSS 24 for demographic data analysis and AMOS 24 was used for the structural equation modelling and path modelling. The findings support all the hypotheses in a significant way except H1 and H5. Likewise, voter-consumers’ perception of the presidential candidate has an influence on the attitude towards voting and all latter perceptual and attitudinal variables have significant influence on voting intention. Important to note about the study findings is the fact that digital media exposure has a stronger effect on perceived image of the political party (H3) than attitude towards voting (H2). However, perceived image of the political party strongly influence attitude towards voting. Remarkably, the relationship between perceived image of the presidential candidate and attitude towards voting is robust. The findings indicate that digital media exposure can have a strong influence on voting intention through attitude towards voting. The contribution of this study is threefold: Firstly, by exploring the significance of digital media exposure on voting behaviour, this study adds to contextual knowledge on relationship marketing, political brand management and experiential marketing (the final stage of the mental brand responses), consumer marketing and specifically, political marketing. Secondly, as a growing body of literature explores the use of digital technology in political campaigning/marketing to create a competitive advantage, this study provides researchers with a broad understanding of this phenomenon among voting citizens in developing countries particularly Zimbabwe. Theoretically, it is positioned in political marketing and contributes to theoretical literature that focuses on consumer behaviour, branding and brand relationship. Lastly, by investigating digital media exposure and its influence on consumers’ voting intention, the findings provided political marketing practitioners with a better understanding of strategies that can be employed to influence citizens’ voting behaviour, through the use of digital media. The study thus submits that politicians ought to pay attention to both media agenda and brand image in order to build a positive attitude towards voting which significantly influences the intention to vote. In order to maximise voter ‘purchase’, marketers can implement strategies to encourage positive behaviour from voter-consumers and exploit multi-sensory experiences in order to influence voting intentions. The study makes a significant contribution to brand management literature and consumer behaviour literature by systematically exploring the impact of media exposure on brand image and attitude towards voting in Zimbabwe. The study demonstrates that political data can be used in consumer behaviour studies and provides a theoretical method for predicting voting intentions using voter behaviour in the form of voter perception of political parties and perceived image of a presidential candidate as well as attitude towards voting. The study further highlights the significance of using digital technologies and ingenuity to create a comparative advantage as well as a differential advantage. / MT 2018

O desenvolvimento das tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) alterou profundamente o modo de governança e as formas de convívio social, produzindo efeitos sobre a participação política. A presente tese aborda o elo entre o processo eleitoral e a Internet e analisa os determinantes da participação eleitoral no Brasil. O estudo desenvolvido tem início com o estado da arte do Direito Eleitoral, abordando o papel de seus atores políticos e os procedimentos que envolvem a operação eleitoral, buscando compreender as contribuições trazidas pela Internet para essa dinâmica. Em seguida, analisamos a forma como a Internet vem sendo utilizada nos processos eleitorais pelos agentes políticos, seus limites e possibilidades, com o objetivo de verificar qual o potencial da Internet para revigorar a democracia e aprimorar o exercício da cidadania. Apresentamos, ainda, propostas de regulação para aperfeiçoar o aproveitamento das ferramentas e potencialidades da Internet, durante o processo eleitoral, indicando, por fim, algumas práticas dessa utilização em outros países. O quadro analítico proposto revela que a expansão da Internet e suas mídias sociais e a liberdade encontrada em seu espaço virtual possuem um efeito positivo sobre a participação eleitoral. / The development of digital information and communications technologies (ICT) profoundly changed governance and social interaction, producing effects on the political participation. This thesis approaches the relation between the electoral process and Internet, and observes the determinants of electoral participation. The study begins with the estate of art of Electoral Law, analysing the role of the political actors and the operating electoral procedures, seeking an understanding of the Internet contributions for this dynamics. Subsequently, we oulined the way Internet has been used by the political agentes in the electoral process, its limitations and possibilities, examining the Internet potential to revitalize democracy and improve the exercise of the citizenship. We will present, moreover, regulation proposals to improve the usage of Internet tools and potetialities during the electoral process, showing a few examples that take place in the international scenario. The analytical framework reveals that the spread of the Internet and its social media, and the freedom found in its virtual space produce a positive effect on the electoral participation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-124).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-149). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2009. / Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 102 p. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation explores how institutional settings regulating the media and campaigns affect voter participation. The broader question is what types of political communication systems are likely to produce the most engaged and participatory citizens as well as equal participation. Assuming that political participation is affected by its underlying costs and benefits, I hypothesize that political communication systems that lower information costs for voters have higher turnout levels and reduce upper class bias. Political communication systems are measured by media systems, access to paid TV advertising, and campaign finance laws. In the country-level turnout models, investigating seventy-four electoral democracies, I find that public broadcasting systems increase voter turnout, while changing the effect of paid advertising. Public broadcasting systems that allow paid TV advertising have a higher turnout levels than those that ban paid advertising. Conversely, paid advertising in private broadcasting systems have a negative marginal effect on voter turnout. On the other hand, campaign finance laws that allow more money to enter election campaigns increase voter participation. So campaign contribution and spending limits depress turnout and public finance increases it. The hierarchical models in Chapter 6 show that political communication systems also change the relationship between individual socioeconomic status and voter participation. Generally political communication environment that lower information costs for voters reduces socioeconomic bias for voters. Public broadcasting systems, access to paid TV ads, and free TV time, thus, mitigate the effect of education on voting. Additional investigation also shows that the age gap between voters and nonvoters is conditioned by different types of political communication systems. Both partisan press and public direct funding promote younger citizens’ participation, thus decreasing the generation gap. In contrast, campaign contribution/expenditure limits enlarge such gap. Broadcasting systems also affect the effect of age on voting. Because older people spend more time watching television than younger ones, the type of broadcasting system has a disproportionately larger impact on older citizens. / text

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This paper examines differences between what voters want from a campaign website and what political parties are actually providing on their campaign websites. A series of focus groups were conducted and the results of those discussions provided insight into what potential voters wanted from a campaign website. Analysis of the Conservative, Liberal, Bloc Quebecois, Green and New Democratic Party campaign websites was then conducted, and the results provided a glimpse at what the political parties were providing during the 2004 federal election campaign. The results of this research show that is a significance imbalance between what the political parties in Canada were providing and what the focus groups mentioned they wanted from a campaign website. The participants wanted more engaging and mobilizing features, while the campaign websites used during the 2004 election lacked these types of features. / vi, 130 leaves ; 29 cm.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-270).

Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-95).