The growth of YouTube has resulted in the industrialization of a platform that redefines mainstream success. Success measures such as endorsements and viewership are serving as motivational factors for YouTubers. YouTubers and brands want more views, but are those motivations effecting perception? While much research has focused on the effects that YouTube has on the brand, this study focuses on the effects that the brand has on the YouTuber. It also determines whether viewership affects YouTuber perception and whether it‟s a success measure worth using. Using the constructs of the source credibility theory, this study assessed the main effect of brand endorsement and viewership on perceived expertise and trustworthiness of YouTubers. After conducting an online experiment, findings suggest that non-brand endorsed YouTubers possess higher-rated expertise and trustworthiness. While viewership did not make a difference in perceived expertise, it did result in higher-rated trustworthiness when a YouTuber possesses lower viewership.

Date:   2023-05-31 Level:   Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution:  School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:  Erica Kim Stenström   Isabelle Örnbratt                            (96/11/06)    (01/03/31) Title:   The Evolution of Technology and its Effect on Consumption Supervisor:  Edward Gillmore Keywords:  Consumer behavior, consumption, technology, media, marketing, source credibility theory, dual-process theory Research Question: How has the evolution of technology and media affected consumption within the fashion industry? Purpose: Due to the great shift in both online and physical consumption, the purpose of this research is to provide significant insights to already existing scientific literature on how the development of technology and media has affected consumers’ purchasing behavior. Method: A qualitative research paper with two semi-structured interviews and a random sample survey containing eleven open-ended questions. For secondary data, scientific articles and non-scientific, informational articles and websites were used.  Conclusion: The evolution of technology and media has heavily affected marketing strategies and consumer behavior. Along with this, there is a greater incentive to engage in consumerism, despite the world’s growing awareness regarding the consequences of overconsumption. Due to this, it is of great importance for businesses to assess how their decisions will make an impact on the world.

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The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of management altering its tone in communications on participants' perceptions of management credibility. Management's tone in communicating with participants was manipulated using communications from management under two treatment conditions. In period one of the study management's tone was manipulated within the management statement on internal controls as required by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) Auditing Standards No. 2. In period one, participants had no knowledge of management's prior forecasting accuracy. Consistent with predicted hypotheses, the findings reveal that management can increase its credibility with participants by communicating its empathy, responsiveness, and understanding. Management's increased credibility was measured using both a validated credibility scale and by examining participants' reliance on management's forecasts. In period two of the study all participants had knowledge of management's forecast failure in period one. The results from period two found that tone could impact the rating of management's credibility when management had previously failed to meet a forecast but that tone had no impact on participant's changes in their earnings per share estimates after management had previously failed to meet a forecast.

Research into political satire programs show that they can be informative in the same way traditional news inform citizens and that the audience trust the information told by satirists. The political satire program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has inspired the phenomenon ‘the John Oliver Effect’ due to comedian John Oliver’s ability to influence the world of politics and beyond with his in-depth investigations in serious subjects. In the author’s previous research Last Week Tonight has been portrayed by the media as being a credible source despite being the work of a comedian. This study therefore aimed to research what it is that makes Oliver and Last Week Tonight a credible source and whether some aspects of the reporting can be seen as communication campaign. With the theory of source credibility as part of its core, this study used the method of multimodality to ascertain that the main aspect that spoke to Oliver’s credibility was his perceived trustworthiness rather that his expertise or attractiveness. Using the same method but with the theory of communication campaign as part of its core, the study also ascertained that the program in general possessed some characteristics of a communication campaign but to be completely successful an episode had to possess all characteristics of a communication campaign. Merging this with previous research would indicate that subjectivity – Oliver’s authenticity and honest opinions and feelings – play an important part in his perceived credibility.