Promoting the Use of Electric Vehicles on Social Media: The Effects of Message Framing, Point of Reference, and Political Affiliation on Perceived Information Value for Others and Purchase Intentions

Abstract

This study examined how message framing, reference points, and political affiliation influence audiences’ perceived information value for others and purchase intentions regarding an organization’s promotion of electric vehicles (EVs) on social media. The results from an experiment showed that participants (n = 506) evaluated posts emphasizing benefits for the self of purchasing an EV to have greater information value for the recipients in their network than posts highlighting benefits for the environment. When political affiliation was considered, the effects of framing and reference points were only observed among Democrats. Democrats found self/gain and environment/loss posts to have greater information value for others. No significant effects were found regarding message framing, reference points, or their interactions on purchase intentions.

Keywords:

• gain loss framing
• point of reference
• political affiliation
• social media
• electric vehicles

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

^[1]The experiment was conducted before Twitter changed its name to X; therefore, the term “tweet” was used in the questionnaire instead of “post.”

^[2]The t and df were adjusted because variances were not equal.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the School of Communication and Journalism at Auburn University (Bronczek Funds for Excellence).