Determinants and Effects of Self-profiling on People’s Engagement with Native Advertising in Social Media: a Self-disclosure Perspective

The effect of self-profiling on advertising responses remains unexplored. This research proposes a conceptual model examining the path from self-profiling (i.e., nickname and avatar) and its antecedents to advertising engagement from the perspective of self-disclosure. The research model has been tested based on an online survey. The results indicate that the authenticity self-profiling of avatar is a crucial determinant of advertising engagement, whereas nickname is not. Moreover, social media involvement positively moderates the relationship between the authenticity self-profiling of avatar and advertising engagement. This study makes contribution to our understanding of self-profiling and its effect on advertising engagement by extending the theory of self-disclosure to native advertising and generates several implications for social media providers and advertisers.