B2B 고객추천콘텐츠가 지각된 구매위험에 미치는 영향:트랜스포테이션과 콘텐츠 신뢰성의 매개효과를 중심으로 (How Business Reference Content affects B2B Purchase Risk?:The Mediating Role of Transportation and Content Credibility)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국유통학회
· 수록지 정보 : 유통연구 / 24권 / 4호 / 51 ~ 75페이지
· 저자명 : 정창모, 원지영, 이한근, 김영찬

초록

ICT 기술이 다양한 분야의 혁신을 주도하면서 B2B 구매 의사결정 과정에서 디지털마케팅 활동의 영향이 증가하는 추세다. 이에 따라 디지털마케팅에 소극적이었던 B2B 기업들도 디지털콘텐츠 제작과 온라인 채널 관리 등에 적극적인 노력을 기울이기 시작하였다. 이러한 시도 중에서도 주목할 만한 것이 B2B 고객추천콘텐츠를 활용한 디지털 마케팅커뮤니케이션 활동이다. B2B 고객추천콘텐츠는 ‘기존고객의 성공사례를 전략적으로 활용함으로써 공급기업의 차별적 강점을 전달하는 스토리텔링 콘텐츠’로 정의된다. B2B 고객추천콘텐츠에서 기존고객은 공급기업의 역량을 증명하는 추천자(referrer)로 등장하여 스토리의 전개를 이끄는 역할을 담당한다. 실제, 많은 B2B 기업들은 이미 사회관계망서비스(social media)나 기업홈페이지 등을 통해서 B2B 고객추천콘텐츠를 활발하게 공유하는 상황이다. 하지만, B2B 고객추천콘텐츠의 효과를 실증적으로 분석한 연구는 아직 드물다.
본 연구는 B2B 고객추천콘텐츠가 B2B 구매 의사결정의 핵심 선행요인인 지각된 구매위험에 미치는 영향 과정을 파악하는 데 초점을 맞춰 실증분석을 하였다. 특히, B2B 고객추천콘텐츠의 두드러진 특징인 스토리텔링 형식의 설득 효과를 밝히기 위해 스토리 몰입경험을 나타내는 트랜스포테이션 개념을 도입해 매개모형을 설정하였다. 또한, B2C 스토리텔링 광고의 선행연구 결과와 동일하게 B2B 고객의 트랜스포테이션 경험이 콘텐츠 신뢰성을 제고하는지도 확인하였다. 연구 결과, B2B 고객추천콘텐츠→트랜스포테이션→콘텐츠 신뢰성→지각된 구매위험으로 이어지는 순차적 매개효과가 존재하는 것으로 나탔다. 이에 본 연구는 B2B 고객추천콘텐츠가 지각된 구매위험을 낮추는 효과과정을 실증적으로 밝힘으로써 B2B 분야에서 스토리텔링 콘텐츠에 대한 이론적 이해의 기반을 넓히고 실무적 시사점을 제공했다는 점에서 의미가 있다.

영어초록

Due to the development of information and communication technology represented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, many companies have been making efforts to digital transformation using digital technology. B2B companies which have been somewhat passive in utilizing digital technology, are also actively participating in digital marketing activities to gain a competitive advantage. Notable among these changes is digital marketing communication activities utilizing Business Reference Contents(BRC). BRC delivers differentiated strengths of B2B suppliers by using successful cases of existing customers and it has been discussed as a key marketing communication tool to enhance the competitiveness of B2B companies by reducing perceived purchase risks of potential customers, strengthening brand equity, increasing corporate brand reputation, and increasing sales. In practice, it is already being used as marketing communication contents that B2B companies most actively share through social network services (SNS) or corporate homepages. Nevertheless, few studies have demonstrated the effects of BRC on the perceived purchase risk, a key factor in B2B purchasing decision making. Therefore, there was a limited academic understanding of the BRC's effect mechanisms, as well as difficulties in finding strategic practical use. In this study, we first tried to identify whether BRC affects the perceived purchase risks of potential customers, and then introduce the concept of transportation and content credibility to explain the impact mechanism. As a result of empirical analysis, BRC was found to have a negative effect on perceived purchase risk. This means that buyers who have recognized the capabilities of B2B suppliers through successful customer referrals are less aware of the risks associated with their products and services. This finding is in line with the claims of previous studies that BRC effectively reduces the perceived risk of potential customers. Second, we examined the mediating roles of transportation and content credibility in the effect of BRC on perceived purchase risk of potential customers. As a result, it was found that transportation does not play a role in mediating the effect of BRC on perceived purchase risks of potential customers. This means that even if potential buyers who accept BRC are immersed in the content itself by incorporating their situation into successful cases of existing companies, it does not lead to a reduction in the actual purchase risk. On the other hand, content credibility plays a role in mediating the relationship between BRC and perceived purchase risk. This means that the risk is reduced only if the potential customer evaluates the success stories and referrals of existing customers as credible content in the purchase decision. Therefore, it can be understood that securing content credibility is essential for the BRC to have a practical effect. Finally, this study examined the sequential mediating effects of transportation and content credibility on the effect of BRC on perceived purchase risk. As a result, we found the mediating effect leading to BRC → Transportation → Content Credibility → Purchase Risk. This proves that prospective customers who have embraced BRCs are immersed in the success stories of existing customers, increasing the content credibility, which in turn leads to reduced perceived purchase risks for suppliers' products and services. Therefore, BRC improves the content credibility as a result of increasing the immersion of the potential customer, and explains the underlying mechanism that improved content credibility as a leading factor in reducing purchase risk <Table 1>.
The identification of this underlying mechanism is a distinctive contribution of this study. The academic implications of this study are as follows. First, previous studies mainly discussed the importance and effectiveness of BRC in terms of the benefits and utilization of B2B suppliers. Therefore, there is a lack of discussion on how buyers perceive BRC and how the purchase decision is made. This study is meaningful in that it demonstrates the effect generation process by analyzing BRC from the perspective of potential customers. In particular, it expanded its academic understanding by introducing the concept of transportation based on the narrative form of BRC and revealing the existence of multiple mediation effects that lead to improved content credibility and reduced perceived risk. Second, this study demonstrates that BRC, which is widely used in B2B marketing communication sites, is an effective means of reducing perceived purchase risk. Previous studies have mainly suggested the effects on supplier performance variables such as sales performance and customer recommendation marketing value. Perceived purchase risk in B2B purchase decision has been widely recognized as a major influence factor. Nevertheless, studies that demonstrate the effect of BRC on perceived purchase risks are still insufficient. This study is meaningful in that it has found that BRC substantially lower the perceived purchase risk, which is a key factor for B2B purchase decision making. Third, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of storytelling content, which was mainly dealt with in B2C marketing communication research, from a B2B perspective. In the field of B2C marketing communication, various researches have been conducted on the persuasive effect of storytelling advertising. On the other hand, in the field of B2B, research that pays attention to the effects of communication content, especially storytelling, is very limited. Considering market conditions in which servitization of B2B products is intensifying, it is necessary to pay attention to storytelling contents that are effective in conveying differentiated strengths of suppliers in terms of customer experience in addition to objective product information. There is a theoretical contribution that this study has demonstrated the effect of storytelling communication in the B2B area through BRC, a representative B2B storytelling content. The results of this study also provide practical implications for B2B marketers. Above all, BRC is more cost effective than other means in reducing the perceived purchase risks of target customers. Traditionally, B2B companies have tried a variety of methods to lower the perceived purchase risk of customers. They also use large budgets to hold large-scale customer invitation conferences or to train sales representatives to improve their technical expertise. It is also common to advertise in magazines and sponsor sports events to increase brand value. However, with the exception of some leading companies, large-scale B2B marketing investments involve large risks, and most managers are skeptical that market followers need aggressive B2B marketing investments to catch up with the leading companies. Under these limited circumstances, BRC can be used to increase the effectiveness of marketing communication. Because B2B products and services are highly customizable and complex for each customer, it is very important to precisely match the communication message with the intended purchase of potential customer. BRC can be produced in accordance with the purchase purpose of target customer after comprehensive consideration of the industry, company size, purchase purpose, and reputation of the existing customer. Through this strategic process, high persuasive communication effects can be expected at relatively low cost. Therefore, BRC should be considered as a key means of marketing communication for market followers and companies with low brand power. Second, this study examined that BRC lowers the purchase risk and verifies that the transportation and content credibility play a sequential mediating role in the process. Therefore, B2B marketers need to increase the level of content immersion (ie, transportation) and content credibility of buyers in order to effectively reduce the purchase risk of buyers through BRC. For this, it is necessary to construct storytelling that can engage existing customers with similarities with target customers and to effectively deliver messages. To this end, the organization that is responsible for producing storytelling content should be actively considered to recruit experts or foster internal human resources.

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