How Argument Numerosity Shapes Firm-Generated Content Effectiveness

Despite the growing popularity of firm-generated content (FGC), defined as product-oriented communication that an organization initiates on its official social media pages, there is persistent uncertainty about its effectiveness. Some posts elicit positive responses while others do not, which raises questions about what firms can do to improve social media user responses to FGC and achieve their business goals. This research demonstrates that the number of arguments (i.e., the product attributes listed in the promotional message) included in FGC tends to benefit utilitarian products more than hedonic ones, which has systematic effects on users' perceptions of and responses to the FGC. In the contexts of FGC, argument numerosity can be effective in mitigating the tension and uncertainty related to online shopping (due to psychological risk), but we argue this is only the case for utilitarian products and not for hedonic ones. To test our predictions, we present five studies that represent a mix of controlled experiments with fictitious Instagram posts and an automated text analysis, on Twitter, of thousands of real branded tweets. As predicted, the results demonstrate that argument numerosity reduces the perceived psychological risk (manifested in the uncertainty and tension associated with typical social commerce behaviors), which in turn enhances users' engagement with FGC and purchase intention—but only for utilitarian products. These findings have important implications for firms and managers looking for actionable insights on how to improve the effectiveness of their FGC.