Theses and Dissertations
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1689-2248
Advisor
Lee, Younghan
Committee Member
Zimmerman, Matthew H.
Committee Member
Lim, Soyoun
Committee Member
Wei, Tianlan
Date of Degree
8-13-2024
Original embargo terms
Embargo 2 years
Document Type
Dissertation - Open Access
Major
Kinesiology (Sport Studies)
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Education
Department
Department of Kinesiology
Abstract
Humblebragging is a tactic where an individual disguises a boast or brag as a complaint or humility while simultaneously emphasizing their achievements or desired results. According to previous literature, individual athletes' social media postings are seen as branding or self-promotional content to enhance their brand image. However, these posts can also be considered a form of bragging, with sport celebrities trying to hide their true intentions by using humbleness. This strategy is often used by sport celebrities to enhance their brand image. However, this subject remains largely unexplored in sport management literature, primarily due to the lack of a clear definition, unexplored humblebragging strategies from the viewers' perspective, and the absence of a measurement scale for evaluating humblebragging in the sport context. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore sport celebrities’ self-promotion strategies from the perspective of social media users, based on signaling theory and self-promotion theory, and to suggest a measurement scale that can empirically study the formation of humblebragging. This dissertation consists of two studies using online surveys for data collection, utilizing a total of 349 samples for the first study and 426 for the second study for quantitative data analyses. The results of the first study suggested that social media users are more likely to appreciate sport celebrities’ honest self-promotion, characterized by humble and sincere posts. The second study generated six dimensions of humblebragging: (a) self-praise plus disclaimer; (b) praise from a third party; (c) self-praise plus shift of focus; (d) self-praise plus self-denigration; (e) self-praise plus reference to hard work; and (f) self-praise as a complaint. It was also found that self-praise plus shift of focus and self-praise plus self-denigration had a positive and significant impact on predicting post likability. This dissertation enriches the literature by establishing a theoretical basis for humblebragging as a self-promotion strategy on social media and revealing its effects on consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. These studies provide valuable insights for sport celebrities, social media influencers, and marketers aiming to enhance their influence on consumers. The findings also suggest practical strategies to improve the effectiveness of promotional messages using humblebragging.
Recommended Citation
Na, Sangwon, "Humblebragging as a self-promotional strategy on social media" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 6326.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/6326