Self confidence, and the ability to influence

Greenacre, Luke, Tung, Ngo Manh and Chapman, Thomas (2014) Self confidence, and the ability to influence. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 18 (2), 169-181.

Record type: Article

Abstract

This article examines whether individuals achieve greater interpersonal influence in peer groups, particularly related to purchasing, when they have greater social self confidence. Literature in this area has only considered the negative effects of low social self confidence on interpersonal influence, neglecting potential positive effects of positive self confidence. In our first study we survey a general US sample and find that greater perceived interpersonal influence is felt by those with greater social self confidence. In our second study we demonstrate through a field experiment that those with greater social self confidence influence the actual purchase decisions of their peers to a much greater extent than those with less social self confidence. The results demonstrate that greater levels of social self confidence lead a person to act as a de-facto leader, with peers following their purchasing behaviour as a consequence of the influence they exert.

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