Martin Eppler
Title
Prof. Dr.
Last Name
Eppler
First name
Martin
Email
martin.eppler@unisg.ch
Phone
+41 71 224 2297
Web Site
292 results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 292
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Item type:Publication, Your Strategy Needs a Visual Metaphor(2026); - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, When Visual Communication Backfires: Reactance to Three Aspects of ImageryAlthough many persuasive messages include imagery, relatively little is known about the potential for the visual components to induce reactance. This research examined the effects of three message variations—camera angle (low vs. eye-level), antithesis (vs. thesis) (i.e., the juxtaposition of contrasting images), and facial expression of emotion (anger vs. happiness)—on reactance and subsequent persuasion. Two experiments (N = 240 and N = 259) using pro-environmental appeals found that variation in each of the visual features was associated with increased perception of threat to freedom, reactance and decreased persuasion. Political conservatives felt more threatened by any message than liberals, but were not differentially sensitive to image variations. This research opens the door for a programmatic analysis of imagery and reactance.Type:journal articleJournal:Communication ResearchVolume:52Issue:5Scopus© Citations 4 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Calls to action and user engagement: The role of visual and verbal requests in nonprofit advocacy on FacebookA common strategy to boost user engagement on social media is to incorporate requests into posts. While previous research has focused on the effects of direct verbal requests (i.e., commands), the role of subtler, indirect verbal and visual requests remains underexplored. We address this gap through a quantitative content analysis of 2250 Facebook posts from the 100 largest U.S. nonprofit organizations. Using a social semiotics lens, we argue that both verbal and visual modes can convey requests, although each relies on distinct semiotic resources. The influence of requests on user engagement may thus be shaped by general semiotic principles applicable to both modes as well as modality-specific principles. In line with our assumptions, users prefer posts that clearly reveal a charity's persuasive intent through verbal and visual requests (general principle of clarity). Moreover, posts fostering clarity by exclusively featuring either direct or indirect verbal requests are associated with greater user engagement compared to those combining both types. However, users are more responsive to indirect than direct verbal requests (verbal principle of nuance) and tend to be distracted from the verbal text when posts include a direct gaze image (visual principle of captivation).Type:journal articleJournal:Computers in Human Behavior ReportsVolume:18Scopus© Citations 2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Individual decision styles as predictors for bias susceptibility and bias blind spots in managerial decisions(Emerald, 2024-10-28); ; Scopus© Citations 1 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Improving decision making through visual
knowledge calibrationPurpose: This article aims to explore the so-called illusion of explanatory depth (IOED) of managers regarding their understanding of digital technologies and examines the effect of knowledge visualization one’s current understanding and decision making. Its purpose is to show that managers think they know more than they do and that this affects decision making but can be reduced through knowledge visualization. Design/methodology/approach: In two experiments with experienced managers, the authors investigate the size and impact of the IOED bias in decision making and examine if sketched self-explanations are as effective as written self-explanations to reduce the bias. Findings: The findings show that experienced managers suffer from a significant illusion concerning their explanatory understanding of digital technologies and that sketching one’s current level of explanatory understanding of these technologies supports the accurate calibration of one’s knowledge. The findings indicate that sketching knowledge is a helpful modality for the detection and subsequent recalibration of biased knowledge in domain-dependent decision making. Originality/value: This article is the first to explore the effect of sketched knowledge externalization on the calibration of explanatory knowledge of managers. It extends the literature on both, the IOED and on knowledge visualization as an instrument of knowledge calibration.Type:journal articleJournal:Management DecisionVolume:61Issue:8Scopus© Citations 6 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Expressing Demands or Offers: How to Promote Volunteering Using Visual and Verbal Appeals(Sage Publishing, 2022); ; ; Hofer, AlenaType:journal articleJournal:International Journal of Business CommunicationScopus© Citations 3 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Data Integration: A Real-Time, Participant-Driven, and Visually Supported MethodWe introduce a method in which instant data visualization facilitates real-time data integration and involves participants in data interpretation. The results of quantitative research (e.g., electronic card sorting) are represented visually (e.g., in a dendrogram) and fed back to research participants in follow-up focus group conversations. The visualized quantitative results are reviewed and discussed by participants. The visual display of the quantitative results is annotated with qualitative feedback generated by participants that explains, enriches, or challenges the quantitative results. We apply our method in a card sorting study of Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) stakeholders. An approach that facilitates real-time data integration that is participant-driven and visually supported is the unique contribution of this article to mixed methods research.Type:journal articleJournal:Journal of Mixed Methods ResearchIssue:online firstScopus© Citations 17 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, A Visual Approach for Developing Social Enterprises(2020-10-14); The emerging interest in social entrepreneurship is challenged in practice by the complexity of balancing economic and social aspects, and by the difficulties of getting the public to understand the very concept of social enterprising. How can we support social entrepreneurs in developing and growing their organizations? The cognitive advantages of thinking and working visually are well established in the literature, but not yet applied to guide the entire social enterprising process. Mapping and communicating ideas visually can provide several benefits, not only in the ideation phase, but also for managing, optimizing, and growing a social enterprise. We present a framework with visual formats that can be utilized by social entrepreneurs in each specific phase of the social enterprise development: (1) idea generation, (2) social enterprise model refinement, (3) idea promotion and resources acquisition, (4) planning, (5) sales and instructions, (6) scaling impact, and (7) measuring and monitoring. At a theoretical level, the framework aims to structure and summarize the benefits of visual representations of knowledge for the field of social entrepreneurship. This visual approach has practical applications for social entrepreneurs who can utilize it as an overarching tool, for an informed selection and use of visualizations to support the development of their social ventures.Type:journal articleJournal:Multidisciplinary Business ReviewVolume:13Issue:2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Visual Replay Methodology: A Mixed Methods Approach for Group Discussion AnalysisIn this article, we propose an innovative mixed methods research (MMR) technique and discuss its theory and applications. The visual replay methodology (VRM) is a new graphic way to investigate the discourse patterns during software-aided small group discussions. A visually supported conversation is recorded through screen capturing and replayed to reconstruct how the discussion has unfolded. The VRM responds to the “integration challenge” that the MMR community is facing—by employing the power of visualization, data integration is leveraged to a new level, where visual synergy gains enable a “value-added” research outcome. By employing multigenre integration and a moderately pragmatic approach, the VRM reduces the researcher–subject power-relation gap and contributes to some long-standing MMR debates regarding reflexivity and participation.Type:journal articleJournal:Journal of Mixed Methods ResearchVolume:13Issue:1Scopus© Citations 20 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The collaborative dimensions of argument maps: A socio-visual approachThis paper examines the collaborative use of visual argument maps in the context of argument production in organizations. Argument maps are highly multimodal, as their use involves the combination of diagrams, text elements, as well as spoken statements. In this theoretical piece, we apply a Collaborative Dimensions framework to argument maps that can be used to better design, understand, evaluate, and use argument maps in collaborative settings for decision making purposes. Specifically, our conceptual framework – derived from interdisciplinary perspectives – takes into consideration how the visual dimensions of argument maps have a bearing on the social interactions of people involved in a complex argumentation process. We posit that cognitive dimensions of argument maps need to be enriched with additional communicative and collaborative dimensions in order to foster a more widespread adoption of argument mapping in organizational decision making. In our socio-visual approach to argument mapping, we thus distinguish the following seven dimensions: Visual Insight, Outcome Clarity, Directed Focus, Perceived Finishedness, Visual Appeal, Content Modifiability, and Collaboration Support. We illustrate the use of the framework as an evaluation tool and analyze three different approaches to argument mapping with the help of the seven dimensions. In this way, the framework can be used to improve collaborative argument mapping. Our contribution thus lies in proposing an interdisciplinary and theoretically grounded set of factors to augment the quality of argument maps, both from a process and a results perspective. In this manner we hope to contribute to the theory of argumentation through the rich notion of “collaborative dimensions,” as well as further the practice of collaborative argument production through a more reflective and systematic use of interactive argument visualization.Type:journal articleJournal:SemioticaVolume:220