The effect of party preference and communication channel trust on country image

Abstract

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER

The 2022 parliamentary elections, as well as the events of the past period, including the hostilities in Ukraine after February 2022, have an influence on the international perception of each country. During their campaign communication, political parties make statements regarding events and policies, the purpose of which is to influence voters along issues of principle. My aim is to investigate the effect of party preference in Hungary on the orientation habits, and to what extent the perception of the parties affects the trust in the various marketing communication channels. On the other hand, I examine whether this preference has an effect on the perception of the ten countries examined during the study.

METHODOLOGY

During my research, I rely on secondary statistical data and primary quantitative questionnaire research.

MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS

The preferences of voters are reflected in the communication channels used for information. Based on the trust indices of the channels, polarization can be observed on the pro-government and opposition lines. Pro-government voters prefer to find their information through traditional channels, while opposition voters prefer online and social media platforms, which data confirm the results of previous market research. If we examine the evaluations of the countries, we are able to identify similar groups in both cases, by comparing the commissions and the entire sample in the case of public television, as well as by examining the evaluations of pro-government and opposition voters.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the data, it is worthwhile to further investigate the trust of communication channels, in order to be able to gain a deeper understanding of credibility and thereby influence the perception of a less preferred channel. The research gives a glimpse into the operation of the political narrative coming through the channel, so it is recommended that we take this effect into account during the country image (country acceptance) research.