TY - JOUR
T1 - Party and candidate websites: A comparative explanatory analysis.
AU - Kruikemeier, Sanne
AU - Aparaschivei, Adrian Paul
AU - Boomgaarden, Hajo
AU - van Noort, Guda
AU - Vliegenthart, Rens
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, © Mass Communication & Society Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - This study provides a systematic investigation of party and candidate websites across five countries. It examines three prominent features of current online political communication (interactivity, political personalization, and mobilization). Furthermore it assesses to what extent country, party, and source characteristics explain differences in the usage of these features. In total, 63 websites and 416 pages in Germany, Romania, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Great Britain were subject to a systematic content analysis. The findings suggest that differences in party and source characteristics explain variation in levels of mobilization, interactivity, and personalization, with, for example, party websites trying to mobilize citizens while websites belonging to politicians are used as a platform for self-promotion. In general, results show that the division of countries into East and West European is less important.
AB - This study provides a systematic investigation of party and candidate websites across five countries. It examines three prominent features of current online political communication (interactivity, political personalization, and mobilization). Furthermore it assesses to what extent country, party, and source characteristics explain differences in the usage of these features. In total, 63 websites and 416 pages in Germany, Romania, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Great Britain were subject to a systematic content analysis. The findings suggest that differences in party and source characteristics explain variation in levels of mobilization, interactivity, and personalization, with, for example, party websites trying to mobilize citizens while websites belonging to politicians are used as a platform for self-promotion. In general, results show that the division of countries into East and West European is less important.
KW - CAMPAIGN
KW - EXPLORATION
KW - INTERNET
KW - PERCEIVED INTERACTIVITY
KW - POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
KW - TRANSFORMATION
KW - TRANSITION
KW - WEB SITES
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84944061203&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15205436.2015.1051233
DO - 10.1080/15205436.2015.1051233
M3 - Article
SN - 1520-5436
VL - 18
SP - 821
EP - 850
JO - Mass Communication and Society
JF - Mass Communication and Society
IS - 6
ER -