Because of the interactive property of mobile devices, our interest lies primarily in differences in how advertising and mobile technologies are perceived and judged. Drawing on the technology acceptance and mobile advertising literature, this paper assumes that responses to mobile advertising depend on a two-dimensional structure of attitudes: technology-based evaluations (utilitarian considerations) and emotion-based evaluations (hedonic considerations). Mobile advertising is affected both by characteristics of ad communication and by users' voluntary choices of mobile technology. Thus, the study proposes and examines an integrated advertising model that combines the effects of mobile technology and advertising itself. Using data collected from Korean consumers, the research hypotheses are supported, showing that an integrated approach proves to provide a robust framework for predicting mobile advertising effectiveness. The results also reveal that more experienced consumers consolidate their ability to distinguish information quality from performance expectations more than inexperienced users do. Theoretical implications to mobile advertising research are discussed, and practical suggestions for managers responsible for executing mobile advertising strategies are proposed.
Advertising strategies for new mobile devices (e.g., smart phones) appear to be a key marketing promotion in the era of mobile commerce. Although Short Message Service (SMS) is the most popular channel for mobile ads, SMS does not allow consumers to voluntarily interact with ad content, as it is a push-based strategy that involves “pushing” messages containing ads without the user's permission. Unlike SMS, mobile advertising that uses 3 G technology allows consumers to voluntarily access the content they need. This technology relies on a pull-based strategy that adopts a wireless platform with the capacity to browse contents and use a call-through response mechanism. As such, mobile ads are now using interactive displays and value-added services, which are unique to mobile ads that use 3 G technology, to deliver tailored services and target customers. These characteristics will increase the quantity of 3 G-device mobile strategies that facilitate active communication between advertisers and consumers. In fact, the literature on mobile technology has shown that interactivity on mobile devices is positively related to consumer commitment and dispersion of social networks for product and service information (Kolsaker and Drakatos, 2009).
The Web Advertising Model, proposed by Ducoffe (1996), is, in theory, a well-defined framework for predicting attitudes toward mobile advertising (Shavitt et al., 1998 and Tsang et al., 2004). However, questions about the links between beliefs in mobile technology and attitudes toward advertising go unanswered because mobile ads are designed by the human–machine interface and its active interaction between individuals and mobile systems (Hausman & Siekpe, 2009). Simply put, the Web Advertising Model seems to overlook the influence of users' perceptions toward mobile technology that facilitates access to the ad services that it produces. In addition, Davis and his colleagues (Davis, 1989 and Davis et al., 1989) have proposed the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to explain how computer adoption is determined by technology-based beliefs (e.g., usefulness). However, evidence of how consumers' perceptions of mobile technology are related to attitude and actual response to mobile advertising is lacking. This paper explores the theoretical framework of a two-dimensional structure of attitudes (i.e., technology- and emotion-based evaluations) that better explains mobile ad effectiveness. That is, our study proposes an integrated model of technology- and emotion-based evaluations for predicting responses to mobile advertising.
Mobile advertising using 3 G technology must consider a key strategy for interactive communication that amalgamates wireless marketing and technologies. Although mobile device usage is now a widespread phenomenon, previous studies have failed to provide valid frameworks for mobile advertising to keep pace with the rapid development of mobile technologies. This paper illuminates how mobile ad communication is dominated by consumers' acceptance of mobile technologies that facilitate access to ad contents. This paper focuses on developing an integrated mobile advertising model that is dependent on the human–machine interface framework. Thus, our research suggests a model of mobile advertising that combines two different routes of attitude formation: technology-based evaluations and emotion-based evaluations.
Our findings indicate that the combined model of technology- and emotion-based evaluations provides a robust framework that provides a superior ability to predict consumer response to mobile ads than would separate research streams. Similar to the Heuristic–Systematic Model (Chen & Chaiken, 1999), our findings demonstrate that considerations for determining attitudes toward mobile technologies and advertising are different. Motivation theories suggest that perceived entertainment and irritation are typically emotionally based internal motivators whereas perceived usefulness and ease of use are considered technology-based external motivators (Deci and Ryan, 1985 and Igbaria et al., 1996). This study's results point to a two-dimensional structure of attitudes (Burke and Edell, 1989 and Dhar and Wertenbroch, 2000) as a valid framework for the mobile advertising model. Consistent with the interplay of affective and cognitive dimensions observed in research on consumer attitudes (Dubú et al., 2003), our results suggest that attitudes toward mobile advertising are primarily shaped according to hedonic considerations of mobile ads while beliefs about mobile technologies are formed based on utilitarian considerations of system usage.
