Consumer Perceptions of Mobile Advertising: An Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action

Abstract

A two-stage approach is employed to examine the influencing factors of consumer behaviors in the context of mobile advertising. The first stage of the study evaluates the correlation relationship of consumer motives for receiving mobile advertising and their attitudes toward mobile advertising. The relationship between consumer intentions for receiving advertisements on their cellular phones and their subsequent actions upon receiving the mobile advertising is also investigated. A negative sentiment was revealed of cellular phone users toward mobile advertising. This represents a warning signal indicating that current practices of mobile advertising generally are ineffective and are in need of a careful reevaluation on the part of mobile commerce firms.The second stage of the research applies Fishbein and Ajzen’s theory of reasoned action model to examine consumer behavior regarding mobile advertising. We found that positive actions on the received advertisements are significantly influenced by strong intentions, strong intentions are significantly influenced by favorable attitudes, and favorable attitudes are significantly influenced by strong motives. Implications for e-commerce application developers and marketers are discussed.