ABSTRACT
The ubiquity of text messaging (SMS) based mobile communication creates new opportunities for marketers. However, the factors that induce consumers to accept mobile devices as an advertising medium are not yet fully understood. This paper examines the drivers of consumer acceptance of SMS-based mobile advertising. A conceptual model and hypotheses are tested with a sample of 4,062 Finnish mobile phone users. Structural equation modeling is used to test five drivers of mobile advertising acceptance: (1) utility, (2) context, (3) control, (4) sacrifice, and (5) trust. The results show that utility and context are the strongest positive drivers, while sacrifice is negatively related to the acceptance of mobile advertising. Despite the concerns about privacy, our results indicate that control and trust are not that important to consumers in mobile advertising.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The financial support of the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation is gratefully acknowledged.
Additional information
Marko Merisavo is a researcher at the Helsinki School of Economics. His research focuses on the use of digital media in marketing and customer relationship management. He also concentrates on digital marketing metrics.
Sami Kajalo is an assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and Management at the Helsinki School of Economics. His research focus is on marketing orientation and digital marketingis a researcher at the Helsinki School of Economics.
Heikki Karjauoto is a research professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Oulu, Finland. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from University of Jyväskylä, Finland in 2002. His research concerns electronic business in general and mobile business and commerce in particular. He has published extensively on electronic business in marketing and information system journals and collaborated with several researchers both in Finland and abroad, and with Finnish high-tech companies in joint research projects.
Ville Virtanen is a researcher at the Helsinki School of Economics. He received his M.Sc. (Econ.) in management science from the University of Vaasa, Finland in 1990. His research concerns adoption and business models of mobile and Web 2.0 media.
Sami Salmenkivi is a digital marketing specialist and entrepreneur working in the media industry. He received his M.Sc. (Econ.) in Information Systems Science from the Helsinki School of Economics in 2006. He specializes in social media, Web 2.0, and gaming.
Mika Raulas is a Director of the Future and Digital Marketing project in the Departments of Marketing and Management and Business Technology at the Helsinki School of Economics. His research and publication focus is on the impact of the digitalizing marketing environment on the roles of marketers, customers and other service institutions, business models, and on customer relationship management.
Matti Leppäniemi is a researcher in Integrated Marketing Communication at the University of Oulu, Finland, and the project manager of the FUMMAS (www.fummas.fi) project. His major areas of interest include mobile commerce, especially mobile marketing.