Promotional marketing through mobile phone SMS: a cross-cultural examination of consumer acceptance

Abstract

This current study investigates a special effect of consumer behaviour – how store coupons, i.e. special discounts offered by retail stores, influence consumer behaviour. The scope of this research addresses the cross-cultural effect of consumer behavioural expectations by marketers. Based on a literature review and the theoretical basis of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model, we propose an extended theoretical model to examine cross-cultural effects on the dependent variable of behavioural intention to accept store coupons sent through mobile phone short messaging services (SMS). The study was conducted using consumers in Canada and Bangladesh. The final model, developed through a statistical analysis conducted by LISREL, identified that culture has a potential impact on consumer behaviour in this specific response-stimulus model. It also recognized that any specific consumer phenomenon, such as consumer acceptance of mobile phone-based promotional marketing through SMS, cannot be completely captured by the UTAUT2 model.

Keywords:

• Behavioural intention
• consumer behaviour
• mobile phone SMS
• SMS advertisements
• store coupons