Exploring antecedents of attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising and inter-attitudinal and inter-skepticism consistency on three levels: an international study

Abstract

Given the increasing relevance of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to individuals’ health and well-being, this study explores whether selected health variables, as well as consumers’ attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, influence their attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. It extends previous research by building on the theory of inter-attitudinal consistency, examining how three different levels of attitudes and skepticism are interrelated. A field study was conducted on three continents (727 subjects; non-student sample). Results reveal that consumer attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, influence attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising in particular, which positively impact the attitudes and skepticism towards four different ad appeal types. The study extends the theory of inter-attitudinal consistency to inter-skepticism consistency. Results further indicate that attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general can be considered as key antecedents, but that several additional health-related factors also influence consumers’ attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. Moreover, attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, towards pharmaceutical advertising, as well as towards specific pharmaceutical ads, are negatively related. Reasons explaining these results are addressed, as are study limitations and implications for future research.

Keywords:

• Pharmaceutical advertising
• attitude towards advertising
• skepticism towards advertising
• cross-cultural study
• international advertising
• theory of inter-attitudinal consistency

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Note on contributors

Isabell Koinig, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the Alpen-Adria University of Klagenfurt, Austria. She just finished her dissertation investigating how different pharmaceutical advertising appeals are received in a cross-cultural context. Her research interests predominantly concern the areas of health communication, intercultural advertising, organizational developments and communication practices, CSR reporting as well as media and convergence management. Sandra Diehl is an associate professor at the Department for Media and Communication Studies at the Alpen-Adria University of Klagenfurt, Austria. She received her PhD degree and her habilitation in Business Administration from Saarland University in Germany. Her research interests include media and convergence management, international and intercultural advertising, CSR and health communication.

Sandra Diehl has published in numerous journals, such as the International Journal of Advertising, Advances in International Marketing, Advances in Consumer Research, the International Marketing Review and the European Advances in Consumer Research. She has authored and edited several books, among them the Advances in Advertising Research. She is also board member of the European Advertising Academy.

Barbara Mueller is a professor of advertising in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State University. Her research interests concentrate on the role of culture in international advertising, in addition to marketing to children and pharmaceutical advertising. Her work has appeared in numerous journals. She is the author of ‘Dynamics of International Advertising: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives’ (Peter Lang, 3rd Edition, 2017); ‘Communicating with the Multicultural Consumer: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives’ (Peter Lang, 2008); and co-author (with Ka herine Toland Frith) of ‘Advertising and Societies: Global Perspectives’ (Peter Lang, 2nd Edition, 2010). In addition, she is a co-editor (along with Sandra Diehl, Matthias Karmasin, Ralf Terlutter, and Franzisca Weder) of ‘The Handbook of Integrated CSR Communication’ (Springer, 2017). She has taught courses in international advertising and international consumer behaviour in Austria and Malta, as well as lectured in Germany and Ukraine.

 

Appendix A

Table A1 Operationalization of variables incl. individual items with (factorized) means and standard deviations.

Table A2. Discriminant validity for model variables.

Table A3. Measures of global fit for the measurement model (Confirmatory Factor Analysis).

Table A4. Results of the structural equation model.

Figure A1. Stimulus material (English version).

Notes

1 With regard to the pretest, we insured that the individual ad appeals were assigned to their designated categories as well as met criteria of ad credibility, realistic portrayal, comprehensibility and suitable length of the body copy. In addition, the product and manufacturer’s name were evaluated for their suitability for use in the pharmaceutical industry. A detailed description of the pretests is available upon request.

2 Several variables were measured by single-item scales when the criteria for single-item scales defined by Rossiter (2002) and Bergkvist and Rossiter (2007) were deemed applicable. For a detailed discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of single-versus multi-item scales please refer to Bergkvist and Rossiter (2007).