Examining beliefs and attitudes toward online advertising among Chinese consumers

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate beliefs about and attitudes toward online advertising (ATOA) among Chinese consumers and the relationship between belief factors, ATOA, and consumers' behavioral responses to online advertising.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from students of a large metropolitan university in China. A total of 202 questionnaires provided usable data and were analyzed using AMOS.

Findings

Five belief factors that underlie Chinese consumers' ATOA were identified: entertainment, information seeking, credibility, economy, and value corruption. Information seeking, economy and value corruption were significant predictors of ATOA. ATOA was found to be a significant positive predictor of ad clicking and online shopping frequency.

Practical implications

Global marketers would benefit from understanding how consumers from a booming emerging market perceive the internet as a source of advertising. Thus, the study will enable businesses and organizations to use online advertising more effectively and efficiently in their global marketing efforts.

Originality/value

Investigating Chinese ATOA extends current research on ATOA to a distinctly different cultural context and may provide useful implications about expanding business across cultures.

Citation

Wang, Y., Sun, S., Lei, W. and Toncar, M. (2009), "Examining beliefs and attitudes toward online advertising among Chinese consumers", Direct Marketing: An International Journal, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 52-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/17505930910945732