Path to effective mobile advertising in Asian markets

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose and test an integrated model of mobile advertising taking into consideration the unique characteristics of Asian consumers. Design/methodology/approach: The survey research method has been used to collect data among young mobile users in China and South Korea. A structural equation model (SEM) technique is employed to analyze the data. Findings: The results show that Chinese and South Korean consumers share similar beliefs and attitudes toward mobile advertising. Perceived informational usefulness, perceived entertainment usefulness, perceived ease of ease and credibility emerge as significant belief factors positively influencing attitude in both countries. Irritation, on the other hand, negatively predicts attitude. Attitude toward mobile advertising and subjective norm emerge as the strong predictors of consumers’ intention to use mobile advertising in both countries. The effects of perceived social usefulness on attitude and incentive on intention to use demonstrate different patterns between the Chinese and South Korean samples. Practical implications: The findings are particularly relevant to international marketing managers. To effectively reach Asian consumers through mobile, increasing credibility and entertainment values are the keys. Meanwhile, providing relevant information in easy to use format is also an important issue. Originality/value: Based on the established advertising theories, this study proposes an integrated model to examine how beliefs, attitude and other influencing factors affect mobile advertising effectiveness among Chinese and South Korean consumers. This research provides insights into the uniqueness and effectiveness of the new mobile medium as opposed to traditional media. Furthermore, this study deepens the understanding of advertising hierarchy effects in an international setting by examining similarities and differences between China and South Korea. Most of existing cross-cultural studies choose cultures that are sharply contrast to gain significant findings and to support established cross-cultural theories. It is also very important for researchers to examine cultures that are relatively similar to gain a better understanding of the impact of culture. The study answers such a call.