Research into Consumers’ User Acceptance Willingness of Mobile Advertising
Zhong He , Xia Chen , Ting-jie Lv
School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
(hezhong0222@163.com)
Abstract - Mobile internet is being used by countless
people. But how to design the applications after all can make
customers accept it more easily? In various mobile internet
applications, mobile advertisement is facing rapid
development trends and various inevitable problems, and
becomes a typical mobile internet application. So it is
necessary to carry out a deep research into its user
acceptance willingness. Based on the discussion of definition,
characteristics, types and business model of mobile
advertisements, this paper establishes a consumer
acceptance model with UTAUT as the base model, and an
empirical study is given as well.
Keywords - Mobile Interne; Mobile Advertising;
UTAUT; SEM
I.
INTRODUCTION
With the maturity of 3G network and smart
phones, china mobile internet subscribers grow
explosively, and subscribers have strong demands for
various kinds of mobile Internet application. Therefore,
it is just the best time for the development of China's
mobile internet. However, to be success in the mobile
internet industry is not easy. Among the mass mobile
internet applications, some are very successful and
spread widely in short time, but some other are
unsuccessful and disappear quickly. There are many
factors influencing the acceptance extent of an
application, so the thorough knowledge of each
influencing factor will contribute to the spread of
mobile internet applications. As a mobile internet
business, mobile advertising is no exception. Therefore,
this paper will mainly focus on the spread of mobile
advertisement.
TAM is the classical model to research the
influencing factors of consumer’s acceptance of an
innovation. In 1989, the Technology Acceptance
Model (TAM) is put forward by Davis when he studied
the customers’ acceptability to the information system
via the use of theory of reasoned action, with initial
purpose being make an explanation on the decisive
factor for the general acceptability to computer. [1][2]
Venkatesh made a second improvement on the TAM
Theory. Targeted at the discussion about factors
affecting the customers’ recognition and on the basis of
the research on basic structure of theory of reasoned
behavior, theory of planned behavior, technology
acceptance model, motivation theory, theory of social
recognition and computer use model, they put forward
the unified model covering elements included in the
major models- Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use
of Technology / UTAUT via the verified comparison
for the major models. And this model notes that
variables such as sex, age, experience and voluntary
control variable can have significant influence on the
dimensionality of performance expectancy, effort
expectancy, social effects and factors of fulfillment.
Besides, the four relations will directly affect the
intention to use and the cooperation dimensionality
will directly affect the actual system use. Through
differently demonstration analysis of enterprises from
different industries, UTAUT model have a higher
reliability and validity. UTAUT model can explain
70% technology acceptance behavior, equaling with
the previous 40% explanations, so UTAUT improves a
lot.[3-5]
II.
MOBILE ADVERTISEMENT
A. Definition of mobile advertisement
Mobile advertisement arose along with the
development of mobile data services. It is one of the
mobile value-added services, starting as an extension
of the combination of mobile location services (LBS)
and advertising services. Mobile advertisement is
actually a kind of interactive network advertisement,
which is carried by mobile communication network,
possesses all the characteristics of network media, and
at the same time has more advantages than the internet,
for mobility can make users receive information
anytime anywhere. Mobile advertisement is regarded
as the best stage to carry out precision marketing based
on the user database in the future commercial
advertisement and for the advertisers to select
appropriate people on purpose to spread targeted
business information. The biggest highlight is to
combine mobile phone with advertisement, forming
the situation in which the three sides of customers,
merchants and operators all benefit from it.[6][7]
B. Characteristics of mobile advertisement
As a firenew advertisement form, compared with
other media advertisements, mobile advertisement
mainly has the following major characteristics:
(1)Accuracy: mobile phone advertisement can
send advertisements directly to the users’ mobile
phones according to the users’ practical and real-time
situation, really achieving “accurate dissemination”.
(2)Instantaneity: the instantaneity of mobile phone
advertisement comes from its mobility, mobile phone
advertisement has broken through the constraints of
time and regions, users can receive advertisement
information quickly anytime and anywhere, and such a
spread velocity is incomparable with any previous
media. (3)Interaction characteristic: as the perfect
combination of internet technology and mobile
communication technology, 3G mobile phone media
can give full play to the advantage of interactive
function, and integrate interactive elements into the
originality of mobile phone advertisement, making
users carry out the feedback interaction after receiving
advertisements anytime and anywhere;(4)Diffusibility:
mobile phone advertisement’s diffusibility is also can
be said to be the characteristic of being transmitted,
which means users can transmit the advertisements that
they think to be useful to their relatives and friends,
diffusing information or spread advertisements to the
people around; (5)Integrity: the integrity advantage of
mobile phone benefits from the rapid development of
3G technology. Mobile phone advertisements can be
shown in different forms of characters, sounds, images
and moving pictures, etc.; (6)Measurability: the
advertisers can cooperate with mobile communication
operators actively and trace and monitor the
advertising effectiveness periodically and directionally;
(7)Low cost: as a kind of advertisement media, 3G
mobile phone has the strong characteristics of
separating people and personalization, and it can
realize market segments, providing corresponding
advertisements and information for the potential target
audience. Therefore, compared with traditional media
advertisements, mobile phone advertisement has
prominent cost advantage, and maybe it can turn the
CPA charge method into reality.[8][9]
C. Types of mobile advertising
Mobile advertisements can be classified according
to different standards, such as carrying ways, content
format, type model and push ways, etc.[10][11]
According
to
content
formats:
mobile
advertisements are divided into text advertisement,
image advertisement, video advertisement, audio
advertisement and hybrid form advertisement, etc.;
according to push ways: mobile advertisements are
divided into push advertisement and pull advertisement;
according to release form: mobile advertisements are
divided into information advertisement, terminal
embedded advertisement, voice advertisement, video
advertisement, WAP advertisement, mobile search
advertisement and wireless location advertisement, etc.
D. Business model of mobile advertisement
The business model of mobile advertisement in
3G times shall take meeting users’ individual needs as
its centre, provide more value-added services for users,
realize exact marketing and develop user active
advertisement, thus achieving a victory for many sides
in the whole industry chain of mobile advertisement.
Specifically, there are 3 main business models of
mobile advertisement: mobile search advertisement
model、implanted advertisement model、scene push
advertisement model. The business model of mobile
search advertisement is similar to that of the internet
search, that is, to provide free search services for the
users and charge the trade company according to the
pay-per-click keywords. Nowadays, there are two
common forms of mobile search advertisement as
follows: Mobile phone real name search advertisement;
Local search advertisement. There are two common
forms of implanted advertisement model as follows:
terminal implanted; contents implanted. And there are
two common forms of scene push advertisement model
as follows: Scene push advertisement model combined
with major events or activities; Scene push advertisement model based on location.[12][13]
III. THE UTAUT MODEL
A. Research variables
After many investigations and analysis, UTAUT
model can explain acceptance behavior of mobile data
business. Therefore, based on this, the model’s main
body will be designed and studied.
The
model’s
main
body holds
four
dimensionalities of UTAUT model, which are
performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social
impact and promotion condition. Performance
expectancy means that mobile advertising can provide
the needed services for users, thus improve users’ life,
study and work. Effort expectancy means whether the
individual thinks mobile advertising service is easy to
use the system. Social impact means social and
surrounding people’s opinions and views on mobile
advertising can easily affect users’ acceptance.
The youth is the main force of developing mobile
advertising, so young people are the main respondents.
In addition, mobile phone has been popularized in
recently years. And at the same time, the mobile
advertising is still at the early development in the
market, which is new concept and business form for
users. Therefore, there are no problems about
experiences and voluntariness. Based on the analysis
above, study model in the dissertation does not take
age, gender, experience and voluntariness into account.
According to the development and characteristics
of mobile advertising and based on the UTAUT model,
we added three variables, they are perceived cost,
perceived playfulness, perceived risk. Perceived cost
means that the customers need to pay more cost on
equipment change and payment of flow fee on the
characteristics of mobile advertising business.
Perceived playfulness means that users focus on a
mobile advertisement and are willing to interact to
satisfy their need for a product and service. In the
meanwhile, when used mobile advertisement, speedy,
accuracy and delicate pictures of advertisement will
bring pleasure. Perceived risk means customers’ any
purchasing behavior can not ensure the correctness of
expected results, yet some results may cause
customers’ unpleasure and then affect users’
acceptances.
B. Research model and research assumption
Based on the above analysis and research, this
section introduces the general concept model of mobile
advertising users’ acceptable behavior shown in the
following fig. 1.The research tries to study mobile
advertising users’ acceptable behavior for mobile
advertising business from the perspective of users’
recognition. According to research purpose and
literature study, the research hypothesis is established
shown in the following Table II.
development in the market, young people from
eighteen to twenty-nine are the main respondents. 325
questionnaires were sent out, 319 were returned and
310 were valid.
D. Empirical study
Reliability coefficient is commonly used to show
the degree of test reliability. The reliability of all
problems of the questionnaire is 0.925 according to
Cronbach’s Alpha’ reliability standard; it belongs to
high reliability standard. Cronbach’s Alpha’s value of
various models are all larger than 0.500 which reaches
reliability requirement, namely the test result reliability
of problem can be accepted. Validity refers to the close
degree between test result and expectation and assesses
bias and systematic difference. All factor loads are all
larger than 0.45. As mentioned above, if factor load is
larger than 0.45, question options may not be
deleted.[14]
The research adopts Lisrel8.7 to handle and
analyze the model. We built on the research base of
UTAUT model and works out standard regression
coefficient to know the relation among various
variables and verify the truth of relevant research and
assumption so as to conclude final route relation
chart.[15]The results can be seen in Fig. 1 and Table Ⅰ.
Effort
Expectancy
0.73
-0.23
Performance
Expectancy
0.27
Usage Willingness
0.53
Usage Behavior
0.74
0.41
Social Impact
Promotion
Condition
-0.09
0.16
-0.06
C. Questionnaire design and data collected
Perceived Risk
Perceived Cost
Perceived
Playfulness
Fig. 1 Conception model and the results
Questionnaire is an important instrument to
investigate and study the collected data. Likert’s
five-scale is adopted in this paper to design the
questionnaire. This questionnaire consists of three
parts. At the beginning, it presents the objectives and
purposes of this research and then gives the definitions
of mobile advertising and classifications. The second
part in the questionnaire deals with personal
information with five items, including gender, age,
education and incomes, together with the monthly
communication expenditures according to the
characteristics of value-added service. In order to
know users’ opinions about mobile advertising, part
three contains thirty questions to investigate their
acceptability and intentions to use it.
As the mobile advertising is still at the early
According to route coefficients of various
variables, direct effect and indirect effect of use
behavior of mobile advertising business from various
variables. According to the degree of influence on
effect, from big to little such as social influence (0.74),
efforts expectancy (0.73), using willingness (0.53),
promotion condition(0.41), performance expectancy
(0.27),
perceived
playfulness(0.16), perceived
risk(-0.06), perceived cost(-0.09) ,effort expectancy
(-0.23).
Based on the analysising and processing results of
the structural equation, the initial research hypotheses
in this study are to be verified, of which the results are
shown as in Table Ⅱ.
TABLE I
ASSESSMENT OF CONCEPTION MODEL OF ACCEPTANCE BEHAVIOR OF MOBILE ADVERTISING
Assessment standard
Index
Model value
Acceptable
Good
Chi-square/d.f.
<3.0
2.42
goodness-of-fit index, GFI
>0.9
0.83
[0.70， 0.9)
Adjust goodness-of-fit index, AGFI
>0.9
0.79
[0.70， 0.9)
comparative fit index, CFI
>0.9
0.96
[0.70， 0.9)
root mean square error of Approximation, RMESA
<0.01
<0.08
0.068
non-normed fit index, NNFI
>0.8
>0.9
0.96
TABLE Ⅱ
ASSUMPTION VERIFICATION of ACCEPTANCE BEHAVIOR RESEARCH of MOBILE ADVERTISING
Assumption content
Result
Users’ efforts expectation in mobile advertising have an active influence on performance expectation
Yes
Users’ efforts expectation in mobile advertising have an active influence on performance expectation
No
Users’ social influence on mobile advertising is active to use willingness
Yes
Users’ perceived cost to mobile advertising is negative to use willingness
Yes
Users’ perceived entertainment to mobile advertising is active to use willingness
Yes
Users’ perceived risk to mobile advertising is negative to use willingness
Yes
Users’ performance expectation to mobile advertising is active to use willingness
Yes
Users’ promotion conditions to mobile advertising is active to use behavior
Yes
Users’ use willingness to mobile advertising is active to use behavior
Yes
No.
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
H9
[7]
IV.
STRATEGIES and ADVICES
[8]
Through the research on users’ acception
willingness upon mobile advertising above, we have
strategies and proposals upon mobile advertising
development.
 Taking user’s feature into consideration,
excavate user’s individual demands deeply and provide
services according to user’s individual demands;
 Protect the consumers’ privacy by reasonable
marketing；
 Expand the present ways of mobile
advertisement actively, and enhance the cooperation
with other members in the industrial chain, such as
terminal manufacturers and application developers.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
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