Do Consumers Trust Mobile Service Advertising?

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Mobile services have rapidly become an important way for consumers to
communicate, encounter services and exchange information. Marketers are
increasingly using this channel for brand related advertising communications.
However they have found that consumers are reluctant to try and adopt new mobile
services and/or other products/services in response to advertising, unless the consumer
has established trust. This research investigates whether consumers trust advertising
communications sent by marketers through mobile service channels. To answer this
question we measure trust-related factors that are antecedent to the consumer‟s overall
trust in these advertising communications and their relationship to the consumer‟s
willingness to buy the advertised brand. Our model was tested using structural
equation modeling. The results indicate that the reputation of the vendor, disposition
to trust, structural assurance, perceived ease of use, third party assurance and
perceived privacy have the highest impact on consumer trust and willingness to buy.

Keywords: Consumer, Trust, Mobile, SEM, Service, Advertising