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Final Management Project
Name: Alkis Meletiou ID: 142349
Professor: Dr. Jovana Stanisljevic
Academic Year: 2014 – 2016
Master’s Program: MSc in Business Development
Topic: ‘‘The Impact of Mobile Advertising on Customer Engagement ”
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................4
1.1. Background .....................................................................................................................4
1.2. Statement of Research Problem and Research Motivation .............................................8
1.3. Research Aim and Objectives .........................................................................................8
1.4. Research Questions .........................................................................................................9
1.5. Significance and Purpose of the Study............................................................................9
1.6. Scope of the Study.........................................................................................................10
1.7. Outline of the Chapters .................................................................................................10
Chapter 2: Literature Review...................................................................................................12
2.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................12
2.2. Mobile Advertising .......................................................................................................12
2.3. Customer Engagement ..................................................................................................15
2.4. Mobile advertising and the Role of Smartphones .........................................................19
2.5. The Influence of Social Media in Mobile Advertising and Establishing Customer
Engagement..........................................................................................................................22
2.6. The Impact of Mobile Advertising on Consumers........................................................24
Chapter 3: Methodology ..........................................................................................................29
3.1. Theoretical Discussion ..................................................................................................29
3.2. Research Approach .......................................................................................................30
3.3. Research Purpose ..........................................................................................................31
3.4. Research Design............................................................................................................32
3.5. Data Source ...................................................................................................................32
3.6. Research Population......................................................................................................33
3.7. Sampling Strategy .........................................................................................................33
3.8. Sample Size...................................................................................................................34
3.9. Research Instrument......................................................................................................34
3.10. Statistical Methods ......................................................................................................34
3.11. Variable Description ...................................................................................................35
3.12. Model Hypotheses.......................................................................................................37
3.13. Ethical Consideration ..................................................................................................38
3.14. Methodology Summary...............................................................................................38
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Chapter 4: Data Analysis .........................................................................................................40
4.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................40
4.2. Smartphone Use ............................................................................................................40
4.3. Descriptive Statistics.....................................................................................................42
4.4. Reliability Test ..............................................................................................................44
4.5. Factor Analysis..............................................................................................................46
4.6. Correlation Analysis......................................................................................................50
4.7. Regression Analysis ......................................................................................................52
Chapter 5: Conclusion..............................................................................................................56
5.1. Conclusion.....................................................................................................................56
5.2. Theoretical Implications................................................................................................63
5.3. Managerial Implications................................................................................................64
5.4. Recommendations .........................................................................................................64
Chapter 6: Limitations and Areas of Future Research.............................................................66
6.1. Research Limitations.....................................................................................................66
6.2. Areas of Future Research ..............................................................................................67
References................................................................................................................................69
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The Impact of Mobile Advertising on Customer Engagement
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1. Background
In the recent years, the world is experiencing explosive growth in digital advertising
in the mobile channels. According to Tierney (2014), due to its popularity and effectiveness,
there is significant growth of resources allocated by major brands on mobile advertising,
which is expected to quadruple by 2017 to $36 billion. It is found that, in the consumer
market, mobile ads can have a significant influence, which consequently affects their
purchase intention. However, the extent of significance and power of mobile advertisement
may differ with high and low involvement products, and the importance and practical use of
the products (Bart, Stephen & Sarvary, 2014). With an increasing mobile devices’ penetration
rate, for the marketers, a new opportunity is created by mobile advertising to transmit their
promotional messages. The Mobile advertising is regarded as a business of encouraging
consumers, using a wireless medium or channel, to purchase goods and services. It allows
sending of unique, customized, and personalized advertisement. Mobile advertising can
engage mobile phone users through different communication channels, including SMS –
short message service, MMS – multimedia messaging service, and the mobile internet
(Wong, Tan, Tan & Ooi, 2015).
As compared to other digital advertising formats, mobile is growing faster. However,
there has been a disparity, historically, between the amount of advertisement expenditure on
the medium and the amount of time spent on the mobile devices, smartphones and tablets. It
is expected that as the enthusiasm and trend in the mobile-optimized advertisement formats
are increasing and marketers are learning its effective use, the gap between the advertisement
expenditure and mobile use will narrow substantially. Especially, in the United States, the
mobile ad expenditure is growing significantly by a five-year CAGR of 43%, and would
reach $42 billion in 2018 (Hoelzel, 2015). A unique opportunity is provided by mobile
advertising on a personal level, to connect with the consumers, with ads that reflect their need
states. The global smartphone adoption, in the year 2014, reached 25% of the world
population, which was an all-time high. The smartphone proliferation around the world has
provided an excellent opportunity to the advertisers to target and attract consumers at a higher
level, with click-for-directions and click-for-call ads. According to Marin (2014), the mobile
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device adoption, as compared to desktop, continues to grow amongst the consumers. The
mobile advertising budget, due to the shift in the digital advertising paradigm, is predicted to
exceed the advertising budget related to the desktop.
Figure – 1.1. Global Media Advertisement Expenditure. Source: Marin (2014)
The figure 1.1 is showing the global mobile advertisement spend, along with the
predicted values. The mobile ad expenditure, as illustrated by the bar chart, in increasing each
year, and it is predicted to reach the level of $94.91 billion of annual mobile ad spend.
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Figure – 1.2. Global Mobile Advertising Spend Growth – 2014. Source: Marin (2014)
The above figure is illustrating the percentage growth in the global mobile advertising
expenditure for the year 2014. According to the figure, the Eurozone recorded the highest
growth in mobile advertising spending during the year, which equals 46.8%. The United
States, in this context, is following the trend and recorded 34.4% growth. The mobile
advertisement expenditure is also increased significantly in the UK and Australia region by
22.6% and 8.3% respectively.
Customer engagement is an important concept in marketing, which defines the
relationship between a customer and a brand. The businesses around the world realize the fact
that customer loyalty with a brand is influenced by frequent positive engagements (Vivek,
Beatty & Morgan, 2012). According to Carter (2015), with every brand interaction, customer
engagement is built (or damaged), while the brand is connected, with each of those
interactions, to the needs and preferences of the customers. The highly engaged customers’
behaviour can be represented by the characteristics: they are product/service evangelists,
purchasers, responders and loyal.
Customers are now more powerful, with the rise of social and mobile technologies. It
is now important to the marketers to develop strategies to connect and engage with their
customers, due to the increasing ability of the customers to find information and to remain in
an always-connected status, which provides control of their experience. Businesses, in
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today’s ever-changing landscape, are striving hard to offer personalized and real-time
experiences to their customers. Customer engagement now days is taking many forms,
whether a sale promotion mobile push notification or an order confirming email. Businesses
have an opportunity, by promoting consistent and relevant communication, to engage with
their audiences. Companies around the world have developed and transformed their
marketing strategies to enhance their focus on strengthening customer engagement. To better
engage with their customers, the key strategies that companies are adopting, include
providing real-time benefits to the customers; using digital technologies or social media as a
tool to provide more value; Simplifying the customers’ experience; analysing customer data
to uncover hidden correlations; embracing and leveraging customer feedback; and
anticipating the customers’ needs (Maguire, 2015).
The use of Mobile advertising by companies to market their products or services is
also one the key strategies to enhance or strengthen customer engagement. This research
project aims to establish an association between the above two constructs: Mobile advertising
and customer engagement. It is based on the evaluation of the impact or influence of mobile
advertisement on customer engagement. For this purpose, the study measures and evaluates
the two variables, and proposes a conceptual framework. In the light of the proposed
framework, the research study can examine the relationship statistically. Globally, for the
sales and marketing teams, the tools of attracting and retaining customers have gained
significance in the context of enhancing customer engagement. For businesses, the concept
has become a priority in the recent years, and will become their primary growth driver. The
companies and their sales and marketing teams are therefore striving hard to find innovate
and new ways to engage their customers. To close or minimise the gap between the enterprise
and consumer; increase productivity; foster collaboration among employees; and enhance
interaction with the customers, the companies are effectively adopting mobile applications
and devices. According to Valenzuela (2014), the main methods to drive customer
engagement using mobile technologies include focused content and solution dashboards,
simplified work process, and anytime access via apps. The use of mobile advertising is a
significant source of competitive advantage and customer engagement. It is predicted that the
business models in future would focus more on establishing human relationships that are
more personalized, between the company and the customers, while mobile advertising is
poised to target and bridge the gap.
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1.2. Statement of Research Problem and Research Motivation
From the academic point of view, the subject of mobile marketing and advertising is
studied widely by the researchers globally (Tsang, Ho, & Liang, 2004; Bart, Stephen &
Sarvary, 2014; Johnston et al., 2012; Kim & Han, 2012; Wong, Tan, Tan & Ooi, 2015).
Previous literature, in the recent years, has also covered the concept of customer engagement,
especially with the perspective of online media (Sashi, 2012; Hammedi et al. 2015;
Gummeris, Liljander, Weman & Pihlström, 2012). However, the specific association between
the two variables that is the impact of mobile advertising on customer engagement is not
widely explored. Therefore, there is a need to develop and examine the relationship and
measure the impact of mobile advertising on customer engagement, which would contribute
to the existing literature on the subject. The research study specifically focuses on the
smartphone advertising, which utilises Internet to communicate with the customers. Among
the smartphone users and the existing and potential customers, the project is concentrating on
the segment of university students.
With an enormous expansion in the use and reliance on mobile devices and social
media, there has been a shift in the direction and speed of interactions, with the expectation of
the consumers, in their conversations with the brand, to have a real-time relevance. Now, the
ability of a company to build long-lasting relationship with their customers depends on
effective communication, at one time, across a variety of channels. A continual stream of
two-way dialogue is required between the brand and the customer, which is complemented by
the relevance and speed of communication. The marketers and the advertisers, to effectively
target and engage their customers, are coming up with innovative ideas, to attract new
customers and enhance the experience of existing ones. Effective mobile advertising is a
significant addition to the advertising campaign for a product or service, and an important
tool for value creation. The research study is motivated by the significance of the two
concepts: mobile advertising and customer engagement, and the association between the two
variables. It aims to explore the impact of the determinants/components of mobile advertising
on customer engagement statistically, which would lead us to understand the relationship,
with the perspective of the customers (university students).
1.3. Research Aim and Objectives
The research study aims to explore the relationship between mobile advertising and
customer engagement. As discussed, the research study is specifically focusing on the
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smartphone ad channel within the mobile advertising, which utilises the Internet to
communicate with the customers and examining the market segment of university students.
For this purpose, it proposes the following research objectives:
I. To identify and measure the components/determinants of smartphone advertising. The
smartphone advertising may consist of mobile web advertising, mobile video and
application advertising units.
II. To examine the impact of the components of the smartphone (mobile) advertising on
customer engagement i.e. to investigate the significance and nature of influence and
evaluate how the viewers (university students) of internet-based mobile ads using
their smartphones get engaged with the advertised product/brand.
1.4. Research Questions
The main research question of the study is:
“What is the impact of the components of smartphone (mobile) advertising on customer
engagement i.e. how the viewers (university students) of internet-based mobile ads, using
their smartphones, get engaged with the advertised product/brand based on the factors?”
On the basis of the above research questions, following sub-questions are formulated:
I. What are the principal components or determinants of smartphone advertising (which
comprises of mobile web advertising, mobile video and application advertising units)?
II. What is nature of relationship between the components of smartphone advertising on
customer engagement?
The research study, to evaluate and answer the research questions, would identify the
determinants of smartphone advertising with the help of the literature review. It will also
develop a conceptual framework/model to explain the relationships. The impact of the
components of mobile advertising on customer engagement is measured statistically. In other
words, the study is evaluating, whether or not, the components or the associated mobile
advertising variables are significantly influencing customer engagement, which can be
termed as a marketing success.
1.5. Significance and Purpose of the Study
There is a tremendous increase in the use of mobile/smartphone globally. In the recent
years, for communications, the involvements of using mobile devices have become an
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essential part of daily activities of the consumers. The higher penetration rate of mobile
phones coupled with the continuing evolution of Internet has created a new marketing
activities’ platform i.e. mobile advertising. The substantial use of mobile internet due to high
speed and affordable mobile data connections and availability of Wi-Fi technology, have
enabled frequent and easy access to the advertisements and have stimulated marketers to
adopt the specific medium to target consumers. With the perspective of consumer
engagement, businesses are striving hard to engage the customer, which affects their sales
and revenue. The level of engagement of the customers influences customer loyalty and the
company’s profitability (Sorenson & Adkins, 2014). According to Koetsier (2015), there is a
massive media shift, where major brands and companies are embracing mobile advertising.
For instance, Disney achieved seven times more customer engagement using mobile
advertising and targeting the smart audience. Therefore, it is important for businesses to
engage their customers in understanding their expectations and need, discover influential
factors for their involvement, increase retention, enhance company reputation and brand
loyalty, and acquire new customers.
The purpose of the study, as discussed before, is to examine the influence of mobile
phone advertising on customer engagement. The research would not only identify and explain
the main components of mobile advertising but also evaluate their impact on customer
engagement, which is useful to analyse the effectiveness of the mobile advertising campaign
adopted by the marketers.
1.6. Scope of the Study
The scope of a research study defines the level of detail and the area of knowledge
covered. In this dissertation, to evaluate the association between mobile advertising and
customer engagement, the scope of the study is limited to the smartphone ad channel, which
consists of the mobile web advertising, mobile video and application advertising units. The
research study, in the context of customer engagement, is focusing on the GEM University
students to evaluate the research problem.
1.7. Outline of the Chapters
The first chapter i.e. the introductory part of the dissertation includes the background
of the research (related to mobile advertising and customer engagement), Statement of
Research Problem and Research Motivation, the research aim and objectives, research
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questions, the significance and the scope of the study. The outline or overview of the other
chapters of the research study is as follows:
I. Chapter 2 - Literature Review: This chapter covers the theoretical part of the thesis. It
discusses previous literature/studies/work/empirical researches on the concepts of
mobile advertising, customer engagement, and the association between the two
factors. The chapter constitutes a major part of the study. It also identifies and
highlights the literature gap and the key findings.
II. Chapter 3 – Methodology: In this chapter, the research approach, purpose and
research design are discussed. It also elaborates the research population, sample size,
data source of the study, research instrument, statistical techniques applied to the data,
proposed model and hypotheses, and the variables description. The aim of the chapter
is to provide a strategy/guideline about how the research problem/questions are
evaluated.
III. Chapter 4 - Data Analysis: The chapter analyses the research hypotheses statistically.
The data for the study, comprising of the variables/items related to mobile advertising
and customer engagement, are collected using multiple item questionnaire (Likert
scale), from the respondents directly, and analysed in the chapter using descriptive
statistics, factor analysis and regression analysis. The chapter also includes the
discussion of the findings.
IV. Chapter 5 - Conclusion and Recommendations: The chapter summarises and
concludes the research thesis, and discusses whether the proposed hypotheses are
accepted/rejected. It also discusses the implications of the subject explored and
provides recommendations.
V. Chapter 6 – Limitations and Areas of future research: This chapter of the dissertation
identifies the limitations and other relevant issues. The chapter also
suggests/recommends areas of future research.
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1. Introduction
This chapter of the research study, while explaining the impact of Mobile advertising
on Customer Engagement, reviews the literature on the subject to explore the problem under
discussion and identify the main components and issues pertaining to mobile/smartphone
advertising and the concept of customer engagement. The chapter reviews and discusses the
theories and empirical analyses related to mobile advertising, customer engagement, the role
of smartphones, the influence of social media with the perspective of mobile advertising and
customer engagement, and the Impact of Mobile Advertising on Consumers.
2.2. Mobile Advertising
Mobile advertising, in today’s world, is regarded as one of the most adopted and fast-
growing formats of advertising. The global spending, in 2013, was approximately $16.7
billion, in the context of mobile advertising. By the year 2017, the expenditure is expected to
exceed $62.8 billion. In mobile advertising, the method of mobile display advertising (MDA)
is found to be the most prevalent type, which comprises of banners in mobile applications and
mobile web pages. In increasing the purchase intention and the favourable attitude of the
consumers towards the products, Bart, Stephen, and Sarvary (2014) examines the association
between the MDA campaigns and the product characteristics. The data on a large scale,
during the time span of 2007 -2010, is collected involving 54 United States MDA campaigns
and 39,946 consumer, revealed that the impact of MDA campaigns on purchase intentions
and favourable attitudes of the consumers is significant and positive at the time when the
associated products were utilitarian and higher involvement. The study employs established
theories of persuasion and information processing to explain the research findings, and
suggests that the effective application of MDAs stimulate product recall in the consumers.
Johnston, Komulainen, Ristola and Ulkuniemi (2012) describe that due to significant
innovations in technology, the landscape of mobile service is changing quickly. It is however
unclear, due to the emergent nature of business field related to mobile, that what would be the
success’s driving forces and what kind of services would succeed. In the context of mobile
advertising and mobile services, the study identifies the critical value elements, with a focus
on small retail firms. The small retailers not only discover the channel of advertising as useful
and enticing, but also find the full exploitation of this new medium of communication
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challenging. According to the study, the rapid development of information technology has
played a significant role in the changing the current business scenario. In order to facilitate
and strengthen the businesses, new mobile technologies are increasingly utilized by the
companies, which also ensure competitiveness in a turbulent business environment. The
study emphasizes that it is important for the advertiser (using mobile advertising) and the
customers to actively involve and engage in the mobile service’s co-creation, it is difficult to
reach the potential of value creation.
Chen and Hsieh (2012) examine the social impact, trends and key attributes of
personalized mobile advertising. According to the study, as means of communication,
advertising media creates different communication and marketing results among customers.
Different traditional ad channels, including radio, TV, magazine, and newspaper, over the
years, have provided a one-way media by communicating and broadcasting information. The
study explains that advertising is now using the mode of interactive communications with the
widespread internet application. In the advent of mobile phone devices and 3G mobile
communication systems, the preferences of consumers can be pre-identified and a multimedia
format can be used to deliver the advertising message, at the right place and at the right time.
Meeting the needs of the consumer using personalized mobile advertising has now become an
important issue in the new advertisement possibility. The research study, in the context of
personalized mobile advertising message, identifies the key personalized attributes using the
fuzzy Delphi method. According to the results, six important personalized advertisements’
design attributes are identified, which includes type of mobile device, brand, interest,
promotion, preference, and price. To ensure the proper use of advertising resources and
facilitate the mobile advertising industry development, the study can serve as a guideline
source.
The use of mobile phones or m-devices has now become a vital component of daily
activities of consumers. In addition, the high penetration rate of mobile phones along with
continuing evolution of internet has created a new marketing activities platform, which is
called as mobile advertising. With the increasing adoption and use mobile phone
technologies, the concept of mobile advertising is widely embraced and implemented by the
marketers. In the recent years, for communications, the involvements of using mobile
devices, have become an essential part of daily activities of the consumers. The higher
penetration rate of mobile phones coupled with the continuing evolutions of Internet, have
created a new marketing activities’ platform i.e. mobile advertising. According to Wong,
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Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015), the emergence of mobile advertising has set a new advertising
platform, and it continued to advance. In using mobile advertising, the study evaluates the
factors affecting behavioural intention of consumers, by proposing the Use of Technology
(UT) and Unified Theory of Acceptance (UTA) model extension, with mobile skilfulness,
perceived enjoyment and information technology’s perceived innovativeness. The findings of
study, extracted using structural equation modelling, reveal that the UT/UTA constructs have
significant positive impact on the behavioural intention. To the mobile marketers and the
scholars, the research model established in the study, provides useful insights to facilitate
mobile advertising growth, in the mobile market environment.
Scharl, Dickinger and Murphy (2005) discuss the success factors and the diffusion of
mobile marketing. According to the study, the major benefit of mobile advertising is direct
communication or contact with the consumers. The study reviews and investigates the
concept of mobile marketing, and evaluates its most successful form i.e. SMS. It conducts
qualitative interviews with European experts and performs Fortune Global 500 websites’
quantitative analysis to evaluate the subject. The diffusion of SMS technology and the mobile
marketing campaigns is explored using the content analysis. The study develops a conceptual
model with the help of the qualitative survey and the literature review, for successful SMS
advertising, which distinguishes the success factors categories: media characteristics (media
cost, product fit, transmission process and device technology) and message (content,
consumer control and personalization), which influence consumer attention, intention and
behaviour.
The advertising channel of mobile phone has evolved from the SMS advertisements to
the mobile web ads, due to rapid advances in mobile communications. Li and Stoller (2007)
evaluate the mobile web advertising effectiveness with the help of field experiment. Using a
survey design (pre-campaign and during-campaign), the research examined the influence of
mobile advertising over brand association, brand recall, and purchase intent. According to the
results of the study, the impact of exposure to mobile advertisement is substantial on brand
recall and moderate on purchase intent and brand association. The study discusses that it is
important to measure the effective of mobile advertising, which could be done using
traditional marketing industry metrics.
Kaasinen and Yoon (2013), in the context of mobile advertising, proposes a service
engagement model. According to the study, the use of smartphone devices in increasing
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continuously, and more people are carrying smart mobile devices. However, it is often argued
that the mobile advertisements are not context-sensitive. They might be not relevant to
interests and current surroundings of the users. Therefore, the study stresses on the need for a
service engagement model, for smartphone/mobile advertising, which is based on the
behaviour of the users. According to the study, the service engagement model consists of the
sensing, analysis, personalization, engagement and advertising phases. The study reveals that
for mobile advertising, the service engagement model, which is based on the user behaviour,
provides various benefits for the users and companies, which includes increased interest and
care for the customer and more sales revenue for the companies.
2.3. Customer Engagement
In the context of customer engagement, previous literature has proposed a number of
engagement-based concepts, which include customer engagement behaviour, customer brand
engagement, user-generated hotel reviews, customer engagement cycle, online customer
engagement, community engagement, customer engagement value, customer engagement
behaviour’s co-creation. Previous research studies have focused on the concept in terms of its
behavioural manifestations toward a brand/company, while others have defined it in terms of
psychological state (Cabiddu, Carlo, & Piccoli, 2014).
Gummerus, Lijander, Weman and Pihlstrom (2012) discuss that the concept of
customer engagement has recently emerged to capture the behavioural activities of the
customers toward a frim. According to the study, both customers and the firms are offered
new ways to engage by the brand communities. The companies are aiming to learn from and
about customers, disseminate information, influence perceptions of members about the brand,
and engage with loyal customers. The behaviours that go beyond transactions are termed as
customer engagement. More specifically, they are referred as the behavioural manifestations
of the customers, resulting from motivational drivers, having a firm or brand focus beyond
purchase and entail interactive experiences of the customers with the brand. The study
identifies that customer engagement can be classified into Transactional Engagement
Behaviours (TEB) and the Community Engagement Behaviours (CEB). Moreover, it
identifies three benefits of the relationship, which includes economic benefits, entertainment
benefits, and social benefits. The benefits received are largely influenced by the engagement
behaviours. The study further reveals that the concept of CE is relatively new and has scarce
empirical research and theoretical evidence.
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Since the early twentieth century, economies and societies have changed dramatically,
changing the concept of community accordingly. The consumption communities came into
existence, with the interactive digital media introduction, where the social identities of the
customers are based on their consumptive role. Hammedi, Kandampully, Zhang and
Bouquiaux (2015) explain that the online brand communities’ emergence and success have
attracted considerable interest in the marketplace. The study focuses on online customer
engagement, and determines the conditions in which social environments are created by
people, and investigates the connections’ drivers to a focal online brand community. The
study examines the multi-community networks’ composition, focusing on the centrality and
density of brand communities. It proposes a model, in the light of previous literature, which
examines social relationships of the customers with multiple brand communities. The
research performs a survey covering eight brand communities, which encompass 290
participants, and uses structural equation modelling for the analysis. According to the
analysis, the connections to other communities are enhanced by personal identification with a
core community of brand. In addition, a functionality-driven approach is chosen by some
core brand members, in creating social environments. The study focuses on the significance
of strengthening the customer-brand association and extends the understanding of the
motivation of online brand community.
According to Sashi (2012), the concept of customer engagement, in the last few years,
has emerged as a topic of great interest worldwide, to consultants and managers in diverse
companies and industries. The emergence of new digital tools and technologies and the
continued evolution of internet has paralleled the enhancing interest in customer engagement.
The ability of social media to establish conversations and its interactive nature has excited the
marketers to better focus on the customers and satisfy their needs. The study explains that
customer engagement, by providing superior values, focuses on satisfying customers to build
commitment and trust in long-term relationships and develops a customer engagement cycle
model. A customer engagement cycle is constituted in the process of building and developing
customer engagement, which consists of the phases/stages of connection, communication,
contentment, retention, advocacy, commitment and engagement. Moreover, the research
study presents four types of relationships in the customer engagement matrix, depending on
the degree of emotional bonds and relational exchange, which include fans, loyal customers,
delighted customers, and transactional customers. The study reveals that customers are turned
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into ‘fans’ through customer engagement, however it is important for the customers to
process though the customer engagement cycle.
Vivek, Beatty, and Morgan (2012) explore the scope and nature of customer
engagement, which is considered as important relationship marketing’s component. The
study defines the concept of customer engagement as the intensity of the participation of an
individual in and connection with the offerings and/or activities of an organization, initiated
by the organization or the customer. The study argues that customer engagement is composed
of social, behavioural, emotional or cognitive elements. According to the model provided by
the research, regarding customer engagement, the involvement and participation of potential
and current customers serve as Customer engagement’s antecedents, while brand community
involvement, loyalty, word of mouth, affective commitment, trust, and value are potential
consequences.
During the time of market volatility and intense competition, for companies, customer
loyalty is regarded as a promising revenue source. The executives of the companies are now
increasingly relying on creating and managing customer value, and achieving customer
loyalty. According to Verma (2014), Customer engagement is the key to establish customer
loyalty. It is a component of relationship marketing, which aids reinforcement of customer
experience and interaction. Gambetti and Graffigna (2010) discuss the concept of customer
engagement, and explain that, in the brand management strategies, the concept is emerging as
a central concern. The study stresses on the need to understand the notion of customer
engagement as it is new in the market, and therefore it is important to understand the true
nature of engagement. The study, using T-lab software, conducts a systematic and an
exploratory content analysis of the customer engagement concept in the communication and
marketing literature. The study raises both methodological and managerial issues regarding
the practice and concept of customer engagement.
Šonkova and Grabowska (2015) investigate the best way for customer engagement by
comparing the pros and cons of relationship and transactional marketing. Using the data
provided by senior-level global marketers (100), the study provides relevant insights. It
outlines the essence of relationship and transactional marketing, and the presents the data
analysis. According to the results, there is a growing role of relationship marketing on
customer engagement. Companies around the world are using the concept of relationship
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marketing to reach and exceed expectations of the customers by implementing proper
strategy of relationship marketing.
Yu, Veeck and You (2015) examine the customer engagement behaviour by
developing and validating scale. The research study argues that previous literature on the
behaviour related to customer engagement is mostly descriptive and lacks empirical evidence.
The study defines the customer engagement behaviour (CEB) based on the value co-creation
theory and Service-dominant Logic. The CEB is defined as the behavioural manifestations of
the customers that have a firm or brand focus resulting from motivational drivers. The scale
development consists of item generation; item purification; and validation of the scale. Using
a sample 421 respondents, where data is collected through questionnaire survey, the study
examines the influence of customer relationship, brand attachment, self-enhancement, and
brand loyalty on the CEB. The hypotheses testing reveal that each of four variables are
significantly and positively associated with CEB. The study suggests that a company should
consider customers as co-creator and give up product dominant logic. A firm/company may
adopt a strategy of inviting customers to join development of new product to influence and
increase their engagement with the product.
In the marketing literature, the concept of customer engagement (CE) is relatively
new and receiving considerable attention in the recent years. In the context of social media,
the phenomenon is particularly important due to abundance of social networking channels,
online communities, and customer support forums, which provides an opportunity to increase
interaction with the customer and enhance CE. According to Jayasingh and Venkatesh (2015)
CE can be defined as behavioural manifestation of the customers towards a firm or brand. It
is also observed that, in enhancing the performance of a business, engaged customers can
play a critical role in the form of WOM about the brands, services and products. According to
the study, customer brand engagement may be influenced on the social networks via total
posts, total fans, status posts, link posts, picture posts, and video posts. The research study
reveals that the CE’s key determinant is the frequency and content-related brand posting
activities, and not the number of fans following on the Facebook.
Roberts and Alpert (2010) discuss that a business success is largely dependent on the
decision of the customers to purchase its products or use its services. It is a well-known fact
that businesses need to create ‘engaged customers’, rather than encouraging on-off purchases,
which can significantly influence their performance in terms of growth and revenue.
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According to the study, the usual ways of operation of the businesses do not help in creating
or achieving high levels of CE. For promotion of CE, a business may focus on service
delivery, internal marketing with the business, and branding to consumers. The research
study proposes a total engagement model, which combines all factors into an effective and
efficient system. It identifies five degrees or levels of CE, which consist of customer
purchases; customer loyalty towards the service/product; customer readiness in buying;
customer recommends the product/service; and finally customer promotes and advocates the
product/service (level 1 to 5). The study proposes to include key strategic elements in the
total CE model, which include customer experience, internal culture, brand, and customer
value proposition. These factors/elements, for an organisation, are critical to create engaged
customers. The study further reveals the steps involved in the total engagement model’s
implementation. These steps comprise considering customer economics, governance, design,
engage, measure, embed, and performance management.
2.4. Mobile advertising and the Role of Smartphones
Kim and Han (2014) describe that there is a significant increase in the global mobile
advertising revenue, and in the year 2016, it is expected to rise to $24.6 billion. According to
the study, the smartphone use has radically increased over the years. In the context of South
Korea, in the first quarter of 2013, the 73% of the population owns smartphone, while in the
United States, 35% of adults own a smartphone. The high degree of smartphone use has
expanded the mobile advertising market drastically and has influenced companies and
advertisers to focus on effective mobile phone/smartphone advertising. The research study, in
the context of mobile phone advertisement, provides a comprehensive advertising model by
linking flow theory, personalization, and a web advertising model to understand the
antecedents of influence processes and purchase intention. According to the research
findings, the purchase intention of the consumers is enhanced by flow experience and the
advertising value i.e. in the context of smartphone advertisement, advertising flow and value
are the key purchase intention’s determinants, where advertising value is positively
associated with incentives, entertainment and credibility. The study provides an
advertisement characteristics’ comparison between the traditional and the mobile mode of
advertisement, which is illustrated in the following table:
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Advertisement Mobile Traditional
Medium Mobile Device
Print, Television,
Radio, Outdoor
Advertising
Customer adhesion Very High No
Direction Bi-direction One Direction
Amount of Message Limited Limited
Timeliness Very High Low
Connection online and
offline
Yes No
Mobility Yes No
Table – 1: Comparison between the traditional and the mobile advertisement. Source: Kim and Han (2014)
For digital marketers and advertisers, mobile media are considered as compelling
channels due to their potential to support mass communication, one-to-many, and one-to-one
communication both effectively and economically. Moreover, the mobile and smartphone
marketing reach is large and growing. Watson, McCarthy and Rowley (2014), in the current
smartphone era, examine customer attitude towards mobile marketing. The study, using
online questionnaire, confirms the negative attitude of consumers in the pre-smart phone era
towards mobile marketing communications. Despite increased functionality of mobile phones
and the frequency of use, the attitudes of the consumers persist, in the smart phone era. The
consumers prefer exercising control over their interaction as they perceive the mode for
personal communication. The findings of the study suggests the acceptance of the consumers
regarding mobile advertising can be increased by creating sense of being in control, trust-
building, permission marketing and entertaining and useful website content. The study also
discusses that, for mobile marketing communications, the pull technologies hold particular
promise. It explores the use and attitude towards QR code, which an important pull
technology. However, the uptake is low despite of the potential of two-dimensional bar codes
and QR codes.
Based on the paradigm of Computer Are Social Actors, Kim (2014) examines the
effects of specialization in mobile advertising, and evaluates whether a smartphone
(specialized hardware agent) and an application has psychological effects on the users of
smartphone, exposed to mobile ads. The results from an experiment over 80 participant
suggest that greater trust in advertisement is induced by the specialist smartphones and
21
applications, along with an enhanced purchased intention as compared to generalist
smartphones and applications. Moreover, the trust in advertisements mediates the effects of
specialization.
For customers and marketers, the use of personalized advertising has provided
considerable benefits to develop long-term relationships. Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and Mattila
(2015), in a restaurant context, examine the effect of personalization, irritation and privacy
concern on the perceptions of Millennials. Over the past few years, a huge surge in mobile
activity is witnessed by the hospitality industry, where the channel of communication is
initiated by mobility allowing a more personalized way to interact and connect with the
guests. The study collects data using an online self-administered survey, from 159
Millennials (university students). The research participants, before complete the survey, were
asked to use the smartphone application of the restaurant for 30 days. Using the techniques of
factor analysis, reliability testing, descriptive statistics, and regression analysis, the study
examines the associations among the four variables/constructs: advertising avoidance,
personalization, irritation, and privacy concern. According to the result of the study, there is a
positive impact of advertising irritation over advertising avoidance, whereas, perceived
personalization is less related, and privacy concern is having no relationship with advertising
avoidance.
The numbers of smartphone users around the world are increasing significantly. The
trend is increasing not only in the developed states but also in the emerging and developing
nations as well. The increasing smartphone trend has also influenced the use of internet and
online apps, videos, music and games. Kim and Park (2013) discuss the consequences and
antecedents of smartphone advertising. According to the study, the market of mobile phone
advertising is rapidly expanding due the increased numbers of smartphone users. It is
therefore important for the marketers to enhance the effectiveness of mobile/smartphone
advertising. The study reveals there are numerous ways to evaluate the effectiveness of
smartphone advertising, where customer engagement is regarded as a multi-dimensional and
one of the most significant evaluation tool or method. The research study identifies
personalisation and informativeness as the antecedents of engagement, whereas electronic
word of mouth (e-WOM) and trust are taken as the engagement’s consequences. Based on a
research survey, the study finds the influence of personalisation and informativeness is
statistically significant and positive on customer engagement. In addition, engagement is
positively affecting the consequences: e-WOM and trust.
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2.5. The Influence of Social Media in Mobile Advertising and Establishing Customer
Engagement
Social media advertising can also be regarded as a source of mobile or web
advertising, which has transformed the contemporary marketing and advertising approach. It
is establishing connections between consumers and marketers by creating new opportunities
and possibilities to enhance brand awareness and engagement among the consumers.
Dehghani and Tumar (2015) examine the Facebook advertisement’s effectiveness, in
enhancing the purchase intention of the consumers. The research study, using a multiple item
questionnaire, and employing non-parametric Friedman test, and t-test finds that Facebook
advertising is influencing the brand equity and brand image significantly, which subsequently
contributes in affecting purchase intention of the consumers.
According to Cabiddu, Carlo, and Piccoli (2014), despite the social media’s
acknowledged importance for customer engagement, the understanding regarding this
phenomenon is limited. The study adopts an affordance perspective in the context of
customer engagement in tourism, and identifies three distinctive social media affordances:
triggered engagement, customized engagement, and persistent engagement. It also examines
the process of recognition, through which customers are engaged in social media by the
organizations, which consists of co-perception, exteroception, and proprioception).
Verma (2014) explains that, in triggering an active customer engagement, blogs and
social networking websites plays a significant role, with advertisers and other community
members. The social media emergence has reduced the boundaries and physical space
between the customers with common interest, who were geographically dispersed. Blogs
have been used effectively for customer engagement and corporate branding by companies
like Facebook, Amazon, Marriot, Delta Airlines, Whole Foods, Zappos, and by different
others around the world. The research study develops a framework for the effective use of
blogs, which can be used by the marketers to communicate with customers. The research
study, using content analysis and netnography, examines the social media presence and
blogging practices of Indian companies and evaluates the blogs’ use as online engagement
tool. According to the data analysis, the overall customer engagement is produced by the
subject and the object’s interaction with underlying dimensions such as behaviour, emotions
and cognition. The outcome of customer engagement (online and offline) is manifested by the
interplay between various dimensions.
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Over the last decade, a dramatic change is observed in the way of communication of
the consumers, and in the mode of acquiring and exchanging information about the products
they consume. According to Hennig-Thurau et al. (2010), the ‘new media’ can be defined as
the website and other information channels and digital communications, where active
consumers engage. The new media is characterized as digital, pro-active, real-time &
memory, visible, ubiquitous, and have networks. There are various new media channels,
including Twitter, Google, YouTube, and Facebook, which allows the customers to extend
their reach and play a more active part as market players. The new media or channel of
communication threatens the long established corporate strategies and business models, and
at the same time provides new adaptive strategies for growth. The research study proposes a
‘pinball’ framework, describing the impact of new media on customer relationships and
explains the key new media phenomena, which should be taken into account by the
companies. The challenges for managers and researchers, for each phenomenon, relate to the
successful management of customer interactions by using the new media; understanding
consumer behaviour, and customers’ outcomes and activities effective measurement.
The power of internet in today’s world is recognized by the firms, which is an
omnipresent, cost-effective, and open network, and contributes to eliminating or reducing the
physical distance and geographical barriers, to co-create value with customers. The
capabilities of internet comprise of flexibility, speed, persistence, broad scope and
interactivity. Oviedo-García and Muñoz-Expósito (2014), in the context of customer
engagement in Facebook, propose a comprehensive metric using a conceptual approach. The
research study proposes a ratio of interest and effective interest and a ratio to measure
engagement on Facebook, in relation to the Facebook posts. The study finds that in the new
dynamic business environment, which is fostered by the internet, the firms by using the
metric results and its evolution can fine-tune their strategy of customer engagement. The
measurement or assessment of customer engagement in Facebook would enable marketers to
evaluate the type of content generating better engagement.
In any business strategy, online or digital branding is a growing spectrum. Online
branding (in businesses) demands active participation in email, social networking, blogs,
websites and other online platforms. It also requires understanding strategies to start multi-
platform marketing and customer interaction to deliver the message of the brand. Vadivu and
Neelamalar (2015), in the context, discuss that in digital technologies, the continuous growth
has resulted in the enhancement, growth and development of digital brand management,
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which is now significantly important for the success of the brand. It is a fact that the social
networking cites are critical to the success of online branding due to significantly large
number of user base (exceeding two billion). The platform of social media can be used to
create more humanizing effect, which may create personal connection with audience of the
brand. According to the study, social network marketing is an important tool to enhance
brand recognition, loyalty, and richer experience to the customers. The study using an online
data collection methodology, and measuring online engagement of the customers, finds that,
rather than the quantity of post on a social network (Facebook), the quality of post and level
of interactivity grabs the social audience attention and increase engagement.
According to Takran and Ylmaz (2015), the rapid growth in the mobile applications
and smart phone use has developed new ways to market products and services to the
customers. The mobile applications market is driven by the growing smartphone use. In
addition social media is also playing a dominating role in collaboration with smartphone and
other new media, is revolutionizing the marketing and advertising practices. Social media is
also playing a prominent role in international advertising. It is has the capability to engage
customers via increased interactions and relationships.
2.6. The Impact of Mobile Advertising on Consumers
The mobile phones’ high penetration rate globally has enhanced the use of handheld
devices for the delivery of products and services advertisement. Along with mobile
advertising, as a medium for advertisement and communication, a substantial amount of
research is motivated by the emergence of internet. In this perspective, Tsang, Ho, Liang
(2004) discusses the channel of marketing created by the rapid proliferation of mobile
phones, and the popularity of SMS service to access customer, which is regarded as a
medium of one-to-one marketing. The research study examines the attitudes of the consumers
toward mobile advertising. It also investigates the association between the consumer attitude
and behaviour in this respect. For measuring the variables of mobile advertising and
consumer attitudes towards the advertising, the research study conducts a survey and uses an
instrument. According to the results, without specific consent of the consumers, the attitude is
generally negative towards mobile advertising. It is also found that the relationship between
consumer behaviour and consumer attitude is positive. Therefore, without prior permission,
the use of SMS advertisement to attract potential customers is not a good idea.
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Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and Reinares-Lara (2015) examine the consumers’
attitude towards mobile advertising, and explain that the emergence of mobile
communications have enabled personalized advertising information to be delivered by the
advertisers at the right place and time to the consumers. The mobile phone marketing
communication strategy or the mobile ad strategy is considered as a promising approach to
companies. By considering the association between mobile advertising and consumer
attitude, the study aims to identify the factors creating new opportunities for commercial
communications. It proposes a causal model of intentions and attitudes toward mobile
advertising and compares the users and non-users of smartphones with internet capabilities.
The model integrates the effects of ease of use, perceived added value, reference groups, and
control on attitudes toward mobile advertising. Using the sample of 612
participants/respondents, the study finds that the attitude towards mobile advertising is
positively related to intention to receive advertising.
According to Cho, Luong and Vo (2016), among different electronic commerce types,
mobile advertising is considered as one the most popular tools. The study, while focusing of
Vietnamese consumers, examines their attitude toward mobile advertising, and the
subsequent impact on buying decision of the consumers. The research study uses a
questionnaire survey to collect data from 293 respondents and performs various tests to
analyse the results, which include regression, factor analysis, reliability, one-way analysis of
variance, and t-test. According to the research findings, related to the attributes of
advertising, the four factors include credibility, irritation, informative-ness, and entertainment
are significantly affecting the consumer attitude towards mobile advertising. Among the four
factors, the study finds informativeness as the most significant factor. It also finds a positive
association between the buying decisions and the attitudes of Vietnamese consumers towards
mobile advertising.
Gao and Zang (2016) define mobile advertising as a form of advertisement that is
communicated using mobile devices that are smartphones, personal digital assistants, and
cellular phones. Globally, the concept of mobile advertisement has become popular, due to
the rapid development in the field of mobile technology. It is observed that almost every user
of mobile device, from various sources and service providers, receives mobile advertisement.
However, the attitude of most of the consumers towards mobile advertising is negative. In
this perspective, the research study examines the factors affecting the adoption of mobile
advertising by the consumers. The study proposes a model, based on the review of pervious
26
literature, which is empirically evaluated with the help of a survey focusing on Chinese
consumers, having exposure of mobile advertising. According to the research findings, to
receive mobile advertisements, 80 % of consumers’ intention is explained attitude of the
consumers towards mobile advertising. The study also finds a significant influence of
credibility, irritation, personalization, and entertainment on the consumer’s attitude, where
the effect of entertainment is most significant.
Okoe and Boateng (2015) examine the drivers of attitudes of consumers towards
mobile advertisement. They also investigate the association between the attitudes of
consumers towards mobile ads and the willingness to accept those ads. According to the
proposed model, the factors affecting consumes’ attitude consist of entertainment, credibility,
personalization, and irritation. To assess the measurement model, the study uses confirmatory
factor analysis, whereas, to assess the model’s goodness-fit, it uses structural equation. The
research findings indicate that the variables: personalization, credibility, and entertainment
are having positive impact on the attitudes of consumers toward mobile advertising. It also
shows that the willingness of the consumers to accept mobile advertising is determined by the
consumers’ attitude toward mobile advertising.
Vadlamani (2011), in a research study to evaluate the impact of mobile advertisement,
finds that the rich media arrival, including the mobile medium, has allowed two-way
conversations for the brands and stimulate customer engagement in a way, which was not
possible through traditional media. Badlyanl (2013) evaluates the relationship between
mobile advertisement and customer attraction, and discusses that for direct communication
with the consumers, mobile advertising is an attractive media. The study finds the factors
influencing mobile advertising acceptance, which include consumer’s ability, message
content, message customization, message credibility and consumer inertia.
Altuna and Konuk (2009), in the context of Turkish and US Consumers, measures and
reveals the consumers’ attitudes toward mobile advertising applications. The study examines
the correlation between the behavioural intentions of the consumers and their attitudes toward
mobile advertising, which is found as positive. Using t-test, the study evaluates significant
difference in the attitude of US and Turkish consumers, where the attitudes of the
respondents from US are more positive as compared to the respondents from Turkey.
In the context of mobile customer engagement, Austin (2012) discusses that it is
important to follow certain rules by the mobile marketers, as according to the guidelines set
27
by the industry, to avoid long-term problems for the industry and the brand. It is argued that
lack of customer consent towards mobile ads may cause ‘irritation’ and negatively influence
engagement with a brand. There are certain rules for the marketers, which should be followed
or complied by the marketer for the success of their brand. According to the study, for good
mobile campaigns, it is important to provide an adequate notice to the prospective customers
that would allow him/her to make an informed decision about the content. The notice may
include the identity of the franchisor, the services and products offered, and the main terms
for future mobile interactions.
According to Austin (2012), it is also important the respect the consent of the user i.e.
the adequate notice to the customers is respecting the mobile users’ opt-in/opt-out choices. In
mobile marketing and advertising, it is also significant to maintain appropriate security, and
customize communications where possible. The mobile content is considered as effective,
which is customized or tailored according to the needs of the customers. It is also observed
that customization keep the presentation of the message ‘fresh’ and catches more attention.
The study discusses that marketing and advertising via smartphone and smart devices will
grow continuously, as the customers now expect instant communication and instant access to
information. Similarly, the marketers and the businesses will continue to target customer via
smartphone/mobile ads to deliver useful content and engage more customers.
A significant change in the habits of consumers is observed with the rapid high-tech
devices’ development. The proliferation of smartphones, tablets and other devices have
become the top media and marketing channel. According to Le and Nguyen (2014), in the
consumer behaviour, mobile devices play a significant role. At the time of making purchase
decision, the mobile advertisement (MA) impacts half of the users of mobile web. It is widely
agreed that MA is the ‘future’ of advertising, and that is why, marketers are now more
inclined towards the mobile/smartphone advertising. The research study explores the mobile
users’ attitude towards MA, and factors affecting the attitudes of the consumers. According to
the study, previous research papers have identified a number of factors affecting the attitude
of consumers towards MA, which include personalisation, credibility, irritation,
entertainment, informativeness, enjoyment, demographic segments, indignity, gender, mass
media, peer communication, parental communication, and materialism. The study selects
credibility, irritation, entertainment, and informativeness, as the key factors/components of
MA, which can influence the attitude of the consumers towards MA. Using the sample of 206
valid respondents, and applying techniques of factor analysis and multiple regression
28
analysis, the research study finds a significant and positive influence of message credibility
and entertainment on consumers’ attitude toward MA, while the factors of irritation and
informativeness are unable to predict the consumers’ attitude significantly.
Asimakopoulos, Spillers, Boretos, and Liu (2013) compare the attitudes of users
towards MA. The study, in the contexts of different cultures (China, Greece and USA), also
examines the factors affecting purchase decisions of the customers. The study collects data
from the smartphone users, with the help of a questionnaire, using convenience sampling
strategy. Using data of total 282 respondents (94 Chinese, 74 Greeks, and 114 Americans),
the study finds that as compared to the other users, the Chinese respondents have higher
expectations for usefulness, relevance, and information value of MA. Moreover, in MA
messages, the Chinese users enjoy more indirect and implicative expressions, while the other
two nationalities prefer more textual information.
The environment of marketing communications has changed enormously. Marketing
via mobile and smartphone has become increasing popular among other marketing
opportunities made available by new media. Kim and Adler (2011) examine the impact of
mobile application use on brand loyalty in the hospitality industry. The study specifically
focuses on the hotel mobile application used by the students. According to the study, in the
hospitality industry, the hotel mobile applications as hotel apps are growing continuously,
which provides the marketers and the hotel companies a direct access to the consumers. The
hotel mobile apps are considered as an important tool that increases the engagement of the
consumer with the brand. The study proposes a model, according to which the use mobile
hotel apps increase brand commitment, brand awareness and customer engagement, which
ultimately influence the brand loyalty positively. The research study uses a quantitative
approach, and collects data from 100 university students who are all smart phone users. The
study finds a positive impact of use of mobile hotel apps on brand loyalty due to increase in
brand commitment, customer engagement, and brand awareness.
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Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1. Theoretical Discussion
The concept of Mobile advertising, in the current business scenario, is among the
most widely adopted formats of advertising. The expenditure related to mobile advertising is
estimated to exceed $62.8 billion in 2017. The huge amount of economic activity and an
increasing trend in the adoption of mobile advertising have led theorists and researchers to
further explore the phenomenon, and to examine the theoretical relationship. As indicated in
the literature review, the concept of mobile advertising is discussed widely in the previous
and extant literature (Bart, Stephen, & Sarvary, 2014; Johnston, Komulainen, Ristola &
Ulkuniemi, 2012; Wong, Tan, Tan & Ooi, 2015; Lin, Paragas, Goh, & Bautista, 2016).
However, the relationship between mobile adverting and customer engagement (CE) is not
widely explored, until recently, as the concept of CE in the customer management domain is
a relatively new perspective (Brodie, Hollebeek, Juric, and Ilic, 2011).
Dinner, Van Heerde and Neslin (2015), to explain the creation of CE via Mobile apps,
evaluate data of 1286 customers quantitatively, with the help of descriptive statistics, multiple
regression models, and correlation matrix. Dovalienė, Piligrimienė, and Masiulytė (2016), in
the context of mobile applications, examine the factors influencing customer engagement.
The empirical study adopts a quantitative approach and performs a research survey using an
online multiple item questionnaire to collect primary data. The study evaluates the responses
of 196 participants using descriptive statistics, correlational analysis, and multiple regression
analysis.
Grewal, Bart, Spann and Zubcsek (2015), in the context of Mobile advertising (MA),
develop and organize a research agenda and a framework. The framework comprises of a
number of components, which includes market factors, firm factors, context, consumers,
advertisement elements, advertisement goals, and the outcome matrix. The study follows a
review-based approach to analyse the research problem. To evaluate the attitudes of
consumers towards MA, Tsang, Ho and Liang (2004) propose a model, comprising affecting
the attitude, intention and behaviour of the consumers. The study adopts a quantitative
approach to examine the relationships, and uses a questionnaire for the data collection
process. The methodology of the study involves various statistical techniques, which include
descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, stepwise regression and the structural equation
modeling.
30
Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and Reinares-Lara (2015) propose hypotheses to
evaluate the behaviour or intention of consumers towards MA. The study uses a 5 point
Likert scale questionnaire for data collection and adopts partial least squares regression to
validate the structural model. It applies statistical tools to examine reliability, convergent
validity, and Discriminant validity. Cho, Luong and Vo (2016) also develops a conceptual
model with hypotheses to examine the consumer attitudes towards MA, and the buying
decision. The study performs a questionnaire (5-Point Likert Scale) survey to collect data
directly from 296 respondents and adopts descriptive statistics, reliability test, factor analysis,
Pearson correlation, multiple regression analysis, t-test and ANOVA to evaluate the research
hypotheses.
Similarly, to examine the consumers’ adoption of mobile advertising, Gao and Zang
(2016) formulate a model of attitudes of the consumers toward web advertising, which
comprises credibility, irritation, informativeness, and entertainment creating advertising value
and an attitude towards MA. The study provides descriptive results and a measurement model
consisting of various fit indices. It also conducts reliability analysis, factor analysis, and
structural modelling analysis to test the hypotheses. Okoe and Boateng (2015) also apply
several quantitative tools: reliability, validity, and descriptive statistics of the questionnaire
items; correlation analysis; and structural model analysis of the variables, to evaluate the
relationship between MA and CE. Vadlamani (2011), Badlyanl (2013) and Altuna and Konuk
(2009) also analyse the association between mobile advertising and customer
engagement/attraction/intention/attitude, using statistical models and tools.
Based on the theoretical evidence, the following sections entail the practical
elaboration of the methodology used in the research study.
3.2. Research Approach
The selection of a research approach is one of the primary needs of a research study.
It can be either qualitative, quantitative or mixed approach. According to Creswell (2013), a
quantitative approach deals with statistical methods and tools, and entails observation,
measurement and data analysis. In this form of research approach, a research study
formulates claims or hypotheses, which may require evaluation of causal relationship
between the variables. In a quantitative research approach, variables are categorized and
calculated to examine the research problem (Burn & Burn, 2008).
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In contrast, a qualitative research approach does not involve any mathematical or
statistical analysis. The approach, using more flexible research instruments, seeks to explore
a phenomenon, and aims to gain deep understanding of the opinions and ideas (Mack,
Woodsong, MacQueen, Guest & Namey, 2005). The approach basically follows a narrative
form of evaluation or analysis. It differs with the quantitative approach with respect to the
degree of flexibility; the types of questions used; the data collection and evaluation process
and instruments; and the analytical objectives.
As discussed earlier, the research study aims to explore the relationship between
mobile advertising (MA) and customer engagement (CE), while focusing on the smartphone
ad channel. Therefore, to examine the aim and the objectives, the research dissertation adopts
a ‘quantitative approach’. It uses statistical tools and methods to measure and examine the
principal components of the smartphone advertising, and measure its impact on customer
engagement. The details of the various statistical tools and methods are provided in the later
part of the chapter.
3.3. Research Purpose
The research purpose is another significant part of the methodology of a study. It
explains the reason or rationale of conducting the research study, and also indicates the nature
and stage of research exploration. A research purpose can take three forms – exploration,
description or explanation (Yin, 2013). The research purpose varies across various themes,
disciplines, and subjects, and also depends on the nature of problem examined. An
exploratory research purpose, as its name suggests, examines or explores a new research
problem or a new theme within an existing problem, where the variables and their
relationships are not yet established. It focuses on the discovery of insights and ideas, and
sets the groundwork. A descriptive research can be regarded as extension to the exploratory
research, where the given variables are already defined. It is generally structured and pre-
planned in design. In the case of explanatory research purpose, the variables and the
associated relationships are already defined. It establishes a causal relationship (Saunders,
2011). The explanatory purpose aims to further explain a research phenomenon or a subject.
In this dissertation, the purpose of the researcher is ‘explanation’ i.e. the case of
mobile advertising and customer engagement is further explained. As observed in the chapter
of literature review, the relationship between MA and CE is already established therefore, the
32
current study further explains the relationship, with a focus on the smartphone advertising,
within the range of mobile web advertising, mobile video and application advertising units.
3.4. Research Design
A research design defines or sets the overall strategy of conducting the study, which
may comprise of the defining the data collection and evaluation processes (Bryman & Bell,
2015). It explains the framework or the structure of a research study. A research design
defines methods to integrate and analyze different components in a logical and coherent way,
to address the problem effectively.
A research study may adopt different design, depending on nature of the research
problem and the defined objectives. It can be classified into experimental, descriptive,
correlational, review-based, meta-analytic, and semi-experimental designs. In this case, the
study adopts two research designs: a ‘descriptive’ and a ‘correctional’ research design. The
descriptive design, in the dissertation, is used in the form of a questionnaire survey,
consisting of multiple items, to collect data and measure the variables. The correlational
design, which observes and defines the association between the variables, is applied to
examine the impact of the components of the smartphone (mobile) advertising on CE, i.e.
how significantly the viewers of internet-based mobile ads using their smartphones get
engaged with the advertised product/brand.
3.5. Data Source
The data source of a study indicates the database, individuals, groups and other
sources from where data is collected for a study. A data source can be either primary or
secondary. A primary data source provides the first-hand evidences. In other words, in this
case, data is collected directly from the respondents (from primary sources). In contrast,
secondary data is not collected directly from the research participants and the researcher uses
books, articles, reports and the databases for the process.
Here, the research study uses ‘primary’ sources in the data collection process, i.e. it
involves collection of data for the components and items of smartphone advertising and
customer engagement directly from the respondents using a multiple item questionnaire. It
also uses ‘secondary’ data sources to elaborate the smartphone use.
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3.6. Research Population
The population of a study, for a primary research, consists of the individuals or groups
having similar traits or characteristics. The factors of age, gender, business industry or a
nationality may form the basis of the research population for a study. It also defined as a large
collection of objects or individuals, used for a scientific query (Weiss & Weiss, 2012).
As the research aims to explore the association between Smartphone advertising and
customer engagement according to the perception of the smartphone users, therefore the
target population of the study are the GEM university students, who are the potential
customers of the online advertised products/brands. The university students are chosen as the
respondents or participants of the study due to their high perceived online usage via
smartphone (Alfawareh & Jusoh, 2014: Hanley & Boostrom, 2011). The use of smartphone
have also influenced the online shopping habits of the students significantly (Uesugi , 2013;
Hanley, 2013). Therefore, the current study focuses on the students as the potential viewers
of internet-based mobile ads, using their smartphones, and getting engaged with the
advertised product/brand.
3.7. Sampling Strategy
The size of a research population makes is difficult or even impossible for a
researcher to collect and analyse the data related to the problem under study, which increases
the need of deciding a sampling strategy. In a research study, sampling is an important
component as it represents the entire population. A sample should be representative to show
an accurate reflection of the population under study, and to ensure appropriateness and
reliability (Levy & Lemeshow, 2013).
A sampling strategy can be classified into probability and non-probability techniques.
The data collection process of the dissertation adopts a form of non-probability sampling
technique that is ‘Convenience sampling’. According to Price (2013), convenience sampling
selects respondents on the basis of their proximity and accessibility. Here, data of the
university students, related to the items of MA and CE, is collected considering the factors of
convenience and accessibility.
34
3.8. Sample Size
As discussed in the previous section, the study adopts a convenience sampling
strategy to collect data from the respondents. The questionnaires were originally distributed
to a total of 150 students who are active smartphone users, and 142 questionnaires with
complete responses were received. Therefore, the sample size or the numbers of respondents
of the research study are 142.
3.9. Research Instrument
A research instrument is a tool for data collection in a Primary study. The data
collection process of the study is performed using a five point Likert Scale (1-5)
questionnaire, which consists of multiple items for each component of smartphone
advertising and customer engagement. The questionnaire is designed based on the items and
variables identified in the previous research studies on the subject. It also contains questions
related to the demographics of the respondents.
The Likert Scale, in this case, enabled the researcher to measure the level of
agreement or disagreement regarding the items in the questionnaires, on a quantitative scale
of 1-5 (from strongly disagree to strongly agree).
3.10. Statistical Methods
The study adopts a quantitative research approach, which requires statistical methods
and tools to evaluate the research questions. The research study adopts different statistical
tools and methods, which are similar to those identified in the theoretical discussion.
The study uses descriptive statistics to analyze the demographics of the respondents.
It employs frequency distribution and percentage analysis to summarize and present the
findings. It also uses graphical analysis and charts to better understand the demographics of
the population (respondents) under study.
The study applies reliability test on the items of the research questionnaire to measure
the stability and consistency of the assessment tool or the research instrument. It performs
factor analysis to reduce the number of items, and to combine a group of correlated
items/variables of MA and CE.
35
The variables or factors produced in the previous test are used in the correlation
analysis to evaluate the relationship between the variables; and in multiple regression
analysis, to examine the impact of the components of smartphone advertising (SA) on CE.
That is, regression analysis is used to investigate the relationship between the independent
variables (components of SA) and the dependent variable (CE).
The study applies descriptive statistics and correlation analysis on the secondary data
collected to elaborate the smartphone and internet use.
3.11. Variable Description
One of the objectives of the research study includes identifying the components or
determinants of smartphone advertising. From the previous and existing literature, a number
of factors/determinants are identified, which are listed in the following table:
Mobile/Smartphone advertising
determinants
Research Studies
Message/ Ad Credibility
Badlyanl (2013); Altuna and Konuk (2009);
Cho, Luong and Vo (2016); Gao and Zang
(2016); Kim and Han (2014); Okoe and
Boateng (2015); Tsang and Liang (2004);
Message Customization/Personalization
Badlyanl (2013); Gao and Zang (2016); Kim
and Han (2014); Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and
Mattila (2015); Okoe and Boateng (2015)
Ad Content
Badlyanl (2013); Altuna and Konuk (2009);
Grewal, Bart, Spann and Zubcsek (2015);
Consumer Ability
Badlyanl (2013); Grewal, Bart, Spann and
Zubcsek (2015)
Irritation
Altuna and Konuk (2009); Cho, Luong and
Vo (2016); Gao and Zang (2016); Kim and
Han (2014); Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and
Mattila (2015); Okoe and Boateng (2015);
Tsang and Liang (2004)
Customer sociability
Dovaliene, Piligrimiene and Masiulyte
(2016); Wong, Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015)
Technical convenience
Dovaliene, Piligrimiene and Masiulyte
(2016)
Relevance/ Perceived Usefulness Vadlamani (2011)
Interactivity
Vadlamani (2011); Grewal, Bart, Spann and
Zubcsek (2015)
Permission and Privacy
Vadlamani (2011); Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and
Mattila (2015); Tsang and Liang (2004)
Personal innovativeness Wong, Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015)
Performance expectancy Wong, Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015)
36
Mobile skilfulness Wong, Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015)
Informativeness
Altuna and Konuk (2009); Cho, Luong and
Vo (2016); Kim and Han (2014); Tsang and
Liang (2004);
Enjoyment/Entertainment
Altuna and Konuk (2009); Cho, Luong and
Vo (2016); Gao and Zang (2016); Kim and
Han (2014); Okoe and Boateng (2015);
Tsang and Liang (2004)
Incentives Gao and Zang (2016); Kim and Han (2014)
Perceived ease of use
Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and
Reinares-Lara (2015)
Reference Group
Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and
Reinares-Lara (2015)
Perceived Ad Value
Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and
Reinares-Lara (2015); Kim and Han (2014)
Perceived Control Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and Mattila (2015)
Table – 3.1 Determinants of Mobile/Smartphone Advertising
From the above table, four variables are selected, which are most widely discussed
and evaluated as determinants of mobile advertising, in the context of customer engagement.
These factors are Ad Credibility, Perceived Entertainment, Informativeness, and Irritation.
Advertisement credibility, in general, is the believability and truthfulness of
advertising according to the perception of the consumer. It creates value in web advertising,
and positively influences the adoption of mobile advertising (Gao & Zang, 2016). It is also
believed that for effective advertisement, credibility is an essential factor (Kim & Han, 2014).
The element of Enjoyment or Entertainment positively influences the mood of the
customer during interaction with computer-based media. It plays one of greatest role in the
overall customer attitude towards advertisement. Moreover, entertainment associated with ad
content enhances value in mobile/smartphone advertising (Kim & Han, 2014). Previous
research have found that entertaining, informative and funny advertisements increases
purchasing intention of the consumers (Gao & Zang, 2016).
The factor of informativeness in MA is the capability of transmitting timely, updated,
and easily approachable information. The ability in ‘inform’ consumers yields greater
satisfaction. The factor not only proved useful offers, but also help communicating practical
and valuable information (Cho, Luong & Vo, 2016). It positively influence ad value, and
enhance concentration of the customers towards messages and product information (Kim &
Han, 2014).
37
The factor of irritation is also crucial in the context of customer engagement, as
irritating ads causes displeasure and monetary impatience. An enormous amount of
interactivity and information of an advertisement may result in distraction in the
concentration of the audience (Kim & Han, 2014). Previous studies have examines a negative
association between perceived irritation and consumer attitude towards MA (Okoe &
Boateng, 2015). According to Cho, Luong and Vo (2016), irritation from an advertisement
causes dissatisfaction and nuisance. Consumers perceive irritation due to disrespectful,
offensive, unattractive, and unscrupulous ad techniques.
The dependent variable of the research study is ‘Customer Engagement’, which is an
important concept in marketing, and which defines the relationship between a customer and a
brand. Customer engagement, along with the components of smartphone advertising, is
measured using a multiple item questionnaire, as discussed in the previous sections.
3.12. Model Hypotheses
Based on the research objective, following are the hypotheses of the study:
I. Perceived Ad Credibility positively influence Customer Engagement.
II. Perceived Entertainment positively influence Customer Engagement
III. Perceived Informativeness positively influence Customer Engagement
IV. Perceived Irritation from Smartphone Ads negatively affect Customer Engagement
38
Figure – 3.1 Research Model
3.13. Ethical Consideration
The research study ensures privacy and confidentiality of data collected from the
respondents. It also considers social norms and right to information while conducting the
research study. Other ethical considerations include integrity, non-discrimination, objectivity,
honesty, and carefulness.
3.14. Methodology Summary
Research Approach Quantitative Approach
Research Purpose Explanatory Purpose
Research Design Descriptive and Correlational Design
Data Source Primary Source
Sample Size 142 Students
Research Instrument 5-Point Liker Scale Questionnaire
Statistical Methods Descriptive Statistics, Factor
39
Analysis, and Regression Analysis
40
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
4.1. Introduction
The previous section describes the methodology of the study and identifies the main
determinants of smartphone advertising, which consists of Ad Credibility, Entertainment,
Informativeness, and Irritation. The chapter presents statistics related to the use of
Smartphone worldwide. It also provides an overview of the research participants in the
context of smartphone use and interaction with the advertisement. Moreover, it summarizes
the determinants/components of smartphone advertising (SA) and examines their impact on
customer engagement (CE). Variables are summarised using the tool of factor analysis. The
relationship between the factors of SA and CE are examined using Pearson Correlation
Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis.
4.2. Smartphone Use
Statistics
Smartphone Ownership %
N
Valid 40
Missing 0
Mean 42.72
Std. Deviation 22.23
Range 84
Minimum 4
Maximum 88
Table – 4.1 Smartphone Ownership. Data Source: Poushter (2016)
The table 4.1 shows the statistics of the smartphone ownership in 40 countries around
the world. According to the statistics, the mean value of the smartphone ownership
percentage (rate) in the 40 countries is equal to 42.72%. It means that worldwide, almost 43
out of 100 people own a smartphone. The standard deviation in smartphone ownership is
22.23% worldwide. South Korea has the highest rate of smartphone ownership, which is
equal to 88%, while Ethiopia and Uganda have the lowest smartphone ownership rate i.e. 4%
each. The following figure illustrates in the detail the smartphone ownership rate in the 40
countries.
41
Figure – 4.1 Smartphone Ownership Rate. Data Source: Poushter (2016)
According to the above figure, the countries with highest ownership rate include
South Korea (88%), Australia (77), Israel (74%) and United States (72%). The countries with
the lowest rates consist of Ethiopia (4%), Uganda (4%), Tanzania (11%) and Pakistan (11%).
The above statistics may also suggest that the countries with higher smartphone ownership
rate have more internet use, which result in more exposure to smartphone advertising.
72
67
49
60
60
41
71
68
45
27
59
51
52
57
74
77
58
17
21
39
65
11
22
88
35
48
41
65
35
25
45
14
4
21
26
28
19
37
11
4
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
United States
Canada
France
Germany
Italy
Poland
Spain
United Kingdom
Russia
Ukraine
Turkey
Jordan
Lebanon
Palestinian territories
Israel
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Pakistan
Philippines
South Korea
Vietnam
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Mexico
Peru
Venezuela
Burkina Faso
Ethiopia
Ghana
Kenya
Nigeria
Senegal
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda
Smartphone Ownership Rate
42
Correlations
Smartphone
Ownership
Internet Use
Smartphone Ownership
Pearson Correlation 1 .948**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 40 40
Internet Use
Pearson Correlation .948**
1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 40 40
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Table – 4.2 Correlation between Smartphone Ownership and Internet use. Data Source: Poushter (2016)
The above table shows provides a correlation analysis between smartphone ownership
and internet use in the 40 selected countries. According to the table, there is a significant
association between the two variables, as the sig value is less than the 0.05 threshold. The
table also shows strong (large) positive association (0.948) between smartphone ownership
and internet use i.e. increasing ownership of smartphone influences the use of internet
worldwide, which may also increase the interaction with online mobile ads.
4.3. Descriptive Statistics
This section provides an overview of the research participants by indicating their
gender, the time spent online on a smartphone, and the interaction of the users with Mobile
Ad.
Gender
Frequency Percent
Valid
Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid
Male 83 58.5 58.5 58.5
Female 59 41.5 41.5 100.0
Total 142 100.0 100.0
Table – 4.3 Gender Distributions
According to the above table, majority of the respondents in the study are male,
which are 58.5% of the total respondents. The numbers of the female participants are 59 that
are 41.5% of the total participants. The percentage distribution of the respondents’ gender is
also illustrated in the following chart:
43
Figure – 4.2 Gender Distributions
Time Spent Online
Time Categories Frequency Percent
Valid
Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid
Less than 1 Hour 36 25.4 25.4 25.4
1 to 3 Hours 74 52.1 52.1 77.5
3 to 6 Hours 26 18.3 18.3 95.8
More than 6 Hours 6 4.2 4.2 100.0
Total 142 100.0 100.0
Table – 4.4 Time spent online using Smartphone
The table 4.4 presents the respondents’ percentage average daily time spent online
using their smartphones. According to the table, majority of the participants (university
students), on average, have a daily online usage in between 1 to 3 hours, which are 52.1 % of
the research population. 25.4% of respondents have a daily online use of less than 1 hour
through their smartphone. Only 6 participants out of the total 142 spend more than 6 hours
online.
Interaction with Mobile Ad
Frequency Percent
Valid
Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid
Social Networking 29 20.4 20.4 20.4
Web Surfing 15 10.6 10.6 31.0
Watching Videos 22 15.5 15.5 46.5
Gaming 28 19.7 19.7 66.2
Using Smartphone Apps 44 31.0 31.0 97.2
Others 4 2.8 2.8 100.0
58%
42%
Gender Distribution
Male
Female
44
Total 142 100.0 100.0
Table – 4.5 Interaction with Mobile Ad through different channels
The research study also examines that using which online channels the students
mostly interact with or view advertisement on their smartphones. According to the above
statistics, majority of the respondents (31%) consider smartphone apps as a channel which
mostly causes interaction with ads, followed by the participants who consider social
networking (20.4%) and gaming (19.7%), as the most widely used smartphone ad platforms.
Figure – 4.3 Interaction with Mobile Ad through different channels
The figure show that, among the six categories, majority of the university students
view online ad mostly using their smartphone applications, followed social networks,
gaming, videos, web surfing and other channels.
4.4. Reliability Test
The test of reliability is performed in a research study to evaluate the degree of
internal consistency or stability of the observations, research instrument, survey or a test. It
measures/examines the degree to which consistent results are generated by an assessment
tool. The current research thesis uses Cronbach’s alpha (α) to examine reliability, which
ranges from 0 to 1. The reliability of each construct (related to smartphone advertising and
customer engagement) are tested and presented in the following table.
20.4
10.6
15.5
19.7
31.0
2.8
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
Social
Networking
Web Surfing Watching
Videos
Gaming Using
Smartphone
Apps
Others
Interaction with Mobile Ad %
45
Reliability Statistics
Variables/Constructs
Cronbach's
Alpha
N of
Items
Irritation .989 4
Entertainment .983 4
Informativeness .982 4
Credibility .932 3
Customer Engagement .987 4
Table – 4.6 Reliability Test
According to the table, the Cronbach's Alpha values of each of the four constructs of
smartphone advertising (Irritation, Entertainment, Informativeness, and Credibility) and
Customer Engagement are greater than the minimum acceptable value of 0.7, which indicates
high degree of internal consistency. It shows that the constructs’ test items produce similar
results.
Item-Total Statistics
Items
Scale
Mean if
Item
Deleted
Scale
Variance
if Item
Deleted
Corrected
Item-Total
Correlation
Cronbach's
Alpha if
Item
Deleted
I1 12.7183 4.374 .986 .981
I2 12.7394 4.364 .967 .986
I3 12.7465 4.347 .962 .987
I4 12.7535 4.471 .967 .986
E1 12.2746 5.038 .974 .974
E2 12.2676 4.963 .981 .972
E3 12.2958 4.976 .969 .975
E4 12.3239 5.043 .908 .992
IN1 11.8873 3.278 .976 .970
IN2 11.8732 3.246 .945 .978
IN3 11.9155 3.255 .970 .972
IN4 11.8803 3.383 .925 .984
C1 8.4366 2.120 .929 .847
C2 8.4789 2.095 .867 .895
C3 8.5211 2.266 .788 .957
CE1 9.8873 14.214 .987 .977
CE2 9.8521 14.396 .972 .981
CE3 9.8451 14.799 .956 .985
CE4 9.8169 14.647 .950 .987
Table – 4.7 Items –total statistics
46
In the table 4.7, the values of Cronbach's Alpha are presented if the corresponding
items are deleted. The table also shows the scale mean and scale variances, if an item is
deleted from the construct, and the corrected item-total correlation. In this table I, E, IN, C,
and CE represent Irritation, Entertainment, Informativeness, Credibility, and Customer
Engagement respectively. According to the table, the Cronbach's Alpha increases for their
constructs after the deletion of E4 and C3. However, due to existing high degree of internal
consistency, the study does not delete the two items from Entertainment and Credibility.
4.5. Factor Analysis
Factor analysis is an important technique, which is used to summarize or reduce the
number of given/measured items or variables. The method reduces the number of items into
unobservable (latent) variables. That is, it explains the variability among the correlated and
observed variables in terms of factors (unobserved variables). The current study uses the
method of Principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce the 19 items. It is a technique which
reduces items into smaller components (Jolliffe, 2002). In this research study, it is assumed
that for running PCA, ordinal variables can be used, which is a widely used practice among
the researchers for factor analysis. Following table provides the details of the number of
items in each construct/variable.
Constructs Number of Items
Irritation 4 (I1 – I4)
Entertainment 4 (E1 – E4
Informativeness 4 (IN1 – IN2)
Credibility 3 (C1 – C3)
Customer Engagement 4 (CE1 – CE4)
Table – 4.8 Numbers of Items
Before running PCA, it is important to check appropriateness of factor analysis and
the sampling adequacy.
KMO and Bartlett's Test
KMO Measure of Sampling Adequacy .711
Bartlett's Test of Sphericity
Approx. Chi-Square 5143.434
Df 171
Sig. 0.000
Table – 4.9 Appropriateness of factor analysis and Sampling Adequacy
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf
Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final   The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement  .Pdf

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Alkis Meletiou Thesis Final The Impact Of Mobile Advertising On Customer Engagement .Pdf

  • 1. Final Management Project Name: Alkis Meletiou ID: 142349 Professor: Dr. Jovana Stanisljevic Academic Year: 2014 – 2016 Master’s Program: MSc in Business Development Topic: ‘‘The Impact of Mobile Advertising on Customer Engagement ”
  • 2. 2 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................4 1.1. Background .....................................................................................................................4 1.2. Statement of Research Problem and Research Motivation .............................................8 1.3. Research Aim and Objectives .........................................................................................8 1.4. Research Questions .........................................................................................................9 1.5. Significance and Purpose of the Study............................................................................9 1.6. Scope of the Study.........................................................................................................10 1.7. Outline of the Chapters .................................................................................................10 Chapter 2: Literature Review...................................................................................................12 2.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................12 2.2. Mobile Advertising .......................................................................................................12 2.3. Customer Engagement ..................................................................................................15 2.4. Mobile advertising and the Role of Smartphones .........................................................19 2.5. The Influence of Social Media in Mobile Advertising and Establishing Customer Engagement..........................................................................................................................22 2.6. The Impact of Mobile Advertising on Consumers........................................................24 Chapter 3: Methodology ..........................................................................................................29 3.1. Theoretical Discussion ..................................................................................................29 3.2. Research Approach .......................................................................................................30 3.3. Research Purpose ..........................................................................................................31 3.4. Research Design............................................................................................................32 3.5. Data Source ...................................................................................................................32 3.6. Research Population......................................................................................................33 3.7. Sampling Strategy .........................................................................................................33 3.8. Sample Size...................................................................................................................34 3.9. Research Instrument......................................................................................................34 3.10. Statistical Methods ......................................................................................................34 3.11. Variable Description ...................................................................................................35 3.12. Model Hypotheses.......................................................................................................37 3.13. Ethical Consideration ..................................................................................................38 3.14. Methodology Summary...............................................................................................38
  • 3. 3 Chapter 4: Data Analysis .........................................................................................................40 4.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................40 4.2. Smartphone Use ............................................................................................................40 4.3. Descriptive Statistics.....................................................................................................42 4.4. Reliability Test ..............................................................................................................44 4.5. Factor Analysis..............................................................................................................46 4.6. Correlation Analysis......................................................................................................50 4.7. Regression Analysis ......................................................................................................52 Chapter 5: Conclusion..............................................................................................................56 5.1. Conclusion.....................................................................................................................56 5.2. Theoretical Implications................................................................................................63 5.3. Managerial Implications................................................................................................64 5.4. Recommendations .........................................................................................................64 Chapter 6: Limitations and Areas of Future Research.............................................................66 6.1. Research Limitations.....................................................................................................66 6.2. Areas of Future Research ..............................................................................................67 References................................................................................................................................69
  • 4. 4 The Impact of Mobile Advertising on Customer Engagement Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Background In the recent years, the world is experiencing explosive growth in digital advertising in the mobile channels. According to Tierney (2014), due to its popularity and effectiveness, there is significant growth of resources allocated by major brands on mobile advertising, which is expected to quadruple by 2017 to $36 billion. It is found that, in the consumer market, mobile ads can have a significant influence, which consequently affects their purchase intention. However, the extent of significance and power of mobile advertisement may differ with high and low involvement products, and the importance and practical use of the products (Bart, Stephen & Sarvary, 2014). With an increasing mobile devices’ penetration rate, for the marketers, a new opportunity is created by mobile advertising to transmit their promotional messages. The Mobile advertising is regarded as a business of encouraging consumers, using a wireless medium or channel, to purchase goods and services. It allows sending of unique, customized, and personalized advertisement. Mobile advertising can engage mobile phone users through different communication channels, including SMS – short message service, MMS – multimedia messaging service, and the mobile internet (Wong, Tan, Tan & Ooi, 2015). As compared to other digital advertising formats, mobile is growing faster. However, there has been a disparity, historically, between the amount of advertisement expenditure on the medium and the amount of time spent on the mobile devices, smartphones and tablets. It is expected that as the enthusiasm and trend in the mobile-optimized advertisement formats are increasing and marketers are learning its effective use, the gap between the advertisement expenditure and mobile use will narrow substantially. Especially, in the United States, the mobile ad expenditure is growing significantly by a five-year CAGR of 43%, and would reach $42 billion in 2018 (Hoelzel, 2015). A unique opportunity is provided by mobile advertising on a personal level, to connect with the consumers, with ads that reflect their need states. The global smartphone adoption, in the year 2014, reached 25% of the world population, which was an all-time high. The smartphone proliferation around the world has provided an excellent opportunity to the advertisers to target and attract consumers at a higher level, with click-for-directions and click-for-call ads. According to Marin (2014), the mobile
  • 5. 5 device adoption, as compared to desktop, continues to grow amongst the consumers. The mobile advertising budget, due to the shift in the digital advertising paradigm, is predicted to exceed the advertising budget related to the desktop. Figure – 1.1. Global Media Advertisement Expenditure. Source: Marin (2014) The figure 1.1 is showing the global mobile advertisement spend, along with the predicted values. The mobile ad expenditure, as illustrated by the bar chart, in increasing each year, and it is predicted to reach the level of $94.91 billion of annual mobile ad spend.
  • 6. 6 Figure – 1.2. Global Mobile Advertising Spend Growth – 2014. Source: Marin (2014) The above figure is illustrating the percentage growth in the global mobile advertising expenditure for the year 2014. According to the figure, the Eurozone recorded the highest growth in mobile advertising spending during the year, which equals 46.8%. The United States, in this context, is following the trend and recorded 34.4% growth. The mobile advertisement expenditure is also increased significantly in the UK and Australia region by 22.6% and 8.3% respectively. Customer engagement is an important concept in marketing, which defines the relationship between a customer and a brand. The businesses around the world realize the fact that customer loyalty with a brand is influenced by frequent positive engagements (Vivek, Beatty & Morgan, 2012). According to Carter (2015), with every brand interaction, customer engagement is built (or damaged), while the brand is connected, with each of those interactions, to the needs and preferences of the customers. The highly engaged customers’ behaviour can be represented by the characteristics: they are product/service evangelists, purchasers, responders and loyal. Customers are now more powerful, with the rise of social and mobile technologies. It is now important to the marketers to develop strategies to connect and engage with their customers, due to the increasing ability of the customers to find information and to remain in an always-connected status, which provides control of their experience. Businesses, in
  • 7. 7 today’s ever-changing landscape, are striving hard to offer personalized and real-time experiences to their customers. Customer engagement now days is taking many forms, whether a sale promotion mobile push notification or an order confirming email. Businesses have an opportunity, by promoting consistent and relevant communication, to engage with their audiences. Companies around the world have developed and transformed their marketing strategies to enhance their focus on strengthening customer engagement. To better engage with their customers, the key strategies that companies are adopting, include providing real-time benefits to the customers; using digital technologies or social media as a tool to provide more value; Simplifying the customers’ experience; analysing customer data to uncover hidden correlations; embracing and leveraging customer feedback; and anticipating the customers’ needs (Maguire, 2015). The use of Mobile advertising by companies to market their products or services is also one the key strategies to enhance or strengthen customer engagement. This research project aims to establish an association between the above two constructs: Mobile advertising and customer engagement. It is based on the evaluation of the impact or influence of mobile advertisement on customer engagement. For this purpose, the study measures and evaluates the two variables, and proposes a conceptual framework. In the light of the proposed framework, the research study can examine the relationship statistically. Globally, for the sales and marketing teams, the tools of attracting and retaining customers have gained significance in the context of enhancing customer engagement. For businesses, the concept has become a priority in the recent years, and will become their primary growth driver. The companies and their sales and marketing teams are therefore striving hard to find innovate and new ways to engage their customers. To close or minimise the gap between the enterprise and consumer; increase productivity; foster collaboration among employees; and enhance interaction with the customers, the companies are effectively adopting mobile applications and devices. According to Valenzuela (2014), the main methods to drive customer engagement using mobile technologies include focused content and solution dashboards, simplified work process, and anytime access via apps. The use of mobile advertising is a significant source of competitive advantage and customer engagement. It is predicted that the business models in future would focus more on establishing human relationships that are more personalized, between the company and the customers, while mobile advertising is poised to target and bridge the gap.
  • 8. 8 1.2. Statement of Research Problem and Research Motivation From the academic point of view, the subject of mobile marketing and advertising is studied widely by the researchers globally (Tsang, Ho, & Liang, 2004; Bart, Stephen & Sarvary, 2014; Johnston et al., 2012; Kim & Han, 2012; Wong, Tan, Tan & Ooi, 2015). Previous literature, in the recent years, has also covered the concept of customer engagement, especially with the perspective of online media (Sashi, 2012; Hammedi et al. 2015; Gummeris, Liljander, Weman & Pihlström, 2012). However, the specific association between the two variables that is the impact of mobile advertising on customer engagement is not widely explored. Therefore, there is a need to develop and examine the relationship and measure the impact of mobile advertising on customer engagement, which would contribute to the existing literature on the subject. The research study specifically focuses on the smartphone advertising, which utilises Internet to communicate with the customers. Among the smartphone users and the existing and potential customers, the project is concentrating on the segment of university students. With an enormous expansion in the use and reliance on mobile devices and social media, there has been a shift in the direction and speed of interactions, with the expectation of the consumers, in their conversations with the brand, to have a real-time relevance. Now, the ability of a company to build long-lasting relationship with their customers depends on effective communication, at one time, across a variety of channels. A continual stream of two-way dialogue is required between the brand and the customer, which is complemented by the relevance and speed of communication. The marketers and the advertisers, to effectively target and engage their customers, are coming up with innovative ideas, to attract new customers and enhance the experience of existing ones. Effective mobile advertising is a significant addition to the advertising campaign for a product or service, and an important tool for value creation. The research study is motivated by the significance of the two concepts: mobile advertising and customer engagement, and the association between the two variables. It aims to explore the impact of the determinants/components of mobile advertising on customer engagement statistically, which would lead us to understand the relationship, with the perspective of the customers (university students). 1.3. Research Aim and Objectives The research study aims to explore the relationship between mobile advertising and customer engagement. As discussed, the research study is specifically focusing on the
  • 9. 9 smartphone ad channel within the mobile advertising, which utilises the Internet to communicate with the customers and examining the market segment of university students. For this purpose, it proposes the following research objectives: I. To identify and measure the components/determinants of smartphone advertising. The smartphone advertising may consist of mobile web advertising, mobile video and application advertising units. II. To examine the impact of the components of the smartphone (mobile) advertising on customer engagement i.e. to investigate the significance and nature of influence and evaluate how the viewers (university students) of internet-based mobile ads using their smartphones get engaged with the advertised product/brand. 1.4. Research Questions The main research question of the study is: “What is the impact of the components of smartphone (mobile) advertising on customer engagement i.e. how the viewers (university students) of internet-based mobile ads, using their smartphones, get engaged with the advertised product/brand based on the factors?” On the basis of the above research questions, following sub-questions are formulated: I. What are the principal components or determinants of smartphone advertising (which comprises of mobile web advertising, mobile video and application advertising units)? II. What is nature of relationship between the components of smartphone advertising on customer engagement? The research study, to evaluate and answer the research questions, would identify the determinants of smartphone advertising with the help of the literature review. It will also develop a conceptual framework/model to explain the relationships. The impact of the components of mobile advertising on customer engagement is measured statistically. In other words, the study is evaluating, whether or not, the components or the associated mobile advertising variables are significantly influencing customer engagement, which can be termed as a marketing success. 1.5. Significance and Purpose of the Study There is a tremendous increase in the use of mobile/smartphone globally. In the recent years, for communications, the involvements of using mobile devices have become an
  • 10. 10 essential part of daily activities of the consumers. The higher penetration rate of mobile phones coupled with the continuing evolution of Internet has created a new marketing activities’ platform i.e. mobile advertising. The substantial use of mobile internet due to high speed and affordable mobile data connections and availability of Wi-Fi technology, have enabled frequent and easy access to the advertisements and have stimulated marketers to adopt the specific medium to target consumers. With the perspective of consumer engagement, businesses are striving hard to engage the customer, which affects their sales and revenue. The level of engagement of the customers influences customer loyalty and the company’s profitability (Sorenson & Adkins, 2014). According to Koetsier (2015), there is a massive media shift, where major brands and companies are embracing mobile advertising. For instance, Disney achieved seven times more customer engagement using mobile advertising and targeting the smart audience. Therefore, it is important for businesses to engage their customers in understanding their expectations and need, discover influential factors for their involvement, increase retention, enhance company reputation and brand loyalty, and acquire new customers. The purpose of the study, as discussed before, is to examine the influence of mobile phone advertising on customer engagement. The research would not only identify and explain the main components of mobile advertising but also evaluate their impact on customer engagement, which is useful to analyse the effectiveness of the mobile advertising campaign adopted by the marketers. 1.6. Scope of the Study The scope of a research study defines the level of detail and the area of knowledge covered. In this dissertation, to evaluate the association between mobile advertising and customer engagement, the scope of the study is limited to the smartphone ad channel, which consists of the mobile web advertising, mobile video and application advertising units. The research study, in the context of customer engagement, is focusing on the GEM University students to evaluate the research problem. 1.7. Outline of the Chapters The first chapter i.e. the introductory part of the dissertation includes the background of the research (related to mobile advertising and customer engagement), Statement of Research Problem and Research Motivation, the research aim and objectives, research
  • 11. 11 questions, the significance and the scope of the study. The outline or overview of the other chapters of the research study is as follows: I. Chapter 2 - Literature Review: This chapter covers the theoretical part of the thesis. It discusses previous literature/studies/work/empirical researches on the concepts of mobile advertising, customer engagement, and the association between the two factors. The chapter constitutes a major part of the study. It also identifies and highlights the literature gap and the key findings. II. Chapter 3 – Methodology: In this chapter, the research approach, purpose and research design are discussed. It also elaborates the research population, sample size, data source of the study, research instrument, statistical techniques applied to the data, proposed model and hypotheses, and the variables description. The aim of the chapter is to provide a strategy/guideline about how the research problem/questions are evaluated. III. Chapter 4 - Data Analysis: The chapter analyses the research hypotheses statistically. The data for the study, comprising of the variables/items related to mobile advertising and customer engagement, are collected using multiple item questionnaire (Likert scale), from the respondents directly, and analysed in the chapter using descriptive statistics, factor analysis and regression analysis. The chapter also includes the discussion of the findings. IV. Chapter 5 - Conclusion and Recommendations: The chapter summarises and concludes the research thesis, and discusses whether the proposed hypotheses are accepted/rejected. It also discusses the implications of the subject explored and provides recommendations. V. Chapter 6 – Limitations and Areas of future research: This chapter of the dissertation identifies the limitations and other relevant issues. The chapter also suggests/recommends areas of future research.
  • 12. 12 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1. Introduction This chapter of the research study, while explaining the impact of Mobile advertising on Customer Engagement, reviews the literature on the subject to explore the problem under discussion and identify the main components and issues pertaining to mobile/smartphone advertising and the concept of customer engagement. The chapter reviews and discusses the theories and empirical analyses related to mobile advertising, customer engagement, the role of smartphones, the influence of social media with the perspective of mobile advertising and customer engagement, and the Impact of Mobile Advertising on Consumers. 2.2. Mobile Advertising Mobile advertising, in today’s world, is regarded as one of the most adopted and fast- growing formats of advertising. The global spending, in 2013, was approximately $16.7 billion, in the context of mobile advertising. By the year 2017, the expenditure is expected to exceed $62.8 billion. In mobile advertising, the method of mobile display advertising (MDA) is found to be the most prevalent type, which comprises of banners in mobile applications and mobile web pages. In increasing the purchase intention and the favourable attitude of the consumers towards the products, Bart, Stephen, and Sarvary (2014) examines the association between the MDA campaigns and the product characteristics. The data on a large scale, during the time span of 2007 -2010, is collected involving 54 United States MDA campaigns and 39,946 consumer, revealed that the impact of MDA campaigns on purchase intentions and favourable attitudes of the consumers is significant and positive at the time when the associated products were utilitarian and higher involvement. The study employs established theories of persuasion and information processing to explain the research findings, and suggests that the effective application of MDAs stimulate product recall in the consumers. Johnston, Komulainen, Ristola and Ulkuniemi (2012) describe that due to significant innovations in technology, the landscape of mobile service is changing quickly. It is however unclear, due to the emergent nature of business field related to mobile, that what would be the success’s driving forces and what kind of services would succeed. In the context of mobile advertising and mobile services, the study identifies the critical value elements, with a focus on small retail firms. The small retailers not only discover the channel of advertising as useful and enticing, but also find the full exploitation of this new medium of communication
  • 13. 13 challenging. According to the study, the rapid development of information technology has played a significant role in the changing the current business scenario. In order to facilitate and strengthen the businesses, new mobile technologies are increasingly utilized by the companies, which also ensure competitiveness in a turbulent business environment. The study emphasizes that it is important for the advertiser (using mobile advertising) and the customers to actively involve and engage in the mobile service’s co-creation, it is difficult to reach the potential of value creation. Chen and Hsieh (2012) examine the social impact, trends and key attributes of personalized mobile advertising. According to the study, as means of communication, advertising media creates different communication and marketing results among customers. Different traditional ad channels, including radio, TV, magazine, and newspaper, over the years, have provided a one-way media by communicating and broadcasting information. The study explains that advertising is now using the mode of interactive communications with the widespread internet application. In the advent of mobile phone devices and 3G mobile communication systems, the preferences of consumers can be pre-identified and a multimedia format can be used to deliver the advertising message, at the right place and at the right time. Meeting the needs of the consumer using personalized mobile advertising has now become an important issue in the new advertisement possibility. The research study, in the context of personalized mobile advertising message, identifies the key personalized attributes using the fuzzy Delphi method. According to the results, six important personalized advertisements’ design attributes are identified, which includes type of mobile device, brand, interest, promotion, preference, and price. To ensure the proper use of advertising resources and facilitate the mobile advertising industry development, the study can serve as a guideline source. The use of mobile phones or m-devices has now become a vital component of daily activities of consumers. In addition, the high penetration rate of mobile phones along with continuing evolution of internet has created a new marketing activities platform, which is called as mobile advertising. With the increasing adoption and use mobile phone technologies, the concept of mobile advertising is widely embraced and implemented by the marketers. In the recent years, for communications, the involvements of using mobile devices, have become an essential part of daily activities of the consumers. The higher penetration rate of mobile phones coupled with the continuing evolutions of Internet, have created a new marketing activities’ platform i.e. mobile advertising. According to Wong,
  • 14. 14 Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015), the emergence of mobile advertising has set a new advertising platform, and it continued to advance. In using mobile advertising, the study evaluates the factors affecting behavioural intention of consumers, by proposing the Use of Technology (UT) and Unified Theory of Acceptance (UTA) model extension, with mobile skilfulness, perceived enjoyment and information technology’s perceived innovativeness. The findings of study, extracted using structural equation modelling, reveal that the UT/UTA constructs have significant positive impact on the behavioural intention. To the mobile marketers and the scholars, the research model established in the study, provides useful insights to facilitate mobile advertising growth, in the mobile market environment. Scharl, Dickinger and Murphy (2005) discuss the success factors and the diffusion of mobile marketing. According to the study, the major benefit of mobile advertising is direct communication or contact with the consumers. The study reviews and investigates the concept of mobile marketing, and evaluates its most successful form i.e. SMS. It conducts qualitative interviews with European experts and performs Fortune Global 500 websites’ quantitative analysis to evaluate the subject. The diffusion of SMS technology and the mobile marketing campaigns is explored using the content analysis. The study develops a conceptual model with the help of the qualitative survey and the literature review, for successful SMS advertising, which distinguishes the success factors categories: media characteristics (media cost, product fit, transmission process and device technology) and message (content, consumer control and personalization), which influence consumer attention, intention and behaviour. The advertising channel of mobile phone has evolved from the SMS advertisements to the mobile web ads, due to rapid advances in mobile communications. Li and Stoller (2007) evaluate the mobile web advertising effectiveness with the help of field experiment. Using a survey design (pre-campaign and during-campaign), the research examined the influence of mobile advertising over brand association, brand recall, and purchase intent. According to the results of the study, the impact of exposure to mobile advertisement is substantial on brand recall and moderate on purchase intent and brand association. The study discusses that it is important to measure the effective of mobile advertising, which could be done using traditional marketing industry metrics. Kaasinen and Yoon (2013), in the context of mobile advertising, proposes a service engagement model. According to the study, the use of smartphone devices in increasing
  • 15. 15 continuously, and more people are carrying smart mobile devices. However, it is often argued that the mobile advertisements are not context-sensitive. They might be not relevant to interests and current surroundings of the users. Therefore, the study stresses on the need for a service engagement model, for smartphone/mobile advertising, which is based on the behaviour of the users. According to the study, the service engagement model consists of the sensing, analysis, personalization, engagement and advertising phases. The study reveals that for mobile advertising, the service engagement model, which is based on the user behaviour, provides various benefits for the users and companies, which includes increased interest and care for the customer and more sales revenue for the companies. 2.3. Customer Engagement In the context of customer engagement, previous literature has proposed a number of engagement-based concepts, which include customer engagement behaviour, customer brand engagement, user-generated hotel reviews, customer engagement cycle, online customer engagement, community engagement, customer engagement value, customer engagement behaviour’s co-creation. Previous research studies have focused on the concept in terms of its behavioural manifestations toward a brand/company, while others have defined it in terms of psychological state (Cabiddu, Carlo, & Piccoli, 2014). Gummerus, Lijander, Weman and Pihlstrom (2012) discuss that the concept of customer engagement has recently emerged to capture the behavioural activities of the customers toward a frim. According to the study, both customers and the firms are offered new ways to engage by the brand communities. The companies are aiming to learn from and about customers, disseminate information, influence perceptions of members about the brand, and engage with loyal customers. The behaviours that go beyond transactions are termed as customer engagement. More specifically, they are referred as the behavioural manifestations of the customers, resulting from motivational drivers, having a firm or brand focus beyond purchase and entail interactive experiences of the customers with the brand. The study identifies that customer engagement can be classified into Transactional Engagement Behaviours (TEB) and the Community Engagement Behaviours (CEB). Moreover, it identifies three benefits of the relationship, which includes economic benefits, entertainment benefits, and social benefits. The benefits received are largely influenced by the engagement behaviours. The study further reveals that the concept of CE is relatively new and has scarce empirical research and theoretical evidence.
  • 16. 16 Since the early twentieth century, economies and societies have changed dramatically, changing the concept of community accordingly. The consumption communities came into existence, with the interactive digital media introduction, where the social identities of the customers are based on their consumptive role. Hammedi, Kandampully, Zhang and Bouquiaux (2015) explain that the online brand communities’ emergence and success have attracted considerable interest in the marketplace. The study focuses on online customer engagement, and determines the conditions in which social environments are created by people, and investigates the connections’ drivers to a focal online brand community. The study examines the multi-community networks’ composition, focusing on the centrality and density of brand communities. It proposes a model, in the light of previous literature, which examines social relationships of the customers with multiple brand communities. The research performs a survey covering eight brand communities, which encompass 290 participants, and uses structural equation modelling for the analysis. According to the analysis, the connections to other communities are enhanced by personal identification with a core community of brand. In addition, a functionality-driven approach is chosen by some core brand members, in creating social environments. The study focuses on the significance of strengthening the customer-brand association and extends the understanding of the motivation of online brand community. According to Sashi (2012), the concept of customer engagement, in the last few years, has emerged as a topic of great interest worldwide, to consultants and managers in diverse companies and industries. The emergence of new digital tools and technologies and the continued evolution of internet has paralleled the enhancing interest in customer engagement. The ability of social media to establish conversations and its interactive nature has excited the marketers to better focus on the customers and satisfy their needs. The study explains that customer engagement, by providing superior values, focuses on satisfying customers to build commitment and trust in long-term relationships and develops a customer engagement cycle model. A customer engagement cycle is constituted in the process of building and developing customer engagement, which consists of the phases/stages of connection, communication, contentment, retention, advocacy, commitment and engagement. Moreover, the research study presents four types of relationships in the customer engagement matrix, depending on the degree of emotional bonds and relational exchange, which include fans, loyal customers, delighted customers, and transactional customers. The study reveals that customers are turned
  • 17. 17 into ‘fans’ through customer engagement, however it is important for the customers to process though the customer engagement cycle. Vivek, Beatty, and Morgan (2012) explore the scope and nature of customer engagement, which is considered as important relationship marketing’s component. The study defines the concept of customer engagement as the intensity of the participation of an individual in and connection with the offerings and/or activities of an organization, initiated by the organization or the customer. The study argues that customer engagement is composed of social, behavioural, emotional or cognitive elements. According to the model provided by the research, regarding customer engagement, the involvement and participation of potential and current customers serve as Customer engagement’s antecedents, while brand community involvement, loyalty, word of mouth, affective commitment, trust, and value are potential consequences. During the time of market volatility and intense competition, for companies, customer loyalty is regarded as a promising revenue source. The executives of the companies are now increasingly relying on creating and managing customer value, and achieving customer loyalty. According to Verma (2014), Customer engagement is the key to establish customer loyalty. It is a component of relationship marketing, which aids reinforcement of customer experience and interaction. Gambetti and Graffigna (2010) discuss the concept of customer engagement, and explain that, in the brand management strategies, the concept is emerging as a central concern. The study stresses on the need to understand the notion of customer engagement as it is new in the market, and therefore it is important to understand the true nature of engagement. The study, using T-lab software, conducts a systematic and an exploratory content analysis of the customer engagement concept in the communication and marketing literature. The study raises both methodological and managerial issues regarding the practice and concept of customer engagement. Šonkova and Grabowska (2015) investigate the best way for customer engagement by comparing the pros and cons of relationship and transactional marketing. Using the data provided by senior-level global marketers (100), the study provides relevant insights. It outlines the essence of relationship and transactional marketing, and the presents the data analysis. According to the results, there is a growing role of relationship marketing on customer engagement. Companies around the world are using the concept of relationship
  • 18. 18 marketing to reach and exceed expectations of the customers by implementing proper strategy of relationship marketing. Yu, Veeck and You (2015) examine the customer engagement behaviour by developing and validating scale. The research study argues that previous literature on the behaviour related to customer engagement is mostly descriptive and lacks empirical evidence. The study defines the customer engagement behaviour (CEB) based on the value co-creation theory and Service-dominant Logic. The CEB is defined as the behavioural manifestations of the customers that have a firm or brand focus resulting from motivational drivers. The scale development consists of item generation; item purification; and validation of the scale. Using a sample 421 respondents, where data is collected through questionnaire survey, the study examines the influence of customer relationship, brand attachment, self-enhancement, and brand loyalty on the CEB. The hypotheses testing reveal that each of four variables are significantly and positively associated with CEB. The study suggests that a company should consider customers as co-creator and give up product dominant logic. A firm/company may adopt a strategy of inviting customers to join development of new product to influence and increase their engagement with the product. In the marketing literature, the concept of customer engagement (CE) is relatively new and receiving considerable attention in the recent years. In the context of social media, the phenomenon is particularly important due to abundance of social networking channels, online communities, and customer support forums, which provides an opportunity to increase interaction with the customer and enhance CE. According to Jayasingh and Venkatesh (2015) CE can be defined as behavioural manifestation of the customers towards a firm or brand. It is also observed that, in enhancing the performance of a business, engaged customers can play a critical role in the form of WOM about the brands, services and products. According to the study, customer brand engagement may be influenced on the social networks via total posts, total fans, status posts, link posts, picture posts, and video posts. The research study reveals that the CE’s key determinant is the frequency and content-related brand posting activities, and not the number of fans following on the Facebook. Roberts and Alpert (2010) discuss that a business success is largely dependent on the decision of the customers to purchase its products or use its services. It is a well-known fact that businesses need to create ‘engaged customers’, rather than encouraging on-off purchases, which can significantly influence their performance in terms of growth and revenue.
  • 19. 19 According to the study, the usual ways of operation of the businesses do not help in creating or achieving high levels of CE. For promotion of CE, a business may focus on service delivery, internal marketing with the business, and branding to consumers. The research study proposes a total engagement model, which combines all factors into an effective and efficient system. It identifies five degrees or levels of CE, which consist of customer purchases; customer loyalty towards the service/product; customer readiness in buying; customer recommends the product/service; and finally customer promotes and advocates the product/service (level 1 to 5). The study proposes to include key strategic elements in the total CE model, which include customer experience, internal culture, brand, and customer value proposition. These factors/elements, for an organisation, are critical to create engaged customers. The study further reveals the steps involved in the total engagement model’s implementation. These steps comprise considering customer economics, governance, design, engage, measure, embed, and performance management. 2.4. Mobile advertising and the Role of Smartphones Kim and Han (2014) describe that there is a significant increase in the global mobile advertising revenue, and in the year 2016, it is expected to rise to $24.6 billion. According to the study, the smartphone use has radically increased over the years. In the context of South Korea, in the first quarter of 2013, the 73% of the population owns smartphone, while in the United States, 35% of adults own a smartphone. The high degree of smartphone use has expanded the mobile advertising market drastically and has influenced companies and advertisers to focus on effective mobile phone/smartphone advertising. The research study, in the context of mobile phone advertisement, provides a comprehensive advertising model by linking flow theory, personalization, and a web advertising model to understand the antecedents of influence processes and purchase intention. According to the research findings, the purchase intention of the consumers is enhanced by flow experience and the advertising value i.e. in the context of smartphone advertisement, advertising flow and value are the key purchase intention’s determinants, where advertising value is positively associated with incentives, entertainment and credibility. The study provides an advertisement characteristics’ comparison between the traditional and the mobile mode of advertisement, which is illustrated in the following table:
  • 20. 20 Advertisement Mobile Traditional Medium Mobile Device Print, Television, Radio, Outdoor Advertising Customer adhesion Very High No Direction Bi-direction One Direction Amount of Message Limited Limited Timeliness Very High Low Connection online and offline Yes No Mobility Yes No Table – 1: Comparison between the traditional and the mobile advertisement. Source: Kim and Han (2014) For digital marketers and advertisers, mobile media are considered as compelling channels due to their potential to support mass communication, one-to-many, and one-to-one communication both effectively and economically. Moreover, the mobile and smartphone marketing reach is large and growing. Watson, McCarthy and Rowley (2014), in the current smartphone era, examine customer attitude towards mobile marketing. The study, using online questionnaire, confirms the negative attitude of consumers in the pre-smart phone era towards mobile marketing communications. Despite increased functionality of mobile phones and the frequency of use, the attitudes of the consumers persist, in the smart phone era. The consumers prefer exercising control over their interaction as they perceive the mode for personal communication. The findings of the study suggests the acceptance of the consumers regarding mobile advertising can be increased by creating sense of being in control, trust- building, permission marketing and entertaining and useful website content. The study also discusses that, for mobile marketing communications, the pull technologies hold particular promise. It explores the use and attitude towards QR code, which an important pull technology. However, the uptake is low despite of the potential of two-dimensional bar codes and QR codes. Based on the paradigm of Computer Are Social Actors, Kim (2014) examines the effects of specialization in mobile advertising, and evaluates whether a smartphone (specialized hardware agent) and an application has psychological effects on the users of smartphone, exposed to mobile ads. The results from an experiment over 80 participant suggest that greater trust in advertisement is induced by the specialist smartphones and
  • 21. 21 applications, along with an enhanced purchased intention as compared to generalist smartphones and applications. Moreover, the trust in advertisements mediates the effects of specialization. For customers and marketers, the use of personalized advertising has provided considerable benefits to develop long-term relationships. Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and Mattila (2015), in a restaurant context, examine the effect of personalization, irritation and privacy concern on the perceptions of Millennials. Over the past few years, a huge surge in mobile activity is witnessed by the hospitality industry, where the channel of communication is initiated by mobility allowing a more personalized way to interact and connect with the guests. The study collects data using an online self-administered survey, from 159 Millennials (university students). The research participants, before complete the survey, were asked to use the smartphone application of the restaurant for 30 days. Using the techniques of factor analysis, reliability testing, descriptive statistics, and regression analysis, the study examines the associations among the four variables/constructs: advertising avoidance, personalization, irritation, and privacy concern. According to the result of the study, there is a positive impact of advertising irritation over advertising avoidance, whereas, perceived personalization is less related, and privacy concern is having no relationship with advertising avoidance. The numbers of smartphone users around the world are increasing significantly. The trend is increasing not only in the developed states but also in the emerging and developing nations as well. The increasing smartphone trend has also influenced the use of internet and online apps, videos, music and games. Kim and Park (2013) discuss the consequences and antecedents of smartphone advertising. According to the study, the market of mobile phone advertising is rapidly expanding due the increased numbers of smartphone users. It is therefore important for the marketers to enhance the effectiveness of mobile/smartphone advertising. The study reveals there are numerous ways to evaluate the effectiveness of smartphone advertising, where customer engagement is regarded as a multi-dimensional and one of the most significant evaluation tool or method. The research study identifies personalisation and informativeness as the antecedents of engagement, whereas electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) and trust are taken as the engagement’s consequences. Based on a research survey, the study finds the influence of personalisation and informativeness is statistically significant and positive on customer engagement. In addition, engagement is positively affecting the consequences: e-WOM and trust.
  • 22. 22 2.5. The Influence of Social Media in Mobile Advertising and Establishing Customer Engagement Social media advertising can also be regarded as a source of mobile or web advertising, which has transformed the contemporary marketing and advertising approach. It is establishing connections between consumers and marketers by creating new opportunities and possibilities to enhance brand awareness and engagement among the consumers. Dehghani and Tumar (2015) examine the Facebook advertisement’s effectiveness, in enhancing the purchase intention of the consumers. The research study, using a multiple item questionnaire, and employing non-parametric Friedman test, and t-test finds that Facebook advertising is influencing the brand equity and brand image significantly, which subsequently contributes in affecting purchase intention of the consumers. According to Cabiddu, Carlo, and Piccoli (2014), despite the social media’s acknowledged importance for customer engagement, the understanding regarding this phenomenon is limited. The study adopts an affordance perspective in the context of customer engagement in tourism, and identifies three distinctive social media affordances: triggered engagement, customized engagement, and persistent engagement. It also examines the process of recognition, through which customers are engaged in social media by the organizations, which consists of co-perception, exteroception, and proprioception). Verma (2014) explains that, in triggering an active customer engagement, blogs and social networking websites plays a significant role, with advertisers and other community members. The social media emergence has reduced the boundaries and physical space between the customers with common interest, who were geographically dispersed. Blogs have been used effectively for customer engagement and corporate branding by companies like Facebook, Amazon, Marriot, Delta Airlines, Whole Foods, Zappos, and by different others around the world. The research study develops a framework for the effective use of blogs, which can be used by the marketers to communicate with customers. The research study, using content analysis and netnography, examines the social media presence and blogging practices of Indian companies and evaluates the blogs’ use as online engagement tool. According to the data analysis, the overall customer engagement is produced by the subject and the object’s interaction with underlying dimensions such as behaviour, emotions and cognition. The outcome of customer engagement (online and offline) is manifested by the interplay between various dimensions.
  • 23. 23 Over the last decade, a dramatic change is observed in the way of communication of the consumers, and in the mode of acquiring and exchanging information about the products they consume. According to Hennig-Thurau et al. (2010), the ‘new media’ can be defined as the website and other information channels and digital communications, where active consumers engage. The new media is characterized as digital, pro-active, real-time & memory, visible, ubiquitous, and have networks. There are various new media channels, including Twitter, Google, YouTube, and Facebook, which allows the customers to extend their reach and play a more active part as market players. The new media or channel of communication threatens the long established corporate strategies and business models, and at the same time provides new adaptive strategies for growth. The research study proposes a ‘pinball’ framework, describing the impact of new media on customer relationships and explains the key new media phenomena, which should be taken into account by the companies. The challenges for managers and researchers, for each phenomenon, relate to the successful management of customer interactions by using the new media; understanding consumer behaviour, and customers’ outcomes and activities effective measurement. The power of internet in today’s world is recognized by the firms, which is an omnipresent, cost-effective, and open network, and contributes to eliminating or reducing the physical distance and geographical barriers, to co-create value with customers. The capabilities of internet comprise of flexibility, speed, persistence, broad scope and interactivity. Oviedo-García and Muñoz-Expósito (2014), in the context of customer engagement in Facebook, propose a comprehensive metric using a conceptual approach. The research study proposes a ratio of interest and effective interest and a ratio to measure engagement on Facebook, in relation to the Facebook posts. The study finds that in the new dynamic business environment, which is fostered by the internet, the firms by using the metric results and its evolution can fine-tune their strategy of customer engagement. The measurement or assessment of customer engagement in Facebook would enable marketers to evaluate the type of content generating better engagement. In any business strategy, online or digital branding is a growing spectrum. Online branding (in businesses) demands active participation in email, social networking, blogs, websites and other online platforms. It also requires understanding strategies to start multi- platform marketing and customer interaction to deliver the message of the brand. Vadivu and Neelamalar (2015), in the context, discuss that in digital technologies, the continuous growth has resulted in the enhancement, growth and development of digital brand management,
  • 24. 24 which is now significantly important for the success of the brand. It is a fact that the social networking cites are critical to the success of online branding due to significantly large number of user base (exceeding two billion). The platform of social media can be used to create more humanizing effect, which may create personal connection with audience of the brand. According to the study, social network marketing is an important tool to enhance brand recognition, loyalty, and richer experience to the customers. The study using an online data collection methodology, and measuring online engagement of the customers, finds that, rather than the quantity of post on a social network (Facebook), the quality of post and level of interactivity grabs the social audience attention and increase engagement. According to Takran and Ylmaz (2015), the rapid growth in the mobile applications and smart phone use has developed new ways to market products and services to the customers. The mobile applications market is driven by the growing smartphone use. In addition social media is also playing a dominating role in collaboration with smartphone and other new media, is revolutionizing the marketing and advertising practices. Social media is also playing a prominent role in international advertising. It is has the capability to engage customers via increased interactions and relationships. 2.6. The Impact of Mobile Advertising on Consumers The mobile phones’ high penetration rate globally has enhanced the use of handheld devices for the delivery of products and services advertisement. Along with mobile advertising, as a medium for advertisement and communication, a substantial amount of research is motivated by the emergence of internet. In this perspective, Tsang, Ho, Liang (2004) discusses the channel of marketing created by the rapid proliferation of mobile phones, and the popularity of SMS service to access customer, which is regarded as a medium of one-to-one marketing. The research study examines the attitudes of the consumers toward mobile advertising. It also investigates the association between the consumer attitude and behaviour in this respect. For measuring the variables of mobile advertising and consumer attitudes towards the advertising, the research study conducts a survey and uses an instrument. According to the results, without specific consent of the consumers, the attitude is generally negative towards mobile advertising. It is also found that the relationship between consumer behaviour and consumer attitude is positive. Therefore, without prior permission, the use of SMS advertisement to attract potential customers is not a good idea.
  • 25. 25 Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and Reinares-Lara (2015) examine the consumers’ attitude towards mobile advertising, and explain that the emergence of mobile communications have enabled personalized advertising information to be delivered by the advertisers at the right place and time to the consumers. The mobile phone marketing communication strategy or the mobile ad strategy is considered as a promising approach to companies. By considering the association between mobile advertising and consumer attitude, the study aims to identify the factors creating new opportunities for commercial communications. It proposes a causal model of intentions and attitudes toward mobile advertising and compares the users and non-users of smartphones with internet capabilities. The model integrates the effects of ease of use, perceived added value, reference groups, and control on attitudes toward mobile advertising. Using the sample of 612 participants/respondents, the study finds that the attitude towards mobile advertising is positively related to intention to receive advertising. According to Cho, Luong and Vo (2016), among different electronic commerce types, mobile advertising is considered as one the most popular tools. The study, while focusing of Vietnamese consumers, examines their attitude toward mobile advertising, and the subsequent impact on buying decision of the consumers. The research study uses a questionnaire survey to collect data from 293 respondents and performs various tests to analyse the results, which include regression, factor analysis, reliability, one-way analysis of variance, and t-test. According to the research findings, related to the attributes of advertising, the four factors include credibility, irritation, informative-ness, and entertainment are significantly affecting the consumer attitude towards mobile advertising. Among the four factors, the study finds informativeness as the most significant factor. It also finds a positive association between the buying decisions and the attitudes of Vietnamese consumers towards mobile advertising. Gao and Zang (2016) define mobile advertising as a form of advertisement that is communicated using mobile devices that are smartphones, personal digital assistants, and cellular phones. Globally, the concept of mobile advertisement has become popular, due to the rapid development in the field of mobile technology. It is observed that almost every user of mobile device, from various sources and service providers, receives mobile advertisement. However, the attitude of most of the consumers towards mobile advertising is negative. In this perspective, the research study examines the factors affecting the adoption of mobile advertising by the consumers. The study proposes a model, based on the review of pervious
  • 26. 26 literature, which is empirically evaluated with the help of a survey focusing on Chinese consumers, having exposure of mobile advertising. According to the research findings, to receive mobile advertisements, 80 % of consumers’ intention is explained attitude of the consumers towards mobile advertising. The study also finds a significant influence of credibility, irritation, personalization, and entertainment on the consumer’s attitude, where the effect of entertainment is most significant. Okoe and Boateng (2015) examine the drivers of attitudes of consumers towards mobile advertisement. They also investigate the association between the attitudes of consumers towards mobile ads and the willingness to accept those ads. According to the proposed model, the factors affecting consumes’ attitude consist of entertainment, credibility, personalization, and irritation. To assess the measurement model, the study uses confirmatory factor analysis, whereas, to assess the model’s goodness-fit, it uses structural equation. The research findings indicate that the variables: personalization, credibility, and entertainment are having positive impact on the attitudes of consumers toward mobile advertising. It also shows that the willingness of the consumers to accept mobile advertising is determined by the consumers’ attitude toward mobile advertising. Vadlamani (2011), in a research study to evaluate the impact of mobile advertisement, finds that the rich media arrival, including the mobile medium, has allowed two-way conversations for the brands and stimulate customer engagement in a way, which was not possible through traditional media. Badlyanl (2013) evaluates the relationship between mobile advertisement and customer attraction, and discusses that for direct communication with the consumers, mobile advertising is an attractive media. The study finds the factors influencing mobile advertising acceptance, which include consumer’s ability, message content, message customization, message credibility and consumer inertia. Altuna and Konuk (2009), in the context of Turkish and US Consumers, measures and reveals the consumers’ attitudes toward mobile advertising applications. The study examines the correlation between the behavioural intentions of the consumers and their attitudes toward mobile advertising, which is found as positive. Using t-test, the study evaluates significant difference in the attitude of US and Turkish consumers, where the attitudes of the respondents from US are more positive as compared to the respondents from Turkey. In the context of mobile customer engagement, Austin (2012) discusses that it is important to follow certain rules by the mobile marketers, as according to the guidelines set
  • 27. 27 by the industry, to avoid long-term problems for the industry and the brand. It is argued that lack of customer consent towards mobile ads may cause ‘irritation’ and negatively influence engagement with a brand. There are certain rules for the marketers, which should be followed or complied by the marketer for the success of their brand. According to the study, for good mobile campaigns, it is important to provide an adequate notice to the prospective customers that would allow him/her to make an informed decision about the content. The notice may include the identity of the franchisor, the services and products offered, and the main terms for future mobile interactions. According to Austin (2012), it is also important the respect the consent of the user i.e. the adequate notice to the customers is respecting the mobile users’ opt-in/opt-out choices. In mobile marketing and advertising, it is also significant to maintain appropriate security, and customize communications where possible. The mobile content is considered as effective, which is customized or tailored according to the needs of the customers. It is also observed that customization keep the presentation of the message ‘fresh’ and catches more attention. The study discusses that marketing and advertising via smartphone and smart devices will grow continuously, as the customers now expect instant communication and instant access to information. Similarly, the marketers and the businesses will continue to target customer via smartphone/mobile ads to deliver useful content and engage more customers. A significant change in the habits of consumers is observed with the rapid high-tech devices’ development. The proliferation of smartphones, tablets and other devices have become the top media and marketing channel. According to Le and Nguyen (2014), in the consumer behaviour, mobile devices play a significant role. At the time of making purchase decision, the mobile advertisement (MA) impacts half of the users of mobile web. It is widely agreed that MA is the ‘future’ of advertising, and that is why, marketers are now more inclined towards the mobile/smartphone advertising. The research study explores the mobile users’ attitude towards MA, and factors affecting the attitudes of the consumers. According to the study, previous research papers have identified a number of factors affecting the attitude of consumers towards MA, which include personalisation, credibility, irritation, entertainment, informativeness, enjoyment, demographic segments, indignity, gender, mass media, peer communication, parental communication, and materialism. The study selects credibility, irritation, entertainment, and informativeness, as the key factors/components of MA, which can influence the attitude of the consumers towards MA. Using the sample of 206 valid respondents, and applying techniques of factor analysis and multiple regression
  • 28. 28 analysis, the research study finds a significant and positive influence of message credibility and entertainment on consumers’ attitude toward MA, while the factors of irritation and informativeness are unable to predict the consumers’ attitude significantly. Asimakopoulos, Spillers, Boretos, and Liu (2013) compare the attitudes of users towards MA. The study, in the contexts of different cultures (China, Greece and USA), also examines the factors affecting purchase decisions of the customers. The study collects data from the smartphone users, with the help of a questionnaire, using convenience sampling strategy. Using data of total 282 respondents (94 Chinese, 74 Greeks, and 114 Americans), the study finds that as compared to the other users, the Chinese respondents have higher expectations for usefulness, relevance, and information value of MA. Moreover, in MA messages, the Chinese users enjoy more indirect and implicative expressions, while the other two nationalities prefer more textual information. The environment of marketing communications has changed enormously. Marketing via mobile and smartphone has become increasing popular among other marketing opportunities made available by new media. Kim and Adler (2011) examine the impact of mobile application use on brand loyalty in the hospitality industry. The study specifically focuses on the hotel mobile application used by the students. According to the study, in the hospitality industry, the hotel mobile applications as hotel apps are growing continuously, which provides the marketers and the hotel companies a direct access to the consumers. The hotel mobile apps are considered as an important tool that increases the engagement of the consumer with the brand. The study proposes a model, according to which the use mobile hotel apps increase brand commitment, brand awareness and customer engagement, which ultimately influence the brand loyalty positively. The research study uses a quantitative approach, and collects data from 100 university students who are all smart phone users. The study finds a positive impact of use of mobile hotel apps on brand loyalty due to increase in brand commitment, customer engagement, and brand awareness.
  • 29. 29 Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1. Theoretical Discussion The concept of Mobile advertising, in the current business scenario, is among the most widely adopted formats of advertising. The expenditure related to mobile advertising is estimated to exceed $62.8 billion in 2017. The huge amount of economic activity and an increasing trend in the adoption of mobile advertising have led theorists and researchers to further explore the phenomenon, and to examine the theoretical relationship. As indicated in the literature review, the concept of mobile advertising is discussed widely in the previous and extant literature (Bart, Stephen, & Sarvary, 2014; Johnston, Komulainen, Ristola & Ulkuniemi, 2012; Wong, Tan, Tan & Ooi, 2015; Lin, Paragas, Goh, & Bautista, 2016). However, the relationship between mobile adverting and customer engagement (CE) is not widely explored, until recently, as the concept of CE in the customer management domain is a relatively new perspective (Brodie, Hollebeek, Juric, and Ilic, 2011). Dinner, Van Heerde and Neslin (2015), to explain the creation of CE via Mobile apps, evaluate data of 1286 customers quantitatively, with the help of descriptive statistics, multiple regression models, and correlation matrix. Dovalienė, Piligrimienė, and Masiulytė (2016), in the context of mobile applications, examine the factors influencing customer engagement. The empirical study adopts a quantitative approach and performs a research survey using an online multiple item questionnaire to collect primary data. The study evaluates the responses of 196 participants using descriptive statistics, correlational analysis, and multiple regression analysis. Grewal, Bart, Spann and Zubcsek (2015), in the context of Mobile advertising (MA), develop and organize a research agenda and a framework. The framework comprises of a number of components, which includes market factors, firm factors, context, consumers, advertisement elements, advertisement goals, and the outcome matrix. The study follows a review-based approach to analyse the research problem. To evaluate the attitudes of consumers towards MA, Tsang, Ho and Liang (2004) propose a model, comprising affecting the attitude, intention and behaviour of the consumers. The study adopts a quantitative approach to examine the relationships, and uses a questionnaire for the data collection process. The methodology of the study involves various statistical techniques, which include descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, stepwise regression and the structural equation modeling.
  • 30. 30 Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and Reinares-Lara (2015) propose hypotheses to evaluate the behaviour or intention of consumers towards MA. The study uses a 5 point Likert scale questionnaire for data collection and adopts partial least squares regression to validate the structural model. It applies statistical tools to examine reliability, convergent validity, and Discriminant validity. Cho, Luong and Vo (2016) also develops a conceptual model with hypotheses to examine the consumer attitudes towards MA, and the buying decision. The study performs a questionnaire (5-Point Likert Scale) survey to collect data directly from 296 respondents and adopts descriptive statistics, reliability test, factor analysis, Pearson correlation, multiple regression analysis, t-test and ANOVA to evaluate the research hypotheses. Similarly, to examine the consumers’ adoption of mobile advertising, Gao and Zang (2016) formulate a model of attitudes of the consumers toward web advertising, which comprises credibility, irritation, informativeness, and entertainment creating advertising value and an attitude towards MA. The study provides descriptive results and a measurement model consisting of various fit indices. It also conducts reliability analysis, factor analysis, and structural modelling analysis to test the hypotheses. Okoe and Boateng (2015) also apply several quantitative tools: reliability, validity, and descriptive statistics of the questionnaire items; correlation analysis; and structural model analysis of the variables, to evaluate the relationship between MA and CE. Vadlamani (2011), Badlyanl (2013) and Altuna and Konuk (2009) also analyse the association between mobile advertising and customer engagement/attraction/intention/attitude, using statistical models and tools. Based on the theoretical evidence, the following sections entail the practical elaboration of the methodology used in the research study. 3.2. Research Approach The selection of a research approach is one of the primary needs of a research study. It can be either qualitative, quantitative or mixed approach. According to Creswell (2013), a quantitative approach deals with statistical methods and tools, and entails observation, measurement and data analysis. In this form of research approach, a research study formulates claims or hypotheses, which may require evaluation of causal relationship between the variables. In a quantitative research approach, variables are categorized and calculated to examine the research problem (Burn & Burn, 2008).
  • 31. 31 In contrast, a qualitative research approach does not involve any mathematical or statistical analysis. The approach, using more flexible research instruments, seeks to explore a phenomenon, and aims to gain deep understanding of the opinions and ideas (Mack, Woodsong, MacQueen, Guest & Namey, 2005). The approach basically follows a narrative form of evaluation or analysis. It differs with the quantitative approach with respect to the degree of flexibility; the types of questions used; the data collection and evaluation process and instruments; and the analytical objectives. As discussed earlier, the research study aims to explore the relationship between mobile advertising (MA) and customer engagement (CE), while focusing on the smartphone ad channel. Therefore, to examine the aim and the objectives, the research dissertation adopts a ‘quantitative approach’. It uses statistical tools and methods to measure and examine the principal components of the smartphone advertising, and measure its impact on customer engagement. The details of the various statistical tools and methods are provided in the later part of the chapter. 3.3. Research Purpose The research purpose is another significant part of the methodology of a study. It explains the reason or rationale of conducting the research study, and also indicates the nature and stage of research exploration. A research purpose can take three forms – exploration, description or explanation (Yin, 2013). The research purpose varies across various themes, disciplines, and subjects, and also depends on the nature of problem examined. An exploratory research purpose, as its name suggests, examines or explores a new research problem or a new theme within an existing problem, where the variables and their relationships are not yet established. It focuses on the discovery of insights and ideas, and sets the groundwork. A descriptive research can be regarded as extension to the exploratory research, where the given variables are already defined. It is generally structured and pre- planned in design. In the case of explanatory research purpose, the variables and the associated relationships are already defined. It establishes a causal relationship (Saunders, 2011). The explanatory purpose aims to further explain a research phenomenon or a subject. In this dissertation, the purpose of the researcher is ‘explanation’ i.e. the case of mobile advertising and customer engagement is further explained. As observed in the chapter of literature review, the relationship between MA and CE is already established therefore, the
  • 32. 32 current study further explains the relationship, with a focus on the smartphone advertising, within the range of mobile web advertising, mobile video and application advertising units. 3.4. Research Design A research design defines or sets the overall strategy of conducting the study, which may comprise of the defining the data collection and evaluation processes (Bryman & Bell, 2015). It explains the framework or the structure of a research study. A research design defines methods to integrate and analyze different components in a logical and coherent way, to address the problem effectively. A research study may adopt different design, depending on nature of the research problem and the defined objectives. It can be classified into experimental, descriptive, correlational, review-based, meta-analytic, and semi-experimental designs. In this case, the study adopts two research designs: a ‘descriptive’ and a ‘correctional’ research design. The descriptive design, in the dissertation, is used in the form of a questionnaire survey, consisting of multiple items, to collect data and measure the variables. The correlational design, which observes and defines the association between the variables, is applied to examine the impact of the components of the smartphone (mobile) advertising on CE, i.e. how significantly the viewers of internet-based mobile ads using their smartphones get engaged with the advertised product/brand. 3.5. Data Source The data source of a study indicates the database, individuals, groups and other sources from where data is collected for a study. A data source can be either primary or secondary. A primary data source provides the first-hand evidences. In other words, in this case, data is collected directly from the respondents (from primary sources). In contrast, secondary data is not collected directly from the research participants and the researcher uses books, articles, reports and the databases for the process. Here, the research study uses ‘primary’ sources in the data collection process, i.e. it involves collection of data for the components and items of smartphone advertising and customer engagement directly from the respondents using a multiple item questionnaire. It also uses ‘secondary’ data sources to elaborate the smartphone use.
  • 33. 33 3.6. Research Population The population of a study, for a primary research, consists of the individuals or groups having similar traits or characteristics. The factors of age, gender, business industry or a nationality may form the basis of the research population for a study. It also defined as a large collection of objects or individuals, used for a scientific query (Weiss & Weiss, 2012). As the research aims to explore the association between Smartphone advertising and customer engagement according to the perception of the smartphone users, therefore the target population of the study are the GEM university students, who are the potential customers of the online advertised products/brands. The university students are chosen as the respondents or participants of the study due to their high perceived online usage via smartphone (Alfawareh & Jusoh, 2014: Hanley & Boostrom, 2011). The use of smartphone have also influenced the online shopping habits of the students significantly (Uesugi , 2013; Hanley, 2013). Therefore, the current study focuses on the students as the potential viewers of internet-based mobile ads, using their smartphones, and getting engaged with the advertised product/brand. 3.7. Sampling Strategy The size of a research population makes is difficult or even impossible for a researcher to collect and analyse the data related to the problem under study, which increases the need of deciding a sampling strategy. In a research study, sampling is an important component as it represents the entire population. A sample should be representative to show an accurate reflection of the population under study, and to ensure appropriateness and reliability (Levy & Lemeshow, 2013). A sampling strategy can be classified into probability and non-probability techniques. The data collection process of the dissertation adopts a form of non-probability sampling technique that is ‘Convenience sampling’. According to Price (2013), convenience sampling selects respondents on the basis of their proximity and accessibility. Here, data of the university students, related to the items of MA and CE, is collected considering the factors of convenience and accessibility.
  • 34. 34 3.8. Sample Size As discussed in the previous section, the study adopts a convenience sampling strategy to collect data from the respondents. The questionnaires were originally distributed to a total of 150 students who are active smartphone users, and 142 questionnaires with complete responses were received. Therefore, the sample size or the numbers of respondents of the research study are 142. 3.9. Research Instrument A research instrument is a tool for data collection in a Primary study. The data collection process of the study is performed using a five point Likert Scale (1-5) questionnaire, which consists of multiple items for each component of smartphone advertising and customer engagement. The questionnaire is designed based on the items and variables identified in the previous research studies on the subject. It also contains questions related to the demographics of the respondents. The Likert Scale, in this case, enabled the researcher to measure the level of agreement or disagreement regarding the items in the questionnaires, on a quantitative scale of 1-5 (from strongly disagree to strongly agree). 3.10. Statistical Methods The study adopts a quantitative research approach, which requires statistical methods and tools to evaluate the research questions. The research study adopts different statistical tools and methods, which are similar to those identified in the theoretical discussion. The study uses descriptive statistics to analyze the demographics of the respondents. It employs frequency distribution and percentage analysis to summarize and present the findings. It also uses graphical analysis and charts to better understand the demographics of the population (respondents) under study. The study applies reliability test on the items of the research questionnaire to measure the stability and consistency of the assessment tool or the research instrument. It performs factor analysis to reduce the number of items, and to combine a group of correlated items/variables of MA and CE.
  • 35. 35 The variables or factors produced in the previous test are used in the correlation analysis to evaluate the relationship between the variables; and in multiple regression analysis, to examine the impact of the components of smartphone advertising (SA) on CE. That is, regression analysis is used to investigate the relationship between the independent variables (components of SA) and the dependent variable (CE). The study applies descriptive statistics and correlation analysis on the secondary data collected to elaborate the smartphone and internet use. 3.11. Variable Description One of the objectives of the research study includes identifying the components or determinants of smartphone advertising. From the previous and existing literature, a number of factors/determinants are identified, which are listed in the following table: Mobile/Smartphone advertising determinants Research Studies Message/ Ad Credibility Badlyanl (2013); Altuna and Konuk (2009); Cho, Luong and Vo (2016); Gao and Zang (2016); Kim and Han (2014); Okoe and Boateng (2015); Tsang and Liang (2004); Message Customization/Personalization Badlyanl (2013); Gao and Zang (2016); Kim and Han (2014); Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and Mattila (2015); Okoe and Boateng (2015) Ad Content Badlyanl (2013); Altuna and Konuk (2009); Grewal, Bart, Spann and Zubcsek (2015); Consumer Ability Badlyanl (2013); Grewal, Bart, Spann and Zubcsek (2015) Irritation Altuna and Konuk (2009); Cho, Luong and Vo (2016); Gao and Zang (2016); Kim and Han (2014); Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and Mattila (2015); Okoe and Boateng (2015); Tsang and Liang (2004) Customer sociability Dovaliene, Piligrimiene and Masiulyte (2016); Wong, Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015) Technical convenience Dovaliene, Piligrimiene and Masiulyte (2016) Relevance/ Perceived Usefulness Vadlamani (2011) Interactivity Vadlamani (2011); Grewal, Bart, Spann and Zubcsek (2015) Permission and Privacy Vadlamani (2011); Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and Mattila (2015); Tsang and Liang (2004) Personal innovativeness Wong, Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015) Performance expectancy Wong, Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015)
  • 36. 36 Mobile skilfulness Wong, Tan, Tan and Ooi (2015) Informativeness Altuna and Konuk (2009); Cho, Luong and Vo (2016); Kim and Han (2014); Tsang and Liang (2004); Enjoyment/Entertainment Altuna and Konuk (2009); Cho, Luong and Vo (2016); Gao and Zang (2016); Kim and Han (2014); Okoe and Boateng (2015); Tsang and Liang (2004) Incentives Gao and Zang (2016); Kim and Han (2014) Perceived ease of use Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and Reinares-Lara (2015) Reference Group Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and Reinares-Lara (2015) Perceived Ad Value Izquierdo-Yusta, Olarte-Pascual and Reinares-Lara (2015); Kim and Han (2014) Perceived Control Nyheim, Xu, Zhang, and Mattila (2015) Table – 3.1 Determinants of Mobile/Smartphone Advertising From the above table, four variables are selected, which are most widely discussed and evaluated as determinants of mobile advertising, in the context of customer engagement. These factors are Ad Credibility, Perceived Entertainment, Informativeness, and Irritation. Advertisement credibility, in general, is the believability and truthfulness of advertising according to the perception of the consumer. It creates value in web advertising, and positively influences the adoption of mobile advertising (Gao & Zang, 2016). It is also believed that for effective advertisement, credibility is an essential factor (Kim & Han, 2014). The element of Enjoyment or Entertainment positively influences the mood of the customer during interaction with computer-based media. It plays one of greatest role in the overall customer attitude towards advertisement. Moreover, entertainment associated with ad content enhances value in mobile/smartphone advertising (Kim & Han, 2014). Previous research have found that entertaining, informative and funny advertisements increases purchasing intention of the consumers (Gao & Zang, 2016). The factor of informativeness in MA is the capability of transmitting timely, updated, and easily approachable information. The ability in ‘inform’ consumers yields greater satisfaction. The factor not only proved useful offers, but also help communicating practical and valuable information (Cho, Luong & Vo, 2016). It positively influence ad value, and enhance concentration of the customers towards messages and product information (Kim & Han, 2014).
  • 37. 37 The factor of irritation is also crucial in the context of customer engagement, as irritating ads causes displeasure and monetary impatience. An enormous amount of interactivity and information of an advertisement may result in distraction in the concentration of the audience (Kim & Han, 2014). Previous studies have examines a negative association between perceived irritation and consumer attitude towards MA (Okoe & Boateng, 2015). According to Cho, Luong and Vo (2016), irritation from an advertisement causes dissatisfaction and nuisance. Consumers perceive irritation due to disrespectful, offensive, unattractive, and unscrupulous ad techniques. The dependent variable of the research study is ‘Customer Engagement’, which is an important concept in marketing, and which defines the relationship between a customer and a brand. Customer engagement, along with the components of smartphone advertising, is measured using a multiple item questionnaire, as discussed in the previous sections. 3.12. Model Hypotheses Based on the research objective, following are the hypotheses of the study: I. Perceived Ad Credibility positively influence Customer Engagement. II. Perceived Entertainment positively influence Customer Engagement III. Perceived Informativeness positively influence Customer Engagement IV. Perceived Irritation from Smartphone Ads negatively affect Customer Engagement
  • 38. 38 Figure – 3.1 Research Model 3.13. Ethical Consideration The research study ensures privacy and confidentiality of data collected from the respondents. It also considers social norms and right to information while conducting the research study. Other ethical considerations include integrity, non-discrimination, objectivity, honesty, and carefulness. 3.14. Methodology Summary Research Approach Quantitative Approach Research Purpose Explanatory Purpose Research Design Descriptive and Correlational Design Data Source Primary Source Sample Size 142 Students Research Instrument 5-Point Liker Scale Questionnaire Statistical Methods Descriptive Statistics, Factor
  • 40. 40 Chapter 4: Data Analysis 4.1. Introduction The previous section describes the methodology of the study and identifies the main determinants of smartphone advertising, which consists of Ad Credibility, Entertainment, Informativeness, and Irritation. The chapter presents statistics related to the use of Smartphone worldwide. It also provides an overview of the research participants in the context of smartphone use and interaction with the advertisement. Moreover, it summarizes the determinants/components of smartphone advertising (SA) and examines their impact on customer engagement (CE). Variables are summarised using the tool of factor analysis. The relationship between the factors of SA and CE are examined using Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis. 4.2. Smartphone Use Statistics Smartphone Ownership % N Valid 40 Missing 0 Mean 42.72 Std. Deviation 22.23 Range 84 Minimum 4 Maximum 88 Table – 4.1 Smartphone Ownership. Data Source: Poushter (2016) The table 4.1 shows the statistics of the smartphone ownership in 40 countries around the world. According to the statistics, the mean value of the smartphone ownership percentage (rate) in the 40 countries is equal to 42.72%. It means that worldwide, almost 43 out of 100 people own a smartphone. The standard deviation in smartphone ownership is 22.23% worldwide. South Korea has the highest rate of smartphone ownership, which is equal to 88%, while Ethiopia and Uganda have the lowest smartphone ownership rate i.e. 4% each. The following figure illustrates in the detail the smartphone ownership rate in the 40 countries.
  • 41. 41 Figure – 4.1 Smartphone Ownership Rate. Data Source: Poushter (2016) According to the above figure, the countries with highest ownership rate include South Korea (88%), Australia (77), Israel (74%) and United States (72%). The countries with the lowest rates consist of Ethiopia (4%), Uganda (4%), Tanzania (11%) and Pakistan (11%). The above statistics may also suggest that the countries with higher smartphone ownership rate have more internet use, which result in more exposure to smartphone advertising. 72 67 49 60 60 41 71 68 45 27 59 51 52 57 74 77 58 17 21 39 65 11 22 88 35 48 41 65 35 25 45 14 4 21 26 28 19 37 11 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 United States Canada France Germany Italy Poland Spain United Kingdom Russia Ukraine Turkey Jordan Lebanon Palestinian territories Israel Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Pakistan Philippines South Korea Vietnam Argentina Brazil Chile Mexico Peru Venezuela Burkina Faso Ethiopia Ghana Kenya Nigeria Senegal South Africa Tanzania Uganda Smartphone Ownership Rate
  • 42. 42 Correlations Smartphone Ownership Internet Use Smartphone Ownership Pearson Correlation 1 .948** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 40 40 Internet Use Pearson Correlation .948** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 40 40 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Table – 4.2 Correlation between Smartphone Ownership and Internet use. Data Source: Poushter (2016) The above table shows provides a correlation analysis between smartphone ownership and internet use in the 40 selected countries. According to the table, there is a significant association between the two variables, as the sig value is less than the 0.05 threshold. The table also shows strong (large) positive association (0.948) between smartphone ownership and internet use i.e. increasing ownership of smartphone influences the use of internet worldwide, which may also increase the interaction with online mobile ads. 4.3. Descriptive Statistics This section provides an overview of the research participants by indicating their gender, the time spent online on a smartphone, and the interaction of the users with Mobile Ad. Gender Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Male 83 58.5 58.5 58.5 Female 59 41.5 41.5 100.0 Total 142 100.0 100.0 Table – 4.3 Gender Distributions According to the above table, majority of the respondents in the study are male, which are 58.5% of the total respondents. The numbers of the female participants are 59 that are 41.5% of the total participants. The percentage distribution of the respondents’ gender is also illustrated in the following chart:
  • 43. 43 Figure – 4.2 Gender Distributions Time Spent Online Time Categories Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Less than 1 Hour 36 25.4 25.4 25.4 1 to 3 Hours 74 52.1 52.1 77.5 3 to 6 Hours 26 18.3 18.3 95.8 More than 6 Hours 6 4.2 4.2 100.0 Total 142 100.0 100.0 Table – 4.4 Time spent online using Smartphone The table 4.4 presents the respondents’ percentage average daily time spent online using their smartphones. According to the table, majority of the participants (university students), on average, have a daily online usage in between 1 to 3 hours, which are 52.1 % of the research population. 25.4% of respondents have a daily online use of less than 1 hour through their smartphone. Only 6 participants out of the total 142 spend more than 6 hours online. Interaction with Mobile Ad Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Social Networking 29 20.4 20.4 20.4 Web Surfing 15 10.6 10.6 31.0 Watching Videos 22 15.5 15.5 46.5 Gaming 28 19.7 19.7 66.2 Using Smartphone Apps 44 31.0 31.0 97.2 Others 4 2.8 2.8 100.0 58% 42% Gender Distribution Male Female
  • 44. 44 Total 142 100.0 100.0 Table – 4.5 Interaction with Mobile Ad through different channels The research study also examines that using which online channels the students mostly interact with or view advertisement on their smartphones. According to the above statistics, majority of the respondents (31%) consider smartphone apps as a channel which mostly causes interaction with ads, followed by the participants who consider social networking (20.4%) and gaming (19.7%), as the most widely used smartphone ad platforms. Figure – 4.3 Interaction with Mobile Ad through different channels The figure show that, among the six categories, majority of the university students view online ad mostly using their smartphone applications, followed social networks, gaming, videos, web surfing and other channels. 4.4. Reliability Test The test of reliability is performed in a research study to evaluate the degree of internal consistency or stability of the observations, research instrument, survey or a test. It measures/examines the degree to which consistent results are generated by an assessment tool. The current research thesis uses Cronbach’s alpha (α) to examine reliability, which ranges from 0 to 1. The reliability of each construct (related to smartphone advertising and customer engagement) are tested and presented in the following table. 20.4 10.6 15.5 19.7 31.0 2.8 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 Social Networking Web Surfing Watching Videos Gaming Using Smartphone Apps Others Interaction with Mobile Ad %
  • 45. 45 Reliability Statistics Variables/Constructs Cronbach's Alpha N of Items Irritation .989 4 Entertainment .983 4 Informativeness .982 4 Credibility .932 3 Customer Engagement .987 4 Table – 4.6 Reliability Test According to the table, the Cronbach's Alpha values of each of the four constructs of smartphone advertising (Irritation, Entertainment, Informativeness, and Credibility) and Customer Engagement are greater than the minimum acceptable value of 0.7, which indicates high degree of internal consistency. It shows that the constructs’ test items produce similar results. Item-Total Statistics Items Scale Mean if Item Deleted Scale Variance if Item Deleted Corrected Item-Total Correlation Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted I1 12.7183 4.374 .986 .981 I2 12.7394 4.364 .967 .986 I3 12.7465 4.347 .962 .987 I4 12.7535 4.471 .967 .986 E1 12.2746 5.038 .974 .974 E2 12.2676 4.963 .981 .972 E3 12.2958 4.976 .969 .975 E4 12.3239 5.043 .908 .992 IN1 11.8873 3.278 .976 .970 IN2 11.8732 3.246 .945 .978 IN3 11.9155 3.255 .970 .972 IN4 11.8803 3.383 .925 .984 C1 8.4366 2.120 .929 .847 C2 8.4789 2.095 .867 .895 C3 8.5211 2.266 .788 .957 CE1 9.8873 14.214 .987 .977 CE2 9.8521 14.396 .972 .981 CE3 9.8451 14.799 .956 .985 CE4 9.8169 14.647 .950 .987 Table – 4.7 Items –total statistics
  • 46. 46 In the table 4.7, the values of Cronbach's Alpha are presented if the corresponding items are deleted. The table also shows the scale mean and scale variances, if an item is deleted from the construct, and the corrected item-total correlation. In this table I, E, IN, C, and CE represent Irritation, Entertainment, Informativeness, Credibility, and Customer Engagement respectively. According to the table, the Cronbach's Alpha increases for their constructs after the deletion of E4 and C3. However, due to existing high degree of internal consistency, the study does not delete the two items from Entertainment and Credibility. 4.5. Factor Analysis Factor analysis is an important technique, which is used to summarize or reduce the number of given/measured items or variables. The method reduces the number of items into unobservable (latent) variables. That is, it explains the variability among the correlated and observed variables in terms of factors (unobserved variables). The current study uses the method of Principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce the 19 items. It is a technique which reduces items into smaller components (Jolliffe, 2002). In this research study, it is assumed that for running PCA, ordinal variables can be used, which is a widely used practice among the researchers for factor analysis. Following table provides the details of the number of items in each construct/variable. Constructs Number of Items Irritation 4 (I1 – I4) Entertainment 4 (E1 – E4 Informativeness 4 (IN1 – IN2) Credibility 3 (C1 – C3) Customer Engagement 4 (CE1 – CE4) Table – 4.8 Numbers of Items Before running PCA, it is important to check appropriateness of factor analysis and the sampling adequacy. KMO and Bartlett's Test KMO Measure of Sampling Adequacy .711 Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 5143.434 Df 171 Sig. 0.000 Table – 4.9 Appropriateness of factor analysis and Sampling Adequacy