Helge Thorbjørnsen

Intentions to use mobile services: Antecedents and cross-service comparisons

This article develops and tests a model to explain consumers’ intention to use mobile services. Through triangulating theories from the diverse fields of information systems research, uses and gratification research, and domestication research, the authors put forth an integrated model that explains intention to use mobile services. The model proposes four overall influences on usage intention: motivational influences, attitudinal influences, normative pressure, and perceived control. The authors study the type of interactivity and process characteristics associated with the service that moderate the effects on the relationship between the proposed antecedents and usage intention. The results from empirical studies of four mobile services show strong support for the effects of motivational influences, attitudinal influences, normative pressure, and perceived control on consumers’ intentions to use mobile services. Some of the effects are moderated by process characteristics (goal-directed vs. experiential services) that are associated with the service.

Explaining intention to use mobile chat services: moderating effects of gender

Purpose – In this article the authors aim to investigate the moderating effects of gender in explaining intention to use mobile chat services.Design/methodology/approach – An extended adoption model based on the technology acceptance model and theory of reasoned action is applied for pin‐pointing the antecedents of intention to use mobile chat services and for revealing cross‐gender differences. The hypotheses are tested on data from a survey of 684 users of mobile chat services.Findings – The study results suggest that social norms and intrinsic motives such as enjoyment are important determinants of intention to use among female users, whereas extrinsic motives such as usefulness and – somewhat surprisingly – expressiveness are key drivers among men.Research limitations/implications – The findings put renewed focus on non‐utilitarian motives and illuminate the role of gender in technology adoption.Practical implications – The cross‐gender differences observed give several guidelines for mobile service d...

Mobilizing the Brand The Effects of Mobile Services on Brand Relationships and Main Channel Use

Mobile devices and services are proposed to be powerful channels for both distribution and marketing communication. In this article, the authors study the effects of mobile channel additions on consumer-brand relationship dimensions. Surveys of three different brands reveal positive effects of mobile channel addition (SMS/MMS) usage on brand satisfaction, direct relationship investments, indirect relationship investments, and main channel usage. The results suggest that SMS channel additions are perceived as complements to the brands’ main channel, whereas MMS channel additions today primarily are perceived as supplementary channels. Moreover, the findings suggest that a promising strategy for increasing consumption of the brand’s main channel is facilitation of the consumers’ direct relationship investment in the mobile services. Implication for service researchers and industry players are discussed.

Understanding mobile commerce end-user adoption: a triangulation perspective and suggestions for an exploratory service evaluation framework

In the literature on mobile commerce service adoption, aggregate diffusion issues or technology issues are usually the focus. However; a comparison of the slow adoption of WAP services in Europe with the successful adoption of comparable I-mode services in Japan and technologically simple SMS-based services in Scandinavia, suggests that aggregate and technology-based models are insufficient to explain the mobile commerce adoption process. We suggest that alternative explanations may be found in both the business models at the supply side and in the individual end-users behavior at the demand side of the mobile commerce value chain. We focus on this demand side issue, and consider the adoption requirements of mobile commerce end-users. A triangulation of three perspectives on the mobile commerce end-user is suggested to understand and explain the end-user adoption process. The three perspectives view the end-user as a technology user, a consumer and a network member, respectively. The three perspectives are combined in a common framework. With each perspective follows relevant theories, models and methodologies. We also suggest applying the framework to design evaluation guidelines that can be used by service providers, operators and terminal producers to evaluate and predict end-user adoption of mobile commerce services in 3G and later mobile technologies.

Brand extensions: brand concept congruency and feedback effects revisited

Purpose – The aim of this research is to examine the effects of congruent and incongruent brand concept extensions on consumer attitudes towards the extended product and feedback effects on the parent brand. Moreover, brand familiarity is proposed as an important moderator variable in determining feedback effects on attitude to the parent brand.Design/methodology/approach – An experimental research design was applied for testing the set of hypotheses put forth. The product category of wrist‐watches was utilized as setting. A total of 205 respondents participated in the study.Findings – The study finds general support for the importance of brand concept congruency when it comes to feedback‐effects, whereas no significant differences between congruent and incongruent extensions are found for attitudes to the extension itself. Brand familiarity is found to be an important moderator on parent brand feedback effects.Research limitations/implications – Before concluding on the moderating role of brand familiari...

In ads we trust: Religiousness as a predictor of advertising trustworthiness and avoidance

Purpose – This paper aims to provide insight into the relationship between religiousness, trust in advertising and advertisement avoidance. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 4,984 participants from the USA, the UK, Germany, Spain and France was conducted. Findings – This paper shows that religiousness is a (negative) predictor of avoidance of advertisements in traditional and digital media and that advertisement trustworthiness mediates this effect. Higher perceived trustworthiness of advertising among the more religious people leads to less advertisement avoidance. Less religious people trust advertising less and, consequently, show higher advertisement avoidance. The role of religiousness is explained by a positive relationship between religiousness and perceived advertisement trustworthiness because of religious people’s general conformity to authority and because of religion’s emphasis on the good of fellow human beings. Research limitations/implications – One limitation is that response bias ...

Slavic Brothers or Rivals

Abstract Since the advent of the market economy in the former Soviet Union, the trade between old union members has developed gradually. However, the scant market research from this area has focused exclusively on the trade between Western countries and selected former members of the Union, typically Russia. Very little is known about the nature and dynamics of the trade within the old Union area, between the new independent countries. This study addresses the role of consumer ethnocentrism in the trade between Russia and Ukraine, the two largest countries of the former Union. Due to their common historical background, consumers in the two countries could be expected to define each other as part of their “national in-groups.” If this were the case, consumer ethnocentrism would have a positive effect on evaluations of imports from one country to the other. However, there are also historical reasons to expect the opposite effect. To some extent there are different ethnicities in the two countries, and due to the historical dominance of Russia, Ukrainian consumers might perceive Russians as imperialistic and paternalistic, whereas Russians might consider Ukrainians as provincial and less sophisticated. Such attitudes would lead to national “out-group” perceptions and negative effects of consumer ethnocentrism on the trade between the two countries. These rival hypotheses on the effects of consumer ethnocentrism were tested on data from a survey of University students in St. Petersburg (Russia) and Kiev (Ukraine). This study is the first to present empirical evidence on the existence and nature of consumer ethnocentrism in trade relationships within the former Soviet Union.

“What will ‘they’ think?”: Marketing leakage to undesired audiences and the third-person effect

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how marketing leakage to undesired audiences, a common phenomenon in todays globally connected world of consumers, impacts on the target audience, and how marketers can mitigate the negative effects of leaked marketing. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conduct three studies in line with research on the third-person effect (TPE). The studies feature experimental designs with participants from neighbouring countries. Findings – The first study finds that people in the intended target audience expect and overestimate a (negative) reaction in the undesired audience to marketing leakage, and this impacts negatively on their own reactions. The second study replicates and extends the findings, showing that explicit information that marketing has leaked to an undesired audience impacts negatively on both the attitudes and behaviors of the intended, target audience. The third study tests potential strategies to mitigate the negative effects of leaked marketing and...

How Do Teaser Advertisements Boost Word of Mouth about New Products?: For Consumers, the Future Is More Exciting Than the Present

ABSTRACT Future-framed marketing is highly effective in generating positive product-related word of mouth (WOM) for new products. This was demonstrated in two studies: Study 1 reported a novel online field experiment on WOM behavior; Study 2 tested the proposed WOM effects in a more controlled laboratory setting on a representative sample. Results of the current research revealed that product pre-announcements significantly increased consumers9 product interest and WOM behavior. And, more so than messaging about currently available products, pre-announcements increased the favorability and elaborateness of WOM.

Positive uncertainty: the benefit of the doubt in advertising

Positive uncertainty refers to uncertainty surrounding an anticipated positive outcome. It provides consumers with the opportunity to imagine and speculate on a products or experiences potentially positive characteristics. Research has shown that when uncertainty is associated with something positive, consumers may prefer uncertainty to certainty. In a between-subjects experimental design with a large US (n = 446) and Japanese sample (n = 453), the present study demonstrates that positive uncertainty increases consumers’ positive feelings when they evaluate a product, particularly for high-involvement products that allow consumers to imagine and speculate about potentially positive product benefits. Unexpectedly, the study findings are consistent across the two different markets, which vary substantially in terms of consumers’ level of uncertainty avoidance. Specifically, results show that future-framed advertisements are effective in generating positive uncertainty and that positive uncertainty generates positive attitudes, both in countries scoring high (Japan) and low (USA) on uncertainty avoidance.