Exploring Routes to Persuasive Online Advertising
Studies show that the Internet is gaining status as a mainstream medium for delivering advertisements and that online advertising may surpass advertising in traditional media. This study proposes a model for evaluating the effects of various elements of Internet advertisements on purchase intention and outlines a potential route by which persuasive messages might travel. A structural equation model is developed to test the causal effect between those constructs. The multiple-group analysis is applied to investigate the moderating effect of Internet usage. The empirical results show that (1) purchase intention is influenced indirectly by peripheral cues via the mediation of hedonic value, (2) purchase intention is influenced indirectly by central cues via the mediation of utilitarian value and search intention, (3) Internet usage plays a partial moderating role in persuasive communication, and (4) utilitarian value plays a critical meditating role by converting rational ad stimuli into purchase acts after the persuasive communication effected by online advertisements. This study clarified the process of consumer perception and interpretation towards online advertisement information, proposing two pathways for persuasion. Furthermore, we confirmed that in the event that more central cures are released in online advertisements, the consumers will enhance a greater utilitarian value to the message. This further induces greater search intention and purchase intention, the finding of which is the contribution of this study.