Antecedents and Consequences of Web Advertising Credibility

ABSTRACTRapid growth in online advertising revenues indicates the viability of World Wide Web advertising as an alternative to that of traditional media. Practitioners and academicians recognize that building credibility is important in this relatively new environment. To date, no academic research has explored the interplay of vehicle and advertiser source credibility in determining advertising effects on the web. The present study explores antecedents and consequences of online advertising credibility and examines the effects of (1) website credibility, (2) ad relevance (the advertised product's relevance to website content), and (3) advertiser credibility on ad credibility, ad and brand attitudes, and product purchase intentions. Structural equation modeling systematically tested and refined a model representing interrelated relationships among the relevant variables. The results suggest that source credibility is vital to understanding web advertising effectiveness. Managerial implications and directions for future research are provided. Additional informationABOUT THE AUTHORSSejung Marina Choi (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an Assistant Professor of Advertising at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests are in the areas of source credibility, cause-related marketing, advertising on the Internet, and cross-cultural consumer behavior; Email: marina@mail.utexas.edu.Nora J. Rifon (Ph.D., City University of New York) is an Associate Professsor in the Department of Advertising at Michigan State University. Her research interests include consumer privacy, cause-related marketing, sponsorships, and source credibility; Email: rifon@msu.edu.