Mobile phone in your personal bubble: the effect of physical environment and personalized information on mobile advertising

With the emergence of mobile technology, mobile phones have been increasingly adopted as a medium in the marketing realm. Users have developed deep relationships with their mobile phones as mobile phones are physically and psychologically attached to their owners. However, there is information transit between mobile phones and the outside world which may threaten the user’s privacy. This study explores how physical environment (private space vs public space) and personalization influence the effectiveness of push mobile advertising messages. The findings show the main effect physical environment and personalization have on people’s perceptions about messages as intrusions, as well as their attitudes towards mobile advertising. Besides, the relationship between personalization and outcomes is moderated by the physical environment; when people are in private spaces where they have a higher expectation of privacy, they are concerned when they receive push mobile advertising messages that contain their personal information, and this results in a negative attitude towards mobile advertising. Implications and future research will be discussed.