Advertising by Accountants: The Industrial User's Perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT A number of studies have evaluated the attitudes of both professional accountants and consumers toward accounting advertising; however, very little is known about industrial clients' attitudes. The industrial market for accounting services is clearly significant and represents the focus of this study. This paper integrates the findings of a mail survey of industrial users with the earlier meta-analytic results (Hite and Fraser 1988) of accountants and consumers. Findings indicate that industrial uses differ significantly from both the consumer and accountant populations. They disagree to a greater extent than do accountants that advertising will adversely impact professional image, are more neutral than accountants yet less optimistic than consumers about potential customer benefits from advertising, and disagree significantly more than both consumers and accountants that mass media vehicles are appropriate for accounting advertising. Industrial users' demographic and behavioral factors (firm siz...