Determinants of consumers’ attitudes towards digital advertising – A meta-analytic comparison across time and touchpoints

Abstract

By means of a meta-analysis, we synthesize the findings of over two decades of research from 88 empirical studies regarding four well established and theoretically rooted determinants on consumers’ attitude towards digital advertising: informativeness, entertainment, irritation, and credibility. Among other findings, we show that the effects of these determinants have changed over the past 20 years as the internet has developed. We also find that the effects differ depending on which type of online touchpoint was considered. In particular, we differentiate between the most prominent online touchpoints: email advertising, social media advertising, search engine advertising, web display banner advertising, electronic word-of-mouth communication, and corporate website advertising. Additionally, we extend the well-established determinants by more recent ones accounting for the ongoing digitalization and advances in online touchpoints (i.e. personalization, privacy concerns and interactivity). We also derive important managerial implications and several fundamental directions for future research.