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DMIJ
3,1 Examining beliefs and attitudes
toward online advertising
among Chinese consumers
52
Ying Wang
Department of Marketing, Williamson College of Business Administration,
Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio, USA
Shaojing Sun
School of Journalism, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Weizhen Lei
School of Journalism, Renmin University, Beijing, China, and
Mark Toncar
Department of Marketing, Williamson College of Business Administration,
Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio, USA

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate beliefs about and attitudes toward online
advertising (ATOA) among Chinese consumers and the relationship between belief factors, ATOA,
and consumers’ behavioral responses to online advertising.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from students of a large metropolitan
university in China. A total of 202 questionnaires provided usable data and were analyzed using AMOS.
Findings – Five belief factors that underlie Chinese consumers’ ATOA were identified:
entertainment, information seeking, credibility, economy, and value corruption. Information
seeking, economy and value corruption were significant predictors of ATOA. ATOA was found to
be a significant positive predictor of ad clicking and online shopping frequency.
Practical implications – Global marketers would benefit from understanding how consumers from
a booming emerging market perceive the internet as a source of advertising. Thus, the study will
enable businesses and organizations to use online advertising more effectively and efficiently in their
global marketing efforts.
Originality/value – Investigating Chinese ATOA extends current research on ATOA to a distinctly
different cultural context and may provide useful implications about expanding business across cultures.
Keywords Consumer behaviour, Advertising, Advertising media, Internet, China
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Recent years have witnessed growing interest in examining the mechanism and
influence of online advertising. Along the line of research, an intensely debated topic is
about the roles of consumers’ beliefs and attitudes toward online advertising (ATOA).
Direct Marketing: An International A host of studies have suggested that individuals’ ATOA is an important measure of
Journal advertising effectiveness (Ducoffe, 1996; Russell et al., 1994). Past research of online
Vol. 3 No. 1, 2009
pp. 52-66 advertising has provided insight into global marketing and commerce. However, the
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited foci of most studies have been on the USA or other developed countries. Little is known
1750-5933
DOI 10.1108/17505930910945732 about online advertising in developing countries such as China.
 The purpose of this study is to investigate beliefs and ATOA among Chinese Online
consumers. Over the past three decades China has experienced the most dynamic advertising
economic growth of any country in the world. The country’s entry into the World Trade
Organization also sped up its convergence with the global economy, including rapid
adoption of internet technologies. According to the China Internet Network Information
Center (CNNIC), by June 2007, China’s internet population had reached 162 million users,
second only to the USA. The size of internet advertising market has reached $630 million 53
in 2006, up 48.9 percent from 2005 (CNNIC, 2007). With this kind of economic growth
and scale, online advertising in China is now offering exciting opportunities for global
marketers to reach millions of targeted consumers.
It is of both theoretical and practical significance to inspect online advertising in
China. From a theoretical point of view, we examine the relationship among three groups
of factors including beliefs about online advertising, ATOA, and online advertising
outcomes among Chinese consumers. Thus, far, most studies on online advertising have
been conducted in the USA. Nevertheless, cultural influence on consumers’ beliefs and
attitudes toward advertising has been well documented in the marketing literature
(Duvasula and Lysonski, 2001; La Ferle et al., 2008). As Roberts and Ko (2001) stressed,
cultural differences are as relevant to online advertising as to traditional advertising.
In particular, China represents a typical Eastern culture that is experiencing rapid
economic growth and sociocultural transition. Therefore, investigating Chinese ATOA
extends current research on ATOA to a distinctly different cultural context and may
provide useful implications about expanding business across cultures.
Moreover, due to a short history of online advertising, consumers’ beliefs and
ATOA are still be evolving and changing (Karson et al., 2006). Compared with western
developed markets such as the USA, online advertising in China is still a relatively new
phenomenon. The differences in developmental stage of the industry also render
justification for the study. The findings may provide implications on the evolving
nature of online advertising.
From a practical standpoint, global marketers would benefit from understanding
how consumers from a booming emerging market perceive the internet as a source of
advertising. Thus, the study will enable businesses and organizations to use online
advertising more effectively and efficiently in their global marketing efforts. For
example, a better understanding of the relationship between ATOA and consumers’
response behavior will facilitate businesses to evaluate their online marketing
programs more accurately.
This paper was organized in the following manner: first, the authors briefly
introduced the development of online advertising in China and reviewed relevant
literature on consumers’ beliefs, attitudes, and behavior toward online advertising;
second, based on the literature review, we proposed research questions and
hypotheses; third, we reported methodology used to dissect the relationships among
culture, individuals’ beliefs, attitudes and consumer behavioral responses; fourth, we
presented significant research findings and discussed implications of those findings;
finally, we addressed limitations and future research directions.

Online advertising in China

Internet advertising in China has experienced explosive growth during the past decade,
evidenced in the scale of the market, the revenue generated, and its share of the overall
DMIJ Chinese advertising market (Huang and Xie, 2006). In 2006, the revenue of internet
3,1 advertising in China jumped 48.9 percent from 2005 to $630 million. The figure was
predicted to reach $840 million and $1.3 billion in 2007 and 2008, respectively, due to
the impact of 2008 Olympics in Beijing (iResearch, 2007). As more and more marketers
are eager to integrate internet advertising as part of their overall marketing
communication effort, online advertising will have a more profound impact in this
54 rising consumer market.
As the market grows, more players are joining the game, which results in a
less-concentrated market. According to iResearch (2007), the market share for the top
five online advertising companies decreased from 74.9 percent in 2001 to 50.9 percent
in 2006. The share for the top 20 companies dropped from 91.6 to 67.4 percent in 2006.
In addition, the formats of online advertising keep evolving and diversifying. Web site
advertising used to be the single format for online advertising in the Chinese market.
Nowadays, even though web site advertising still dominates with the lion share of the
revenue (86.9 percent), other types of internet advertising such as e-mail, digital
magazine, online games, and online podcasting have all made their appearances and
showed promising potentials.
While enjoying the phenomenal growth, online advertising in China also faces
problems and challenges. First of all, due to the lack of legal regulation and insufficient
government monitoring, fraud and misleading advertisements are common practices.
Advertising Law in China has not been able to keep up with the development of new
technologies. No specific legal constraints have been developed to guard against
misleading or false advertising on the internet (Yang, 2007). Furthermore, malpractice
by marketers and advertisers have resulted in a lack of confidence and trust toward
online advertising among Chinese consumers, which in turn has a direct impact on
the effectiveness of online advertising (Shi, 2007). Another challenge facing Chinese
online advertising industry is the impaired evaluation system. Most evaluation of
online advertising effectiveness is conducted based on the data provided by the web
sites themselves rather than independent third parties. There is no guarantee of
accuracy and objectivity of the data (Yang, 2007). Lastly, internet users often do not
find online advertisements attractive due to the lack of creativity and personality. The
click-thorough rate in recent years has been stagnant at around 0.33 percent.
In addition, advertisers often choose pop-ups, force-open and SPAM formats, which
intensifies the negative ATOA among Chinese internet users (Huang and Xie, 2006).
In spite of the rapid adoption of the internet in China, academic research on this new
advertising medium has largely lagged behind. Few studies have been conducted to
explore the subject of online advertising in China. Among them, Gong and Maddox
(2003) investigated Chinese consumers’ perceptions and responses to specific web
banner advertising, focusing on the short-term effects of banner advertising among
Chinese consumers. Results suggest that additional banner exposure improves Chinese
users’ brand recall, changes their attitude toward the brand, and increases their
purchase consideration. CNNIC has also conducted several general descriptive surveys
about internet use and online shopping in China. Survey results touch upon issues such
as different types of internet use, online shopping, and reasons that people avoid
online shopping. The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of Chinese
consumers’ general ATOA, and to explore the impact of ATOA on people’s online
behaviors.
Beliefs about online advertising Online
Consumers’ beliefs and attitudes toward advertising are important indicators of advertising
advertising effectiveness (Mehta, 2000). To date, there exist two typical views about
the relationship between consumers’ beliefs and their general attitudes toward
advertising. The first treats the two constructs as equivalent and interchangeable both
conceptually and operationally (Mehta, 2000; Schlosser and Shavitt, 1999), whereas the
second postulates that one’s beliefs about advertising are antecedents of attitude 55
towards advertising (Brackett and Carr, 2001; Ducoffe, 1996; Pollay and Mittal, 1993).
In later research on the subject, the second perspective seems to be gaining popularity.
Pollay and Mittal (1993), for example, argued that beliefs are specific statements about
the attributes of objects and attitudes are summative evaluations of objects. Emanating
from beliefs, attitudes operate at different levels of cognitive abstraction. Specifically,
ATOA is the aggregation of weighted evaluations of perceived attributes and
consequences of products (Brackett and Carr, 2001).
Consistently, researchers have argued that ATOA has both cognitive and affective
antecedents (Ducoffe, 1996; Shimp, 1981). Belief about advertising, as a result of the
benefit and cost that consumers derive from advertising, primarily serves as a
cognitive predictor of ATOA. Moreover, one’s belief plays a more important role in
forming ATOA when the person is engaged in central processing (i.e. more deliberate,
effortful and thoughtful) of advertising information than in peripheral processing (low
involvement, less thoughtful, and more emotional) (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986).
Prior studies have demonstrated that one’s belief about advertising is a
multidimensional construct. For instance, Bauer and Greyser (1968) identified two
dimensions underlying consumers’ beliefs: economic and social. Later on, Pollay and
Mittal’s (1993) model presented seven belief factors underlying consumers’ beliefs, and
classified those factors into two categories. The first category, labeled as personal use,
consists of factors including product information, social role and image, and
hedonic/pleasure. The second category, labeled as social effect, includes value
corruption, falsity/no sense, good for the economy, and materialism.
Among the seven factors, product information describes advertising’s role as an
important information purveyor, which contributes to marketplace efficiencies. Social
role and image reflects the belief that advertising influences people’s lifestyle and
formation of social status and image. Hedonic/pleasure refers to the view that
advertising can be fun, pleasant and entertaining. Good for the economy reflects the
viewpoint that advertising accelerates consumers’ adoption of new goods and
technologies, fosters full employment, lowers the average cost of production, promotes
healthy competition between producers, and raises the average standard of living
(Belch and Belch, 2008). Notwithstanding its benefits for consumers and the whole
society, advertising is often criticized for promoting materialism, corrupting values,
and misleading audiences. Particularly, advertising is accused of providing people
with unending razzle-dazzle of high-end products and preoccupying consumers with
commercial concerns at the expense of social, political, philosophical, and cultural
scruples (Belch and Belch, 2008). As a carrier of cultural and social values, advertising
can contradict or even compromise the values that a society cherishes.
One of the main goals of this study is to explore the beliefs underlying ATOA
among Chinese consumers. Therefore, the first research question asks:
RQ1. What are the beliefs about online advertising among Chinese consumers?
DMIJ Links among beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors
3,1 Research on attitudes toward advertising generally falls into two avenues. Along the first
line, scholars examine attitudes toward a particular advertising stimulus, and how they
correspondingly influence consumers’ brand preferences and ultimately, purchase
intention (Gong and Maddox, 2003). Along the second line, scholars investigate the impact
of consumers’ general beliefs and attitudes toward advertising effectiveness (MacKenzie
56 et al., 1986; Muehling, 1987). It is argued that consumer behavior such as advertisement
avoidance may be a result of consumers’ general negative attitudes toward advertising
(Li et al., 2002). The present study focuses on consumer’s general beliefs and ATOA.
As discussed before, one’s belief about advertising is regarded as an antecedent of
ATOA. Ducoffe (1996), for example, found that informativeness and entertainment were
positively related to ATOA, whereas irritation was negatively related to advertising
value. Karson et al. (2006) segmented consumers into three attitude groups, pro,
ambivalent, and critics based on their beliefs about online advertising. They found that
critics tended to use the internet less often for information search, and to view the internet
as less utilitarian and hedonic than the other two groups did. Furthermore, Wolin et al.
(2002) tested Pollay and Mittal’s (1993) belief model and showed that several belief factors
influenced web users’ ATOA which in turn had an impact on users’ behavioral intention.
They found belief factors such as product information, hedonic pleasure, and social role
and image, were positively related to ATOA, whereas materialism, falsity/no sense and
value corruption were negatively associated with ATOA. In sum, past research suggests
consumers’ beliefs about online advertising are positively associated with their ATOA.
Accordingly, we propose the following hypotheses:
H1. Positive beliefs about online advertising among Chinese consumers’ will have
a positive influence on their ATOA.
H2. Negative beliefs about online advertising among Chinese consumers’ will
have a negative influence on their ATOA.
Lavidge and Steiner’s (1961) conceptual model of advertising effect suggested that
one’s belief is a precursor of attitude, which by default is an antecedent of behavior.
Past research has supported that beliefs and attitudes are precursors of consumers’
response toward online advertising, and ultimately their purchase intention. Mehta
(2000), for example, examined the relationship between attitudes toward advertising in
general and consumer responses in terms of brand recall and buying intention. The
researcher found that attitudes toward advertising in general influenced attitudes
toward a specific advertisement. Furthermore, consumers with a more favorable
attitude towards advertising were more likely to recall the brand and be persuaded by
advertising. However, the attitudes toward advertising in this study were measured
with only six items. The reliability and validity of the instrument is seriously doubtful.
Recently, this line of research has extended to the internet arena. Research has
supported that ATOA is precursor of consumers’ responses toward online advertising and
their online shopping behavior. Stevenson et al. (2000), for example, found that poor
ATOA was associated with low attitude toward the web site and weak purchase intention.
Similarly, Wolin et al. (2002) found that the more positive attitudes one held towards online
advertising, the greater the likelihood that person would respond favorably to web ads.
Korgaonkar and Wolin (2002) found that a positive ATOA is more likely to result in
frequent online purchasing and high-online spending. However, past research on the
connection between ATOA and consumers’ behavioral responses is not conclusive. Online
Karson et al. (2006), for example, failed to find any significant differences on web advertising
purchasing and future purchase intention among three groups with different ATOA.
Therefore, the relationship between attitude and behavior warrants further exploration.
In this study, two outcome variables were considered including ad clicking and
reported online shopping frequency. Shopping frequency has been widely used in
traditional advertising research as a measure for the effectiveness of advertising and 57
therefore was extended to the online world. Ad clicking or clickthrough (the number of
times that banner is clicked upon) is an important evaluating measure for online
advertising in particular (Dreze and Zufryden, 1998). Compared with another
commonly used measure of online advertising, ad impression, ad clicking is viewed to
be more relevant and performance-based (The Economist, 2001). In Gong and
Maddox’s (2003) study, ad clicking was a significant predictor for advertising recall
among Chinese internet users. Wolin et al. (2002) also included ad clicking as one of
main online advertising behaviors. Therefore, to explore the relationships between
attitudes and behaviors, we propose the following research question:
RQ2. What is the relationship between ATOA and consumers responses to online
advertising?

Methods
Procedure and sampling
To examine the research questions and hypotheses proposed in this study, a
questionnaire was developed first in English and later translated into Chinese. That
version was re-translated back into English by a bilingual third party to ensure that
there was no inconsistency between the original questionnaire and the translated
English version of the questionnaire.
Data were collected from students of a large metropolitan university in China. Using
a student sample in this study was justified on two grounds: first, college students
comprise a demographic most likely to be internet users in China. According to CNNIC
(2007), in China, young people (25-years old and younger) constitute more than half of
the internet population (51.2 percent). Among them, people who are 18-24 account for
33.5 percent of the entire internet population. In addition, internet users also tend to be
highly educated. About 43.9 percent of internet users have college and above degrees.
Therefore, to some extent, college students are representative for Chinese internet
users. Second, compared with the general population, college students are more
homogeneous on external factors that may influence their attitudes and beliefs.
A paper and pencil survey was used in this study to achieve a high-response rate
of 78 percent. A total of 202 questionnaires provided usable data. The sample was
21.9 percent male and 78.1 percent female. Subjects ranged in age from 17 to 40 years
(M ¼ 22.19, SD ¼ 3.13). There were 49 percent undergraduate students (7.9 percent
freshman, 30.7 percent sophomore, 9.9 percent Junior, and 0.5 percent senior) and
51 percent graduate students.
In terms of the internet usage pattern, respondents on average had used the internet
for 5.84 years. Not including e-mail, 62.9 percent of the respondents reported that they
used the world wide web daily. In a typical day, 15.8 percent of respondents used the
web less than an hour, 55.9 percent used 1-2 hours, 20.8 percent used 2-3 hours and
6.9 percent used 3-4 hours. No participants reported using the web for more than five
DMIJ hours a day. In terms of the location of accessing the internet, 18.8 percent used the
3,1 internet at home whereas 75.7 percent access the internet from school. The majority
(92 percent) often or always visited sites they know. Many respondents (83 percent)
surfed the internet to search for new/better sites sometimes. On average, Chinese
internet users reported a moderate level of familiarity with online advertising
(M ¼ 2.85, SD ¼ 0.94). However, 27.7 percent of participants reported that they were
58 not very familiar with online advertising. The ad click rate among Chinese internet
users was low (M ¼ 1.69, SD ¼ 0.77), indicating the majority of respondents usually
ignore advertisements on the internet.

Measurement
The questionnaire measured internet use patterns, beliefs about online advertising,
general ATOA, ad clicking, and online purchasing intention. In addition, demographic
data such as age, gender, and class rank were collected to describe the characteristics
of the sample.
To measure subjects’ beliefs about online advertising, a 33-item scale was adapted from
previous studies (Pollay and Mittal, 1993; Yang, 2004). The scale includes several
dimensions of beliefs about online advertising such as informative (e.g. “the internet is a
valuable source of information”), materialistic (e.g. “internet advertising promotes a
materialistic society”), irritating (e.g. annoying), good for consumers (e.g. “internet
advertising is essential”), hedonic (e.g. “internet advertising is entertaining and
enjoyable”), credible (e.g. trustworthy and believable), manipulative (e.g. “internet
advertising persuades people to buy things they should not buy”), distort value
(e.g. “internet advertising promotes undesirable values in our society”). Participants
indicated their agreement with the statements about their beliefs about online
advertising on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to
“strongly agree” (5). Factor analysis was used to identify belief factors, which is detailed in
the result section.
Respondents’ general attitudes toward advertising were measured using a five-item
scale adapted from Korgaonkar and Wollin’s (2002) study. Respondents were asked to
indicate their agreement on five-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to
strongly agree (5) regarding the following statement: “Overall, I consider Internet
advertising a good thing”. “Overall, I like advertising on the Internet.” “In general,
I think that Internet advertising increases the cost of products.” Then they were asked
to consider the statement “I consider Internet advertising. . . ”, and were asked to
respond with a four-point scale ranging from (1) “not essential at all” to (4) “very
essential”. Finally, the respondents were asked to rate their ATOA on a scale ranging
from (1) “very unfavorable” to (5) “very favorable.” The reliability coefficient a for the
scale was 0.86. Responses of the five items were summed and averaged to create an
overall ATOA index (M ¼ 2.64, SD ¼ 0.56).
Finally, consumer behavioral response toward online advertising was
conceptualized as a combination of ad clicking and online shopping frequency.
Ad clicking was measured by the frequency of subjects’ clicking on online advertising.
Online shopping frequency was assessed by the question, “How often have you bought
products or services online from the Internet during the past 12 months?”
Results Online
Beliefs about online advertising advertising
To address RQ1, principal axis factor analysis with promax rotation was conducted to
examine the underlying structure of those 33 items measuring beliefs about
advertising. The rules of a minimum Eigenvalue of 1.0 and at least two loadings (60/40
loadings) per factor were referenced for extracting factors. A total of 15 items had
significant loadings on retained factors (Table I). Five factors were retained and 53.5 59
percent of the total variance was explained (Table II):
(1) Entertainment (Eigenvalue ¼ 8.84, Cronbach a ¼ 0.75). This factor consists
of four items and reflects individuals’ belief that advertising can bring fun and
enjoyment to their lives. High scores on this factor refer to a strong belief that
online advertising is entertaining.
(2) Information seeking (Eigenvalue ¼ 2.33, Cronbach a ¼ 0.80). The factor consists
of three items and reflects the belief of using online advertising to seek information.
High scores on this factor mean that online advertising is informative.
(3) Credibility (Eigenvalue ¼ 3.12, Cronbach a ¼ 0.86). The factor consists of
three items and reveals one’s view on whether online advertising is believable.
High-factor scores refer to high credibility of online advertising.
(4) Economy (Eigenvalue ¼ 1.72, Cronbach a ¼ 0.64). This factor consists of
three items and refers to an individual’s belief about the influence of online
advertising on the economy. High factor scores indicate a strong belief that
online advertising is beneficial for the economy.
(5) Value corruption (Eigenvalue ¼ 1.65, Cronbach a ¼ 0.82). This factor consists
of two items and reveals one’s belief about the impact of advertising on people’s
outlook of life. High-factor scores mean that online advertising has a strong
negative effect on moral values and social justice.

A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the goodness-of-fit of the

measurement model for belief factors. AMOS Version 5.0 was used for the structural

Items M SD

1. Is a good source of product/service information 2.76 0.91

2. Supplies relevant information 3.20 0.90
3. Provides timely information 2.97 1.02
4. Is entertaining 3.13 1.07
5. Is enjoyable 2.91 1.02
6. Is pleasing 2.26 0.95
7. Is interesting 2.69 0.95
8. Is credible 2.24 0.80
9. Is trustworthy 2.14 0.78
10. Is believable 2.47 0.82
11. Has positive effects on the economy 3.22 0.74
12. Raises our standard of living 2.78 0.76
13. Results in better products for the public 2.80 0.81 Table I.
14. Promotes undesirable values in our society 3.08 0.78 Items of belief factors
15. Distorts the values of youth 3.03 0.77 (online advertising)
DMIJ
Internet movie factors
3,1 Belief Items INFO ENTE CRED ECON VALU

Information
Item 1 0.55 20.10 0.11 0.20 0.03
Item 2 0.65 0.04 0.12 20.04 2 0.05
60 Item 3 0.95 0.00 2 0.05 20.12 0.06
Entertainment
Item 4 0.20 0.73 2 0.03 20.11 2 0.07
Item 5 20.19 0.79 0.09 0.01 2 0.08
Item 6 20.03 0.51 0.11 20.06 0.12
Item 7 0.06 0.76 2 0.00 0.10 0.04
Credibility
Item 8 0.03 0.00 0.85 20.05 0.02
Item 9 20.13 0.06 1.02 0.04 0.01
Item 10 0.04 0.13 0.66 0.06 2 0.06
Economy
Item 11 0.03 20.10 0.12 0.56 2 0.10
Item 12 20.05 20.02 2 0.02 0.74 2 0.13
Item 13 20.06 0.07 2 0.06 0.84 2 0.06
Value
Item 14 20.01 20.05 2 0.00 20.12 0.75
Item 15 20.04 20.04 2 0.07 0.03 0.91
Table II.
Factor loadings of beliefs Notes: INFO, information; ENTE, entertainment; CRED, credibility; ECON, economy; VALU, value

modeling analysis. Over the past decades, there has been a large body of research and
debate on the cutoff criteria of fit indices for assessing model fit (Hu and Bentler, 1999;
Kline, 2005; Loehlin, 1998). Among a range of fit indices, the following were those often
reported in published research: the x 2, comparative fit index (CFI), the standardized
root mean square residual (SRMR), the root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA), the goodness of fit index (GFI), and the incremental index of fit (IFI).
Researchers tend to agree that it is not advisable to rely on one fit index to assess the
model fit. Instead, using a combination of different fit indices may be more reliable.
Since x 2 is sensitive to sample size, x 2/df is recommended and the ideal cutoff is
three (Kaplan, 1990). Kline (2005) recommended the following cutoff criteria for good
model fit: SRMR , 0.10, CFI . 0.90, GFI . 0.90, IFI . 0.90, RMSEA , 0.08.
Hu and Bentler (1999) suggested that a strict rule with SRMR , 0.08 and
RMSEA , 0.06 would result in a lower type II error rate of model rejection.
Based on the typical cut-off criteria of model fit, results indicate that the
measurement model of belief factors fit the sample satisfactorily (Table III). A graphical
measurement model is shown in Figure 1.

Fit index x df x/df SRMR GFI IFI CFI RMSEA

Table III.
Measurement model fit of Result 126.69 79 1.604 0.054 0.921 0.964 0.963 0.063
belief factors Ideal value ,3 , 0.08 . 0.90 .0.90 . 0.90 ,0.08
 item1 e1 Online
item2 e2 advertising
information
item3 e3

item4 e4
item5 e5
61
entertainment item6 e6
item7 e7

item8 e8

credibility item9 e9
item10 e10

item11 e11
item12 e12
economy
item13 e13
Figure 1.
item14 e14 Measurement model
value of the belief factors
item15 e15

Links among beliefs, attitudes and behaviors

Two structural models were fitted to the data. For Model I, the indicator of online
behavior was ad clicking, whereas frequency of online buying was the indicator of
online behavior for Model II. Hence, in both models, online behavior was treated as a
single-indicator construct. Results presented in Table IV show that both structural
models fitted well. Structural Models I and II are shown in Figures 2 and 3 graphically.
Regression coefficients of structural models are presented in Tables V and VI. H1 is
partially supported. Two out of four positive belief factors such as information seeking,
and economy beliefs significantly and positively predict ATOA. Between the two, the
information seeking belief is the stronger predictor. Credibility and entertainment
however, did not emerge as significant predictors of ATOA. H2 was supported. The
only negative belief factor, the value corruption belief negatively influences ATOA.
The results also show that ATOA is a statistically significant and positive predictor
of both online ads clicking and online shopping frequency. In other words, the more
positive ATOA one holds, the more likely he or she will click on advertisements and
shopping online. Roughly speaking, ATOA mediates the relationship between belief
and behavioral responses.

x df x/df SRMR GFI IFI CFI RMSEA

Model I 453.81 112 1.473 0.053 0.897 0.967 0.966 0.035

Model II 452.73 112 1.470 0.053 0.899 0.967 0.966 0.035 Table IV.
Ideal value ,3 , 0.08 .0.90 . 0.90 . 0.90 ,0.08 Structural model fit
DMIJ
information
3,1

D1
entertainment
62 ATOA

credibility behavior

D2
economy Ad click

Figure 2.
Structural Model I value

information

D1
entertainment
ATOA

credibility behavior

D2
economy purchase

Figure 3.
Structural Model II value

Discussions and implications

Over the past three decades, China has become one of the fastest-growing consumers
markets in the world. As advertisers turn their attention to China and incorporate new
media such as the internet to reach Chinese consumers, understanding Chinese ATOA
has important implications for global businesses.
 Exploring Chinese consumers’ beliefs about online advertising, this study identified Online
five factors that appear to underlie ATOA, including entertainment, information advertising
seeking, credibility, economy, and value corruption. The information-seeking factor is
a positive predictor of ATOA. This result confirmed findings from prior studies. Wolin
et al. (2002), for example, found that product information was positively related to
ATOA. Ducoffe (1996) also found a strong correlation between informativeness and
internet advertising value. It is not surprising that those consumers who perceive that 63
online advertising provide needed information have a more favorable ATOA. For
many consumers, one of the most important functions of advertising is to provide
information. Internet use motivation research also reveals that looking for information
is the primary reason people use the internet (Rubin, 2002). It seems reasonable then to
extend this line of reasoning and suggest that satisfying people’s information need
may be a primary function of online advertising.
Economy is another significant positive predictor for ATOA. A basic view of
advertising proponents is that advertising is the lifeblood of business – it provides
consumers with information about products and services and encourages them to
improve their standard of living (Belch and Belch, 2008). As mentioned before,
economic growth has been the number one issue in China. It makes sense that people
who believe online advertising contributes to the economic development had a
more positive ATOA. Advertising has been linked to producing jobs and helping new
firms enter the marketplace. Advertising, therefore, stimulates competition and
contributes to economic development.
Value corruption is a significant negative predictor for ATOA. This is consistent with
previous studies. Wolin et al. (2002), for example, found that among the negative belief
factors correlated with ATOA, value corruption played the most dominant role.

Regression path B SE B ß CR

Information ! ATOA 0.323 0.081 0.387 * * * 4.007

Entertainment ! ATOA 0.120 0.062 0.152 1.952
Credibility ! ATOA 0.120 0.065 0.143 1.832
Economy ! ATOA 0.450 0.121 0.323 * * * 3.711
Value ! ATOA 2 0.120 0.053 2 0.153 * 2 2.276
ATOA ! ad click 0.788 0.098 0.599 * * * 7.999 Table V.
Regression weights
Notes: *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01; * * *p , 0.001 of structural Model I

Regression path B SE B ß CR

Information ! ATOA 0.357 0.084 0.412 * * * 4.245

Entertainment ! ATOA 0.094 0.063 0.114 1.486
Credibility ! ATOA 0.117 0.068 0.134 1.711
Economy ! ATOA 0.500 0.124 0.356 * * * 4.024
Value ! ATOA 2 0.143 0.057 2 0.168 * 2 2.500
ATOA ! purchasing 0.437 0.102 0.322 * * * 4.261 Table VI.
Regression weights
Notes: *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01; * * *p , 0.001 of structural Model II
DMIJ They suggested that web users display more negative ATOA when they believe online
3,1 advertising undermine people’s value system. This factor has special meanings for
Chinese consumers. Past literature has established that advertising is not only a
marketing tool but also a social actor and a cultural artifact that conveys social and
cultural values and beliefs (Dyer, 1982; Frith, 1995). China is in transition from a traditional
Chinese culture to a more hybrid culture that features the infusion of western beliefs and
64 values. There is a serious concern that the younger generation is abandoning traditional
Chinese values and becoming westernized. The research on cultural/advertising
imperialism represents this concern by criticizing western advertising because it
undermines the indigenous cultural values. To date, the online world is still dominated by
the western countries, so it is natural that people might express concern that online
advertising may promote western values and distort/diminish traditional Chinese virtues.
In this study, we also found that ATOA positively predicted ad clicking and online
shopping frequency. This is consistent with the attitude-behavior link exhibited in the
literature. For example, Wolin et al. (2002) found that respondents’ favoring ATOA
significantly influenced their web advertising behavior such as clicking online ads.
Korgaonkar and Wolin (2002) further observed that heavy internet users with positive
ATOA were more likely to purchase online.
This study explored the beliefs and attitudes of Chinese consumers toward online
advertising and the relationships between different components in consumer response
sequence. Findings may deepen our understanding of ATOA in the unique Chinese
environment and provide useful implications for global marketers. In particular, results
showed that ATOA did have an influence on consumers’ behavioral responses.
Therefore, a general positive ATOA among Chinese consumers is critical in improving
the effectiveness of online advertising. Furthermore, in order to cultivate such an
attitude, advertisers need to aggressively position online advertising as an information
provider and a contributor to economic prosperity, and not limit effect of online
advertising to distorting social values. The findings also provide guidelines for creating
and evaluating online advertisements. For example, when designing or assessing online
advertisements, advertisers and agencies could use the criteria such as informativeness,
link to economic development, and not offending consumers.
There are several limitations associated with the study. First, the student sample
used in this study may limit the generalizability of research findings. Future research
could examine a broader profile of online consumers, and compare online advertising
across different profiles. Second, this study primarily investigated the impact of cultural
background on ATOA. Past research has demonstrated a close link between ATOA and
other social and individual factors such as economic development level, demographics,
lifestyle, and internet experience (Karson et al., 2006; Korgaonkar and Wolin, 2002;
Yang, 2004). Future investigation could focus on how the aforementioned factors
conspire to influence online advertising. Lastly, this study only investigated the
relationship among beliefs, ATOA, and behaviors among Chinese consumers. A
cross-cultural comparative study could enhance our understanding of cultural influence
on consumers’ ATOA and online shopping behavior (Kwak et al., 2008).

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Corresponding author
Ying Wang can be contacted at: ywang01@ysu.edu

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