Mobile Users’ Acceptance of SMS Advertising:A Permission Marketing Approach

Mobile Users’ Acceptance of SMS Advertising: A Permission Marketing Approach

SURESH KUMAR G
SRM University, India

Abstract
In India, the practice of permission-based SMS advertising is yet to evolve as a marketing practice and mobile users resist SMS advertising in its current format due to unauthorised spamming. Given this context, what factors constitute the acceptance or rejection of SMS advertising is still unclear. So, the study investigated the factors influencing the mobile users’ acceptance of the existing system of SMS advertising and permission-based SMS advertising and at the same time analysed the effects of permission marketing approach on SMS advertising acceptance. Hence, a field experiment was conducted in Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu state of India. The findings reveal that permission marketing approach has significantly impacted the acceptance of SMS advertising. The mobile users significantly differ in their perceptions, attitude, behavioural intention and acceptance/rejection behaviour between the existing system of SMS advertising and permission-based SMS advertising. Credibility, personalisation and informativeness are the key predictors of attitude toward SMS advertising in both the existing and permission-based SMS advertising contexts.

Keywords: Permission marketing, SMS advertising acceptance, Indian setting

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Dr. Suresh Kumar G is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, SRM University, Tamil Nadu, India. His academic interests are advertising and cultural studies. He was awarded with senior research fellowship by the University Grants Commission, India.