The effect of culture on attitude towards online advertising and online brands: applying Hofstedes cultural factors to internet marketing

Abstract

In formulating advertising and marketing strategies, marketers usually ignore cultural values at their peril. Little is known about the effects of national culture on individuals' attitude towards online advertising and brands. The purpose of this study is to examine Hofstede's cultural factors including individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity and femininity, and long-term orientation on Attitude towards Online Advertisements (ATOA) and Attitude towards Online Brands (ATOB). Structural equation modelling was employed using partial least squares path modelling analysis to empirically test the proposed research model using 258 valid online questionnaires for evaluation of measurement and structural model for reflective constructs. The results indicate that individualism and long-term orientation are predictors of ATOA and ATOB. In addition, uncertainty avoidance does not have a positive relationship with ATOA and ATOB. The hypothesis on masculinity and ATOA is rejected, while there is no association between power distance and ATOB. Contribution of the study, limitations and further directions are proposed for future studies.