Young Adults' Attitude towards Advertising: A Multi-Group Analysis by Ethnicity

• Published in: Revista brasileira de gestão de negócios Vol. 17; no. 54; pp. 769 - 787
• Main Authors: Ting, Hiram, de Run, Ernest Cyril, Thurasamy, Ramayah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: São Paulo Centro Universitário FECAP, mantido pela Fundação Escola de Comericio Álvares Penteado (FECAP) 01.01.2015; Fundação Escola de Comércio Álvares Penteado
• Subjects: Advertising; Advertising1; attitude; Attitudes; Behavior; belief1; Consumer behavior; Consumers; Cultural differences; Cultural heritage; Cultural values; Culture; Ethnicity; Influence; Marketing; Materialism; Minority & ethnic groups; Sampling techniques; SEM1; Studies; Variance analysis; Young adults; Malaysia
• ISSN: 1806-4892; 1983-0807
• DOI: 10.7819/rbgn.v17i54.1777

This study aims to investigate the attitude of Malaysian young adults towards advertising. How this segment responds to advertising, and how ethnic/cultural differences moderate are assessed. A quantitative questionnaire is used to collect data at two universities. Purposive sampling technique is adopted to ensure the sample represents the actual population. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and multi-group analysis (MGA) are utilized in analysis. The findings show that product information, hedonism, and good for economy are significant predictors of attitude towards advertising among young adults. Additionally, falsity is found to be significant among the Chinese, while social role and materialism among the Dayaks. No difference is observed in the effect of attitude on intention towards advertising by ethnicity. While homogeneity in advertising beliefs is assumed across ethnic groups, the Chinese and Dayak young adults are different in some of their advertising beliefs.