Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

Assessing the Value of Social Network Sites Advertisements

Hossam Deraz
School of Business and Engineering
Halmstad University Sweden
Hossam.deraz@hh.se

Gabriel Baffour Awuah

School of Business and Engineering
Halmstad University Sweden
gabriel.awuah@hh.se

ABSTRACT
Marketers use social network sites (SNSs) to
merchandise their products and services more
efficiently. However, the scope of the published
studies about assessing social network sites
advertisements value (SNSAV) is limited. The
present study consequently aims to include
credibility and interactivity in addition to
informativeness and entertainment and irritation
values as variables for the assessment of SNSAV,
as perceived by SNS users.
The data analysis supports the central concepts of
this study that informativeness, credibility,
interactivity and entertainment values are the main
variables of assessing SNSAV, while irritation
value has no significant effect on the assessment
of SNSAV. Moreover, according to the beta
coefficient, informativeness and entertainment
values, in conjunction with credibility and
interactivity values, have different effects on
consumers assessment of SNSAV compared to
the results of the previous studies.
This study is successful in terms of introducing
advertisements credibility and interactivity as
crucial variables in the assessment of SNSAV. It
is also successful with regard to offering a new
construct model for assessing SNSAV based on
four
main
dimensions:
informativeness,
entertainment and credibility and interactivity
values. According to the data analysis,
interactivity value has the highest significant
effect with regard to the assessment of SNSAs.
KEYWORDS
Advertising value, E-marketing, Social Network
Ads, Social Network Sites.

1 INTRODUCTION
The advent of electronic marketing (emarketing) at the turn of this century has led
to a revolution in business processes and a

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

Desalegn Abraha Gebrekidan

School of Technology and Society
Skvde University Sweden
desalegn.abraha@his.se

redefinition of the notion of the consumers.

The most important technology and business
innovation that has enabled this revolution is
the extension of the Internet to the World
Wide Web [1]. This has led to the potential of
e-marketing to create additional value and
enable many firms to achieve their marketing
objectives by using Internet media, websites
(including third-party websites) and e-mail as
marketing tools [2].
Most recently, many firms that are facing
intensive competition have been using social
network sites (SNSs) to advertise their new
offers or to communicate with their fans [3].
These SNSs manifest new forms of social
regulation in regard to the relationship
between producers and consumers, and they
offer an open market in which large numbers
of buyers and sellers participate and interact
[4]. Based on these advantages, while
browsing SNSs, we can find many firms that
seek to establish fans and followers, thereby
helping them to develop an open-conversation
platform with their consumers. This proves
the crucial role of SNSs as a marketing and
communication tool used by companies to
interact with their target customers.
The value of advertisements is one of the
basic determinants of a brands success [5]. It
represents a core determinant of purchasing
decisions and behaviour towards the
advertisements [6]. According to this, and due
to the roles of SNSs in marketing, some
researchers have explored SNSs as marketing
and advertising media [7], [8], [9], [10].
Researchers consider mass customisation,
global access and proliferation as the main
advantages of using SNSs as advertising
platforms. For example, in 2014, Facebook
had about 1.3 billion monthly active users
around the world. In addition, there are about

89

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

51,063 brands, such as Cornetto, Coca-Cola,

Despegar.com, Samsung, Decolar.com and
Converse, advertising their products on SNSs
[11].
However, the scope of the published studies
regarding social network advertisements
value (SNSAV) is limited. Few researchers
have contributed directly to the assessment of
SNSAs, as perceived by SNS users [12], [13],
[14]. The few studies focus on three main
variables as the main predictors of assessing
SNSAV: informativeness of advertisement,
irritation value and entertainment value. In
these studies, the informativeness of social
network sites advertisements (SNSAs) was
the most effective predictor of consumer
assessment
of
SNSAV.
Furthermore,
credibility value and interactivity value have
been identified as factors that predict the
consumers
attitude
towards
online
advertisements [15], [16], [17], [18], [19].
Based on this limitation of published studies
on the assessment of SNSAV, the present
paper aims to extend the existing literature on
SNSAs by introducing interactivity and
credibility values as additional dimensions of
SNSAV assessment (in addition to the
previously
measured
dimensions:
informativeness, irritation and entertainment
values). Based on the above discussion, the
present study answers two main questions:
What are the main dimensions of assessing
SNSAV? How do these dimensions, in
conjunction with each other, predict
consumers perceptions of SNSAV?
This paper is structured as follows: Following
the introduction is a redundancy of the
theoretical concepts that led to the research
hypotheses. This is followed by a
methodology
section
that
contains
descriptions of the research sample, variables
and the dimensionality and reliability tests.
Finally, after the discussion of the empirical
findings, there is a discussion about the
theoretical and empirical implications of the
study.

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Online Ads Value (OAV)
Online advertisements have a critical effect on
consumers purchasing behaviour. According
to the hierarchy-of-effects approach, online
advertisements function as a cognitive factor
in making the consumer aware of a
product/service, and then as an affective
factor by attracting and persuading the
consumers and, finally, as a behavioural
factor by moving the consumer towards the
purchasing decision [20]. This approach
proves
the
importance
of
online
advertisements as a factor that predicts
consumers purchasing intention and enables
a deeper and more current understanding of
how online consumers perceive ONV.
[6] is one of the first bodies of research that
have contributed to the assessment of OAV. It
focuses on the effects of online consumers
perceived value of online advertisements
(OAs). According to that study, the
distinction between OAV and attitudes
towards OAs gives validity to consumers
responses by measuring the contribution of
entertainment, informativeness and irritation
values. [15] validates the results of that study
by extending it to include credibility and
consumer demographics in assessing OAV.
Two years later, interactivity and consumer
motives have been identified as additional
dimensions that contribute to attitudes
towards online advertisements [21].
2.2 Social Network Ads Value (SNSAV)
[12] attempted to assess the value of
advertisements on SNSs and TV. The
researchers used [6] model with its three main
variables: irritation value, entertainment value
and informativeness of advertisements (ads).
According to that research, the information
and entertainment values of SNSAs played
crucial roles in the assessment of SNSAs,
while irritation value had no significant effect
on the assessment of SNSAs. [13] used the
same model to assess SNSAs, as perceived by
Indian students. The results of that study

90

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

confirmed that the informativeness of SNSAs

and entertainment value are positively
correlated to SNSAV, but the irritation value
of SNSAs is negatively correlated to it.
More studies have contributed to SNSAV
while they are assessing consumers attitudes
towards SNSAs. [22] introduced credibility to
the information value, entertainment value
and irritation value of SNSAs as the main
variables of assessing consumers attitudes
towards SNSAs. According to the perceptions
of the South African youth in that study,
informativeness, entertainment, irritation and
credibility values of SNSAs are the main
variables that predict consumers attitudes
towards SNSAs.
In the second study, while exploring the
factors that predict consumers attitudes
towards SNSAs, [23] indicated that the
entertainment value and informativeness of
SNSAs predict consumers perception
towards SNSAV from the points of view of
postgraduate management students in the
USA. Finally, while investigating Pakistani
consumers attitudinal insights into SNSAs,
[24] confirmed that information value and
entertainment value have a significant
correlation to SNSAV. [12] observed from
their analysis that the model of [6] does not
provide a good fit for assessing SNSAV.
However, most of the identified research used
the same model of [6] to assess SNSAV.
Accordingly, this study aims to extend the
credibility and interactivity of SNSAs as
variables in addition to informativeness,
entertainment and irritation values while
determining consumers assessment of
SNSAV.
3 THEORY AND HYPOTHESES
In keeping with the identified literature, the
topic of SNSAV has been investigated based
on
three
main
dimensions:
the
informativeness,
irritation
value
and
entertainment value of ads. Other research
investigated the credibility and interactivity
values of ads as the factors used to assess
attitudes towards OAV. Based on this, the

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

conceptual framework of this study has the

following variables:

Informativeness

Interactivity

SNAV

Credibility

Entertainment

Irriation

Figure 1. The conceptual framework of assessing

SNSAV

3.1 Informativeness of SNSAs

E-commerce provides a significant advantage
for consumers as it enables them to seek the
information they desire and to ignore the
information they do not need [25]. Further
developments in e-commerce are significantly
affecting the information-seeking behaviour
of online consumers [26]. This proves the
importance of the informativeness of
advertisements as one of the driving factors
used in the assessment of OAV in general.
The informativeness of online advertisements
represents the ability to effectively provide
relevant information in the advertising
context, as perceived by online consumers
[27]. In this regard, researchers reveal the
importance of informativeness by ascertaining
consumers perceptions towards information
value while they are assessing OAV [6], [15],
[21], [28], [29].
Furthermore, the informativeness of SNSAs
has been identified as being positively
correlated to consumers perceptions towards
SNSAs [13], [22], [23], [24]. In this study, the
informativeness of SNSAs is tested in
conjunction with credibility and interactivity
using the following hypothesis to identify
how it predicts the consumers assessment of
SNSAV:
H01: Informativeness of SNSAs has a positive
effect on SNSAV, as perceived by SNS users.

91

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

3.2 Entertainment Value of SNSAs

The
entertainment
value
of
online
advertisements represents the degree of
pleasure and involvement during the
interaction with a specific advertisement [30].
Advertisers believe that entertainment
increases
the
effectiveness
of
an
advertisements message and generates a
positive attitude towards the brand [12], [31],
[32].
Moreover,
entertainment-oriented
advertisements aim to keep consumers
occupied in a manner which is designed to
encourage repeat visits [33].
Generally, OAV is dependent on the level of
entertainment of online advertisements [6].
This is particularly noticeable with SNSAs,
where entertainment value has been identified
as an important factor in assessing SNSAV
and attitudes towards SNSAs [12], [13], [34].
Moreover, SNS users seek enjoyment,
relaxation and to pass time; this relates to the
nature of SNSs as entertaining activity sites
[23]. Based on these facts, in this study, the
effect of the entertainment value of SNSAs on
the consumers perception towards SNSAV in
conjunction with credibility and interactivity
values is tested by the following hypothesis:
H02: Entertainment value of SNSAs has a
positive effect on SNSAV, as perceived by
SNS users.
3.3 Irritation Value of SNSAs
Consumers irritation value with regard to
online advertisements arises when they
experience discomfort while watching the
advertisement [13] or when they seem to be
less likely to be persuaded by the
advertisement. The consumers feelings of
irritation play a crucial role in their
perceptions towards the online advertisements
[35]. This is one of the primary dimensions
that have a negative effect on OAV, as
perceived by online users [6]. The irritation
value of online advertisements includes
descriptors such as confusing, annoying,
irritating and deceptive [12]. Moreover, it

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

contributes to a loss of privacy in regard to

SNSAs [23].
In some research, the irritation value of
SNSAs has an insignificant correlation to
SNSAV [12], [36]. Other researchers have
identified that irritation value has a high
negative correlation to the consumers
perceptions towards SNSAV [13]. Based on
this, it is important to include irritation as one
of the main dimensions of assessing SNSAV.
The following hypothesis is used to identify
the correlation between irritation value and
SNSAV, in conjunction with the credibility
and interactivity values of SNSAs, as
perceived by SNS users:
H03: Irritation value of SNSAs has a negative
effect on SNSAV, as perceived by SNS users.
3.4 Credibility Value of SNSAs
Credibility towards advertisement represents
the degree to which consumers perceive
claims made about a brand in a specific
advertisement to be truthful and believable
[16]. According to cyber psychology studies,
credibility is an essential dimension of the
assessment of consumers responses towards
a specific online brand community [37], [38].
According to [15], credibility is directly
related to the consumers perceptions of
OAV. Based on this, many researchers
consider advertisement credibility to be a
principal
dimension
when
assessing
consumers perceptions towards OAV and
their attitudes towards online advertisements
[16], [17], [19], [29].
The credibility of advertisements has no effect
on consumers perceptions towards Facebook
advertisements, according to the perceptions
of Malaysian university students [14], while
other researchers found that the credibility of
online advertisements has a strong effect on
consumers perceptions towards ONV [29],
[36]. In keeping with these findings, in this
study, the credibility value of SNSAs is
considered one of the main dimensions of the
assessment of SNSAV by testing the
following hypothesis:

92

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

H04: Credibility value of SNSAs has a

positive effect on SNSAV, as perceived by
SNS users.
3.5 Interactivity Value of SNSAs
Researchers have defined interactivity from
various perspectives as the extent to which
users can participate in modifying the
messages they receive through advertisements
[39] or as a means for the individuals to
effectively communicate with each other [40].
Interactivity shifts the ways in which online
users perceive online advertisements [41] and
increases the opportunities to use SNSs to
generate viral marketing [42]. Moreover, the
capacity of SNSs to manifest a new form of
social regulation in the relationship between
producers and consumers forms an open
market in which a large number of buyers and
sellers participate and interact [4]; this can
highlight the crucial role of the interactivity of
SNSAs in the assessment of SNSAV.
According to [15], the interactivity of online
advertisements predicts the consumers
perceptions towards OAV. This is confirmed
by [14], as that study identified the
interactivity of SNSAs as a variable that
predicts consumers attitudes towards SNSAs.
Based on these facts, the interactivity value of
SNSAs is considered in this research to be
one of the main dimensions for assessing
SNSAV by testing the following hypothesis:
H05: Interactivity value of SNSAs has a
positive effect on SNSAV, as perceived by
SNS users.
4 RESEARCH METHODS
In keeping with the purpose of the research, a
quantitative approach is regarded as being the
most appropriate. It is guided by the
functional or positivist paradigm [43]. To
achieve construct validity of the collected
data, the questionnaire is constructed based on
the conceptual framework of assessing
SNSAV, as perceived by SNS users, to
measure what is supposed to be tested as
recommended by [44].

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

Moreover, the present authors carried out a

pilot study by distributing the questionnaire to
ten different students to solicit their feedback.
Based on their feedback, the questionnaire
was refined. According to [45], pilot testing
should take place before using a questionnaire
to collect data. This enables the researcher to
refine the questionnaire so that respondents
will have no problem answering the
questions. This enabled the researchers to
assess the questions validity and the
reliability of the collected data.
The study data were collected by distributing
the questionnaire to relevant Facebook users
at Halmstad University. Although this sample
is not representative of the Swedish
consumer, students at a Swedish university
were chosen as the research sample for two
main reasons. It is the first time that young
Swedish consumers perceptions towards
SNSAs have been researched; the previous
studies regarding SNSAV considered
university students in the United States,
Pakistan and South Africa as the research
samples. Moreover, university students
represent the most active users of SNSs: 72%
of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29
who are online use SNSs, making them the
most frequent SNS users [12].
The questionnaires were distributed using
three different sampling techniques, as shown
in Table 1. The main target of the research
was the university students who have been
using Facebook for at least two years. Of the
214 questionnaires that were collected, 13
were ignored either because the respondents
did not have Facebook accounts or because
they did not complete the survey.
The following table represents the completed
surveys that were collected and classified
according to the sampling techniques that
were used:

93

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

Table 1. Collected surveys classified according to the sampling techniques used

Sampling Technique
1. Convenience
2. Self-selection

Description
Face-to-face distribution
Surveymonkey.com

Distribution Channel
Halmstad University
Facebook
E-mail invitation
Web-link
Halmstad

Through friends and colleagues

3. Snowball
Total completed surveys collected

4.1 Measures
The respondents provided answers regarding
their perceptions towards the variables for
assessing SNSAV according to a 5-point
Likert scale as follows: Strongly Disagree =
1, Disagree = 2, Neutral = 3, Agree = 4 and
Strongly Agree = 5. The sources of the items
of the six main dimensions of the conceptual
framework of the research were based on their
utility in previous research as follows:
Informativeness of SNSAs: Items were
borrowed and modified from scales
developed by [12], [23].
Entertainment value: Items were borrowed
and modified from scales developed by
[12], [23], [30].
Irritation value: Items were borrowed and
modified from scales developed by [12],
[23].

Collected surveys
129
33
8
14
17
201

Credibility value: Items were borrowed

and modified from scales developed by
[14], [18], [21].
Interactivity value: Items were borrowed
and modified from scales developed by
[21].
SNSAV: Items were borrowed and
modified from scales developed by [12].

The principal component analysis (PCA)

method of factor extraction with varimax
rotation was used to remove the items which
loaded heavily on more than one construct
factor. The remaining items were averaged to
obtain each variable score. Moreover, the
internal consistency reliabilities coefficients
of each group of the remaining items were
tested using Cronbachs Alpha statistical
method. A summary of these tests, as well as
descriptive analyses for the six variables used,
are found in Table 2.

Table 2. Dimensionality test, reliability test and descriptive statistics

Rotated Component Matrixa
Interactivity

Credibility

Irritation

Entertainment

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

Informativeness

Value

VAL01- Is Useful
VAL02- Is Valuable
INF01- Offers valuable information
INF02- Offers timely information
INF03- Offers updated information
ENT01- Entertains me
ENT02- Is enjoyable for me
ENT03- Excites me
ENT04- Pleases me
CRE01- Is trustworthy
CRE02- Is credible
CRE03- Is believable
INT01- Has a cognitive value
INT02- Facilitates two-way
communication
INT03- Offers a vivid communication
experience

0.687
0.681

Means

SD

0.633
0.689

2.368
2.418
2.791
3.055
3.299
2.478
2.413
2.164
2.134
2.353
2.408
2.481
2.388
2.682

0.902
0.886
0.978
0.960
1.054
1.063
1.031
0.926
0.870
0.900
0.907
0.939
0.878
1.095

0.733

2.667

0.971

0.601
0.804
0.839
0.771
0.824
0.873
0.700
0.875
0.805
0.866

94

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

IRR01- Deceives me
IRR02- Confuses me
IRR03- Irritates me
IRR04- Annoys me
Chronbachs Alpha
Average of customers assessments of
the dimensions

0.83
2.39

0.82
3.05

0.84
2.30

0.800
0.833
0.763
0.780
0.83
3.15

3.055
2.901
3.368
3.264
0.90
2.42

0.991
1.010
1.129
1.151

0.81
2.58

5 DATA ANALYSIS
5.1

supported by the adjusted R2 value, as the

four-dimension model without irritation gave
the highest adjusted value of 47%. Even the
R2 change by adding the irritation value was
small at 0.001.

Regression Analysis

Based on the stepwise regression analysis for

testing the five main dimensions of assessing
SNSAV, the model without the irritation
value of SNSs provided the best fit for
assessing SNSAV, as its coefficient of
determination of a linear regression (R2) was
0.481 at significant change p < 0.001, while
the fifth model with the irritation value was
not significant as it had a high probability
distributions value, p = 0.527. This result was

According to this result, the coefficients of

the four-dimension model have been tested to
identify the effect of those four main
predictors (informativeness, entertainment,
credibility and interactivity) on assessing
SNSAV, as in Table 3.

Table 3. Coefficients of the four main predictors of assessing SNSAV

Model

Coefficientsa
Unstandardised
Standardised
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
Std. Error
Beta

(Constant)
0.277
Informativeness (INF) 0.133
4 Entertainment (ENT)
0.251
Credibility (CRE)
0.141
Interactivity (INT)
0.309
a. Dependent Variable: Value

0.174
0.063
0.065
0.059
0.071

From the standard coefficient beta in Table 3,

the four variables, after deleting the irritation
value of SNSAs, had a positive significant
coefficient with SNSAV. The most
coefficient predictor of SNSAV was the
interactivity value, as its beta value equaled
0.313; at the second level, it was the
entertainment value with a beta value of
0.261; at the third level, it was the credibility
value at 0.146; and, finally, the information
value at 0.139.
Moreover, the tolerance statistics of the
predictors ranged between 0.510 and 0.708.

0.139
0.261
0.146
0.313

Sig.

1.594
2.092
3.853
2.387
4.344

0.113
0.038
0.000
0.018
0.000

Collinearity Statistics
Tolerance

VIF

0.598
0.577
0.708
0.510

1.672
1.732
1.412
1.962

According to [46], the tolerance statistics

should be more than 0.2 to avoid high
multicollinearity. In addition, the variance
inflation factor (VIF) of the predictors ranged
between 1.412 and 1.962; it should be less
than 10 to avoid any collinearity problem
[47].
Based on model 4, the line regression of the
research model of assessing the consumers
perception of SNSAV is in best fit, when x=0
at constant level 0.262, to have the following
construct equation (1):

SNSAV = 0.277 + 0.133 INF + 0.251 ENT + 0.141 CRE + 0.309 INT

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

(1)

95

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

5.2 Hypotheses text

Informativeness (3.05)
Entertainment (2.30)
-0.036 H03

Irritation (3.15)
Credibility (2.42)
Interactivity (2.58)

0.146 H04

SNSs ADs Value

(2.39)

0.313 H05

Figure 2. Factors of assessing SNSAV

According to the standardised coefficient

from Table 3, the informativeness of SNSAs,
as perceived by the survey respondents, had
the lowest positive coefficient on SNSAV in
conjunction with the other three variables, as
13.9 % of the variations on SNSAV were
counted by variations of the informativeness
of SNSAs. However, this significant
coefficient result can reject the null
hypothesis, H0: Infomativeness of SNSAs
does not affect SNSAV, as perceived by SNS
users. This can support the first hypothesis:
H01: Informativeness of SNSAs has a positive
effect on SNSAV, as perceived by SNS
users. (Supported)
The entertainment value of SNSAs, as shown
in Table 3, had the second-highest positive
coefficient to SNSAV, as 26.1% of the
variations on SNSAV were accounted for by
the variations of the entertainment value, as
perceived by SNS users. This result rejects
the null hypothesis, H0: Entertainment value
of SNSAs does not affect SNSAV, as
perceived by SNS users. This can support the
second hypothesis:
H02: Entertainment value of SNSAs has a
positive effect on SNSAV, as perceived
by SNS users. (Supported)
From Table 3, the irritation value of SNSAs
in conjunction with the informativeness of
SNSAs, as well as their entertainment,
interactivity and credibility values is not

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

significant to the consumer assessment of

SNSAV, as it gave a significant change: 0.001
at p = 0.527. This result may lead to a
rejection of the third hypothesis:
H03: Irritation value of SNSAs has a negative
effect on SNSAV, as perceived by SNS
users. (Rejected)
From Table 3, the credibility value of SNSAs
had a coefficient of 0.127 on consumers
perceptions towards SNSAV. This result gave
a regression value of 14.6%, at which
variations on SNSAV were counted by
variations on credibility value, as perceived
by SNS users. This result rejected the null
hypothesis, H0: The credibility value of
SNSAs does not positively affect SNSAV, as
perceived by SNS users. This can support the
fourth hypothesis:
H04: Credibility value of SNSAs has a
positive effect on SNSAV, as perceived
by SNS users. (Supported)
Finally, the beta value of the interactivity of
SNSAs had the highest coefficient of 0.365
on assessing SNSAV. This result had a
regression value of 31.3%, at which the
variations on SNSAV were counted by the
variations on the interactivity value, as
perceived by SNS users. This result rejected
the null hypothesis, H0: The interactivity value
of SNSAs does not affect the SNSAV, as
perceived by SNS users. This can support the
fourth hypothesis:

96

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

H05: Interactivity value of SNA has a positive

effect on SNSAV, as perceived by SNS
users. (Supported)

coefficient was 0.261. Its coefficient had the

second highest effect on assessing SNSAV, as
perceived by the survey respondents.

6 DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION

The third predicted dimension was the

irritation value of SNSAs. The irritation value
of SNSAs in this study had the highest mean
of 3.15 among other predictors; this was
confirmed by a paired t-test, as the irritation
value had a p value of 000 when compared to
the other four variables. In previous studies,
the irritation value of SNSAs had the highest
mean among the informativeness and
entertainment values; [12] argued that this
situation occurred when the consumers
seemed less likely to be persuaded by the
advertisement. This feeling of irritation may
be the reason behind the lower value of other
categories of SNSAV variables, as perceived
by the research sample. However, in this
study, irritation value had no significant
coefficient effect on consumers perceptions
towards SNSAV. This result confirmed the
result of [12], as we identified that irritation
had no significant coefficient with consumers
assessments towards SNSAs. This contradicts
[13] as irritation value was the highest
negative predictor of consumers perceptions
towards SNSAV.

To develop knowledge and gain a better

understanding of the dimensions that affect
consumers assessments towards SNSAV, in
this study, the credibility and interactivity of
SNSAs were introduced as additional
variables to those that were tested previously
[12], [13], [14]. This helped to create a new
model with four main dimensions that
predicted the consumers assessment towards
SNSAV: informativeness, entertainment,
credibility and interactivity values. However,
based on the stepwise regression analysis, the
irritation value of SNSAs had no significant
effect on the consumer assessment of
SNSAV. However, the following discussion
reflects the main findings of this paper.
The first predicted dimension of this study
was the informativeness of SNSAs. The
indicators
used
to
measure
the
informativeness of SNSAs had an average
mean of 3.05 from the five-scale score. This
result was the second-highest mean after
irritation. However, according to the effective
size criteria [48], the informativeness of
SNSAs in this study had a medium effect, and
the lowest coefficient on assessing SNSAV as
its coefficient was 0.139. In previous studies,
it had the highest effect on assessing SNSAV
[12], [13].
The second predicted dimension was the
entertainment value of SNSAs. The indicators
used to measure the entertainment value had
an average mean of 2.3 from the five-scale
score, which was less than the middle score.
This shows that the respondents perceived it
as a low factor that needs more progress to
develop. This result can confirm that SNSAs
can entertain and bring enjoyment to SNS
users but not please and dazzle them, as
indicated by [12], [29]. However, according
to the effective size criteria [48], the
entertainment value of SNSAs in this study
had a strong effect on SNSAV as its

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

The fourth predicted dimension was the

credibility value of SNSAs. According to the
collected data, the credibility value of SNSAs
had a mean of 2.42 from five points. This may
prove that this research sample may have had
less experience with SNSAs. According to
[19], credibility is positively related to
Internet users experience, as well as their
ability to collect information and to interact
with online advertisements. The credibility
value of SNSAs in this study had a
moderately significant effect on SNSAV with
a coefficient of 0.146, which was higher than
the informativeness coefficient. This result
supports the fourth hypothesis and introduces
the credibility of SNSAs as a crucial variable
for assessing SNSAV. Contrary to what was
identified by [14] that credibility did not
predict the consumers perceptions towards
SNSAs.

97

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

The final predicted dimension in this study

was the interactivity value of SNSAs. From
Table 2, the average mean of the interactivity
indicators was 2.58, which shows that the
questionnaires respondents were more
counted to interact with SNSAs than to be
used as a source of entertainment. This result
was also confirmed by the paired t-test
between interactivity and entertainment, as p
value = 0.000. According to Table 3, the
interactivity value of SNSAs had the highest
significant positive effect on consumer
assessment towards SNSAV with a
coefficient of 0.313. This result supported the
fifth hypothesis and presented the interactivity
of SNSAs as an important dimension while
assessing SNSAV.
7 CONCLUSION
The analysis of the empirical data in this
study helped to identify four main dimensions
for assessing SNSAV. These dimensions have
positive effects on consumers assessment of
SNSAV. According to their coefficient
strength, these four dimensions are arranged
in descending order as follows: interactivity
value (0.313), entertainment value (0.261),
credibility value (0.146) and informativeness
(0.139). According to the regression analysis,
these four variables together had the best R2
(0.481) at a significant change = 0.000.
Nearly 48.1% of the variations in SNSAV
were explained by that model.
The findings of this study support the
following hypotheses:
H01: Informativeness of SNSAs has a positive
effect on SNSAV, as perceived by SNS
users.
H02: Entertainment value of SNSAs has a
positive effect on SNSAV, as perceived
by SNS users.
H04: Credibility value of SNSAs has a
positive effect on SNSAV, as perceived
by SNS users.
H05: Interactivity value of SNSAs has a
positive effect on SNSAV, as perceived
by SNS users.

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

However, the findings do not support the third

hypothesis:
H03: Irritation value of SNSAs has a negative
effect on SNSAV, as perceived by SNS
users. (Neglected)
Finally, according to the hypotheses paired ttest of the empirical findings, the research
sample of Swedish university students may be
characterised as follows:
The Swedish university students are more
irritated by SNSAs as they find those ads
less credible.
The Swedish university students are more
information oriented than to interact, and
less to use SNSAs as an entertainment
factor.
8 IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE
RESEARCH
8.1 Theoretical Implications
The findings of this study support some of the
findings from previous research on assessing
SNSAV; however, some of the previous
findings are not supported. This study
supports the finding that irritation value has
no significant effect on assessing SNSAV
[12]. Conversely, it does not support the view
of [13] that the irritation value of SNSAs has
a significant negative effect on the
consumers perceptions towards SNSAV.
With regard to the informativeness of SNSAs,
the previous studies [12], [13] found that it
had the highest positive effect on consumers
assessments of SNSAV. However, the result
of this study did not support that finding, as
informativeness of SNSAs had the lowest
positive effect in conjunction with credibility
and interactivity values. Moreover, the results
of this study did not support the finding that
the credibility of SNSAs, as perceived by the
university students, does not affect
consumers assessments of SNSAV, as
identified by [14].
Finally, this study succeeded in introducing
advertisements credibility and interactivity as

98

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

crucial variables for assessing SNSAV. It

offered a new construct model for assessing
SNSAV based on four main dimensions:
informativeness,
entertainment
value,
credibility value and entertainment value. It
also succeeded in confirming the finding of
[12] that, even in conjunction with credibility
and interactivity values, the irritation value of
SNSAs does not predict the assessment of
SNSAs, as perceived by SNS users who are
university students.
8.2 Practical Implications
The research findings provided important
evidence for online advertisers on SNS based
on the research sample of Swedish university
students. These findings have to be taken into
consideration when promoting or seeking to
interact with this market segment. The online
advertisers have to consider the fact that this
market segment is more information oriented
than interaction or entertainment oriented. In
addition, this market segment is highly
irritated by SNSAs as they feel that SNSAs
are not credible.
The advertisers on SNSs need to identify the
reasons behind the negative perceptions
towards SNSAs credibility value. They also
need to investigate how to increase the
trustworthiness of SNSAs and how to
decrease their irritation value. At the same
time, SNS systems have to have more
effective procedures to control fake
advertisements and to encourage SNS users to
interact more effectively with SNSAs.
8.3 Future Research
The results of this study and those of previous
studies [12], [13], [14] have some differences.
Although they all assessed the perceptions of
university students, the differences in their
culture and experiences may have affected the
consumer assessment, or it may be that the
proliferation of the advertising system on
SNSs
is
behind
these
differences.
Accordingly, more studies need to be
conducted with participants from different
cultural backgrounds and market segments

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

from time to time to address this proliferation

and to capture any change in the consumers
assessments of SNSAs.
Additional studies may be geared towards
confirming the correlations between the
identified dimensions of this study and the
attitudes towards SNSAs. Moreover, as most
of the identified studies regarding consumers
perceptions
towards
SNSAs
utilised
quantitative approaches, more qualitative
studies may be needed to gain a deeper
understanding of how SNS users interact with
SNSAs.
As identified by [49], the credibility value of
online advertisements is positively related to
Internet users experience and their ability to
collect information and interact with the
online advertisements. Accordingly, more
research is needed to identify how to improve
the trustworthiness of SNSAs and how to
increase consumers interactions with SNSAs.
REFERENCES
[1] T. Ainscough, The Internet for the rest of us:
marketing on the World Wide Web, Journal of
Consumer Marketing 13(2), pp. 36-47, 1996.
[2]

D. Chaffey, F. Ellis-Chadwick ELLISCHADWICK, R. Mayer & K. Johsnton. Internet

Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice,
4Ed. izdanje. Prentice Hall, Essex, 2009.

[3] C. Jayawardena, A. Horsfield, J. Gellatly, P. Willie

& A. Sovani, 'Marketing Canadian hotels in the
future', Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism
Themes, 5(2), pp. 205-218, 2013.
[4] Y. Kim, D. Sohn & S. M. Choi, "Cultural
difference in motivations for using social network
sites: A comparative study of American and
Korean college students". Computers in Human
Behavior (27), pp. 365-372, 2011.
[5] S. Okazaki & C. R. Taylor, "Social media and
international advertising: theoretical challenges and
future directions", International Marketing Review,
30 (1), pp. 56-71, 2013.
[6] R. H. Ducoffe, "How consumers assess the value of
advertising". Journal of Current Issues &
Research in Advertising (17), pp.1-18, 1995.
[7] P. Kazienko, N. Szozda, T. Filipowski & W. Blysz,
"New business client acquisition using social

99

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

networking sites". Electronic Markets (23), pp. 93103, 2013.

[8] J. L. Hopkins, "Can Facebook be an effective
mechanism for generating growth and value in
small businesses?" Journal of Systems and
Information Technology, 14 (2), pp. 131-141,
2012.
[9] H. Park & H. Cho, "Social network online
communities: information sources for apparel
shopping". Journal of Consumer Marketing 29 (6),
pp. 400-411, 2012.
[10] L. Hansson, A. Wrangmo & K.S. Silen, "Optimal
ways for companies to use Facebook as a
marketing channel". Journal of Information,
Communication and Ethics in Society, 11(2), pp.
112-126, 2013.
[11] Socialbakers.com, Facebook Statistics. Available
att:
http://www.socialbakers.com/statistics/facebook/
[Accessed 22 Feb., 2015]
[12] K. Logan, L. F. Bright & H. Gangadharbatla
GANGADHARBATLA,
"Facebook
versus
television: advertising value perceptions among
females". Journal of Research in Interactive
Marketing, 6, pp.164-179. 2012.
[13] A. Saxena & U. Khanna SAXENA, "Advertising
on Social Network Sites: A Structural Equation
Modelling Approach". Vision: The Journal of
Business Perspective, 17, pp.17-25, 2013.
[14] A. Yaakop, M.A. Marhana & O. Khatijah, "Like It
or Not: Issue of Credibility in Facebook
Advertising". Asian Social Science, 9, pp.154-163,
2013.
[15] L.K. Brackett & B.N. Carr, "Cyberspace
advertising vs. other media: Consumer vs. mature
student attitudes". Journal of advertising research,
41, pp. 23-32, 2001.
[16] G. Prendergast, P.Y. Liu & D.T. Poon, "A Hong
Kong study of advertising credibility". Journal of
Consumer Marketing, 26, pp. 320-329, 2009.
[17] N. Clewley, S.Y. Chen & X. Liu, "Evaluation of
the credibility of internet shopping in the UK".
Online Information Review, 33, pp. 805-826, 2009.

perspectives of online credibility". Journal of

Enterprise Information Management, 23, pp. 653660, 2010.
[20] D.W. Schuman and E. Thorson, Internet
advertising: theory and research, L. Erlbaum
Associates Inc. 2007.
[21] C. Wang, P. Zhang, R. Choi & M. D'eredita,
"Understanding consumers attitude toward
advertising". AMCIS 2002 Proceedings, pp.11431148, 2002.
[22] D.L. Van Der Waldt, T.M. Rebello & W.J.
Brown, "Attitudes of young cosumers towards
SMS advertising". African Jounal of Business
Management 3(9), pp. 444-452, 2009.
[23] D. Taylor, J. Lewin & D. Strutton, "Friends, Fans,
and Followers: Do Ads Work on Social Networks?
How Gender and Age Shape Receptivity". Journal
of Advertising Research, pp.258-275, March,
2011.
[24] I. MIR, "Consumer Attitudinal Insights about
Social Media Advertising: A South Asian
Perspective". The Romanian Economic Journal,
pp. 265-288, September 2012.
[25] M. Gordon, & M. De Lima-Turner, "Conusmer
attitudes towards internet advertising: A social
contract perspective". International Marketing
Review, 14 (5), pp. 362-375, 1997.
[26] G. Kulkarni, T. Ratchford & P. Kannan, 2012,
"The Impact of Online and Offline Information
Sources on Automobile Choice Behavior". Journal
of Interactive Marketing 26, pp. 167175, 2012.
[27] C. Blanco, M. Blasco & I. Azorin, "Entertainment
and informativeness as precursory factors of
successful
mobile
advertising
messages".
Communications of the IBIMA, pp. 1-11, 2010.
[28] A. Schlosser, S. Shavitt & A. Kanfer, "Survey of
Internet users attitudes toward Internet
advertising". Journal of Interactive Marketing, 13,
pp. 34-54, 1999.
[29] Y. Wang, S. Sun, W. Lei & M. Toncar,
"Examining beliefs and attitudes toward online
advertising among Chinese consumers". Direct
Marketing: An International Journal, 3, pp. 52-66.
2009.

[18] S. Sun, & Y. Wang, "Familiarity, Beliefs,

Attitudes, and Consumer Responses Toward
Online Advertising in China and the United
States". Journal of Global Marketing, 23, pp. 127138, 2010.

[30] D. Hoffman & T. Novak, "Marketing in

hypermedia computer-mediated environments:
conceptual foundations". The Journal of
Marketing, pp. 50-68. 1996.

[19] J. Breitsohl, M. Khammash & G.Griffiths, "Ebusiness complaint management: perceptions and

[31] S. Mackenzie & R. Lutz, "An empirical

examination of the structural antecedents of

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

100

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

attitude toward the ad in an advertising pretesting

context". The Journal of Marketing, pp. 48-65,
1989.

[44] D. McBurney & T. White, Research methods,

8Ed., Cengage Learning, Liberary if Congress,
Belmot, 2009.

[32] S. Shavitt, P. Lowrey & J. Haefner, "Public

attitudes toward advertising: more favorable than
you might think". Journal of Advertising Research,
38(4), pp. 7-22, 1998.

[45] M. Saunders, P. Lewis & A. Thornhill, Research

Methods for business student 5th Ed. FT Essex:
Prentice Hall, 2009.

[33] S. Dann & S. Dann. E-marketing: theory and

application, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills,
2011.
[34] Z. Hadija, S. Barnes & N. Hair, "Why we ignore
social networking advertising". Qualitative Market
Research: An International Journal, 15, pp. 19-32,
2012.
[35] S. Rodgers & E. Thorson, "The interactive
advertising model: How users perceive and
process online ads". Journal of interactive
advertising, 1, pp. 41-60, 2000.
[36] K.I. Zernigah, & K. Sohail, "Consumers attitude
towards viral marketing in Pakistan". Management
& Marketing 7(4), pp. 645-662, 2012.

[46] S. Menard, Applied Logistic Regression Analysis:

Sage University Series on
Quantitative
Application in the Social Science. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage. 1995.
[47] M.R. O'Brien, "A caution regarding rules of
thumb for variance inflation factors". Quality &
Quality, 41, pp. 673-690. 2007.
[48] J. Cohen, "Statistical power analysis". Current
directions in psychological science, 1, 1992, pp.
98-101.
[49] M. Morimoto & S. Chang, "Consumers Attitudes
Toward Unsolicited Commercial E-mail and Postal
Direct Mail Marketing Methods". J ournal of
Interactive Advertising (7), 2006, pp.1-11.

[37] J. Lee, D. Park & I. Han, "The different effects of

online consumer reviews on consumers' purchase
intentions depending on trust in online shopping
malls: An advertising perspective". Internet
Research, 21, pp.187-206. 2011
[38]

P. Chatterjee, "Drivers of new product

recommending and referral behaviour on social
network sites". International Journal of
Advertising (30), pp. 77-101, 2011.

[39] J. Steuwer, "Defining virtual reality: Dimensions

determining
telepresence".
Journal
of
communication, 42, pp. 73-93. 1992.
[40] L. Ha, & E. James, "Interactivity reexamined: A
baseline analysis of early business web sites".
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 42,
pp. 457-474. 1998.
[41] Z. Hadija, Perceptions of Advertising in Online
Social Networks. The Rochester Institute of
Technology Department of Communication
College of Liberal Arts, 2008.
[42] R. Miller & N. Lammas, "Social media and its
implications for viral marketing". Asia Pacific
Public Relations Journal, 11, pp.1-9, 2010.
[43] C. Cassell & G. Symon "Qualitative research in
work contexts". Qualitative methods in
organizational research: A practical guide, pp. 113, 1994.

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

101