Consumer attitudes towards mobile marketing, permission to receive mobile advertising and behavioral intentions: The moderating role of gender

Purpose - Nowadays no one can deny that mobile phones are used as a channel of marketing communication. The increasing market penetration of mobile phones and the global advertising industry's spending in using this medium as a means of marketing communication is rising. However, despite the increasing number of companies investing in mobile marketing campaigns, there is little academic research on this topic and not yet understood fully in the context of Arab countries. This research attempts to help in bridging this gap by examining the effect of factors (ease of use, informativeness and irritation) that affect the attitude of Egyptian young consumers toward mobile and its effect on permission to receive mobile ads led to their behavioral intentions. In addition to examining the factors that affect permission to receive ads. In addition to, the effect of the moderating role of gender. This research based on the research framework derives from McCorkle D., Jurkus V. and Reardon J. (2013).
Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative research approach was adopted; Data are collected from surveys of young consumers in Egypt. A sample of 290 university students.
Findings- The results revealed that gender moderated the relationship between the factors (ease of use, informativeness and irritation) and attitudes towards mobile marketing, factors (incentives and personalized) and permission to receive ads also permission to receive ads and behavioral intentions.
Originality/ value – The study of gender as a moderator variable not deeply studied in previous research in respect to the factors affecting attitudes towards mobile marketing and the factors affecting permission to receive mobile ads.
Implications- This research demonstrates how gender is useful in moderating the relationship between attitude towards receiving mobile ads and consumer behavioral intentions. Hence, the findings will aid marketers to design campaigns that focus more closely on gender.