Online targeted ads: Effects of persuasion knowledge, coping self-efficacy, and product involvement on privacy concerns and ad intrusiveness

This study conducted an online experiment to examine how persuasion knowledge of online targeted advertising (OTA), coping self-efficacy, and product involvement influenced the per-ceptions of privacy concerns and ad intrusiveness. These findings indicated that persuasion knowledge increased coping self-efficacy, which, in turn, influenced privacy concerns and perceived ad intrusiveness. Furthermore, the relations between coping self-efficacy and the evaluations of the OTA varied, depending on levels of product involvement. Specifically, when participants had high product involvement, their perceptions of privacy concerns and ad intru-siveness increased as their coping self-efficacy enhanced. However, those relationships did not appear among participants with low levels of product involvement. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed later.