How are ad scepticism levels of young consumers shaped? Testing with simultaneous quantile regression analysis

Abstract

Advertising is an important persuasion tool for marketing efforts shaping consumer attitudes and behavioural intentions. Among the factors determining consumer attitudes toward advertising is ad scepticism. Comprehending how consumer scepticism toward ads is formed is therefore considered contributory. With this purpose, the research hypothesising the effect of cynicism, self-esteem, and market mavens on ad scepticism was modelled, and 374 observations obtained from members of Generation Z were tested with simultaneous quantile regression analysis. The findings revealed the effect of each variable for different quantile conditions of ad scepticism. The originality of the research is twofold. The first one is using market mavens, which have not been subject to research regarding their effect on ad scepticism and contributing to ad scepticism nomologic framework by supporting the significant effect of this variable. And the second one provides a detailed picture of the effects of independent variables on different levels of ad scepticism.