TY - JOUR
T1 - Search engine advertising adoption and utilization
T2 - An empirical investigation of inflectional factors
AU - Jafarzadeh, Hamed
AU - Aurum, Aybüke
AU - D’Ambra, John
AU - Abedin, Babak
AU - Assemi, Behrang
PY - 2015/10/2
Y1 - 2015/10/2
N2 - Search engine advertising (SEA) is a prominent source of revenue for search engine companies, and also a solution for businesses to promote their visibility on the web. However, there is little academic research available about the factors and the extent to which they may influence businesses’ decision to adopt SEA. Building on Theory of Planned Behavior, Technology Acceptance Model, and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, this study develops a context-specific model for understanding the factors that influence the decision of businesses to use SEA. Using structural equation modeling and survey data collected from 142 businesses, this research finds that the intention of businesses to use SEA is directly influenced by four factors: (i) attitude toward SEA, (ii) subjective norms, (iii) perceived control over SEA, and (iv) perceived benefits of SEA in terms of increasing web traffic, increasing sales and creating awareness. Furthermore, the research we discover six additional factors that have an indirect influence: (i) trust in search engines, (ii) perceived risk of SEA, (iii) ability to manage keywords and bids, (iv) ability to analyze and monitor outcomes, (v) advertising expertise, and (vi) using external experts.
AB - Search engine advertising (SEA) is a prominent source of revenue for search engine companies, and also a solution for businesses to promote their visibility on the web. However, there is little academic research available about the factors and the extent to which they may influence businesses’ decision to adopt SEA. Building on Theory of Planned Behavior, Technology Acceptance Model, and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, this study develops a context-specific model for understanding the factors that influence the decision of businesses to use SEA. Using structural equation modeling and survey data collected from 142 businesses, this research finds that the intention of businesses to use SEA is directly influenced by four factors: (i) attitude toward SEA, (ii) subjective norms, (iii) perceived control over SEA, and (iv) perceived benefits of SEA in terms of increasing web traffic, increasing sales and creating awareness. Furthermore, the research we discover six additional factors that have an indirect influence: (i) trust in search engines, (ii) perceived risk of SEA, (iii) ability to manage keywords and bids, (iv) ability to analyze and monitor outcomes, (v) advertising expertise, and (vi) using external experts.
KW - SEA adoption
KW - paid search
KW - search engine advertising
KW - sponsored search
KW - structural equation modeling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84944682346&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10919392.2015.1087704
DO - 10.1080/10919392.2015.1087704
M3 - Article
SN - 1091-9392
VL - 25
SP - 402
EP - 427
JO - Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce
JF - Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce
IS - 4
ER -