Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology

Faculty of Business Administration and General Studies

Department of Business Administration
Program: MBA (Master of Business Administration)
Module Name: Research and Methodology
Module Code: MBA - 6404

An Assignment On:
The Effectiveness of Internet Advertising On Consumer Behaviour

Submitted To:
Kazi Abul Bashar
Associate Professor
Department of Business Administration

Submitted By:
Sl. No.
01
02
03
04
05

Group Name: Black Rose

Group Members:
Name
Fatem Akter Ema
Shukla Akter
Farzana Akter
Shahnaz Akter
Md. Ahad Hossain Khan
Batch: MBA 21st
Semester: 4th

ID
151-503-060
151-503-049
151-503-030
151-503-051
151-503-045

Index
Topic Name

Page No.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

1.1.1 The Concept of Promotion

1.1.2 The Concept of Internet Advertising

1.1.3 The Concept of Consumer Behaviour

1.2 Research Problem

1.3 Research Objectives

1.4 Value of the Study

6-7

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Theoretical Foundation of the Study

2.3 Internet Advertising

2.4 Integrated Marketing Communication

10

2.5 Effectiveness of Internet Advertising

12

2.6 Consumer Behaviour

13

2.7 Internet Advertising and Consumer Behaviour

15

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

17

3.1 Introduction

17

3.2 Research Design

17

3.3 Population of the Study

17

3.4 Sample Design

17

3.5 Data Collection

18

3.6 Validity and Reliability

18

3.7 Data Analysis

18

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND

DISCUSSION

20

4.1 Introduction

20

4.2 Background information

20

4.3 Effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation of

awareness

22

ii

4.4 Reliability of internet advertising through recall

24

4.5 Relationship between internet advertising and purchase decision

26

4.6 Inferential statistics

28

4.7 Discussion of findings

31

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

32

5.1 Introduction

32

5.2 Summary of the Study

32

5.3 Conclusion

33

5.4 Recommendations

34

5.5 Suggestions for further studies

35

REFERENCES

38

APPENDICES
APPENDIX I: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE

LIST OF TABLES
Table Info

Page Info

Table 4.1 Distribution of the respondents by year of study

21

Table 4.2 Distribution of the respondents by age bracket

21

Table 4.3 Gender distribution of the respondents

21

Table 4.4 Attitude towards Advertisements

22

Table 4.5 Time spent on various platforms of advertising

23

Table 4.6 Watching the TV commercials during commercial break

23

Table 4.7 Change the channel during commercial breaks

23

Table 4.8 Checking an online advert

24

Table 4.9 Ad recall

25

Table 4.10 Mode of advertising influencing intention to buy product

26

Table 4.11 Statements on internet advertising and purchase decision

27

Table 4.12 Model Summary

28

Table 4.13 ANOVA of the Regression

29

Table 4.14 Coefficient of determination

29

Table 4.15 Correlation matrix and the coefficient of determination

30

iii

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Internet has grown tremendously in both its applications and number of users due to its
unique characteristics of flexibility, interactivity, and personalization. It has been a very
useful tool for communication, entertainment, education, and electronic trade (Ko et
al., 2004; Koyuncu and Lien, 2003). The revolutionary change brought forth by
information technology has an important impact on the daily lives. It has transformed
the way we do business by allowing retailers to offer unlimited range of products and
services to all consumers from around the world at any point in time. The Internet has
emerged as an advertising medium (Silk et al., 2001). Many companies have turned to
the Internet to advertise their products and services; and the Internet is deemed to be
the most significant direct marketing channel for the global marketplace (Faber et al.,
2004; Ko et al., 2004; Korgaonkar and Wolin, 2002). Companies are pouring billions
of dollars into Internet advertising to obtain greater return on investment on ads
(Edwards, 2005; Joines et al.,2003).
The Internet has given consumers more control in accessing information on products
and services. There are several factors that contribute to consumers pull for online
contentconsumers are the one who decide when, where, what, and how much
commercial content they wish to view (Korgaonkar and Wolin, 2002). The Internet
enables consumers to access an unlimited range of products and services from
companies around the world, and it has reduced the time and effort they spend on
shopping (Ko et al., 2004).
Consumers play a much more active role in searching for information online with some
goal in mind, and that goal can influence individual behaviors and responses to online
information and advertisements (Smith, 2002). With the rapid advancement in the
computer industry, many companies have made the Internet as part of their advertising
media mix to take advantage of the online technologies (Calisir, 2003).
The Internet has become a popular advertising platform because marketers found that
the Internet possess greater flexibility and control over the advertising materials
(Ducoffe, 1996). Since the Internet can be used as an efficient marketing
communication tool, both scholars and practitioners are interested in understanding

how to take full advantage and maximizing the value of this communication medium
(Rodgers and Thorson, 2000).
Consumers within Bangladesh have been largely exposed to the traditional advertising
forms as the main media used by advertisers to provide information. However, over the
years marketing strategies have evolved with technology leading to the internet creating
unprecedented opportunities for digital marketers to connect with customers to create
an immersive connected digital environment, influence and drive purchases, fuel new
growth and create new market share. The growth of internet advertising is both globally
and locally outpacing offline advertising. While outdoor advertising is also
experiencing growth, it is not growing as rapidly as Internet advertising. It is on this
basis that the study investigated the effectiveness of online advertising based on a
consumer sample from Dhaka College to determine the relationship between
advertising and consumer behaviour.

1.1.1 The Concept of Promotion

Promotion is the component of a company's marketing system that involves delivery of
messages to target customers that emphasizes the benefits of your brand, products and
services. A few common communication tools such as advertising are used in a
promotional plan. Goals of promotion include building brand awareness, creating
favorable brand attitudes, gaining market share, inducing buying, building loyalty and
growing sales (Kurtz 2010).
To reach its promotional goals, a company develops an effective promotional mix,
which is a combination of strategies including advertising, personal selling, sales
promotion, direct marketing and public relations through a cost effective allocation of
resources (Robinson, 1991). In large companies, the marketing department has many
roles. It determines the promotional mix, establishes the budget, allocates resources,
coordinates the campaign, supervises any outside resources, and measures the results.
Manufacturers often develop a promotional mix for each segment of the distribution
channel. To promote a product to large retailers that sell its products, a manufacturer
might want to use a mix of personal selling, advertising, and buying discounts. This is
known as the push policy. (The manufacturer pushes the product to the retailer.) The
same manufacturer might use a different promotional mix of local and national
advertising, in-store displays, sales promotion, and public relations to reach consumers.

The pull policy directs promotions towards the consumers. It is used to create customer
interest and demand. This study focuses on advertising as one of the strategies in the
promotional mix used by companies within Bangladesh.
Advertising is the communication relayed from companies to persuade an audience to
purchase their products. This communication is usually through various forms of paid
media -- TV and radio commercials, print ads, billboards and more recently, product
placements, social media and online ads. Ads are placed where advertisers believe they
will reach the largest, most relevant audience. Commercial businesses within
Bangladesh e.g. Unilever, Nestle use advertising to drive the consumption of their
product, while non-profit organizations may place ads to raise awareness or encourage
a change in behavior or perception.

1.1.2 The Concept of Internet Advertising

Internet advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web
for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers.
Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages,
banner ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising,
advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam. Online video
directories for brands are a good example of interactive advertising. These directories
complement television advertising and allow the viewer to view the commercials of a
number of brands. If the advertiser has opted for a response feature, the viewer may
then choose to visit the brands website, or interact with the advertiser through other
touch points such as email, chat or phone. Response to brand communication is
instantaneous, and conversion to business is very high. This is because in contrast to
conventional forms of interruptive advertising, the viewer has actually chosen to see
the commercial.
Consumer can gather information about products and services, communicate with other
consumers and firms for related products and services, and sometimes complete
transactions. As the Internet session is a self-selected environment of the consumer, the
promotion message will be more effective. Internet advertising is also capable of
providing an experiential environment to the consumer through virtual reality interfaces
thus allowing the consumer to experience some of the features of products before
making the purchase decision. Consumer can provide feedback content about the

product, to the firm and to other consumers. A positive feedback becomes a good
promotion for the marketer. A marketer can even exploit a negative feedback by solving
the consumers problem and showing the commitment of the organization to satisfying
consumer needs. Consumer can also add collective content to the medium through
discussion forums like the virtual communities (Ducoffe, 1996). In Bangladesh, online
advertising has gained increased popularity with more people spending time online.

1.1.3 The Concept of Consumer Behaviour

The term "consumer behavior" refers to actions and decisions that factor into a
customer's purchase. Researchers, businesses and marketers study consumer behavior
to understand what influences a consumer's shopping preferences and selection of
products and services. Multiple factors affect consumer behavior, among them
economic status, beliefs and values, culture, personality, age and education (Kotler,
2004). Findings on consumer behavior are used to develop methods and products that
will boost company performance and sales.
Customers are becoming more powerful, more knowledgeable and more sophisticated,
and research into modern consumer behaviour is increasingly important for businesses
according. Advertising to attract consumers, providing better environment, product,
services and policies is important in improving todays consumer experience to
support businesses in retaining customers. This study seeks to determine and explain
the effectiveness of internet advertising in stimulating consumer response.
The number of internet users in Bangladesh was estimated at 54.120 million in Dec,
2015 according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
This majority of internet users are youth especially university / college students, who
regularly use the social network sites through their mobile phones, either searching for
information or chatting with friends online. Many students from the Dhaka College
have embraced the evolution in technology, and adopted latest variety of android
products, tablets, ipads, and the popular models of Samsung galaxy for easy access of
the internet. The growth has been fuelled by the implementation of the ICT policy by
the government and the introduction of the fibre optic network offering fast internet
connections.
This study used a sample of these college students from the main campus to determine
and explain the relationship between internet advertising and consumer behaviour. The

students come from a diverse background and were ideal in studying various
characteristics related to consumer behaviour. Students are enrolled in different study
programmes through fulltime and module II, with some operating from outside the
institution while others have residence within the university leading to variability in
exposure to advertising.

1.2 Research Problem

Advertisers are expected to shift and spend millions in internet advertising in the
coming years than TV, print ads and other traditional advertising media. Internet
advertising broadly consists of various commercial content formats delivered by video
clip, print, and audio; either solicited or unsolicited and includes company web sites,
corporate logos, e-mail messages, pop-ups, banner ads, skyscraper ads, buttons,
interstitials, hyperlinks, dynamic media, and interactive games (Ducoffe, 1996;
Goldsmith and Lafferty, 2002; Korgaonkar and Wolin, 2002; Wolin and Korganokar,
2003).
With the rapid growth in technology, the internet is becoming an important one stop
point for consumers in finding most of their needs. Be it communication, entertainment,
shopping, information search, internet serves as a panacea for all their requirements.
This has led 70% of the ever users to glue themselves to the Internet and access it on a
regular basis. The problem is that, volumes of consumers are online everyday for their
personal work, but do they notice the ads, banners etc. displayed on that webpage, most
important what is their recall/remembrance value. What about the reach of online
advertising, is it effective across over all target groups?
While a lot of research has been done on advertising, the effectiveness of online
advertising in Bangladesh is a segment that has been missing from these studies.
Research done by Wanjoga, (2002) mainly focused on consumer attitudes towards
online advertising in Nairobi, and showed that consumers were aware of the online
adverts though with no preference to the advertising forms. It however, failed to
quantify and explain the effectiveness of internet advertising on such consumers.
Similar research done by Shafin, (2011) on the use of internet advertising by
Bangladesh mobile telephone industry, explained forms of internet advertising in use,
the success and challenges faced in its use and the level of adoption, but failed to
provide information on its effectiveness in influencing or stimulating consumer

response. The findings of a survey of the attitude of consumers towards retail media
advertising by tobacco firms in Bangladesh, showed that the consumers are aware and
knowledgeable about Retail Media Advertising tools. The study used a sample of 200
consumers from retail outlets in Bangladesh, which was not a viable sample to
determine its effectiveness on all consumers from Bangladesh. However, as suggested
by Gong and Maddox (2003), future research can look into the impact of web
advertising across different countries and cultures to enhance the global understanding
of web advertising effectiveness (p: 46). In addition, more studies are needed to cover
various samples in different countries to increase external validity of the research
findings (Calisir, 2003). To fill these gaps, the current study sought to determine the
effectiveness of internet advertising on consumer behaviour.

1.3 Research Objectives

The objectives of the study were to;
i.

Determine the effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation of

awareness.

ii.

Establish the reliability of internet advertising through recall. iii. Determine

the relationship between internet advertising and purchase decision.

1.4 Value of the Study

The study may benefit marketers, businesses, government and academicians. This study
may be able to inform marketers on the consumer preference of the advertising media
and whether using Internet adverting would be effective in reaching and increasing
awareness of the target audience.
Before adapting marketing practices to the Internet, it is imperative to understand the
characteristics of the online customers towards online advertising as would be revealed
by this study. The Internet has grown in popularity as an advertising medium because,
among other things, it allows 24-hour interactivity between the advertiser and customer.
It is important for local businesses to look into internet advertising as more consumers
turn to the internet for their purchasing. A small business that can offer online
purchasing may be able to tap into this customer base.
The government from this study would understand the value of internet advertising and
its influence on consumer decisions which ultimately impacts electronic
commerce/trade, and therefore would effectively regulate how internet advertising is
6

delivered by acting rationally on laws that would restrict data usage, creating an ambient
environment and availing resources to internet providing companies and at the same
time safeguarding the interest of consumers.
For scholars and academic researchers, the current study forms a basis upon which
future research on Internet Advertising may be established. The findings may be
resourceful in providing viable information to academicians, researchers and
consumers on various concepts related to internet advertising.

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter provides, through selective reference to some of the literature, a clearer
understanding of Internet advertising concept and outlines previous research findings
on the effectiveness of internet advertising based on measures of advertising
effectiveness.

2.2 Theoretical Foundation of the Study

Emotional appeals in advertising theory and classical conditioning theory in learning
consumer behaviour form the theoretical basis of this study. Extensive academic
research has been conducted on the psychology of emotion (e.g., Lazarus 1984) and the
ways in which ad-evoked feelings may influence consumer response to marketing
communication (e.g., Batra and Ray 1986; Holbrook and Batra 1987). Scholars have
also observed that advertising may evoke both positive and negative emotions when
seeking to persuade. Indeed, Brown, Homer and Inman (1998, p.115), suggest that from
a practical perspective, the relative strength of positive and negative feeling effects
potentially could guide advertisers decisions regarding executional strategies.
It has been suggested that ads use positive affect to make consumers like the ad and
then buy the product, and negative affect to evoke an uncomfortable state that makes
consumers want the solution offered by the advertiser (Aaker, Stayman and Hagerty
1986). Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that what the consumer actually
experiences will be the affective response the advertiser intended to create: Research
has shown that this kind of mismatch between advertiser intentions and consumer
response occurs all too often (Cotte, Coulter and Moore, 2004; Englis 1990; Stout,
Homerand Liu 1990).
These insights notwithstanding, a number of fundamental questions remain unanswered
with respect to ad appeals. Why, for instance, do these appeals induce such powerful
consumer responses in certain cases? What causes them to be more or less effective on
consumers? With specific reference to internet advertising, this study will attempt to
answer these questions.

Classical conditioning is often referred to as a means in which humans learn by

association. In the classical conditioning paradigm, Pavlovs Dog, a neutral stimulus is
paired with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit an unconditioned response. For example,
after repeated pairings of meat (known to cause salivation) with the sound of a bell, the
sound of a bell alone elicits salivation. This association is dependent on two
characteristics of the association: contiguity and frequency. The law of contiguity states
that in order for associative learning to take place, the unconditioned stimulus and the
neutral stimulus must be paired close in time to each other. Furthermore, it is not enough
for a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus to simply co-exist in a close period
of time. The more frequent the pairing, the easier it is to form an association.
Proponents of applying classical conditioning to marketing believe that the association
between a product and positive stimuli may help explain the effect of many variables
in communication and attitude change. Gorn (1982) tested the effects of a positive
unconditioned stimulus on product preference. His results support the notion that the
simple association between a product (conditioned stimulus) and another stimulus such
as music (unconditioned stimulus) can affect product preferences as measured by
product choice.
However, these effects were diminished in situations where consumers were in a clear
decision making mode. The learnings of classical conditioning give us some insight
on the characteristics of an effectively branded Internet advertisement. First and
foremost, the frequency with which an ad is served impacts brand awareness.
Frequency also impacts whether or not, an association between a message and a brand,
is made by a consumer.

2.3 Internet Advertising

As a new advertising channel the Internet and particularly the World Wide Web
(WWW) portion of the Internet, are challenging traditional forms of mass media
advertising (Hoffman and Novak, 1996; Hearn, Mandeville and Anthony, 1998).
Meeker (1998) defines a mass communication medium as the communication from
one person or group of persons through a transmitting device (a medium) to a large
audience or market. The Internet offers an interactive alternative to mass media
communication through the use of web pages, discussion groups and email (Hoffman
and Novak, 1996).

A significant advantage for advertisers will be the opportunity to communicate more

directly with individual consumers through this medium. Marketers will also be able to
promote their products and services in a personalized, targeted manner to interested
people within their target market. Importantly, wastage of advertising and marketing
funds often experienced when exposing promotional messages to the mass market, may
be reduced as a result of using this new interactive medium. Advertisers will need to
re-address their techniques, services and agency structure and evolve new
communication strategies for the Internet as market share is being lost to this more
personalized, interactive form of Internet advertising.
Schlosser et al., (1999) surveyed a national sample of over 400 participants and found
no majority opinion of Internet advertising-about a third of the participants liked,
disliked, and felt neutrally toward Internet advertising respectively. The Internet users
found online advertising was informative but less entertaining, and it did not encourage
them to make purchases even they did not perceive it to increase product prices.
Korgaonkar and Wolin (2002) examined the differences between heavy, medium, and
light web users and concluded that heavier users hold stronger beliefs about and
attitudes toward Web advertising which likely lead to stronger purchase intent (p:
201). Comparing with lighter users, the heavy Internet users believed that web ads were
more believable, entertaining, informative and helpful; but harder to understand. They
perceived that web advertising was a good thing, moderately essential, and it reduced
the cost of products. Marketers should include web advertising in their promotion
efforts but the ads should be designed with the respective user groups in mind. For
example, ads targeted to heavy web users should stress the price value relationship of
the products, since they engage in more frequent purchasing and believe that web
advertising helps to decrease the prices of products. Similarly, Ducoffe (1996) found
that Internet advertising was perceived to be informative, entertaining, useful, valuable,
and important.

2.4 Integrated Marketing Communication

The Internet has contributed to a greater adoption of integrated marketing
communication (IMC) strategies, by allowing marketers to communicate more directly
with individual consumers (Low, 2000). Internet functions become integrated into a
companys communications mix, which permits the operation of the Internet as an

10

advertising medium to be incorporated alongside more traditional media types. The

application of the IMC concept involves the progression away from the traditional oneto-many marketing communication model for mass media to the one-to-one
communication, or many-to-many communication model (as illustrated in Figure 2.2)
(Hoffman and Novak, 1996).
The inclusion of the Internet in the promotional mix will not eliminate the use of mass
media advertising channels such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines.
However, the Internet may reduce the amount of mass media advertising required.
Arguably, this will occur because the personal computer with Internet access is being
utilized frequently by target audience members as an effective communication channel
to make both social exchanges using email and commercial exchanges to purchase
products on the web. The advertising industry is being challenged to create more direct,
personal and interactive communication with the target market through the use of the
Internet.
The influence of the Internet on business-to-consumer (B2C) relationships has
introduced a new dimension of interactivity to the communication industry (Shiva,
1997). Along with the introduction of the Internet, advertising as a form of
communication has become more interactive. Traditionally advertising has involved
the reduction of information about a product, service or ideas core benefits into a 30
second TVC, a full page colour magazine advertisement, or a 15 second radio spot, in
order to persuade the target market to take action (Shiva, 1997). However, while
traditional advertising involves the reduction of information, the Internet enables the
advertiser to provide consumers with detailed information with no time or space
restrictions. Internet-based advertisers do not need to rely on traditional media channels,
and are becoming liberated from these limitations, thus taking advantage of interactive
communication and informing and educating consumers online.
Berthon, Pitt and Watson (1996, p. 53) argue that the WWW represents a remarkable
new opportunity for advertisers and marketers to communicate with new and existing
markets in a very integrated way. This is because the Internet, and in particular the
WWW, frees consumers from their traditional passive roles as receivers of marketing
communication and gives them greater control over their information search and
acquisition process. As a result, consumers are now becoming interactive and more
active participants in advertising and marketing processes (Hoffman and Novak, 1996;
Hoffman, Novak and Chatterjee, 1997).

11

2.5 Effectiveness of Internet Advertising

Various researchers have studied numerous factors that might have an impact on
Internet advertising recall. The factors include ad characteristics, Internet users
viewing mode and duration of viewing, campaign publicity, attitudes toward the web
site or ad, and curiosity and innovative advertising strategy (Danaher and Mullarkey,
2003; Goldsmith and Lafferty, 2002; Menon and Soman, 2002). Danaher and
Mullarkey (2003) examined the effects of such factors as viewing mode, visit duration,
text and page background complexity, and the style of banner ads on both aided and
unaided recall. The authors did not find any significant impact of the web site context
factors on advertising recall. The key finding was that the duration of page viewing is
a strong determinant of the ability to recall banner ads; however, a minimum level of
exposure (around 40 seconds per page) is required to achieve a reasonable level of
advertising recall.
Dreze and Hussherr (2003) also examined the effectiveness of ad characteristics on the
ability to recall ad. Animation content, the shape of the banner ad, and frequency of the
ad (repetition) leads to higher advertising recall but not the size of the banner. In
addition, the authors reported that a banners message influences both aided
advertising recall and brand recognition. This indicates that what an ad says is more
important than how it says it (p: 21). In contrast, Yoon (2003) found that banner image
is more significantly effective than text to assess consumers preferences toward online
ads.
In terms of consumer responses in the form of liking online ads, researchers such as
Goldsmith and Lafferty (2002) and Metha (2000) have found that a more favorable
attitude towards ads can lead to a higher ability to recall ads. Goldsmith and Lafferty
(2002) found a significant relationship between positive responses to web sites and the
likelihood of recall the brands advertised on the web. The authors reported that In
general, research suggests that those consumers who have a positive attitude toward an
ad are more able to recall than those with a negative attitude (p: 320). Metha (2000)
made a similar conclusion but the study was based on print advertising performance.
Click-through rate is a widely used measure for assessing the effectiveness of banner
advertising, which is the average number of times a viewer clicks on a pop-up ad and
is then exposed to the target web site (Dreze and Hussherr, 2003; Faber, et al., 2004).
As reported by Cho (2003), the banner advertisement click-through is believed to be
the most common way to draw consumers into a target site and engage them with a
brand or product.

12

2.6 Consumer Behaviour

According to Warner, consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or
organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, and dispose of products,
services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have
on the consumer and society (Malcolm). Warner emphasized the consumption related
behaviours are often undertaken collectively. For example, some activities performed
by individuals but consumed by a family or group of people, similar as organization
purchasing activities usually followed by group decisions. Beside this point, the
consumer behaviour is not just purchasing, but has usage and disposal the goods, this
type of information always be useful for company to make marketing decisions
(Malcolm). It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and
economics, and attempts to understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both
individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as
demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants,
and also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends,
reference groups, and society in general.
This definition clearly brings out that it is not just the buying of goods/services that
receives attention in consumer behaviour but, the process starts much before the goods
have been acquired or bought. A process of buying starts in the minds of the consumer,
which leads to the finding of alternatives between products that can be acquired with
their relative advantages and disadvantages. This leads to internal and external research.
Then follows a process of decision-making for purchase and using the goods, and then
the post purchase behaviour which is also very important, because it gives a clue to the
marketers whether his product has been a success or not (Malcom).

The black box model shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics,
decision process and consumer responses. It can be distinguished between interpersonal
stimuli (between people) or intrapersonal stimuli (within people). The black box model
is related to the black box theory of behaviourism, where the focus is not set on the
processes inside a consumer, but the relation between the stimuli and the response of
the consumer. The marketing stimuli are planned and processed by the companies,
whereas the environmental stimulus is given by social factors, based on the economical,

13

political and cultural circumstances of a society. The buyers black box contains the
buyer characteristics and the decision process, which determines the buyers response.
Measuring customer behaviour is a crucial part of any business. Knowing what the
consumer wants and how he acts is vital in terms of product design, and marketing
(Todd, 1997). Assessment of consumer behavior in specific situations, using
observational and physiological methods, is becoming increasingly important in
understanding conscious and unconscious consumer behavior. An increased
understanding of consumer behavior may result in the development of improved
consumer products and in more healthy dietary patterns. A growing number of
techniques is available to assist researchers in measuring various aspects of consumer
behavior such as walking patterns, product selection, meal composition, and
eating/drinking. Due to advances in digital video, sensor technology and computer
speed, complex measurements of behavior and physiology are now possible.
Integration of these techniques allows multimodal measurements. With the growing
number of techniques, the challenge for the researcher to choose the right solution
becomes larger.
There are different ways of measuring consumer behaviour, depending on the interest.
Regularly conducting market research allows businesses to know their customers, and
take them into account when making business decisions. This greatly improves business
performance, and profits.
Common measurements includes, conducting a survey to determine consumer
behaviour. There are two main types of consumer survey: qualitative or quantitative.
Qualitative studies involve asking a few consumers a lot of in-depth questions.
Quantitative studies involve asking lots of consumers a few questions. The latter would
be better for determining the market for a totally new product, since you only need to
find out if people would buy it. If you are amending a product, or making one similar,
a qualitative study would allow you to gain more detailed information.
Similarly, consumer behaviour would be measured by observing consumers going
about their business within permitted stores or shopping malls. By watching consumers,
it is possible to discern a great deal of information about their behaviour. Information
such as optimum height and location of a product and store layout is all gleaned from
observational consumer behaviour measures. Other techniques involve using raw data
to provide a measurement tool. For example, releasing a new product to the market, and

14

observing if it is bought regularly in conjunction with another product. If so, then an

assumption can be made that it has a similar demographic to the second product. Using
the raw data to determine what time of day, or weather, or time of year people buy a
product gives information on consumer behaviour. Using separate objective and
subjective data obtained from an interview or survey. The primary data from
respondents is used to make objective judgements, which are free from bias.

2.7 Internet Advertising and Consumer Behaviour

The evolution of the Internet as a global communication infrastructure (Cae, 2000) has
created a new advertising channel for advertisers and advertising agencies to utilize and
will provide advertisers with the means to more cost effectively target their promotional
messages to consumers. Psychological factors such as thinking, feeling, sensation, and
intuition directly correlate with customers online advertising experience. Companies
should aim to strengthen customer interactions with advertisements on the Web,
keeping both context and cognition in mind. Unfortunately, most companies provide a
generic experience to all customers rather than relying on customer analysis to deliver
a personalized experience. Theyve failed to innovate and bring the online advertising
experience to a whole new level of interaction and integration that would truly let them
achieve effective communication.
As consumers experience and respond to stimuli around them, emotions arise. Their
reactions manifest themselves as physiological changes they experience as feelings.
Likewise, as people react to stimuli onlinefor example, to an online advertisement
they have emotional responses that are directly proportional to their reactions to these
stimuli. On the other hand, when customers repeatedly experience the same stimuli,
they may not cause any emotional response. People become conditioned to ignore the
ever-present ads on Web sites, which is called ad blindness (Wolhandler, 1999).
Advertising and promotion offer a news function to consumers. As Yoo W., Suh K. and
Lee M. (2002) mentioned in their report, personal interactions with other customers and
service providers play a very important role while shopping online. Viewers of ads learn
about new products and services available to them, much like they learn about events
in the news. This information function has a neutral role. It provides facts without
approval or disapproval from consumers. Customer behavior at this stage encompasses
expressions of curiosity. Consumers have a rational response to advertising when they

15

look at the features of a product or service. This response focuses on a logical listing of
all the functional aspects of the offering. This is an intellectual response, rather than an
emotional one (Lee, 2002).
When customers weigh benefits, they become emotionally involved with advertising
and promotion. Consumers identify ways the product or service can make them happier,
improve their lives or give them pleasure. This part of the consumer response is
irrational and can lead to impulse buying and competition to obtain the product.
Repeated advertising messages affect consumer behavior. This repetition serves as a
reminder to the consumer. Behavior that stems from reminders includes suddenly
thinking of a product while shopping and making a decision to buy it, as if it had been
on the consumers "to-do" list (Lee 2002).
Consumer behavior splits between loyalty and alienation depending on how well the
product lives up to its advertised benefits (Thorson, 2000). Corporate behavior such
as scandals or charity work can also affect alienation and loyalty responses. Once the
consumer makes this choice, advertising and promotion are not likely to undo that
decision. The Cannon-Bard Theory that Walter Cannon and Philip Bard advocated
suggests human beings feel emotions first, and then act upon them. When customers
visit a Web site, the ads they encounter evoke an emotional responsebefore they even
decide what their next step should be. If ads dont trigger customers emotions, they
may not take any action in response.
Based on the review of the research studies mentioned above, it is clear that Internet
advertising is gaining much attention and should be an essential part of a marketers
advertising media mix. The inconclusive findings call for further studies on Internet
advertising to gain more insight into consumers response and perception of the Internet
as an advertising medium. Hence, this study determined the effectiveness of internet
advertising as an ad medium, and its relationship to consumers response e.g. online
purchase decision.

16

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter focuses on research methodology that was used in the study. It provides a
detailed description of the research approach adopted in this study. Research design,
target population, research instruments, data collection and analysis methods used were
presented in the subsequent sections.

3.2 Research Design

This study used descriptive research. Descriptive research involves gathering data that
describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data collection
(Glass & Hopkins, 1984). It often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the
reader in understanding the data distribution and therefore offered a better clarification
on online advertising, and ultimately give a clear picture on the effectiveness and
reliability of online advertising and its relationship to purchase decision.

3.3 Population of the Study

Dhaka College has over 20,000+ registered students with 16,000 in undergraduate and
4,000 in postgraduate as at July 2013 according to the bn.wikipedia.org. This study
targeted undergraduate students of the Dhaka College because of their background
diversity and exposure to advertising with a larger percentage using the internet.
Students of the Dhaka College are provided with the Internet access through wireless
connection, and therefore, the chances for them accessing online advertising via social
media are very high. On the same basis of their diverse background, only undergraduate
students from the Main campus were chosen for this study.

3.4 Sample Design

Stratified sampling technique was used to select the units for study. 100, module I and
II undergraduate students of the Dhaka College Main campus was used as a study
sample to represent the population of consumers. This sample was stratified into each
of the four years of study and respondents were randomly selected from each stratum
to come up with the representative sample of 100 for the entire population. This was a

17

viable sampling technique since it gave the advantages of focusing on important

subpopulations and allowed the use of different sampling technique for different
subpopulations in improving the accuracy of estimation.

3.5 Data Collection

The research made use of primary data, which was collected using structured
questionnaire distributed to the 100 respondents sampled from the Dhaka College main
campus, found outside the library, from classes, within the university square and within
the hostels. The administered questionnaires were collected after completion by the
respondents on the same day and their responses used for analysis. The questionnaire
had both open ended questions to enable guide the respondent through filling of the
questionnaire as well as probe them for more information.

3.6 Validity and Reliability

Content validity refers to the extent to which an instrument represents the factors under
study. To achieve content validity, questionnaires included a variety of questions on the
knowledge of students on internet advertising and consumer behaviour. All the subjects
completed the questionnaires in the presence of the researcher. This was done to prevent
subjects from giving questionnaires to other people to complete on their behalf.

Reliability can be ensured by minimizing sources of measurement error like data

collector bias. Data collector bias was minimized by the researchers being the only one
to administer the questionnaires, and standardizing conditions such as exhibiting similar
personal attributes to all respondents, e.g., friendliness and support. Pilot testing was
carried out by the researcher to identify any flaws on the questionnaire to reduce errors
of measurement and test for consistency.

3.7 Data Analysis

The study applied both nominal and ordinal scale to measure a range of factors
establishing the effectiveness of internet advertising on consumer behaviour and an
interval scale in determining the relationship between internet advertising and
consumer behaviour. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze this data. The mean
responses, standard deviation and other relevant statistics were computed to better

18

understand the data. The data collected was compiled and edited to check for logical
inconsistencies. The data was then coded according to the responses. Relationships
between responses was assessed and presented using tables and graphs and analysis
was done using SPSS. Regression and Correlation analysis was applied in this study to
reveal relationships among variables in the findings from the data.

19

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Introduction
This chapter presents analysis and findings of the study as set out in the research
methodology. The results were presented on the effectiveness of internet advertising on
consumer behaviour: the case of Dhaka College Students. The study objectives were; to
determine the effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation of awareness;
to establish the reliability of internet advertising through recall; and to determine the
relationship between internet advertising and purchase decision. The study targeted 100
respondents out of which all the 100 respondents responded and returned their
questionnaires contributing to a response rate of 100%. This response rate was
sufficient and representative and conforms to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) stipulation
that a response rate of 50% is adequate for analysis and reporting; a rate of 60% is good
while a response rate of 70% and over is excellent. This commendable response rate
was due to extra efforts that were made via courtesy calls made to remind the
respondents to fill-in and return the questionnaires. The chapter covers the demographic
information, and the findings based on the objectives. The findings were then presented
in tables, graphs and charts as appropriate with explanations being given in prose
thereafter.

4.2 Background information

The study initially sought to ascertain the general information on the respondents
involved in the study with regards to the year of study, age, and gender. The
demographic information points at the respondents suitability in answering the
questions on the effectiveness of internet advertising on consumer behaviour: the case
of Dhaka College Students.
The respondents were asked to indicate their year of study. The study findings are
illustrated in Table 4.1.

20

Table 4.1 Distribution of the respondents by year of study

Frequency
First year
20
Second year
29
Third year
33
Fourth year
18
Total
100

Percentage
20
29
33
18
100.0

Source: Field data.

As shown in table 4.1, the study sample was representative of all the years of study with
the third year students forming the highest proportion of the sample.
The respondents were also asked to indicate their age bracket. The study findings are
illustrated in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2 Distribution of the respondents by age bracket

Age bracket

Frequency

Percentage

19-25 years

82

82

26-35 years

18

18

Total

100

100.0

Source: Field data.

The findings indicate that majority of the students at the Dhaka College were aged 1925 years.
The study sought to establish the gender of the respondents and the findings are as
shown in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3 Gender distribution of the respondents

Frequency

Percentage

Male

72

72

Female

28

28

Total

100

100.0

Source: Field data.

From Table 4.3, the study recorded a higher response rate from males than females in
their various years of study.

21

4.3 Effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation of

awareness
The first objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of internet advertising
on reach and creation of awareness. The study sought to establish whether the
respondents were aware of various forms of advertisements adopted by various
companies. Majority of the respondents (98%) attested to being aware of various forms
of advertisements adopted by various companies. This illustrates that the effectiveness
of internet advertising on reach and creation of awareness was determined by the level
of knowledge about the existing platforms of advertisements adopted by various
companies in Bangladesh.

The respondents were asked to indicate their attitude towards advertisements. Table
4.4 illustrates the study findings.

Table 4.4 Attitude towards Advertisements

Frequency

Percent

Informative

35

35

Creates awareness

31

31

Entertaining

25

25

Irritating

Annoying

Waste of time

Total

100

100

Source: Field data.

As shown in Table 4.4, most of the respondents (35%) indicated that advertising was
informative, with a closer percentage indicating creation of awareness. 3% indicated
that advertising was either irritating, annoying or a waste of time. These findings mean
that most of the respondents had a positive attitude towards advertising as illustrated by
their various perceptions about the use of advertising. This clearly shows a positive
attitude toward advertising and hence is a good indication for marketers. In order to
further identify the effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation of
awareness, the respondents were requested to indicate the amount of time spent on
22

various platforms of advertising. The responses were rated on a five point Likert scale
where: 1=less 1hr, 2=1 - 2hrs, 3=2 - 4hrs, 4=4 - 6hrs while 5=over 6hrs.

Table 4.5 Time spent on various platforms of advertising

Mean
Standard deviation
TV, Movies

2.42

1.241

Newspaper, Mags

1.11

1.372

Radio

1.03

0.927

Internet

4.21

0.515

Source: Field data.

According to the findings in Table 4.5, on an average, a person spends more than 4
hours on the internet during his free time which is more than that of TV and movies,
radio and print medium. Hence, on an average the exposure of internet to an individual
is around 40% more than that of other mediums i.e. the reach of medium internet is
much better than that of others.
The study sought to establish whether the respondents watched the TV/ or listened to
Radio commercials during commercial break. The findings are as shown in Table 4.6.

Table 4.6 Watching the TV commercials during commercial break

Frequency
Percent
Yes

70

70

No

30

30

Total

100

100

Source: Field data.

According to the findings, the majority of the respondents attested to watching the TV/
commercials during commercial break. This implies that for television commercials,
around 70% of consumers had a positive perception towards advertising on TV.
Table 4.7 Change the channel during commercial breaks
Frequency
Percent
Never

26

26

sometimes

17

17
23

depends on ad

33

33

Often

13

13

every time

11

11

Total

100

100

Source: Field data.

Respondents were asked to indicate if they changed channels during commercial and
the results were tabulated. Table 4.7 shows that the degree of attractiveness of the advert
and its relevance to the respondents determined their attention to the advert. The
viewers would see the advertisement if the ad is attractive and appealing. Hence there
is a probability of 0.75 of a consumer viewing the particular advertisement (for creating
awareness and information) on television making it an effective mode of
communication.

4.4 Reliability of internet advertising through recall

The second objective of the study was to establish the reliability of internet advertising
through recall. First, the respondents were asked whether they would check an online
advert and the findings presented in the Table 4.9.

Table 4.8 Checking an online advert

Frequency

Percent

Yes

21

21

No

79

79

Total

100

100

Source: Field data.

In case of online advertising, majority (79%) of consumers ignored the advert
completely while 21% indicated that they would check an online advert. Further the
study found out that, out of the 21%respondents, 15% said that the intention was not to
see the ads, but they didnt have any option but to see them as they were Interstitial
Adverts, Pop up ads or Floating ads. These ads either block the view of the content,
or appear right in the middle of the page, or keeps on floating (moving) around which
is considered to be very irritating for the consumers. Checking the ads determined the

24

level of interaction with the online ads. Therefore, even though the reach of internet is
much higher than that of other modes, its ability to attract consumers for awareness
creation is very low.

The respondents were further asked to indicate their purpose of using internet. The
study findings are illustrated in Figure 4.1.

Figure 4.1 Internet usage

Source: Field data.

As shown in Figure 4.1, 30% of the respondents used internet for E-mail, 25% for
information, and others for chatting and social networking, indicating that
communications has been the fundamental value of the internet to consumers. There
was a higher chance of interaction with various online ads as reflected by the diverse
usage of internet.
To establish the reliability of internet advertising through recall, the respondents were
asked to indicate whether they would recall the last three TV and online ads.
Table 4.9 Ad recall
Recall

TV

Frequency

Percent

Yes

84

84

No

16

16

25

Online ads

Yes

30

30

No

70

70

100

100

Total
Source: Field data.

This is for the last three ads that they had seen consciously or unconsciously. In case of
TV ads, 84% remembered their last three ads which is a very good score in terms of
creating awareness. In case of Online ads, only 54% could remember their last three
interaction with the online ads. Therefore, one can easily make out the reliability of
online and TV ads recall values. The study found out that TV ads are much reliable than
internet advertising and other forms of advertising.

4.5 Relationship between internet advertising and purchase decision

The third objective of the study was to determine the relationship between internet
advertising and purchase decision. Respondents were asked to indicate the mode
advertising that mostly influenced their decision to purchase a product. The results were
tabulated in Table 4.10.

Table 4.10 Mode of advertising influencing intention to buy product

Frequency Percent
Magazines and newspaper

17

17

Friends and relatives

40

40

TV Commercial

29

29

Online advertisements

Social Media Blogs, forums, Social Networking sites

Total

100

100

Source: Field data.

Based on Table 4.10 above, the highest number of students, 40% of the respondents
were influenced to buy a product based on information provided by friends and
relatives, with TV commercials being second. Online advertisements was least in
influencing their decision at 6%. Therefore, friends and relatives were the major
influencers behind decision making. This depicts that traditional form of advertising
26

has an edge over internet advertising in terms of consumer preference to mode of

advertising. Traditional mode got over 86% preferences than that of internet advertising
which is a huge margin.
Secondly, the respondents were also asked to indicate whether the internet ads they
came across influenced their purchase decision. 52% of the respondents indicated that
the internet ads they came across never influenced their purchase decision while 48%
posited that the internet ads they came across influenced their purchase decision. This
depicts that the internet advertising influenced purchase decision of the customers to a
moderate extent as only nearly half of the respondents were influenced purchase
decision.
In order to further determine the relationship between internet advertising and purchase
decision, the respondents were requested to indicate their level of agreement on relevant
statements on effects of internet advertising on purchase decision. The responses were
rated on a five point Likert scale where: 5-To a very great extent, 4To a great extent, 3To a moderate extent, 2-To a little extent, and 1-To no extent. The mean and standard
deviations were generated from SPSS and presented in Table 4.11.

Table 4.11 Statements on internet advertising and purchase decision

Statements on Internet advertising and purchase decision
Mean

Standard
deviation

Internet advertising influences customers purchase decision

duration of page viewing is a strong determinant of the ability
to recall banner ads
Animation content, the shape of the banner ad, and frequency
of the ad (repetition) leads to higher advertising recall
Companies should aim to strengthen customer interactions with
advertisements on the Web

4.21
4.13

0.513
0.746

3.92

0.841

4.11

0.62

Most companies provide a generic experience to all customers

rather than relying on customer analysis to deliver a
personalized experience.

4.01

0.738

When customers weigh benefits, they become emotionally

involved with advertising and promotion.
Repeated advertising messages affect consumer behavior. This
repetition serves as a reminder to the consumer.

4.05

0.673

3.98

0.847

Source: Field data.

The study established that Internet advertising influences customers purchase decision
(Mean=4.21) and duration of page viewing is a strong determinant of the ability to recall
banner ads. Other factors as repeated advertising messages affect consumer behavior.

27

This repetition serves as a reminder to the consumer (Mean=3.98), and that animation
content, the shape of the banner ad, and frequency of the ad repetition leads to higher
advertising recall .This implies that the internet advertising is a key determinant of
purchase decision of the customers as they consider it to be an interaction point between
them and the company from which they buy their products from.

4.6 Inferential statistics

In determining the effectiveness of internet advertising on consumer behaviour, the
study conducted a multiple regression analysis to determine the nature of relationship
between the variables.
The regression model specification were as follows
Y=+1X1 +.
Where;
Y= consumer behaviour
X1= internet advertising
= error term
=coefficient =
constant

The study further applied multiple regressions to determine the predictive power of the
internet advertising on consumer behaviour. The researcher conducted a multiple
regression analysis so as to test relationship among variable (independent) on the
consumer behaviour. The researcher applied the statistical package for social sciences
(SPSS V 23.0) to code, enter and compute the measurements of the multiple regressions
for the study.
Coefficient of determination explains the extent to which changes in the dependent
variable can be explained by the change in the independent variables or the percentage
of variation in the dependent variable (consumer behaviour) that is explained by the
independent variable (internet advertising).

Table 4.12 Model Summary

Model
R
R Square Adjusted R Square
0.789
1
0.919
0.845
Source: Field data.
28

Std. Error of the Estimate

0.6273

The independent variable that was studied, explain only 84.5% of the consumer
behaviour as represented by the R2. This therefore means that other factors not studied
in this research contribute 15.5% of the consumer behaviour. Therefore, further
research should be conducted to investigate the other factors that affect consumer
behaviour.

Table 4.13 ANOVA of the Regression

Sum
Model
of df

Mean Square F

Sig.

.000a

Squares
1

Regression

2.534

50

1.267

Residual

9.307

200

2.327

Total

11.841

250

9.475

Source: Field data.

The significance value is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 thus the model is statistically
significance in predicting how internet advertising affects the consumer behaviour. The
F critical at 5% level of significance was 3.23. Since F calculated is greater than the F
critical (value = 9.475), this shows that the overall model was significant.

Table 4.14 Coefficient of determination

Unstandardized
Model

(Constant)
Internet advertising

Standardized

Coefficients
Coefficients
B
Std. Error Beta
1.147
0.2235
0.752
0.1032
0.1032

Sig.

5.132
7.287

0.000
.000

Source: Field data.

Multiple regression analysis was conducted as to determine the relationship between
consumer behaviour and the one independent variable (internet advertising). As per the
SPSS generated table , regression equation (Y=+1X1 +) becomes:
(Y= 1.147+ 0.752X1+ )
According to the regression equation established, taking all factors into account
(internet advertising) constant at zero, consumer behaviour will be 1.147. The data
findings analyzed also shows that taking all other independent variables at zero, a unit

29

increase in internet advertising will lead to a 0.752 increase in consumer behaviour;

This infers that internet advertising contribute most to the consumer behaviour. At 5%
level of significance and 95% level of confidence, internet advertising was a significant,
factor in predicting the consumer behaviour.
To quantify the strength of the relationship between the variables, the study used Karl
Pearsons coefficient of correlation. The Pearson product-moment correlation
coefficient (or Pearson correlation coefficient for short) is a measure of the strength of
a linear association between two variables and is denoted by r. The Pearson correlation
coefficient, r, can take a range of values from +1 to -1. A value of 0 indicates that there
is no association between the two variables. A value greater than 0 indicates a positive
association, that is, as the value of one variable increases so does the value of the other
variable. A value less than 0 indicates a negative association, that is, as the value of one
variable increases the value of the other variable decreases. The data presented before
on internet advertising was computed into single variables per factor by obtaining the
averages of each factor. Pearsons correlations analysis was then conducted at 95%
confidence interval and 5% confidence level 2-tailed. The Table 4.15 below indicates
the correlation matrix between the internet advertising and consumer behaviour.
Table 4.15 Correlation matrix and the coefficient of determination
Consumer behaviour
Internet advertising
Consumer behaviour (r) (p)
Sig. (2 tailed)

1.000

Internet advertising (r) (p)

(2 tailed)

0.894
0.018

1.000

Source: Field data.

According to the Table 4.15, there is a positive relationship between consumer
behaviour and internet advertising of magnitude 0.894. The positive relationship
indicates that there is a correlation between the consumer behaviour with internet
advertising.
This notwithstanding, all the factors had a significant p-value (p<0.05) at 95%
confidence level. The significance values for relationship between consumer behaviour
and internet advertising was 0.018. This implies that internet advertising was a
significant factor on consumer behaviour.

30

4.7 Discussion of findings

The study established that the effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation
of awareness was determined by the level of knowledge about the existing platforms of
advertisements adopted by various companies in Bangladesh. Most of the respondents
had a positive attitude towards advertising as illustrated by their various perceptions
about the use of advertising. This clearly shows a positive attitude toward advertising
and hence is a good indication for marketers. The findings augment the findings of
Baltas (2003) who indicated that marketing is perceived by the internet users as a major
source of information on available product in the market as reflected by their positive
attitude in the world over. According to Calisir (2003) internet advertising is an
effective channel for marketing as the ad is attractive and appealing which changes
from time to time.
The study established that even though the reach of internet is much higher than that of
other modes, its ability to attract consumers for awareness creation is very low. The
study concludes that the reliability of internet advertising through recall was low as
only a small percentage of the respondents could recall the online ads they had seen..
The study found that TV ads are much reliable than internet advertising and other forms
of advertising. The findings are corroborated with Danaher and Mullarkey (2003) who
posited that TV ads are much reliable than internet advertising.
The study established that friends and relatives were the major influencers behind
decision making. This depicts that traditional form of advertising has an edge over
internet advertising in terms of consumer preference mode of advertising. Traditional
mode got high preferences than that of internet advertising which is a huge margin.
According to Cho (2003) in the developing economies the traditional form of
advertising has a greater market share compared with the internet advertising in terms
of consumer preference mode of advertising.
The study established that internet advertising influenced purchase decision of the
customers to a moderate extent as only nearly half of the respondents were influenced
purchase decision. The study established that internet advertising is a key determinant
of purchase decision of the customers. The study also established that internet
advertising has significant relationship with purchase decision of the consumers. The
findings augment earlier findings of Goldsmith and Lafferty (2002) that internet
advertising is a key determinant of purchase decision by the customers and that internet
advertising has an association with purchase decision of the consumers.

31

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
This chapter presents summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations of the
study in line with the objectives of the study.

5.2 Summary of the Study

The study found that the effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation of
awareness was determined by the level of knowledge about the existing platforms of
advertisements and time spent on these media. On average, a person spent more than 4
hours on the internet during his free time than that of TV and movies and print medium
and therefore the reach of internet medium is much better than that of other media. A
higher percentage indicated that they were made aware of existence of various products
through internet advertising and therefore it was effective in creating awareness. The
study revealed that the ability of the respondents to recall the internet ads was low
compared to TV, and therefore even though the reach of internet is much higher than
other forms, TV ads are much more reliable than internet advertising Danaher and
Mullarkey (2003). Internet advertising is a key determinant of purchase decision of the
customers as they consider it to be an interaction point between them and the company
from which they buy their products from. The study also established that internet
advertising has significant relationship with purchase decision of the consumers. From
the Pearsons correlations analysis, the study established that there is a positive
relationship between consumer behaviour and internet advertising

5.3 Conclusion
The objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of internet advertising on
consumer behaviour using a sample of Dhaka College students. After analysis of the
study findings, the study concludes that the effectiveness of internet advertising on
reach and creation of awareness was determined by the level of knowledge about the
existing platforms of advertisements adopted by various companies in Bangladesh and
time spent on various media. Internet advertising was effective in providing higher
reach and creation of awareness. However, in spite of the diverse usage of internet and
32

wide interaction with various internet advertisements, fewer respondents were able to
recall the internet ads they had seen. This implies that the reliability of internet
advertising is quite low. The research established that TV advertising is more reliable
than internet advertising therefore conforming with Danaher and Mullarkey (2003),
that TV ads are much reliable than internet advertising.
The study concludes that internet advertising influenced purchase decision of the
customers to a moderate extent as only nearly half of the respondents were influenced
purchase decision. However, internet advertising is a key determinant of purchase
decision of the customers as they consider it to be an interaction point between them
and the company from which they buy their products from. The study also concludes
that internet advertising has significant relationship with purchase decision of the
consumers. The study further concludes that internet advertising contributes most to the
consumer behavior and that internet advertising was a significant factor in predicting
the consumer behaviour. In addition, there is a positive relationship between consumer
behaviour and internet advertising. This implies that companies should invest more in
internet advertising to increase their market share and conduct a market research on the
different markets in various countries to ensure that the internet advertising initiatives
being implemented suits the targeted markets to improve product purchases.

5.4 Recommendations
The study established that the reliability of internet advertising is low and therefore
recommends that the management of companies using internet advertising should
provide unique experience to its customers based on customer analysis to deliver a
personalized experience to the customers, Calisir (2003). The study also found that
internet advertising is effective in reach and creation of awareness and recommends
that the companies should invest more in internet advertising to increase their market
share and provide product information.
Finally, the study determined that there is a positive relationship between internet
advertising and consumer purchase decision and further recommends that companies
should conduct a market research on the different markets in various countries to ensure
that the internet advertising initiatives being implemented suits the targeted markets to
improve product purchases. This is because there exist different contextual realities
between different markets Wolin (2002).

33

5.5 Suggestions for further studies

Since this study explored the effectiveness of internet advertising on consumer
behaviour: the case of Dhaka College Students, the study recommends that a similar
study should be done in a private university for comparison purposes and to allow for
generalization of findings on the effectiveness of internet advertising on consumer
behaviour. As as suggested by Gong and Maddox (2003), future research can look into
the impact of web advertising across different countries and cultures to enhance the
global understanding of web advertising effectiveness (p: 46).

34

REFERENCES
Alvin, J. S, Lisa R. K, and Ernst, R. B (2002), Intermedia Substitutability and
Market Demand by National Advertisers, (20:4)
Baltas, G., (2003), Determinants of Internet advertising effectiveness: An
empirical study. International Journal of Market Research, 45: 505-513.
Berthon, P.L., Pitt, F. and Watson, R.T.,(1996), The World Wide Web as an
advertising medium: Toward an understanding of conversion efficiency. Journal
of Advertising Research, 36: 43-54.
Bhat, S., Bevans, M. and Sengupta, S., (2002), Measuring users web activity to
evaluate and enhance advertising effectiveness. Journal of Advertising, 31: 97106.
Bloch, P.H., Sherrell, D.L. and Ridgway, N.M., (1986), Consumer search: An
extended framework. Journal of Consumer Research, 13: 119-126.
Calisir, F., (2003), Web advertising vs. other media: young consumers view.
Journal of Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy,
13(5):
356-363.
Cho, C.H., (2003), Factors influencing clicking of banner ads on the WWW.
CyberPsychology & Behavior, 6: 201-215.
Danaher, P.J. and Mullarkey, G.W., (2003), Factors affecting online advertising
recall: A study of students. Journal of Advertising Research, 43: 252-267.
Dreze,

X. and Hussherr, F.X., (2003), Internet advertising: Is anybody

watching? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 17: 8-23.

Ducoffe, R.H. (1996), Advertising value and advertising on the web. Journal of
Advertising Research, 36: 21-35.
Edwards, J., (2005), Pharma formulates plans to move marketing from TV.
Brandweek, 46: 5.
Faber, R.J., Lee, M. and Nan, X., (2004), Advertising and the consumer
information environment online. American Behavioral Scientist, 48: 447-466.
Goldsmith, R.E. and Lafferty, B.A., (2002), Consumer response to Web site and
their influence on advertising effectiveness. Journal of Internet Research:
Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, 12: 318-328.

35

Gong, W. and Maddox, L.M., (2003), Measuring web advertising effectiveness,

Journal of Advertising Research, 43: 34-49.
Kent W., Ian, F., (2010), The Essential Guide to New Media & Digital
Marketing
Ko, H., Jung, J.,Kim, J.Y. and Shim, S.W.,( 2004). Cross-cultural differences
in perceived risk of online shopping. Journal of Interactive Advertising.
Kotler, P., (2004), Marketing management, 11th International edition
Prentice-Hall, pp 706.
Korgaonkar, P. and Wolin, L.D., (2002), Web usage, advertising, and shopping:
relationship patterns. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications
and Policy, 12: 191-204.
Koyuncu, C. and Lien, D., (2003), E-commerce and consumers purchasing
behaviour. Applied Economics, 35: 721-726.
Kurtz, D., (2010), Contemporary Marketing Mason, OH: South-Western
Cengage Learning.
Lee H., Cho D. and Lee S., (2002), Impact of e-Business initiatives on firm
value.
Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 1: 41-56.
Malcolm Warner, International Encyclopaedia of Business & Management, 2nd
Edition
Menon, S. and Soman, (2002), Managing the power of curiosity for effective
web advertising strategies. Journal of Advertising, 31: 1-14.
Metha, A., (2000), Advertising attitudes and advertising effectiveness. Journal
of Advertising Research, 40: 67-72.
Newman, E.J., Stem Jr . and Sprott, D.E., (2004), Banner advertisement and
web site congruity effects on consumer web site perceptions. Industrial
Management & data Systems, 104: 273-281.
Palanisamy, R., (2004), Impact of gender differences on online consumer
characteristics on web-based banner advertising effectiveness. Journal of
Services Research, 4: 45-74.
Robinson, W., (1991), Promotional Marketing on the web.
Rodgers, S. and Thorson, E., (2000), The interactive advertising model: How
users perceive and process online ads. Journal of Interactive Advertising.

36

Rowley, J., (2000), Product search in e-shopping: A review and research

propositions. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 17: 20-35.
Schlosser, A.E., Shavitt, S. and Kanfer, A., (1999), Survey of Internet users
attitudes towards Internet, Journal of Interactive Marketing, 13: 34-54.
Silk, A.J., Klein, L.R., and Berndt, E.R., (2001), The emerging position of the
Internet as an advertising medium. 3: 129-148.
Smith, S.M., (2002), Electronic commerce issues for consumers and marketers.
Todd P. A., (1997), Consumer reactions to electronic shopping on the World
Wide Web. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 1 (2): 59-88.
Tom, D. (2008), Principals of Advertising and IMC
Wanjoga,

E., (2002), Consumer attitudes towards online advertising in

Nairobi, Research Project Report.

Wakukha, D., (2011), The use of internet advertising by Bangladesh mobile
telephone industry, Research Project Report.
Wolin, L.D. and Korgaonkar, P., (2003), Web advertising: gender differences
in beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Journal of Internet Research: Electronic
Networking Applications and Policy, 13: 375-385.
Wolhandler H., (1999), Real numbers behind Net Profits. (6th annual survey
of

online commerce).

Yoon, S.J., (2003), An experimental approach to understanding banner

advertsing effectiveness. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for
Marketing,11:255-272.

37

APPENDICES
APPENDIX I: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE SECTION A
BACKROUND INFORMATION
1. Year of study?

Year I Year II Year III Year IV Other, Specify _____

2.

Age Group (yrs): up to 18 19 to 25 26 to 40

3.

Gender: Male

4.

Programme enrolled in?

55 +

Female

Module I
5.

41 to 55

Module II

Where is your place of residence?

University Hostels

Other, specify _____

SECTION B ATTITUDES, REACH AND AWARENESS

6. Do you like Advertisements?
Yes

No

Informative

Irritating

Entertaining

Annoying

Creates awareness

Waste of time

7. How much time do you spend on?

TV, Movies

< 1hr 1 - 2hrs

2 - 4hrs

4 - 6hrs

> 6hrs

Newspaper, Mags

< 1hr 1 - 2hrs

2 - 4hrs

4 - 6hrs

> 6hrs

Radio

< 1hr 1 - 2hrs

2 - 4hrs

4 - 6hrs

> 6hrs

Internet
< 1hr 1 - 2hrs
2 - 4hrs
4 - 6hrs
> 6hrs
8. Do you watch the TV/ or listen to Radio commercials during commercial break?

Yes
Informative
Entertaining

No

Creates awareness

Irritating
Annoying
Waste of time

9. I change the channel during commercial breaks

Never

sometimes depends on ad

often

every time

SECTION C: AD RECALL
10. Which is the last Newspaper/Magazine ad you remember? Which brand was it?

11. Which is the last TV commercial you remember? Which brand was it?

12. Name any three TV commercials you remember lately

1._______________________________
2._______________________________ 3. _______________________________
13. Do you see/check online ads/mails when you surf the internet?

Never

sometimes

depends on ad often

every time

14. Which is the last online ad you remember? Which brand was it?
__________________________________________________________
15. Name any three online ads you remember lately
1._______________________________
2._______________________________ 3.____________________________
SECTION D: INFLUENCERS, PREFERENCE AND PURCHASE DECISION
16. You use the internet for? (Rank them in order of your preference)

Chatting and Social Networking

_____

Email

_____

Information

_____

Entertainment

_____

E -Commerce

_____

Downloading

_____

17. What mode of advertising influences you to buy any product?

Magazines and newspaper

Friends and relatives
TV Commercial
Online advertisements
Social Media Blogs, forums, Social Networking sites
18. Which mode of advertising would you prefer? (Rank in order of preference)

TV Commercials

_____

Print Ads: Newspaper, Magazines

_____

ii

 Baners, Posters

_____

Online Ads: Banners, Emails,

_____

19. Have you made any purchases after seeing internet ads?

Yes

No

20. What is the relationship between internet advertising and purchase decision,
Please tick where appropriate: 5-To a very great extent, 4-To a great extent, 3-To a
moderate extent, 2-To a little extent, and 1-To no extent.
1
Statements on Internet advertising To no
and purchase decision
Extent

Internet
advertising
influences
customers purchase decision
duration of page viewing is a strong
determinant of the ability to recall
banner ads
Animation content, the shape of the
banner ad, and frequency of the ad
(repetition) leads to higher advertising
recall
Companies should aim to strengthen
customer interactions with
advertisements on the Web
Most companies provide a generic
experience to all customers rather than
relying on customer analysis to deliver
a personalized experience.
When customers weigh benefits, they
become emotionally involved with
advertising and promotion.
Repeated advertising messages affect
consumer behavior. This repetition
serves as a reminder to the consumer.

iii

2
To a
little
extent

3
4
To a
To a
moderate great
extent
extent

5
To a
very
great
extent