ONLINE ADVERTISING CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASE INTENTION IN THE GHANAIAN AUTOMOBILE MARKET

ABSTRACT

Online advertising is an increasingly-examined aspect of marketing literature, yet the relationship between the specific dimensions of the construct and its outcomes remain unclear. This study was therefore designed to examine the relationship between online advertising characteristics and purchase intention and the mediating role of volume of electronic word of mouth in the automobile industry. Questionnaires were used to gather data from 350 online automobile purchasers in Ghana. The data was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in AMOS, where the measurement and structural models were tested. The findings of the study indicated that emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity of online advertising of Ghanaian automobile companies have a positive and significant effect on the purchase intention of consumers. The studies also found that Electronic word-of-mouth mediate the relationship between online advertising and purchase intention. It is recommended that automobile companies focus on crafting online advertisements that are appealing, creative and informative in order to drive responses of current and potential consumers. Also, automobile industries must carefully engage their clients to ensure that users of their online platforms give positive recommendations. For purpose of future research, this study could be replicated in other industries or countries in order to determine the general application of the findings in this study.