Antecedents to permission based mobile marketing: an initial examination

Purpose – This paper's aim is to develop a conceptual model to examine the influence of four antecedent factors (personal trust, institutional trust, perceived control and experience) on consumers' willingness to participate in permission‐based mobile marketing. The model is to be tested empirically across three European countries and gender. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected from surveys of consumers in Finland, Germany and the UK. The partial least squares (PLS) approach is utilised to test the model fit. Findings – The main factor affecting the consumers' decision to participate in mobile marketing is institutional trust, which is a significant factor in all three countries and across gender. The influence of other antecedent factors are less pronounced. On the whole, it is found that the more experienced consumers become with mobile marketing, the less influence perceived control will have on permission. There are notable variations across gender, with perceived control being an important determinant of permission for men, while it is not so for women. Research implications/limitations – The results indicate the relative importance of four antecedents in the likelihood of consumers giving their permission to companies to send mobile marketing messages. Practical implications – As institutional trust is the most important determinant of permission based mobile marketing, mobile marketers should focus on building a strong and positive media presence and image, and thereby influence consumers' likelihood of giving permission to mobile‐based marketing. Originality/value – This is the first international empirical investigation of the different antecedents of permission‐based mobile marketing.