Determinants and antecedents of general attitudes towards advertising : A study of two EU accession countries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between determinants and primary antecedents of advertising and attitudes to advertising in the context of European Union accession countries. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on data from consumer surveys conducted in the major urban areas of Bulgaria and Romania the study conceptualises an extended version of Pollay and Mittal's model of beliefs and attitudes toward advertising. It tests a comprehensive range of attitudes toward the institution of advertising and its instruments in each country to identify similarities and differences in consumer perceptions. Findings – Findings confirm that consumers in the two countries are more positive about advertising as an institution than the instruments used to promote advertising. While product information acquisition is the main personal use of advertising which influences general attitudes to advertising in Bulgaria, the entertaining value of advertising was found the strongest personal use in Romania. No significant differences were found in the attitudes toward the institution and instruments of advertising in the two countries. Research limitations/implications – As data used in this study come from major urban areas in Bulgaria and Romania this might account for small research bias if the overall population of the two countries is considered. Interview bias were reduced by eliminating the verbal or non‐verbal cues to the respondents. The diverse composition of the two samples and the random selection of respondents have limited the research bias which is often a problem with other studies in Central and Eastern Europe that use predominantly convenience student samples. Practical implications – The paper suggests that managers should focus on and exploit the overall positive general attitudes toward advertising in Romania and Bulgaria. Marketers should prioritise the informative power of advertising and use it cautiously in view of its perceived manipulative role especially to children. Advertisers need to devote more specific attention to re‐enforce the credibility of the institution of advertising in both countries. Originality/value – The paper is a result of an original research that has extended theoretical concepts and compared their applicability to comparable EU accession contexts. Its findings suggest that advertising should be adapted to the personal uses and attitudes to advertising in the researched contexts by putting more emphasis on image building in order to increase its persuasive power and raise public trust in the institution and instruments of advertising.