온라인 행동 기반 맞춤형 광고의 부정적 효과: 조절초점의 조절효과와 브랜드 태도의 매개 효과를 중심으로

Recently, growing attention has been paid to online behavioral advertising (OBA). While most previous studies have focused on the positive effects of OBA, this study aims to examine the negative effects of OBA when a product perceived as unfavorable by consumers is featured through OBA by applying regulatory focus theory. Specifically, when this product is featured in OBA and OBA is disclosed to consumers, they were more likely to show negative brand attitudes and purchase intentions than when OBA is not disclosed. Second, those with a prevention focus are more likely to show negative brand attitudes and purchase intentions when OBA is disclosed compared to when OBA is not disclosed. However, this difference did not appear to those with a promotion focus. Thus, this study demonstrated an interactive relationship with OBA disclosure and regulatory focus on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Third, brand attitude mediated the interactive effect between OBA disclosure and regulatory focus on purchase intention, which demonstrated a moderated mediation effect. The study results provide a practical implication suggesting that the ad should focus more on the message strategy to enhance consumers’ brand attitudes rather than increase sales when marketers advertise a product perceived as unfavorable through OBA. In addition, this study contributes to the line of research on OBA by extending the research field of OBA and providing a new perspective regarding the consumers’ information processing and responses in OBA.