The moderating effect of information security on the adoption of mobile marketing transactions among South African tertiary students

Abstract

Despite the fast pace of development within the mobile commerce industry globally, marketers in developing countries are still lagging in understanding why and how consumers participate in mobile marketing transactions. The literature reporting on mobile marketing transactions’ adoption in a South African context remains largely inconsistent and fragmented as most previous studies are based on the experience of consumers in a non-South African (and nondeveloping country) context. Therefore, this study identifies a literature gap, in that there lacks a sufficient critical mass of studies into the moderating effect of information security on consumer adoption of mobile marketing transactions in South Africa particularly among the youth who have a strong affinity for constant mobile connectivity. Furthermore, confronted with rapid changes in emerging technology, previous models of technology adoption are slowly becoming outmoded. Consequently, this study considered testing a proposed model on the predictive power of marketing-related mobile activity to help improve understanding and prognosis of the adoption of mobile marketing transactions in South Africa. Specifically, in order to render these tests robust, perceived information security was applied as a moderator variable to increase the explanatory power of the model. The objectives set out for this research were measured utilising a single cross-sectional approach, guided by the positivist paradigm. In keeping with the dictates of ensuring the highest levels of reliability and validity, a measuring instrument developed from past studies was used. Using a self-administered questionnaire, data were collected from a sample of 810 students from selected South African universities. Descriptive and multivariate statistical tests including the moderated hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyse data. The implication of the study is that it provides both marketers and policymakers with a set of controllable variables that may be manipulated to promote the adoption of mobile marketing transactions.