The direct and indirect effects of advertising on materialism of college students in China

Abstract

In this study, we propose a theoretical framework through which we examine the direct and the indirect effects of advertising on college students’ materialistic attitudes in China. The framework is built on the influence-of-presumed-influence model, which allows us to examine how advertising and peer influence interact with each other and exert joint effects. We conducted a survey of 210 undergraduate students aged from 17 to 24 in Beijing, China. Results of the survey suggest that, in addition to its direct effect, advertising produces an indirect effect on college students’ materialism via their presumed advertising influence on peers. The findings of this study have practical implications for both educators and marketers.