Abstract:
The rapid advancement of information technology has opened many cost effective
avenues for marketers to communicate their messages to customers. One of the emerging
techniques of marketing communications through the use of information technology is
viral marketing, which is widely recognized as a prolific direct marketing tool for
marketers across the world. Despite the extant literature postulates that individuals who
pass along messages play a vital role in viral marketing practices, factors that result in
increased acceptance of viral marketing practices by consumers remain largely unknown.
This study addresses voids in extant literature by examining factors influencing
consumers’ attitudes towards viral marketing practices of Pioneer Institute of Business
Technology (PIBT). A total of 236 sets of questionnaire were distributed to target
respondents from Colombo district in database of PIBT. However, there are only 182 set
of questionnaire is usable for analysis. Correlation and regression analysis were used as
the major analytical techniques. The study findings indicate that Informativeness and
source credibility have a positive, statistically significant impact on consumers’ attitudes
towards viral marketing practices of PIBT whereas irritation has a negative, statistically
significant impact on consumers’ attitudes towards viral marketing practices of PIBT.
However entertainment did not emerge as a determinant of consumers’ attitudes towards
viral marketing practices of PIBT. Implications for the marketing managers are to create
and deliver viral marketing messages through a credible source that provides informative,
authentic and trustworthy messages to customers. Moreover, the adoption of these
findings in viral marketing campaigns may lead to more positive consumers’ attitudes
towards viral marketing practices of PIBT.
