The virality of advertising content

PurposeThe study aims to examine “Advertisement content likeability” and its relationships with consumers' purchase and sharing intentions.Design/methodology/approachSecond-order factor analysis was applied. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to measure the moderating effects of technology adoption model, knowledge sharing and Internet maven traits on advertising content's virality.FindingsResults indicate the dimensional structure of ad content likeability that is relevant in predicting consumers' sharing and purchase intentions. Furthermore, the moderating effects of technology acceptance factors (perceived usefulness and ease-of-use), knowledge sharing motives (altruism, reputation and expected reciprocal benefits) and senders' Internet maven characteristics were also found on “Ad content likeability” and “sharing intentions.”Originality/valueThe study expands the theoretical horizon of factors that significantly increase an advertisement's velocity to become more viral.