1
Criticism 1
Importance
Advertising skepticism is an essential variable in the research, which functions as a
mediator between the relationship between ad format and purchase intention. However, when the
authors discuss advertising skepticism in the theoretical framework, they need to provide a
concrete and detailed definition of advertising skeptism. Although this term is easy for marketing
scholars to understand, it is relatively vague for other readers to get the exact meaning.
Moreover, when the authors explain how they measure advertising skepticism in the
measurement section, they only specify that “five items were used measuring the sentiment
toward advertising” (Zarouali et al., 2017), but the indicators of measurement are not specified in
the article and appendix.
Therefore, this article lacks information in introducing “ad skepticism” to readers, and
they did not specify what high skepticism means and what refers to low skepticism. This concept
is vital in this article because it is regarded as a mediator, which will result in negative purchase
intention. However, the main effect is that the purchase intention of adolescents is positively
influenced by ad format. Without a clear definition and well-explained operationalisation of this
concept, readers could develop various understandings of the mediation effect. Thus, obstacles to
comprehending the relationship between variables and covariates are created. Besides, different
agreements on the influence of ad skepticism will be generated.
Suggestions
The authors focused more on explaining that ad skepticism can lead to resistance to
persuasion; however, they did not focus on illustrating the core meaning of the concept.
Consequently, researchers can add some related references to the theoretical framework when
explaining advertising skepticism. According to Obermiller et al. (2005), advertising skeptism
has been defined “as the tendency to disbelieve the informational claims of advertising”.
Although Zarouali et al. (2017) also referenced this article, if they quote this definition in their
literature review, readers will better understand this mediator. The authors are also suggested to
provide all five items being used when operationalising the latent concept. In such a way, readers
can develop a complete picture of advertisement skepticism and to what extent the researchers
mean high or low skepticism.
Criticism 1
Importance
Advertising skepticism is an essential variable in the research, which functions as a
mediator between the relationship between ad format and purchase intention. However, when the
authors discuss advertising skepticism in the theoretical framework, they need to provide a
concrete and detailed definition of advertising skeptism. Although this term is easy for marketing
scholars to understand, it is relatively vague for other readers to get the exact meaning.
Moreover, when the authors explain how they measure advertising skepticism in the
measurement section, they only specify that “five items were used measuring the sentiment
toward advertising” (Zarouali et al., 2017), but the indicators of measurement are not specified in
the article and appendix.
Therefore, this article lacks information in introducing “ad skepticism” to readers, and
they did not specify what high skepticism means and what refers to low skepticism. This concept
is vital in this article because it is regarded as a mediator, which will result in negative purchase
intention. However, the main effect is that the purchase intention of adolescents is positively
influenced by ad format. Without a clear definition and well-explained operationalisation of this
concept, readers could develop various understandings of the mediation effect. Thus, obstacles to
comprehending the relationship between variables and covariates are created. Besides, different
agreements on the influence of ad skepticism will be generated.
Suggestions
The authors focused more on explaining that ad skepticism can lead to resistance to
persuasion; however, they did not focus on illustrating the core meaning of the concept.
Consequently, researchers can add some related references to the theoretical framework when
explaining advertising skepticism. According to Obermiller et al. (2005), advertising skeptism
has been defined “as the tendency to disbelieve the informational claims of advertising”.
Although Zarouali et al. (2017) also referenced this article, if they quote this definition in their
literature review, readers will better understand this mediator. The authors are also suggested to
provide all five items being used when operationalising the latent concept. In such a way, readers
can develop a complete picture of advertisement skepticism and to what extent the researchers
mean high or low skepticism.
