Impact of Materialism on Consumers’ Ethical Evaluation and Acceptance of Product Placement in Movies

Abstract

Purpose Business organisations have been using product placement in movies as a marketing communications tool for a long time. Yet, concerns have been raised about consumers' perceptions of the ethicality and acceptability of product placement. This study investigates the importance of consumer materialism and consumer ethical evaluation of product placement as factors influencing consumer acceptance of product placement in movies. Methodology 250 UK moviegoing adults were surveyed and the resulting data analysed using structural equations modelling. Findings The findings reveal that moviegoers who score higher on materialism find product placement more acceptable than those who score lower. Limitations Further studies are recommended to determine whether or not the incorporation of other variables could improve the model fit and variance explained for endogenous variables. Implications The study concludes that consumers' perceptions about the ethicality of product placement mediate the relationship between materialism and product placement acceptability. Contribution This study suggests that business organisations need to be aware of the important role of materialism in influencing the perception that product placement is broadly ethical and acceptable as a means of market communication.