Information Asymmetry in Online Advertising

Advertising is a company’s major form of communication with the market; it is a component of the IMC system, having a special impact on the addressee, and is a form of persuasive communication affecting consumer behaviour. Advertising may reflect information asymmetry between an advertiser and recipients. This book presents an assessment of the forms and range of consumer behaviour manipulation through information asymmetry in online advertising and explores the possible causes, forms, and effects. The work offers a new approach to the role of advertising in the digital world, especially its forms and impact strategies.

The theoretical framework presented is based on issues related to online advertising, information asymmetry, and social manipulation. The book describes the ways in which these areas can be explored, and it presents the results of empirical studies. Empirical research allows for identifying companies’ moral hazard strategies and their consequences – e-consumers’ adverse selection. The research provides an empirical answer to the question: to what extent is advertising a transparent form of communication, and to what extent does it represent the world of manipulation?

Based on an interdisciplinary theoretical approach, empirical studies conducted by the authors, and theoretical and managerial implication, the book encourages its readers to find their own answers. Given the interdisciplinary nature of this work, it will be of interest to scholars and researchers within the fields of marketing, media and communication, economics, psychology, sociology, and ethics.

Jan W. Wiktor is a Full Professor of Economic Sciences in the Department of Marketing, College of Management Sciences and Quality at Cracow University of Economics (CUE). His research interests include marketing management, marketing communication, international marketing, euromarketing, and international management. He is the head of CUE’s Department of Marketing, member of the University Council, chairman of the Advisory Board of the Polish Scientific Marketing Association, member of the Committee for Organizational and Management Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and the Commission for Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Learning (PAU).

Katarzyna Sanak-Kosmowska holds a PhD in Economics and is Assistant Professor in the Department of Marketing, College of Management Sciences and Quality at Cracow University of Economics. Her research interests include online marketing communication, the psychology of consumer behaviour, and advertising. She is a member of the American Marketing Association, member of the International Association of Researchers and Scientists in Latvia, member of the Polish Scientific Marketing Association, and member of the Spokespersons for Science Association.