The impact of telepresence in an online ad on forming attitudes towards the product: The relevance of the traditional experiential approach

Abstract

This study proposes a conceptual model for understanding the impact of telepresence in an online ad on the process of forming attitudes towards the product. The model takes the traditional experiential approach as its frame of reference. It formulates two interdependent attitude formation processes in a telepresence situation: the first cognitive, the second affective. The model is tested by means of a quasi-experiment. The results confirm the hypotheses of direct and indirect causality among the variables comprising the two processes. This causal analysis allows us to carry out a conceptual diagnosis and to make various recommendations.