Empirical Identification of Latent Classes in the Assessment of Information Asymmetry and Manipulation in Online Advertising

Abstract

This study’s purpose was to perform an identification analysis of the latent class in assessing information asymmetry and manipulation in online advertising. The title problem fits into the current research on sustainability with the focus on sustainable advertising and the role of modern marketing. This article presents the results of a quantitative study (N = 138) conducted among young Poles. The obtained data were subjected to latent class analysis, which allowed for three groups of respondents to be distinguished. It turned out that the respondents differ from each other in terms of susceptibility to manipulation by online advertising and the awareness thereof, which is clearly distinguished by hidden variables. Therefore, in the discussion on information asymmetry in advertising, we should take into account the obvious demographic variables and the factors that respondents often do not declare in surveys and interviews.