Abstract

Previous literature available related to ICA (indirect comparative advertising) is limited due to the better effectiveness of DCA (direct comparative advertising), while competing against a specific competitor on specific featured attributes. However, recent studies, which point out the superiority of ICA in positioning a brand against overall competitors in the entire market, urge the theoretical and managerial exploration of it.
This research step to fill the gap on how ICA could function well based on popular persuasion models: Resource-matching theory and Dual-process models theories, considering individuals' differences – Need for Cognition. What's more, metacognitive difficulty, a concept ignored in persuasion models before but now getting increasing attention, was also taken into consideration as a factor to find how it could interact with other factors to have effects on ad evaluations under ICA situation.