Why do individuals avoid social media advertis-ing: A qualitative comparison analysis study

Companies spend billions of dollars in social media advertising, yet some social media users actively avoid social media advertising for instance by scrolling over ads. To understand that, this research builds upon the advertising avoidance model and applies a qualitative comparison analysis (QCA) to identify configurations of perceptions of avoidance. We reveal disruption, distraction, excessiveness and lack of incentive as perceptions that are necessary - yet not sufficient for evoking the avoidance of social media advertising. Furthermore, we reveal three distinct configurations of perceptions that are sufficient and lead to avoidance of social media advertising. This research contributes by uncovering the influence of configurations on social media advertising avoidance and companies can use these findings to reduce the effect of social media users actively avoiding social media advertising.