Can smartphones be specialists? Effects of specialization in mobile advertising

•Psychological effects of specialization in mobile advertising are examined.•Labeling is a simple yet effective way of attributing specialization.•Specialization leads to greater trust in ads and increased purchase intention.•Trust mediates the effects of specialization on purchase intention.

Based on the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm, this study extends the expectations regarding the superiority of specialists over generalists to mobile technology by examining whether the specialization of a hardware agent (i.e., a smartphone) and a software agent (i.e., an application) has psychological effects on smartphone users who are exposed to mobile advertisements. Results from a between-subjects experiment (N = 80) show that specialist smartphones and applications induce greater trust in advertisements and an increased purchase intention toward the advertised products than generalist smartphones and applications. In addition, the effects of specialization on purchase intention are mediated by trust in advertisements. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.