Despite most mobile games being free to play, they represent almost half of the global video game market. The reason for this is the freemium business model, which allows mobile game developers to generate revenue through microtransactions and in-app advertisements. This master's thesis examines the factors that influence the attitude of freemium mobile game users towards in-app advertisements, and how this attitude affects the behavioral intentions of uninstallation and upgrading to a premium, ad-free version. The theoretical section defines the freemium business model and attitudes towards advertising. Based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA), hypotheses are formulated suggesting that the attitude towards advertisements in a freemium mobile game is influenced by the entertainment, irritation, credibility, and interactivity of the advertisement, as well as the gaming experience, the price of the premium version and social influence. In the empirical section, data on attitudes towards advertisements among players of the freemium mobile game Trivia Crack were collected using an online questionnaire. The hypothesized model was tested using multiple linear regression. The results confirm the connection between the proposed factors and attitude towards advertisements. Entertainment proved to be the most important factor influencing attitude towards in-app ads, followed by social influence and credibility. Statistically significant associations were also found between attitude towards ads and both behavioral factors, with the effect on intention to uninstall being slightly stronger than the effect on intention to upgrade to the premium version.
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