t is critical for such advertising-supported websites to
address those challenges proactively. In one scenario experiment and two field studies, the authors show that a
normative reciprocity argument is generally more effective than the current industry practice of using a utilitarian
argument related to advertising relevance to increase acceptance of targeted online advertising. However, in some
cases, this dominance switches depending on specific website characteristics such as website utility and level of
user-generated content. Managers of free websites should remind their users of the free services they enjoy when
asking permission to target them online or to use their personal information.