Exploring the Impact of Social Media Marketing on Customer Purchase Intentions: The Moderating Roles of Social Forces

Abstract

The study investigates how social media marketing impacts consumers’ purchase intentions and whether such relationship could be moderated by various social factors. Social media marketing effect are determined through likes, comments, sharing, interaction time with users, response time, and emerged as a major determinant of purchase intentions. Nevertheless, the effect of engagement on purchase intentions may not be homogeneous and may be moderated by contextual factors, in current study perspective; social factors such as peer influence, family influence, and cultural background. It is hypothesized that increasing levels of social media exposure and engagement generally lead to strong purchase intentions; however, the strength and direction of an effect like this are contingent upon the moderating influence of peer, family, and cultural factors. Around 300 questionnaires were distributed among individuals between the ages of 20 and 25 years with literacy rate of at least twelve grades were selected through random sampling. The analysis showed that the moderators have positive significant influence on customer purchase intentions.