Abstract

Narrative storytelling, a cornerstone of narrative persuasion theory, plays a crucial role in nurturing robust consumer-brand relationships. Understanding persuasive narratives within the social media domain is critical for destination brands. Hence, this study investigates the impact of realistic narratives on attitudinal destination brand loyalty, mediated by self-congruence and brand attachment across two experiments. Study 1 provides evidence for the superiority of adventure-themed realistic fictional narratives over fantasy one in Facebook advertisements. Study 2 supports the findings of Study 1 with a romantic-themed narrative and a diverse destination in Instagram advertisements. Moreover, Study 2 reveals that consumer fantasy proneness diminishes the influence of realistic fictional narratives on self-congruence. These findings suggest a strategic shift toward realistic narratives over fantasy ones to stimulate self-congruence and cultivate destination brand attachment, ultimately fortifying the bonds between travellers and destination brands.

Introduction

Engaging with travellers through social media has emerged as a cost-effective strategy for promoting tourism destinations ( Adamış & Pınarbaşı, 2022 ). Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) are increasingly focused on shaping and guiding brand narratives within social media channels to influence travel decisions ( Lund, Cohen, & Scarles, 2018 ; Ma, Scott, & Wu, 2023 ). However, social media advertising poses unique challenges for DMOs and destination marketers as they strive to stand out in crowded marketplaces. As a result, identifying the most persuasive methods to convey destination brand narratives has become crucial, with narrative storytelling proving to be a powerful tool in capturing travellers’ attention and encouraging them to explore destinations ( Youssef, Leicht, & Marongiu, 2019 ).

A “story-world”, which comprises a series of interconnected events centred around a specific theme, settings, and characters immerse audiences in the captivating realm of storytelling ( Ryan, 2016 ; Woodside, Sood, & Miller, 2008 ). Narrative storytelling is the art of narrating a sequence of events, whether based on true or fictional settings, by adeptly weaving together engaging story characters and immersive plots in a compelling manner ( Ma et al., 2023 ; Tu, 2015 ). This form of storytelling has a powerful ability to persuade and transport its audience by lessening negative cognitive responses and eliciting strong emotional reactions ( Escalas, 2007 ). Consequently, narrative storytelling offers significant opportunities for enhancing destination brand perception, identity, and competitiveness in saturated markets ( Bassano, Barile, Piciocchi, Spohrer, & Iandolo, 2019 ) and serves as a catalyst for destination development ( Hartman, Parra, & de Roo; 2019 ).

Conclusion

This study pioneers a shift in the exploration of perceived realism within destination brand narratives, diverging from prior research that have predominantly explored general aspects of storytelling. In contrast to earlier attempts, our research distinctly focuses on a specific and pivotal dimension—the impact of perceived realism in destination narratives on destination brand loyalty. By investigating the nuanced differences between realistic narrative and fantasy one, the current study has uncovered psychological mechanisms like self-congruity and brand attachment. Furthermore, the introduction of the concept of fantasy proneness has added a novel dimension to our understanding of how narratives operate in shaping travellers’ responses. In essence, this research has involved pioneering a more tailored and focused exploration of realistic narrative influences in the intricate realm of tourism destination branding.

Abstract

Previous studies have addressed social media adoption in business-to-business (B2B) contexts, but limited research has focused on understanding social media marketing assimilation in the B2B context. Using an integrative model, this study examines how top management participation influences the assimilation of social media in the key marketing areas of product development, pricing decision-making, channel management, and promotion. Furthermore, it examines the resulting impact of these assimilations on B2B firms’ performance, particularly in respect of sales performance and relationship development. The study also examines the moderating impact of absorptive capacity on top management participation in the assimilation processes. The findings reveal that top management participation strongly influences social media assimilation into marketing functions. However, the impact of social media assimilation on B2B firms’ performance is varied. While assimilation for channel management positively impacts both sales performance and relationship development, assimilation for product development is only positively related to relationship development. Conversely, assimilation into the functions of pricing decisions and promotion activities shows no significant impact on either sales performance or relationship development. Finally, absorptive capacity positively moderates top management participation in social media assimilation into all key marketing functions except one. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Introduction

Social media have emerged as a “game-changer” (Kumar, 2015, p. 5), playing a leading role in the revolutions taking place in business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketing. B2C marketing uses social media marketing widely, and B2B operations have begun embracing it to streamline their internal marketing communication, generate leads, drive sales, and strengthen customer relationships. Chaffey (2018) found that 79% of B2B marketing specialists rated social media as the most effective marketing channel, with a further 38% indicating that, if they had surplus in their budget for marketing in the following year, they would devote it to social media marketing. Similarly, Elevation Marketing (2020) noted that 90% of B2B buyers use social media to engage with industry thought leaders, with a further 72% indicating that they use social media channels to research solutions.

B2B social media research tracks the increase in social media use in this business interface. Previous studies have addressed several aspects of social media use in the context of B2B, including salespersons’ social media use in B2B relationships (Bill, Feurer, & Klarmann, 2020; Bowen, Lai-Bennejean, Haas, & Rangarajan, 2021; Fraccastoro, Gabrielsson, & Pullins, 2021), B2B social media adoption (Dwivedi, Ismagilova, Rana, & Raman, 2021; Lashgari, Sutton-Brady, Søilen, & Ulfvengren, 2018; Siamagka, Christodoulides, Michaelidou, & Valvi, 2015; Veldeman, Van Praet, & Mechant, 2017), and B2B social media marketing and branding (Brennan & Croft, 2012; Juntunen, Ismagilova, & Oikarinen, 2020). In addition, social media in B2B entails several unexplored issues worth investigating. Although previous studies have addressed social media adoption in a B2B context, the current body of research shows an observable dearth of producing a nuanced understanding of the factors underlying the assimilation of social media in firms’ marketing functions and how they improve their marketing performance. The assimilation phase occurs after the initial implementation of the innovation. It involves the ongoing integration and use of innovation in the firm’s day-to-day operations. In the context of social media marketing, this phase focuses on leveraging social media platforms to support the attainment of the marketing strategy related to product development, pricing decision-making, channel management, and promotion activities, and on realising the anticipated benefits.

Conclusion

In many instances, technological innovations are introduced into firms with great enthusiasm, which may be occasioned by widespread initial acquisition. Nevertheless, these innovations may fail to be completely deployed in the operations of the acquiring firms. Research has shown that, unless innovations are assimilated, firms do not benefit fully from them. Social media are one innovation that B2B firms are adopting for their marketing activities. While social media adoption in B2B firms has received some research attention, a limited number of studies have focused on social media marketing assimilation in B2B firms, the conditions that enhance this assimilation, and how the assimilation contributes to firms’ performance. In this study we examined how top management participation influences the assimilation of social media in the key marketing functional areas of product development, pricing decision-making, channel management, and promotion activities. We also examined how the existing absorptive capacity of B2B firms moderates the influence of top management participation on the assimilation of social media in the key marketing functional areas. Finally, we analysed how social media marketing assimilation into these marketing functional areas improves a firm’s performance outcomes of sales and relationship development. The study’s results show that top management participation in the social media marketing assimilation processes has a strong and positive impact on the assimilation of social media for key marketing functional areas, namely product development decisions, pricing decision-making, channel management, and promotion activities. Furthermore, the findings indicate that top management participation in the assimilation of social media in the functional areas, except in the case of promotion activities, is positively moderated by the existing absorptive capacity of the firm. The results also show that social media marketing assimilation for product development has a significant impact on sales performance, while its assimilation for channel management has a significant impact on both sales performance and relationship development.

Abstract

The role of Instagram brand messaging as a force for good is examined when a brand’s mission is creating societal change and where being authentic can also lead to controversy and negative responses. A depth study of an exemplary brand is used to explore brand authenticity in the context of sustainability, brand activism messaging and consumer responses to brand posts on Instagram. We offer a unique perspective by focusing on authentic brand sustainability activism. 104 brand messages and 5541 consumer responses to Patagonia, an activist brand renowned for supporting environmental and social issues, are analysed. An extended ‘activist sustainability view’ of brand authenticity is proposed including the conceptualisation of authentic brand sustainability activism. Eight types of consumer response to brand sustainability posts that encompass both positive and negative sentiment are identified. Theoretical and managerial implications, and avenues for future research are offered.

Introduction

The climate crisis poses an existential threat; if we don’t clean up our mess, we’ll be history. Business has a role to play, but it’s only one lever. We must use all the tools at our disposal to secure a safer, more just future. (Ryan Gellert, Patagonia CEO cited in Patagonia,(2022a).

A key issue in business research concerns how organisations position themselves to deliver more than growth and profit – positive impact on society and the environment as tenets of sustainability are a given (Lloveras et al., 2022). An emphasis on sustainability marketing that considers a variety of marketing practices and interactions is now critical if there is to be genuine change for people and planet (Thomas, 2018). Brands are increasingly used as a marketing tool for more than driving sales – they can represent an organisation’s raison d’etre and become a platform for societal change. Brand identity created around sustainability must deliver on promises and ensure authentic embedding of sustainability (Vallaster et al., 2012). Research suggests that when brands promote sustainability values it is essential to be perceived as authentic because consumers are often sceptical about sustainability claims (Ginder and Byun, 2022, Iglesias and Ind, 2020). But what happens in terms of brand authenticity when a sustainable brand takes a stand on controversial environmental, social, and economic issues and essentially becomes a sustainable activist brand?

Being an authentic brand and communicating authentically is characterised by having brand behaviour and core values that are consistent over time (Bruhn et al., 2012, Fritz et al., 2017, Spiggle et al., 2012), remaining real, truthful, honest and true to itself (Becker et al., 2019, Beverland, 2006), and symbolising what the brand stands for (Jian et al., 2019, Morhart et al., 2015). Brand scholars agree on four key dimensions of brand authenticity that can lead to enhanced brand attachment, positive word of mouth, and intentions to purchase, including continuity, credibility, integrity, and symbolism (Carsana and Jolibert, 2018, Morhart et al., 2015). These dimensions of brand authenticity have been exemplified by famous brands that show leadership in some facet of business and connect well with their customers, for example Lego, Amazon and Apple (Goldsmith, 2019). However, while many famously authentic brands have well-accepted prosocial Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agendas they tend not to adopt issues that are divisive (Mirzaei et al., 2022). Less is known about how the reported dimensions of brand authenticity play out in the context of activist brands that have strong, uncompromising, and sometimes polarising socio-political and sustainability agendas (Eilert & Nappier Cherup, 2020).

Implications and conclusions

Being an authentic ASB does not mean it is without fault and cannot improve, but it does mean being true to its mission. Of course Patagonia is ultimately a business and will only survive if people continue to consume and use their products. Ironically, their sustainability agenda may also drive consumption. However, on balance, their drive to reduce their own impact on the planet (production side) and their commitment to use resources for good to encourage reductions in the impact of consumption (related to their own industry and more generally in the wider world) is full of integrity. As an activist sustainability brand they have been consistent in their use of authentic symbolism and continuously credible in their drive to do better – as any authentic brand should be – and this case study of a 50-year-old activist brand has allowed us to make several theoretical contributions.

Abstract

Social media marketing has become a crucial component of contemporary business strategies, significantly influencing brand visibility, customer engagement, and sales growth. The aim of this study is to investigate and determine the key factors guiding customer attitudes towards social media influencers, and, on that basis, to explore their effects on purchase intentions regarding advertised products or services. A total of 376 filled-in questionnaires from an online survey were analysed. The main characteristics of digital influencers’ behaviour that affect consumer perceptions have been systematized and categorized through a combination of both traditional and advanced data analysis methods. Structural equation modelling (SEM), machine learning and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods were selected to uncover the hidden dependencies between variables from the perspective of social media users. The developed models elucidate the underlying relationships that shape the acceptance mechanism of influencers’ messages. The obtained results provide specific recommendations for stakeholders across the social media marketing value chain. Marketers can make informed decisions and optimize influencer marketing strategies to enhance user experience and increase conversion rates. Working collaboratively, marketers and influencers can create impactful and successful marketing campaigns that resonate with the target audience and drive meaningful results. Customers benefit from more tailored and engaging influencer content that aligns with their interests and preferences, fostering a stronger connection with brands and potentially affecting their purchase decisions. As the perception of customer satisfaction is an individual and evolving process, stakeholders should organize regular evaluations of influencer marketing data and explore the possibilities to ensure the continuous improvement of this e-marketing channel.

Introduction

Social media influencers, also referred to as digital influencers, online influencers or internet influencers, came into prominence at the beginning of the 21st century, during the transition from the early Web 1.0 environment to the collaborative Web 2.0 era. Initially, companies only sought celebrities to stimulate successful product sales. Today, online influencers are key figures who attract and captivate audiences with their specialized knowledge or intriguing lifestyle, making them valuable assets for brands when establishing a strong online presence [1]. Influencer marketing is a form of internet advertising that builds brand loyalty based on the reputation, recommendations, and popularity of a given celebrity or well-known personality [2]. The rise of social media has turned influencer marketing into a preferred tool for brand awareness and sales promotions.

The COVID-19 health crisis has been one of the catalysts for technological advancements in marketing strategies. As people spent more time online due to lockdowns and restrictions, online influencers became key marketing instruments for brands to connect with their target audiences. The pandemic led to a greater proliferation of social media influencers as sources of information and product recommendations [3,4].

According to Statista’s analysis [5], the global influencer marketing market was valued at USD 21.1 billion as of 2023, representing a substantial increase of 224.6% from the pre-pandemic level of USD 6.5 billion in 2019 and a 28.7% increase from the previous year’s level of USD 16.4 billion in 2022. As per the Influencer Marketing Hub report [6], the influencer marketing industry is projected to reach around 24 billion by the end of 2024. In this report, nearly a quarter of the surveyed participants planned to allocate over 40% of their total marketing budget to influencer campaigns. This growth underscores the importance of influencer marketing as a communication channel for reaching and engaging audiences.

Conclusions and Future Research

Social media marketing has revolutionized business–customer interactions, providing various platforms for online engagement. By delivering valuable content in an interactive manner, social media influencers bridge the gap between brands and consumers, empowering companies to transform their advertising strategies and extend their reach beyond geographical constraints. This digital marketing tool enhances business-to-customer relationships by facilitating collaboration and efficiency in interactions.

In this study, we explore the characteristics of social media influencers, highlighting their transformative effect on brand perception and consumer behaviour. The key findings are outlined below:

Abstract

This study explores the impact of social media marketing activities and ESG green brand involvement on the repurchase intention of green products among members of Taiwan’s green product social media groups. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action, the study employs a quantitative approach, collecting data through an online survey from 438 valid responses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to analyze the relationships between social media marketing activities (independent variable), green values, environmental concerns, brand image, and brand involvement (mediating variables), and repurchase intention (dependent variable). The findings reveal that social media marketing activities significantly enhance green values, environmental concerns, and brand image, which positively influence brand involvement. Brand involvement significantly mediates the relationship between green values, environmental concerns, brand image, and repurchase intention. This confirms that effective social media marketing can strengthen consumer loyalty and repurchase intentions for green products. The study suggests that companies should integrate green values, environmental concerns, and brand image into their social media marketing strategies to enhance consumer engagement and repurchase intentions. Leveraging social media influencers and interactive content can effectively promote green products and foster a culture of sustainability, creating a win–win situation for companies, consumers, and the environment. This research contributes to the literature by highlighting the mediating roles of green values, environmental concerns, and brand involvement in social media marketing for green products. It provides practical insights for companies aiming to enhance green product repurchase intentions through targeted social media strategies and ESG initiatives, illustrating the strategic use of social media marketing to boost consumer loyalty and sustainable consumption.

Introduction

The effects of global warming include the melting of polar ice, sea level rise inundating low-lying coastal areas, and global climate changes that result in heavy rains, droughts, and even desertification [1,2]. Global warming poses a threat to ecosystems, food chains, water resources, human activities, and public safety [3,4]. The primary cause of global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, which is directly or indirectly emitted by human activities [5]. As the world’s population reaches 8 billion, the climate and environmental quality are suffering a heavy price. Green products have a minimal impact on the environment throughout their life cycle, from production to disposal. They are typically made using sustainable materials and processes, designed to be energy-efficient, and often include features that reduce pollution. Green products aim to conserve resources, reduce the carbon footprint, and promote environmental sustainability [6,7]. To promote the production and sale of green products, reduce corporate carbon emissions, minimize the environmental impact of production lines, and enhance energy efficiency, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the report “Who Cares Wins”. The report stresses the importance of business operators and investors balancing profit with their responsibilities. It clearly states that companies should prioritize ESG principles: environmental protection, social responsibility, and corporate governance [8]. Within these principles, environmental protection includes the standards to be considered in the design and manufacture of green products.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and various environmental NGOs worldwide have advocated for and promoted the production and marketing of green products [9,10]. Emphasis on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles in sustainable corporate development, rising consumer awareness, and governmental environmental regulations are driving companies to shift towards producing green goods. However, the design and manufacturing of green goods often incur higher costs, leading to higher prices and reduced product competitiveness. To prevent companies from hesitating to switch to green products production due to higher costs, a direct solution is needed to enhance consumer purchase behavior regarding green products. This, in turn, boosts companies’ willingness to produce green products, creating a win-win situation for businesses, consumers, and environmental protection.

Results

4. Results
4.1. Descriptive Analysis
The majority of the respondents were male, with 292 people making up 66.7% of the total. Most of the respondents were married, with 347 people representing 79.2%. In terms of education, 317 respondents, or 72.4%, had a graduate degree or higher. Additionally, 304 respondents, or 69.4%, had a monthly income of TWD 70,001 or higher. These details are summarized in Table 1.

4.2. Structural Equation Modeling
4.2.1. Measurement Model Test
1. Convergent Validity
According to Anderson and Gerbing [103], a complete structural equation model (SEM) analysis should be divided into at least two stages. The first stage involves the measurement model, followed by the evaluation of the structural model in the second stage. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is equivalent to measurement model evaluation and is part of SEM analysis. In this study, the evaluation and refinement of CFA measurement models were based on the two-stage approach proposed by Kline [104]. If the measurement model fit is acceptable, the complete SEM model can then be reported. The measurement model was estimated using the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method. The estimated parameters included factor loadings, reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Table 2 provides the standardized factor loadings, composite reliability, and average variance extracted (AVE). According to Fornell and Larcker [105] criteria for convergent validity, the following conditions must be met: first, the standardized factor loading for each variable should be higher than 0.50; second, composite reliability should exceed 0.60; and third, the average variance extracted should be higher than 0.50.

Abstract

In today’s fast-paced world, social media marketing is crucial for businesses. However, many Saudi Arabian organizations need more skills and resources to use this strategy effectively. This article outlines organizations’ top issues when adopting social media marketing and provides valuable insights into how to overcome them. After conducting an extensive literature review and consulting with experts from various sectors, 19 critical issues hindering social media marketing adoption in Saudi Arabian organizations were identified. The study employed the DEMATEL approach to analyze these issues and determine their impact level and cause-effect relationships. The study found that customer support, platform trust, secure data sharing, and perceived value significantly impact a business’s social media marketing success. By addressing challenges like customer support, platform trust, and perceived value, businesses can enhance their social media marketing success and promote themselves globally by attracting and retaining customers through their social media presence. The insights gained from this research offer valuable guidance for Saudi Arabian organizations looking to refine their social media marketing strategies. To overcome the challenges hindering the adoption of social media marketing, businesses must address the “cause” and “effect” category issues. By adopting a formal and pragmatic approach, Saudi Arabian organizations can achieve sustainable growth and promote themselves to a global audience.

Introduction

Social media platforms offer businesses a unique opportunity to expand their reach, increase their visibility, and establish a strong brand presence in the global market [[1], [2], [3]]. Social media networking platforms have developed as an instrumental tool for businesses and marketers to acknowledge customers’ needs and offer viable resolutions to their marketing challenges [[4], [5], [6]]. Even though this platform has become ubiquitous in people’s lives and has emerged as a critical tool for businesses, the term “Social Media Marketing” still appears to have limited awareness among the business community [7,8]. Social Media Marketing (SMM) is a commercial marketing activity that leverages social media to positively influence consumers’ purchasing decisions [9]. With people increasingly using social media to trade and share information about products and services, businesses must integrate social media into their marketing strategies to engage customers and build long-term relationships [10,11]. This has made social media a primary platform for businesses to engage with customers and promote their products and services [4,5]. However, the effectiveness of SMM campaigns depends on several enablers or critical success factors (CSF) that facilitate their success. Enablers, or CSFs, are defined as factors that create favorable conditions for a particular phenomenon [4]. These enablers, or CSFs, are critical to the success of SMM campaigns, and identifying them is crucial for businesses seeking to leverage social media for improved marketing strategies [12]. In the contemporary business environment, social media has emerged as a vital component of communication and marketing strategies for companies operating nationally and internationally, enabling virtual engagement between users and allowing for real-time social interactions between consumers and businesses [10,11,13].

Businesses can leverage their global connectivity and reach to connect with diverse stakeholders, promote their offerings, facilitate social engagement, and achieve growth [3,14]. However, companies recognize the potential of social media as a tool for building and maintaining solid customer relationships [2,6,7]. Customers can quickly acquire vast information about products, services, brands, and their interaction to learn more about products and brands. The increase in social media community identity would enhance the brand commitment of the customer [[15], [16], [17]]. However, customers face different challenges in making purchase decisions due to the vast amount of information available and seeking proper guidance, and social media has assisted them [18]. There is still limited awareness of SMM enablers among the business community, regardless of the growing importance of this phenomenon [7,19]. Several studies have attempted to identify the key enablers of SMM, including the use of customer engagement metrics [20,21], social media analytics [4], and social media strategy [5] using diverse methodologies. However, limited studies on SMM enablers employing the DEMATEL approach have been conducted in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing rapid digital transformation, and it becomes vital to study the critical success factors or enablers of SMM among Saudi Arabian organizations. SMM has become a significant part of these businesses’ modern marketing strategies to reach target customers and build long-term relationships [22]. However, SMM practices are not adequately adopted as a marketing tool among companies in the kingdom, and hence, how does social media impact businesses and consumers, and what are the barriers to SMM seeking further investigation [[23], [24], [25]].

Conclusion

Social media has emerged as a crucial marketing tool for businesses worldwide, enabling them to connect with their target audience and adapt to the ever-changing business landscape. However, identifying the enablers of SMM adoption is crucial to ensure sustainable business development. This study investigates the critical issues hindering SMM adoption in Saudi Arabian organizations. To accomplish this goal, the study conducted an extensive literature review and consulted experts from various sectors, including retail, education, pharma, and transportation, to identify 19 key issues that impede the adoption of SMM in Saudi Arabian organizations. The study then analyzed these issues using the DEMATEL approach to determine their impact level and cause-effect relationships. The study’s findings highlighted several critical causal issues that significantly affect the adoption of social media marketing in Saudi Arabian organizations. For instance, issues related to customer support and trust on the platform were instrumental in determining a business’s social media marketing success. Similarly, safe data sharing and perceived value significantly impact a business’s social media presence. This study contributes significantly to social media marketing by shedding light on the critical issues hindering its compelling adoption in Saudi Arabian companies. What sets this research apart from existing studies is its distinctive focus on identifying the barriers and challenges organizations face when harnessing the absolute prospect of social media for marketing purposes. While many previous studies have investigated the enabling aspects of social media marketing, this study brings a different approach by pinpointing 19 critical issues that serve as roadblocks to successfully implementing social media marketing strategies. Unlike studies that underline the positive consequence of social media on business performance or empowerment, this study delves deep into the challenges companies encounter when incorporating social media marketing into their overall business strategies. Furthermore, this study embraces the DEMATEL approach to investigate these issues, furnishing a robust framework for understanding their impact levels and cause-effect relationships. This analytical technique adds depth and accuracy to the findings, making them favorably actionable for businesses seeking to enhance their social media marketing strategies. This research presents a novel outlook by underscoring organizations’ barriers and challenges in adopting social media marketing strategies. By pinpointing these barriers, businesses and marketers can accumulate valuable insights into overcoming them, eventually directing to more successful and compelling social media marketing campaigns. This body of research provides a comprehensive understanding of SMM from various perspectives, highlighting its potential to foster customer interactions and engagement.

Abstract

Purpose
The Bed and Breakfast (B&B) enterprises generally lack sufficient human resources and time to conduct research on important social media marketing factors for visitors’ satisfaction and visitors’ intentions. Therefore, this study aims to provide crucial social media marketing and factors and service quality elements for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in B&B sectors. This study also provides some recommendations for attracting more visitors and increasing customer satisfaction and customer loyalty through social media.

Design/methodology/approach
First, social media marketing factors and service quality elements were identified through the systematic literature review. Then these identified factors and elements were used to design a survey questionnaire for collecting data. The research data included responses of 64 B&B enterprises and 625 customers. The collected data was analyzed by feature selection approaches including Decision Tree algorithm and Information Gain to identify the key factors for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Findings
The findings of this study determined that featured choice is an important social media marketing factor, and assurance is the common service quality element for both B&B enterprises and their customers in terms of satisfaction and loyalty.

Originality/value
This study adds a value to the growing literature on customer satisfaction and loyalty in B&B sectors by exploring key social media marketing factors and service quality elements. The study reveals several implications for theories and practices. The findings hopefully help B&B enterprises better social media marketing with less workforce and budget.

Introduction

     In recent decades, tourism is one of the global major service industries and has made significant contributions to the worldwide economy (Parvin, Tavakolinia, Mosammam, & Razavian, 2022). For this reason, many governments in general, and Taiwanese in particular, are actively promoting the growth of this so-called “chimney-free industry” (Chen, Lin, & Kuo, 2013). However, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the growth of the tourism sector (Parvin et al., 2022) because people preferred staying in congested areas such as towns and metropolitan cities for safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, when the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled, tourism has returned to normal (Biju & Kumar, 2022), and Bed (i.e. sleeping for a night) and Breakfast (i.e. a meal in the morning) (B&B) services, provided by guest houses and hotels (Zhang, Li, Huang, & Hua, 2022a, Zhang, Williams, Li, & Liu, 2022b), are becoming popular.

     In addition, the rapid development of social networking websites has become popular social media on the internet. Social networking websites, such as Facebook, TripAdvisor and Twitter, have become the main platforms for communicating, discussing and exchanging information among social site members (Dehghani & Tumer, 2015). On these websites, online users transmit information and interact with each other through available characteristics of media. Consequently, these social networking websites could be called “social media” (Adeola, Hinson, & Evans, 2020). Community websites have become an important source of information for many people. Tourists can share their travelling experiences with others and respond to related comments. This many-to-many interaction spread through the internet can be called electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) (Chen, Shang, & Li, 2014). The forms of e-WOM include one-to-one emails, one-to-many distributed emails, instant messages, Web pages, blogs, discussion forums, chat rooms and online communities (Sigauke & Erdis, 2018).

Conclusions

     The present study’s main objective is to identify factors of social media marketing and SQEs in the B&B sector. We used two feature selection methods, IG and DT, to recognize the key factors for increasing satisfaction and building loyalty, respectively. This study provided the set of social media factors and SQEs to the B&B enterprises and customers. In addition, the findings are useful for both enterprises to improve customer satisfaction and customers when they will choose B&B services. The contributions of this study to social media marketing research are, first, the traditional conceptualization of customer loyalty was successfully applied in the social media marketing context; second, our methodology contributing to theory, could be applied in different sectors or on issues to generate different dimensions in a single study; and third, this is the first study to determine the key social media factors and SQEs in terms of customer satisfaction and loyalty based on the customers and B&B enterprises opinions in the B&B sector.

Abstract

     Social media has been taken as an important marketing tool for business today and it has also become increasingly imperative for marketers of SMEs to strategically utilize to attain competitive advantage and excellent performance. However, scholarly research on the social media marketing strategy of SMEs is still scant. To fill this research gap, this study proposes a social media marketing strategy framework for SMEs using customer knowledge management. The research captures the knowledge about customer by text mining and knowledge from customer by the Kano model revealing the critical requirements that will be used for the development of the social media marketing strategy framework, referred to as knowledge for customer. The strategy framework consists of the five common components for SMEs to conduct social media marketing which are Context, Channel, Content, Communication and Continuity. The study offers valuable insight into social media marketing improvement and customer knowledge management in enterprises.

Introduction

     Social media provides opportunities for businesses to improve their competitive position through interactive and cocreative ways [1], and this has made social media widely adopted as a business tool [2]. Social media has been playing a significant role in marketing strategy nowadays [3]. Despite the high adoption rate of social media, the actual usage in enterprises often seems to be improvised and lacks a clear strategy [4]. And enterprises apply their social media marketing strategies guided by only intuition or trial and scant research has systematically integrated and expanded knowledge on social media marketing strategies [5] [6]. Especially in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), due to relatively insufficient human or financial resources compared to large companies [7], the social media workers with relatively lower competency lack the strategy to conduct work, leading to poor performance of social media marketing. SMEs’ usual lack of human capital restrains their internal drive of knowledge, Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) becomes a strategic approach in order to create customer value [8]. This study proposes a strategy framework that identifies and classifies the components of social media marketing to guide SMEs’ marketing activities by using customer knowledge management.

Findings

     The study develops a social media marketing strategy framework using customer knowledge management. The results would be organized into the three types of customer knowledge.

Knowledge about Customer

The knowledge about customer is the critical issues extracted by text mining from customer feedback of SMEs social media marketing, as shown in Table V

Abstract

Introduction

Literature review

Brand loyalty

Theoretical background

Potential moderators

Methodological moderators

Questionnaire type

Economic and social development moderators

Human development index

Level of globalization

Country Brand ranking

Connectivity level

Methods

Search strategy

Inclusion criteria

Coding procedure

Meta-analysis procedure

Results

Discussion

Implications for practitioners

Limitations and future studies

Reference

Abstract

     This research investigates the robustness of the relationship between social media marketing activities (SMMA) and brand loyalty (BL). This relationship is examined based on six contextual factors classified into three categories: methodological, economic, and social variables. A quantitative meta-analysis is conducted to test the study hypotheses, and 11 effect size from the article published between 2010 and 2019 are examined for the final sample size (n = 3,535). The meta-analysis results indicate a positive correlation between SMMA and BL at the cumulative level of 0.49, demonstrating a medium to large effect size. Potential moderating effects have been investigated for three types of study characteristic variables; the methodological (sample type and survey type), social (human development index [HDI] and level of globalization), and economic variables (country brand ranking and connectivity level). These relationships are moderated by sample type, survey type, and the country’s brand ranking, among other factors. However, the levels of globalization and connectivity, and the HDI, have no significant moderating effects on the SMMA–BL link. More importantly, the study indicates the factors that moderate these relationships. No prior meta-analysis of this fundamental relationship has been conducted

Introduction

     In today’s competitive global market, managers strive to improve marketing effectiveness by identifying new marketing metrics linked to business performance. Marketing campaigns on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) are considered to be one of the metrics used to promote corporate products, build strong brand awareness, and strengthen the relationships between companies and customers (Boyd & Ellison, 2007; Chan & Guillet, 2011; Erdo
gmus¸&C¸ic¸ek, 2012). Marketing through social media is defined as the process of using social media platforms to create, communicate, deliver, and exchange corporate offerings that have value for corporate stakeholders (Tuten & Solomon, 2016). Furthermore, social media is a communication tool: it enables users and their peers to communicate and add networks of friends, particularly among their peer groups (Filo et al., 2015; Ho, 2014; Whitla, 2009; Zhang & Daugherty, 2009).

Results

     Our bivariate meta-analysis’s outcomes exhibited a strong positive correlation between SMMA and BL at the cumulative level of 0.49, demonstrating a medium to the large effect size of the SMMA–BL linkage based on Cohen’s rule of thumb. As shown in Table 3, the confidence interval (CI) does not comprise the value zero (95%-CI [.32, .65]), so SMMA has a significant effect on BL. Hence, our assumption about the positive impact of SMMA on BL is strongly supported. Thus, Hypothesis 1 is accepted.

     Tables 3 and 4 report our findings of the subgroup analysis and metaregression. Our selected moderators (methodological, social, and economic variables) could clarify 73% of the variance in the relationship between SMMA and BL. For the moderating effect of sample type, the result of our subgroup analysis revealed that studies that comprised nonstudent-based samples reported large effect size (q ¼ .60) compared to those that used student-based samples, which stated small effect size (q ¼ .33), based on Cohens’ rule of thumb. The r-to-Z conversion result showed significant differences between the studies with student-based and nonstudent-based samples. Moreover, our meta-regression analysis exhibited a significant moderating effect of sample type on the SMMA–BL linkage. Thus, Hypothesis 2 is accepted. The corrected correlation coefficient of the studies that used an offline-based survey showed a more substantial value (q ¼ .57) than that of the studies that used an online-based survey (q ¼ .45). The outcome of our initial r-to-Z conversion and the meta-regression showed a significant moderating effect of survey type on the relationship between SMMA and BL. Thus, Hypothesis 3 is accepted.

Abstract

     The aim of this study is to explore the evolving social media marketing strategies of football clubs involved in the English Premier League (EPL), in a constantly changing sporting and digital landscape. Interviews conducted with practitioners from a range of clubs revealed that social media marketing has been fully adopted as a key strategic marketing channel. Other insights include the importance of trust to clubs being able to harness the collective of passionate fans on social media platforms. Also, how clubs are using social media to grow their global reach and capitalize on worldwide EPL exposure. The paper also highlights some of the negatives of social media, as experienced by football club social media marketing practitioners. Finally, a social media marketing strategy framework applied to football is proposed, based on the social media marketing strategy of football clubs and their understanding of why and how their fans use social media.

Introduction

     Social media marketing (SMM) is a key strategic activity that can achieve organizational goals and create value for internal and external stakeholders.1 Focused on customer engagement and informed by analytics, SMM will be more effective and make a more significant contribution to marketing and commercial performance.2 Deeper levels of customer interaction and data insights enable trust and an increased chance of success through effective social media marketing strategy (SMMS).3 Despite increased scholarly attention on the role of SMMS in sport, there remains a paucity of insights across a variety of football leagues,4 resulting in a lack of theoretical depth.5

     The English Premier League (EPL) is the wealthiest and most popular football league in the world,6 its global success evident by the fact that all EPL clubs are again in the top 50 revenue generating clubs in the world.7 EPL clubs’ revenues totalled over £5bn for the first time in 2018/19,8 with broadcast rights being worth 59% of this total. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted EPL clubs significantly, primarily through matchday revenues plummeting thanks to matches having to be played behind closed doors.

Discussion and conclusions

     This study demonstrates how football clubs have increasingly embraced social media while continually adapting to the digital and sporting landscape. It confirms clubs now consider SMMS to be core to their communications with fans. The research is further evidence that brands use social media as a strategic tool to build relationships with local and global fans and stakeholders, in addition to informing fans to encourage interaction.74 Trust is at the centre of a successful SMMS, with the club as the unifying intermediary between fans and the business organization that is the actual club.

     Similar to research that focused on the fan perspective,75 this study finds that passion, based on an emotional connection with the club, is central to fans following clubs on social media. Moreover, a sense of community and social interaction are key to informing, entertaining and keeping fans engaged with the football club and its SMMS.76 Every club emphasized the insatiable appetite for information their fans have from the SMMS of their chosen club. Such findings link with research claiming fans are motivated to engage with football club SMMS for information, for their own social influence with their community, and for entertainment.77 It also concurs with research that fans are motivated to engage with EPL clubs on social media for information, empowerment via influencing other consumers, social interaction, and passionate, emotional attachment.

Abstract

Introduction

Charity Social Media Marketing

Awareness

Interaction

Timeliness

Informativeness

Customization

Advertising

Research Hypothesis

Methodology

Analysis and Results

Discussion and Conclusion

Managerial Implications

References

Abstract

     This study aims to identify the outline of charity social media marketing (SMM) and to determine to what extent it influences the charity brand image, brand trust, and donation intention. The data were gathered from followers of internationally operating Turk charities on social media. The theoretical model and hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling. Charity SMM is composed of awareness, interaction, timeliness, informativeness, customization, and advertisement dimensions. Awareness is the only dimension of SMM that has a significant direct influence on donation intention. Timeliness, informativeness, and advertisement significantly influence charity brand image, whereas brand trust is influenced by informativeness and customization. Besides, Charity SMM, as a whole, influences donation intention both directly and indirectly through brand image and brand trust. Therefore, charity brand image and brand trust are crucial for charities to promote donation intention through SMM. Therefore, charities are strongly recommended to focus primarily on developing their brand image and gaining trust in current and prospective donors.

Introduction

     Charities have been operating to improve needy people’s living standards through aids and cash assistance (Ilyas et al., 2020). The revenues of a charity consist of monetary donations, non-monetary but tangible gifts, and investments like other non-governmental organizations. Most charity activities are carried out by volunteers (Sargeant et al., 2006). Like charities, many nonprofit organizations such as hospitals, universities, cultural centers, art centers, and environment and animal protection societies depend on donations and volunteers. Therefore, charities have faced intense competition with these organizations (Bennett, 2005) and difficulties financing their activities (Quinton & Fennemore, 2013). In such a competitive environment, charities need to use marketing communication tools efficiently and effectively to retain current donors and volunteers and find new ones.

     Social media is one of the most convenient communication channels that charities can use to interact with donors and volunteers. Social media facilitates interactions between users, i.e., individuals and organizations. Thereby, social media offers unique opportunities for charities to strengthen relations between donors/volunteers and organizations by increasing interactions. Social media enables charities to post informative or attention-grabbing content quickly, affordably, and continuously (Seo & Park, 2018; Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014). Therefore, social media is evaluated as an essential part of the marketing activities of charities that aim to develop communication with donors and volunteers (Simon & Tossan, 2018).

Discussion and Conclusion

     This paper identifies to what extent charity SMM, as a construct, and its dimensions influence charity brand image, brand trust, and donation intention. Charity SMM is categorized into six dimensions: awareness, interaction, timeliness, informativeness, customization, and advertisement. Charities can create awareness about needy people on their social media posts so that prospective donors can keep donating. They can also promote interactions among donors and between donors and the organization by motivating followers to share information, ideas, views, and opinions on charities’ social media profiles. Timeliness, i.e., keeping social media account updated and sharing real-time information and the latest information on activities, makes current and prospective donors believe that social media is an essential source of information. Informativeness, i.e., providing accurate, practical, and comprehensive information about the charities’ activities through social media, promotes credibility. Charities’ customization of their communication with individuals through social media helps them resolve their interests, curiosities, and concerns. Charities’ attentiongrabbing and motivating social media advertisements are essential dimensions of SMM.

Abstract

     Research offers some indication that the online customers’ shopping experience (OCSE) can be a strong predictor of online impulsive buying behavior, but there is not much empirical support available to form a holistic understanding; whether, and indeed how, the effects of the OCSE on online impulsive buying behavior are affected by customers’ attitudinal loyalty and self-control are not well understood areas of research. In this study, we examine how functional and psychological dimensions of the OCSE influence online impulsive buying within e-commerce platforms. We will investigate customers’ attitudinal loyalty as a mediator between the OCSE and online impulsive buying behavior, and the customers’ self-control as a moderator between customers’ attitudinal loyalty and online impulsive buying. To analyze these relationships we will conduct an online survey (n = 1489) with customers of two leading Chinese e-commerce platforms: Jindong and Taobao. The findings from structural equation modeling indicate a positive relationship between the tested dimensions of the OCSE and customers’ online impulsive buying. We also find a mediating role of customers’ attitudinal loyalty and negative moderation of customers’ self-control. Theoretically, the findings contribute to the literature regarding online impulsive buying and the online customer experience. For managers, the findings stress the importance of ethical management with regard to the online shopping experiences.

Introduction

     Online shopping is a common, globally found activity (Erjavec and Manfreda, 2021; Shao et al., 2022). In 2020, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to 4.28 trillion United States (U.S.) dollars and this is projected to grow to 5.4 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022 (Coppola, 2021). Within this vast market, customers will often make spontaneous, unplanned, unreflective and unthoughtful purchases (Habib and Qayyum, 2018; Kimiagari and Malafe, 2021) and this is referred to as ‘online impulsive buying’ (Wu et al., 2020). For instance, customers in the United Kingdom (U.K.) spend approximately £1 billion per month on impulsive buying (Bushi, 2020) and eighty percent of adolescents in the U.S. are estimated to have made impulsive purchases online (Carter, 2018). Other studies reveal that up to 40% of all online purchases worldwide can be classified as impulsive (Chan et al., 2017; Verhagen and van Dolen, 2011).

Results

5.1. Direct effects

     Results related to all hypotheses for direct effects are presented in Table 4. All of the hypotheses are supported. Firstly, the results indicate that all four functional components of the OCSE (i.e., interactivity, informativeness, visual engagement, navigation, and search ease) significantly affect online impulsive buying from e-commerce platforms (H1). Secondly, the findings reveal that customers who trust e-commerce platforms and find them more convenient and enjoyable to undertake their purchasing process are likely to make more impulsive buying decisions (H2). Hence, H1 and H2, which respectively state that the functional and psychological dimensions of the OCSE significantly impact online impulsive buying, are fully supported. We also found that components of the functional and psychological dimensions of the OCSE have a significant positive impact on customers’ attitudinal loyalty towards an e-commerce platform, demonstrating support for H3 (a, b, c, and d) and H4 (a, b, and c). Finally, the findings show that customers with greater attitudinal loyalty towards the e-commerce platform are more likely to engage in online impulsive buying, and this finding supports H5.

Abstract

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Abstract

This empirical research investigated the structural relationships between social media influencer attributes, perceived friendship, psychological well-being, loyalty, and perceived social responsibility of influencers, focusing on the perspective of social media users. More specifically, this study conceptually identified social media influencer attributes such as language similarity, interest similarity, interaction frequency, and self-disclosure and examined the respective effects of each dimension on perceived friendship and psychological well-being, consequently resulting in loyalty toward social media influencers. The authors collected and analyzed data from 388 social media users in the United States via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk with multivariate analyses to test the hypothesized associations among the variables in this study. The findings indicated that perceived friendship was significantly influenced by language similarity, interest similarity, and self-disclosure, but did not have a significant impact on psychological well-being. Additionally, perceived friendship significantly affected psychological well-being and loyalty, and psychological well-being significantly influenced loyalty. Lastly, social media influencers’ social responsibility moderated the path from psychological well-being to loyalty. Based on these findings, this study proposes theoretical and managerial implications for the social media influencer marketing context.

1. Introduction

Social media use is widespread and has been shown to play an important role in the lives of both adolescents and young adults [1]. Social media platforms enable adolescents and young adults to consume digital content without time and space limits and to virtually interact with other users without geographical boundaries [2]. Particularly, the development of digital platforms leads young adults to closely interact with their favorite celebrities, brands, and other users in the virtual world via two-way communication tools, such as live chats and comment options [3]. Interestingly, as social media platforms have grown, the digital world created a new phrase, “social media influencers,” who become famous through their digital content on social media, compared to traditional celebrities who become famous on TV shows and film [4]. Hence, social media users tend to feel connected with social media influencers by interacting with them in the virtual world and perceive social media influencers as more authentic in their fields, including fashion, health, or music, than celebrity endorsements in traditional advertisements [1]. Therefore, there is a need to empirically investigate what drives social media users’ loyalty toward their favorite influencers, such as repeat purchase behavior, positive word-of-mouth, and recommendation of products advertised by social media influencers from the perspectives of an influencer’s digitalized attributes [5,6]. These perspectives are especially important because social media users interact with their favorite influencers in the digital world instead of in the real world. This means that social media influencers’ digitalized attributes can be more important determinants of users’ perceptions, feelings, behavioral intention, and even actual behaviors than the visual characteristics of social media influencers. However, prior research in this field focused primarily on the visual and/or actual characteristics of social media influencers (e.g., physical attractiveness or social attractiveness) to predict marketing outcomes, such as positive attitudes toward and favorable intention for a product advertised by the influencers [7]. In particular, loyalty toward social media influencers leads followers to have a strong sense of product/brand association and reality by perceiving influencers’ product/brand and advertisements as more persuasive and authentic [4]. Accordingly, users are more likely to behave favorably for the product/brand social media influencers advertise in order to endorse the influencers and support the influencers’ fame and social status [7].