The Relationship Between Social Media Marketing, Trust, Reputation and Purchase Intention: Empirical Evidence from Fast-Food Industry

Abstract

Considering the increased interest in the role of Social Media Marketing (SMM) of fast-food brands in encouraging purchase decisions, the current study introduced the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) as a theoretical support to connect SMM to purchase intention via trust and reputation in the context of the Malaysian fast food industry. A cross-sectional survey was designed to examine the theoretical framework, which yielded 212 usable responses. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the study hypotheses. Results of this study suggest that SMM in the form of entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and word of mouth invoke the positive effect on trust and reputation, ultimately lead to positive intention to purchase a fast-food products. The findings of this study may provide valuable insight for fast-food marketers to restrategize their SMM strategy to increase consumer purchase intention.