The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand Awareness, Brand Engagement and Purchase Intention in Emerging Economies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70062/greeneconomics.v2i3.301Keywords:
Brand Awareness, Purchase Intention in Emerging Economies, Social Media MarketingAbstract
Abstract: This study investigates the impact of social media marketing (SMM) on brand awareness,
brand engagement, and purchase intention across five emerging European economies: Albania,
Kosovo, Romania, Ukraine, and North Macedonia. Anchored in the Uses and Gratifications Theory
(UGT) and the Consumer Brand Engagement (CBE) model, the research employs Partial Least
Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the complex interrelationships among
these constructs. Findings reveal that SMM positively influences brand awareness and engagement,
both of which significantly mediate the relationship between SMM and purchase intention.
Importantly, the strength and nature of these effects vary by country, underscoring the role of
cultural and contextual factors in shaping consumer responses to digital marketing stimuli. This
cross-national analysis fills a critical gap in the literature by focusing on underrepresented, high
growth markets and offers valuable implications for both theory and practice. Specifically, it
advocates for localized, culturally sensitive SMM strategies that emphasize both visibility and
interactive engagement. The study contributes to the broader marketing discourse by demonstrating
how consumer behavior in digitally connected, developing economies diverges from that in mature
markets, thereby reinforcing the necessity of context-aware digital marketing frameworks in global
strategy formulation.
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