Title: The influence of social media advertising on consumer behaviour

Authors: Fayq Al Akayleh

Addresses: College of Business Administration, Al Yamamah University, P.O. Box 45180, Riyadh 11512, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of e-marketing in the context of consumers in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. The research methodology is of quantitative type using the simple random sampling. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to a sample of 1,425 social media consumers. The study variables include consumer buying decision as a dependent variable and social media advertising as an independent variable. Income, education level, gender, age and culture were used as moderating variables. The results of the study indicate that social media advertising significantly influence consumer buying decision. Gender, age, and culture of consumers have significant moderating effects whereas income and education have insignificant effects on the relationship between consumer buying decision and social media advertising. This paper is pioneering in that it investigates the effects of social media marketing on consumer buying decision in the context of consumers in Riyadh City.

Keywords: consumer behaviour; social media marketing and advertising; Saudi Arabia; utility maximisation; cultural differences.

DOI: 10.1504/MEJM.2021.116443

Middle East Journal of Management, 2021 Vol.8 No.4, pp.344 - 366

Received: 09 Apr 2020
Accepted: 26 May 2020
Published online: 26 Jul 2021 *

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