Title: Impact of viral marketing on brand loyalty in the FMCG sector

Authors: Soumya Mukherjee; Mrinal Kanti Das; Anu Sahi; Dipak Saha; Rishi Raj Sharma

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Techno India (Hooghly Campus), Chinsura, Hooghly, West Bengal, India ' Department of Commerce, Kanchrapara College, Kanchrapara, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India ' School of Management, Apeejay Institute of Management & Engineering, Technical Campus, Jalandhar, India ' Department of Business Administration, Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata, India ' Department of Business Management, Guru Nanak Dev University, RC Gurdaspur, India

Abstract: The present study investigates the impact of viral marketing on brand awareness, brand image and brand loyalty in the FMCG sector. The research model was empirically tested using 643 valid individual responses collected through a questionnaire-based survey. The data was collected using random sampling and analysed using PLS-SMART4.0. The mediation analysis reveals that brand awareness and brand image function as mediating variables for achieving brand loyalty. The study reveals viral marketing power in reaching the brands to more customers, but also suffices to cultivate long-term relationships with them. This draws the attention of other sectors to fully utilise the viral power.

Keywords: viral marketing; brand awareness; brand image; brand loyalty; fast-moving consumer goods; FMCG; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBCG.2023.138732

International Journal of Business Competition and Growth, 2023 Vol.8 No.4, pp.240 - 261

Received: 04 Sep 2023
Accepted: 03 Jan 2024
Published online: 29 May 2024 *

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