Title: Digital entrepreneurship: the influence of social media on consumer buying behaviours

Authors: António José Mendes Ferreira; Paulo Jorge de Almeida Pereira; Inês Gouveia da Costa; Dagoberto Ivo Sousa Couto dos Santos

Addresses: CEFAGE-UBI, Instituto de Gestão e das Organizações da Saúde, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal ' Instituto de Gestão e das Organizações da Saúde, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal ' Instituto de Gestão e das Organizações da Saúde, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal ' Instituto de Gestão e das Organizações da Saúde, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal

Abstract: The aim of this study is to understand the extent to which consumers are willing to follow certain brands and companies, seeking to understand which content appeals to them the most, how they interact on new digital platforms, their frequency of purchases, and the impact that brands have on their purchasing decisions. In order to assess the effect that social media has on brand relationships, it is important to investigate the new entrepreneurial trend, namely, digital entrepreneurship, as this phenomenon is on the rise both in terms of business digitalisation and the creation of digital companies. For this purpose, this study adopted a quantitative methodology, based on a questionnaire survey, which gathered 199 responses. It was concluded that the majority of individuals feel influenced by brand and company posts. They consider this to be one of the reasons that leads them to purchase goods and services through these platforms, constituting an important contribution to business practice. Regarding the aspects that vary this impact, it was concluded that this variation is only significant in certain cases.

Keywords: digital entrepreneurship; social media; online consumption.

DOI: 10.1504/IJADS.2025.149532

International Journal of Applied Decision Sciences, 2025 Vol.18 No.6, pp.719 - 741

Received: 04 Oct 2024
Accepted: 26 Oct 2024
Published online: 05 Nov 2025 *

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