The influence of social media communication on South African millennial consumer purchase intentions of motor vehicle brands

Abstract

This research paper sought out to examine how social media communication influences South African Millennial consumer purchase intentions of motor vehicle brands. The advent of social media and its commercial viability in relation to purchase intention has been the centre of attention for many marketers and brand managers in varying industries. This study focused on the model of firm created content and user generated content and their respective influences on brand e and brand equity. Thereafter, the study examined the effects of brand attitude and brand equity influences on purchase intention. The study adopted a quantitative research approach among South African Millennial consumers. To this end, primary data was collected by means of an online survey which was disseminated through a self-selection sampling technique by means of a promoted post on the brands Facebook page by inviting potential respondents to voluntarily participate in the study. The survey yielded a total of 182 qualified participants to which LISREL 8.80 software was employed so that partial least squares (PLS-SEM) analysis could be utilised to establish the reliability and validity of the proposed model which in turn also tested the constructs in relation to the hypotheses. In spite of what was found in previous studies, the results revealed that firm created content and user generated content did not have a direct positive effect on influencing Millennials' perceptions on brand equity. Although firm created content and user generated content revealed a direct positive influence on brand attitude, it was another interesting result where firm created content yielded a stronger positive relationship on brand attitude than user generated content. Furthermore, testing the relationship between brand attitude and brand equity showed that these two constructs play a pivotal role by influencing South African Millennial purchase intentions.