Impact of Social Media Marketing on E-Brand Loyalty: Examining the Mediating Effect of E-Brand Trust towards E-Tailing Sites in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Today, firms are improving their online marketing talents with the development of web 2.0. With the ability to promote a firm’s brands into a wide scope under the minimum cost compared to the conventional media, most of the firms turn towards Social Media Marketing. However, the effectiveness of SMM in generating loyal customers in the online context is still a vague area. Therefore, this study focused on determining the impact of SMM on e-brand loyalty while examining the mediated effect of e-brand trust towards e-tailing websites in Sri Lanka. This study was carried out as a deductive study and quantitative strategy was employed. The sample was identified within the Western Province of Sri Lanka, and it was used the convenience sampling technique. In terms of measuring the relationships and effects according to the constructed hypotheses, regression analysis and several statistical techniques were used to achieve meaningful conclusions. The findings of the study revealed that there is a positive relationship between SMM and e- brand loyalty. It was also statistically proven that e-brand trust mediates the relationship between SMM and e-brand loyalty towards e-tailing sites. Findings of the current study provided valuable implications such as consumers’ thinking pattern in online context and best SMM practices for marketers and digital marketing agencies. Hence, this study contributed significantly to the existing body of knowledge and for future researchers.