Social media factors impacting purchase intention of mobile devices amongst working Generation Y in South Africa

• Main Author: Funde, Lesego
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Consumer behaviour > South Africa; Cell phones > Social aspects > South Africa; Online social networks > South Africa; Social media > South Africa; Generation Y > South Africa
• Online Access: Funde, Lesego (2017) Social media factors impacting purchase intention of mobile devices amongst working Generation Y in South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/23683>; http://hdl.handle.net/10539/23683

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing, 2016 === Word-of-mouth (WOM) has been seen to be one of the most powerful resources of transmitting information. Progression in Information technology and the rise of online social network sites have changed the way information is being conveyed. This phenomenon sways consumers as this effortlessly accessible information could significantly influence their consumption decision. The purpose of this paper is to investigate Social Media factors impacting purchase intention of mobile devices amongst Working Generation Y in South Africa. The target population for this study was defined those who are between ages of 24-35 years of age and are employed. This paper relies on a quantitative analysis of the results gathered through an online survey. Measurement of items have been adapted from existing scales found in the marketing literature. Researchers reviewed the items for validity and readability. A multiple regression model procedure and Structural Equation Model is applied to test the relationship between independent and dependent variables. The research model was tested using a sample of 250 people who are South Africa’s Working Generation Y consumers and are regular social network users. Based on the resulted yielded from this research paper, it is reasonable to argue that consumer engagement will affect eWOM which may influence consumer purchase intentions. The paper outlines ways to promote a brand effectively through online consumer communities’ also known as virtual communities, as well as general guidelines for website and forum moderators for facilitating such presentation in a manner useful to the members of their online communities. While there is a substantial research stream that examines the branding of consumer’s goods and an increasing literature on product brands, little is known about social media, brand image and purchase intention in the context of online communications. This paper therefore extends existing measurement of these variables. === XL2018