Factors Influencing HEIs to Adopt Social Media as a Marketing Communication Tool

This research aims to identify the factors influencing Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to adopt Social Media (SM) for marketing communication. The research was conducted through a qualitative study by interviewing SM managers of selected Pakistani HEIs. Data was analyzed using NVivo 11 to identify emerging themes. The findings revealed several internal and external factors encouraging HEIs to adopt SM marketing. Internal factors reflected the internal dynamics or beliefs within the HEIs that encouraged them to use SM for their marketing communication, whereas external factors were environmental changes, not in direct control of HEIs, but believed to contribute towards their decision to use SM. The internal factors included the belief of applicants, increased interest of senior management towards SM, perception of cost-effective promotional tool, induction of young staff, perception of SM as a modern communication tool and move towards paperless communication. The external factors included SM preference as a mode of communication, declining value of traditional marketing communication tools, E-Life inclination, presence of competitors & unofficial SM accounts of HEIs and their self-driven nature. This study draws focus towards the underlying intentions of HEIs for their SM presence and compares these motivations with other organizations. This has enabled filling in the gaps in the literature regarding the roots of SM marketing in the context of HEIs. From a practical perspective, the findings of this study will enable HEIs to compare their SM motives with other industries. A major difference found was the absence of motivation on the part of HEIs to use SM. This is in contradiction to other industries that put relationship building with customers as one of the primary motives to use SM.

Is Greenfield Investment Greener for the Welfare of Lower-Middle Income Countries? Market based Empirical Analysis with GMM Approach

Globalization is considered as the catalyst for the progress of economic activities and economic development of lower-middle-income countries. Greenfield investment not only promotes welfare but also helps in the health and education sector of these countries. This study examined thirty-four (34) sampled countries of the lower-middle-income group from different regions for a time span of 1998-2017. Im, Pesaran and Shin (2003) test is applied for testing panel unit root and one step system GMM technique is applied for the complete data analysis. The results of the study concluded that greenfield investment has increased economic growth and helped to push the welfare activities of sampled countries. Besides the increase in economic growth and welfare, greenfield investment also brings improvement in the health and education sectors through the transfer of new and advanced technologies from the developed nation firms to the host countries. Therefore, lower-middle-income countries must approve soft and friendly economic and business policies for the attraction of foreign investors from abroad. Such policies will help in promoting and increasing economic activities and economic development of the sampled countries.

Impact of M-Banking Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction with the Role of Trust and Customer Value Co-Creation Intentions

This paper investigates the impact of various dimensions of mobile banking service quality on customer satisfaction with the mediating role of customer value co-creation intentions in the banking sector of Pakistan. Theoretical foundations of this study lie in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Service-Dominant (S-D) logic. Data was collected using a questionnaire from a sample of 383 respondents from 25 banks. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted to explore the role of trust in creating customer satisfaction through the mediating role of customer value co-creation. The findings showed that m-banking service quality dimensions have a significant impact on customer satisfaction. Also, it was found that co-creation has a significant impact on customer satisfaction. Mediation analysis was conducted to see if co-creation mediates the relationship between m-banking service quality and customer satisfaction. There was found to be partial mediation between all dimensions of m-banking service quality and customer satisfaction. Moderation analysis was also conducted to check the role of trust. The findings revealed that trust moderates the relationship for only perceived ease of use of m-banking; however, trust doesn’t moderate the relationship for other dimensions of m-banking. This study will be beneficial for bank managers to adopt the strategies that help in co-creation by customers and hence enhance customer satisfaction in the existing competition for better services. This study will add to the existing literature by its novel findings and knowledge in the extended technology acceptance model.

Ongoing Information Search Motivation: An Influencer of Users’ Approval of Facebook Banner Adverts

Facebook is a leading social network site worldwide and Facebook users use this social medium for several interactional reasons like to socialize or access and share informative content with others. Several users participate in Facebook to fulfil their ongoing information needs. The current research investigates the ongoing information search motivation (OISM) as an influencer of users’ approval of Facebook banner advertising. To investigate the study phenomenon, primary data was collected through online survey questionnaires from 230 Facebook users in Pakistan. Structural Equation Modeling was conducted to examine the construct validity and to test the model and hypotheses. The results showed OISM as an important influencer of users’ attitude towards Facebook banner advertising. Moreover, the analysis also revealed that the Facebook banner ad informativeness mediated the relationship between users’ OISM and their attitudes toward Facebook banner advertising. Additionally, attitude towards Facebook banner advertising was also found to be influencing the users’ Facebook banner ad-click behavior. These findings can be beneficial to social media marketers and marketing managers to organize user-relevant Facebook banner ad content. The study findings can specifically be implied to social media customers in Pakistan.

Impact of Destination Attractiveness on Tourists’ Attachment with Mediating Role of Destination Image

The dynamic role of the tourism industry is observed as a catalyst to augment the economic development of worldwide economies. Due to its crucial role in economic growth, world economies have rapidly considered tourism as an important revenue generation industry. In this regard, to enrich tourism, destination image and its competitiveness play a crucial part. The main purpose of this study is to find the mediating role of destination image between the destination attractiveness and tourism attachment relationship. This study also intends to investigate the significance of various determinants of destination attractiveness within that relationship by the collection of firsthand data from tourists who belong to diverse demographic backgrounds. Study data is collected through a questionnaire from 300 conveniently sampled respondents who had visited Dubai, UAE as tourists. Statistical analyses were conducted to deduce the results by employing PLS-SEM. The results suggested that destination attractiveness has a significant positive relationship with destination image, similarly, destination image has a significant relationship with destination attachment. Therefore, the data analysis suggests that destination image partially mediates the relationship between destination attractiveness and destination image. This study will provide unique findings to tourism practitioners and organizations to formulate tourism marketing strategies on pragmatic grounds. In conclusion, the study provides suggestions and future research recommendations.

Ethical Consumerism and its effect on Purchase Decision: Evidence from Fashion Industry of Pakistan

In recent years, customer’s increasing awareness of ethical consumption has become increasingly important for the business environment and one’s lifestyle. Although it is observed that consumers are influenced by their ethical concerns but ethical consumptions lack from a consumer perspective. The theoretical framework of the paper portrays the multifaceted and complex ratio of the concepts of ethical consumption and the complexities that exist in the relationship between purchase influence and consumption in general. The study took a quantitative approach to find out how consumer purchase decision is affected by four antecedents namely, Ethical Knowledge, Environmental Concern, Personal Values, and Price Factor. Data was collected through a self-developed questionnaire and distributed among 200 respondents in Karachi, Pakistan. Multiple regression was applied through SPSS in the data. The results of the study show that all other variables show a significant effect on purchase decision except Ethical Knowledge. Therefore, it implies consumers are uncertain about which products and firms follow ethical rules and which do not. This study has theoretical and practical contributions in the fashion industry context. This research might encourage fashion brands to willfully take on green exercises and give strategic guidelines to advertisers and retailers about their sustainable retail practices.

What Stimulates Sports Consumer? Desiging Sustainable Marketing Strategies

The global sports industry has rapidly expanded its scope, and its domain has extended across the world. World sports events including the Olympics, FIFA, Wimbledon Tennis, Tour de France Cycling and many other events have a far reach, a large audience as well as a wide range of participation. With its massive impact, the industry has become inexplorable today and the higher interest of consumers in sports persuades a need to understand the unique behaviour of sports consumers. The current research was conducted to identify the marketing factors that influence sports consumer behaviour. This study was focused on the population of young adults in Dera Ismail Khan, a division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. A questionnaire encircling marketing factors was distributed among 220 respondents. The study was followed by a quantitative method and the participants' responses were analyzed through statistical inferences. The analyzed data indicated that six (06) marketing factors, such as product quality, price, product accessibility & reach, brand image, and sustainable manufacturing have a significant influence on sports consumer behaviour. These findings suggest that sports goods manufacturing companies in Pakistan should give due attention to consumer demands and devise relevant marketing strategies to grow their businesses and gain higher market shares.

Impact of WOM, Advertising Effectiveness, and Brand Image on Brand Trust: Evidence from Telecommunication Sector in Pakistan

Due to the rapid advancements in digital innovations and technological evolution, the world today has witnessed a drastic upsurge in digital espousal by the masses and tech geeks alike. Advertising agencies and brand managers across the globe have been frantically finding ways to explore prospective markets and retain existing customers. Studies on brand management show that the image and trust of a brand are manifested through various deterministic variables which vary and change over time. This research thus focuses on the investigation of the effect of such pervasive determinants including Advertising Effectiveness, WOM and Brand Image on Brand Trust. The study concentrates its enquiry on brand trust elements related to organizations providing services in the telecommunications sector of Pakistan. For this purpose, data in the form of survey responses were collected through questionnaires with the help of convenient sampling. The respondents were customers using different telecommunications networks in Pakistan. From the results, it has been observed that Advertising Effectiveness, WOM and Brand Image have a strong impact on developing and maintaining Brand Trust. The research validates the impact of study variables in developing trust in a brand. Moreover, managerial implications and directions for future research have been proposed at the end of the study.

Cyberbullying Victimization: Hope for Life among Victimized University Graduates

This research study is focused on cyber-bullying victimisation, as well as the hope of the victimized graduates to live their lives fearlessly. For this purpose, university victimised graduates were interviewed using the snowball sampling technique. The results of the study are alarming in terms of their nature and intensity –the victimized graduates were blackmailed and thinking of suicide, they were socially stigmatized, they sacrificed their lives and some surrendered or compromised with what the bully said to do. They isolated themselves and alike. The study suggested that students should avoid sharing their personal information via social networking sites with those people who are not known to them. The study also suggested that parents should keep an eye on social media accounts as well as ICTs’ devices of their children. Also, educational intuitions should organize awareness seminars to make students aware of cyber-bullying and how to escape from being victimized.

ATTITUDE OF CONSUMERS AND ISSUE OF CREDIBILITY IN FACEBOOK ADVERTISING OF COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS

One of the reasons affecting the perception of consumers and their attitude towards buying the product is the credibility of Facebook Advertisement and the Counterfeit Product. In this modern age where consumers are well aware of the products. They research thoroughly about the product before proceeding towards the last stage of the buying cycle. Social Media Platforms have made our lives easier. Everything we want to know is at our fingertips. However, research studies on SNS's and how they are perceived by their users are relatively limited especially how online factors influence users' perceptions and attitudes towards advertising of Counterfeit products on SNS's. This paper aims to examine the online factors that influence consumers' perceptions and attitudes towards advertising counterfeit products on Facebook. A total of 30 respondents participated in our research paper. The results suggest that there are five online factors that significantly influence consumers’ attitudes toward advertising on Facebook. The factors are Credibility, Entertainment, Perceived Interactivity, Privacy and Ad Avoidance. The results of this study revealed that the independent variables have a significant effect and positive influence on the dependent variable. All hypotheses were accepted. The study helps in understanding the consumer attitude towards the Facebook advertisement of counterfeit products.