Chiyem Okorie
Department of Marketing,
Southern Delta University, Ozoro, Delta State, Nigeria
Abstract
This research investigated the influence of mediators on the relationship between social media advertising and the patronage of cell phones. The overarching objective was to evaluate the extent to which mediators affect the patronage of electronic products. A questionnaire was employed as the instrument for data collection, and hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 significance level. The study adopted a survey research design, with a sample size of 383 consumers of electronic products, determined using the Kothari formula. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS 25, while mediation effects were tested through Structural Equation Modeling. The findings showed that social media advertising significantly influences patronage, and this relationship is partially mediated by perceived risks and perceived value. Perceived value, which proved to be a mediating variable between dependability, involvement and patronage, other mediating variables such as perceived risk and trust had no effect as indicated in the table of indirect effects. The study further revealed that internet literacy and wage/income had mediating effect on accessibility, time and patronage of electronics products.
Keywords: Advertising, Consumers patronage, social media advertising, social media.