Improving consumers’ willingness to pay using social media activities
ISSN: 0887-6045
Article publication date: 21 November 2018
Issue publication date: 6 December 2018
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the impact of social media activities on consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price (WTPp) in the banking industry, and investigates the role of consumer-brand identification (CBI) on this relationship. For the first time, the effect of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered separately from other social media marketing efforts (SMME).
Design/methodology/approach
Data from a sample of 145 banking customers that follow bank social networks was analysed using structural equation modelling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to test a proposed structural model.
Findings
Findings indicate that the effect of eWOM and SMME on WTPp is fully mediated by CBI. The results uncover a viable path to achieve WTPp in the banking industry, which includes the joint presence of SMME, eWOM and CBI.
Research/limitations implications
The study was conducted on the banking sector of Portugal. It is advocated that further research would investigate the results in other service sectors, across different countries.
Practical implications
Findings highlight the importance of social media marketing in banking. Results reveal opportunities for managers in the banking sector to enhance CBI and ultimately WTPp, through SMME and eWOM.
Originality/value
The study is the first to consider the influence of SMME and eWOM as separate antecedents of WTPp. The findings indicate that the effect of eWOM and SMME on WTPp is fully mediated by CBI. In particular, the results of the fsQCA indicate that the combined presence of SMME, eWOM and CBI, is sufficient to obtain WTPp.
Keywords
Citation
Torres, P., Augusto, M. and Wallace, E. (2018), "Improving consumers’ willingness to pay using social media activities", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7, pp. 880-896. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2017-0257
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited