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The purpose of this study is to analyse user-generated content and firm-generated content on perceived quality and brand trust, and eventually how it impacted brand loyalty with pandemic fear as the moderator.

This study employed an online survey questionnaire method in the Facebook online shopping groups to collect the data. The filter question technique was adopted to verify the respondent's validity. A total of 434 samples was collected using purposive sampling. The data were then analysed using SmartPLS 3.0.

The analysis showed that firm-generated content appeared to have a stronger positive relationship on perceived quality and brand trust than on user-generated content. Brand trust and perceived quality are found to influence brand loyalty positively. However, pandemic fears only moderate the relationship between firm-generated content and brand trust and perceived quality. This study revealed that the main components in social media communication do not influence perceived quality and brand trust to the same extent.

This study contributes to the knowledge of social media communication during the pandemic period that has not been studied empirically in the Malaysian context. The main components in social media communication were delineated and the impact of pandemic fears on how they would possibly affect the established relationships in the literature were examined. This study enables the researchers and practitioners to take a closer look at how the pandemic crisis could provide a shift on what has been understood so far.

The aim of this study is first, to investigate the relative effect of user-generated content (UGC) and firm-generated content (FGC) on online brand advocacy, and second, to examine the mediation effect of customer engagement and the moderation effect of brand familiarity in the relationship between UGC and FGC and online brand advocacy. The differential impact of UGC and FGC on consumer behavior has yet to receive sufficient academic attention among hospitality scholars.

Based on social learning theory, cognitive consistency theory and schema theory, this study established an integrated research framework to explain the relationship between the constructs of the study. This study adopts a scenario-based experimental design in two separate studies within contexts to examine the proposed hypotheses.

The results revealed that UGC is a stronger predictor of online brand advocacy than FGC. A mediation analysis supported that the effect of digital content marketing types on online brand advocacy occurs because of customer engagement. Further, when the brand was familiar, participants showed a higher level of online brand advocacy than when they were exposed to FGC (vs. unfamiliar brand), whereas the effect of familiar and unfamiliar brands on online brand advocacy remains slightly close to each other when the participants were exposed to UGC. Brand familiarity positively enhanced participants’ engagement when they were exposed to UGC. Further, customer engagement is only a significant mediator when the brand is unfamiliar.

This paper presents significant managerial implications for hospitality companies about how they can effectively enhance brand advocacy in the online medium.

This research provides a novel contribution by examining the differential impact of UGC and FGC on online brand advocacy as well as uncovering the underlying mechanism of how and under what conditions user- and firm-generated content promotes online brand advocacy in the hospitality context.

This study aims to explore the impact of firm-generated content (FGC) on viral marketing on multiple social media platforms, and how social ties embedded in different social media platforms affect the motives for social dissemination.

Three studies were conducted to test the model. A quasi-field experiment (Study 1) supported this main effect. Studies 2 and 3 examined the underlying mechanism and enhanced the internal and external validity of the findings.

The findings revealed that warmth (vs competence)-oriented FGC is consistent with the communion (vs agency) mode and elicits greater social dissemination on social media embedded with strong (vs weak) ties.

This study illustrates that FGC that matches communication modes on multiple social media platforms embedded with different social ties will trigger viral marketing and being aware of this match is crucial for policymakers.

This research sheds light on the effects of FGC on viral marketing on multiple social media platforms embedded in different social ties.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how firm-generated content (FGC) impacts consumer brand awareness, brand loyalty and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and how this, in turn, influences consumer purchase intention.

In order to test this conceptual framework, statistical analysis was carried out employing structural equation modelling.

The findings indicate that FGC has a positive impact on brand awareness, brand loyalty, eWOM and purchase intention. Furthermore, the results reveal that a link exists between consumer eWOM behaviour and brand awareness and loyalty. This study also demonstrates that company communication through Facebook and Instagram has a positive effect on consumer purchase intention. Finally, it has been shown that, regarding eWOM and purchase intention, FGC posted on Instagram has a greater impact on its users than that posted on Facebook.

Consumer purchase intention is increasingly impacted by the growing use of social media by companies and marketers. This changing environment has opened up new challenges. However, there is still much work to be done in understanding the full effects of FGC communication, and how this influences consumer brand perception and purchase intention.

This study aims to examine the impact of firm-generated content (FGC) on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) influencers, focussing on inclusive marketing strategies and enquires the ability of LGBTQ+ influencers to enhance brand engagement and loyalty within diverse communities.

A quantitative approach was utilized, and data was collected via social media platforms. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to explore the relationships between FGC, influencer content, dimensions of place attachment and brand loyalty.

According to the findings FGC positively influences LGBTQ+ influencers, which in turn affect in a significant way place identity and place social bonding. Both dimensions of place attachment were found to have a positive impact on brand loyalty, which indicate that LGBTQ+ influencers have an important role in enhancing brand engagement through inclusive marketing.

Firms in order to increase their brand loyalty and customer engagement, need to adopt inclusive marketing strategies that resonate with LGBTQ+ communities. In order to do so they need to work with LGBTQ+ influencers that can effectively communicate the brand’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, thus fostering a stronger emotional connection with the brand.

This study introduces a conceptual framework that highlights the mediator role of place attachment in the relationship between influencer marketing and brand loyalty. This research contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of leveraging LGBTQ+ influencers in inclusive marketing campaigns.

The rapid adoption of social media has resulted in a fundamental shift in the way communication and collaboration take place. While social media is recognized as an important marketing communication tool, it has become overlooked how social media marketing activities (user-generated and firm-generated content) influence brand equity creation in the higher education sector. Drawing from social identity theory, this study identifies how higher education institutions develop customer-based brand equity using social media marketing and social brand engagement, taking cross-comparison between high and low subjective norms.

A survey was used to collect data from a sample of 936 undergraduates of private higher education institutions in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. These data were gathered using purposive sampling, and in testing the hypothesis and structure among the variables, structural equation modeling was used to determine the relationship between the study variables.

For the conceptual framework, the authors found that the structural equation model complies with the empirical data. The structural equation model shows that social brand engagement mediates the relationship between user-generated content, firm-generated content and brand equity. Further, the subjective norms were found to moderate the relationship between user-generated content, firm-generated content and social brand engagement, highlighting that the lower the subjective norms the higher the influence on social brand engagement as students receive low pressure and influence from external parties.

The study was conducted at private higher education institutes in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Future research could benefit from the perceptions of undergraduates in public higher education institutes. Future researchers could widen the diversity of service settings in the sample and replicate this investigation to discover if the results are consistent across the whole services sector.

The current research contributes to the services marketing and branding literature in the higher education context. The paper presents the crucial elements in building brand equity for higher education institutes to fill the existing gaps in higher education branding literature. The findings of the current study provide strategies to improve the higher education sector.

The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between employee-generated content (EGC) and firm-generated content (FGC) in the form of LinkedIn posts, employer brand perception, and the effect of employer's attractiveness and corporate reputation on this relationship.

This study comprises two phases. In phase 1, the focus was on stimuli selection through an online questionnaire on favourability. In phase 2, for the main study, data were gathered through an online survey from 214 information technology (IT) employees via a survey. Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were conducted.

The results show that EGC and FGC have a positive influence on employer brand perception, and the relationship is positively mediated by employer attractiveness and corporate reputation. These findings suggest that organizations can strategically use their own as well as employees' LinkedIn accounts, and encourage employee advocacy initiatives to attract new talent, enhance attractiveness and corporate reputation.

The study covers two different categories of content – employer and employee-generated – and examines both content types' influence on employer brand perception. It adds to the body of literature regarding employee branding and paves the way for further research in employee advocacy.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of consumers’ perceptions of the enjoyment and originality of firm-generated content (FGC) posted on Instagram on affective customer engagement (CE). In addition, an examination is undertaken of affective CE as a driver of customer behaviour.

The paper takes a quantitative approach using a sample of 334 women followers of an eco-friendly restaurant Instagram account. After validation of the measurement scales, the hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling. Drawing on the stimuli-organism-response framework the authors posit that consumers’ perceptions of the enjoyment and originality of Instagram posts generate affective CE, which, in turn, influences customer behaviour.

The results showed that the perceived enjoyment and perceived originality of Instagram posts generated by an eco-friendly restaurant have a positive influence on affective CE, which, in turn, affects consumers’ recommendation behaviours, intention to follow the restaurant’s advice on Instagram and intention to revisit the restaurant.

This research provides novel insights into how the perceived enjoyment and originality of FGC posted on Instagram increases women’s affective engagement and expands knowledge of how affective CE might increase positive electronic word-of-mouth, intention to follow the restaurant’s advice and repurchase intentions.

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el impacto de las percepciones de los consumidores sobre el disfrute y la originalidad del contenido generado por la empresa (CGE) publicado en Instagram en el engagement afectivo del cliente. Además, se examina el engagement afectivo del cliente como impulsor de su comportamiento.

El artículo adopta un enfoque cuantitativo utilizando una muestra de 334 mujeres seguidoras de la cuenta de Instagram de un restaurante ecológico. Tras la validación de las escalas de medición, las hipótesis se testaron mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales. Basándonos en el marco S-O-R, se postula que las percepciones de los consumidores sobre el disfrute y la originalidad de las publicaciones de Instagram generan un engagement afectivo del cliente que, a su vez, influye en su comportamiento.

Los resultados mostraron que la percepción de disfrute y la percepción de originalidad de las publicaciones de Instagram generadas por un restaurante ecológico tienen una influencia positiva en el engagement afectivo del cliente, que, a su vez, afecta a los comportamientos de recomendación de los consumidores, la intención de seguir los consejos del restaurante en Instagram y la intención de volver a visitar el restaurante.

Esta investigación proporciona una visión novedosa sobre cómo la percepción del disfrute y la originalidad de los CGE publicados en Instagram aumenta el engagement afectivo de las mujeres, y amplía el conocimiento sobre cómo el engagement afectivo de los clientes podría aumentar la comunicación boca-oído electrónica (eCBO) positiva, la intención de seguir los consejos del restaurante y las intenciones de recompra.

本文旨在分析消费者对Instagram上发布的企业生成内容（FGC）的愉悦度和原创性的感知对情感性顾客契合的影响。此外, 本文还对作为顾客行为驱动因素之一的情感性顾客契合进行了研究。

本文采用定量方法, 以一家生态友好餐厅的Instagram账户的334名女性粉丝为研究样本。在验证了测量量表有效性后, 通过结构方程模型对假设进行了检验。基于S-O-R框架, 我们认为消费者对Instagram帖子的愉悦度和原创性的感知会产生情感性的顾客契合, 进而影响顾客行为。

研究结果显示, 消费者对生态友好餐厅在Instagram上所发帖子的愉悦度和原创性的感知对情感性顾客参与有正向影响, 而情感性顾客契合进而影响消费者在Instagram上的推荐行为、采纳餐厅建议的意愿和重访该餐厅的意愿。

这项研究对Instagram上发布的FGC的愉悦度和原创性消费者感知如何增加女性的情感契合提供了新的见解, 并扩展了关于情感性顾客契合如何增加积极的电子口碑、采纳餐厅建议的意愿和再次购买意愿的知识。

Property developers identify the vital role of social media brand engagement (SMBE) in sustaining their businesses in competitive marketplaces, but it remains underexplored. This paper examines how SMBE mediates the effects of firm-generated content (FGC) and user-generated content (UGC) on brand trust, considering the moderating effects of social media influencer endorsement (SMIE) and self-image congruence (SIC) for luxury residential properties (LRPs).

Around 516 high-income homebuyers in Vietnam who shared information about LRP on social media were targeted to test the research model empirically. The primary data collected from paper-based surveys were analysed using SPSS 26 and AMOS 24.

Results indicate that FGC and UGC positively impact SMBE and consequently significantly affect brand trust. Further, results confirm the moderating roles of SMIE and SIC in the effects of FGC and UGC on SMBE.

Data and sample size were limited to meet the generalisation from different nations and cross cultures.

The authors' findings suggest that marketers should apply the authors' integrated SMBE model to strengthen brand–consumer interactions and increase their sales revenue.

This study is the first in its application of the uses and gratifications theory and self-congruence theory to investigate how SMBE mediates the relationship between FGC and brand trust as well as between UGC and brand trust. Noticeably, this study makes a novel contribution as the first to quantitatively explore the moderating effects of SMIE and SIC in the authors' research model.

This research explores the differential effects of pixel-level and object-level visual complexity in firm-generated content (FGC) on consumer engagement in terms of the number of likes and shares, and further investigates the moderating role of image brightness.

Drawing on a deep learning analysis of 85,975 images on a social media platform in China, this study investigates visual complexity in FGC.

The results indicate that pixel-level complexity increases both the number of likes and shares. Object-level complexity has a U-shaped relationship with the number of likes, while it has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the number of shares. Moreover, image brightness mitigates the effect of pixel-level complexity on likes but amplifies the effect on shares; contrarily, it amplifies the effect of object-level complexity on likes, while mitigating its effect on shares.

Although images play a critical role in FGC, visual data analytics has rarely been used in social media research. This study identified two types of visual complexity and investigated their differential effects. We discuss how the processing of information embedded in visual content influences consumer engagement. The findings enrich the literature on social media and visual marketing.