Abstract:
Current study aims to indentify the underlying belief dimensions that influence
consumer attitudes toward social media advertising in a collectivistic cultural
context of South Asia. It also examines the influence of consumers’ favorable
attitudes toward social media advertising on their ad clicking and online buying
behaviors. To meet the objectives of the current study data was collected from
randomly chosen university students (n=210) using survey at Islamabad capital
city of Pakistan. Results reveal four factors of consumer beliefs about social media advertising. However, only two dimensions i.e. information and economy are
statistically significant predictors of consumer attitudes toward social media
advertising in Pakistan. Furthermore, results reveal that favorable attitudes toward social media advertising significantly influence consumers’ ad clicking behavior,which in turn positively affects their online buying behavior. Findings of the current study are useful for the multinational companies which intend to advertise their products and services through social media channels(e.g. through FaceBook,LinkedIn etc.) in South Asia.