Consumer Attitudinal Insights about Social Media Advertising: A South Asian Perspective.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]