Social media allows customers and prospects to communicate directly to your brand representative or about your brand with their friends. However, the obvious question is: who are the people interacting online and how engaged are they in online activities? This paper aims to answer this question based on a study regarding the online activities of 236 social media users, by identifying different types of users, a segmentation of these users and a linear model to examine how different predictors related to social networking sites have a positive impact on the respondents' perception of online advertisements. The answer can help discover how to engage with different types of audiences in order to maximize the effect of the online marketing strategy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted consumers’ lives and their shopping patterns, leading them towards mobile commerce. To address current shopping circumstances, an adapted UTAUT2 model aims to integrate trust and perceptions of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ behavioral intention to rely on m-commerce during this period. The study proposes a research model which is investigated with the help of structural equation modelling in AMOS. Using the framework of a cross-sectional study, data were collected from an emerging market in Romania, where internet speed ranks 4th worldwide and where the yearly increase in internet and social media users is approximately 10%. By using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, the research validates the applicability of UTAUT2 in examining consumers’ behavioral intent of using m-commerce during a pandemic. Hedonic motivation is the strongest predictor of consumers’ behavioral intentions to continue using m-commerce. The findings contribute to understandings of consumers’ behavior with m-commerce in an emerging market, extending knowledge based on the adapted UTAUT2 model and allowing for comprehension of the key role of trust and social influences in affecting consumers’ perceptions of the COVID-19 outbreak in relation to shopping patterns.

Customer engagement has emerged as a vital component in social media marketing strategies, prompting considerable interest from both marketers and academics. This study investigates customer engagement (CE) in a framework that includes three antecedents and a main outcome (loyalty). Based on the survey method, we test a proposed model on social media users. The data analysis focuses on exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses, and a multi-group analysis. The results validate CE as a multidimensional construct and support all hypotheses of the conceptual model. As key contributions, the study reveals involvement as the strongest antecedent of customer engagement and emphasizes the importance of CE in predicting and fostering customer loyalty. This paper adds to the existing body of knowledge on customer–brand relationships by establishing the main drivers for customer engagement in digital settings, with valuable theoretical and practical perspectives. Finally, our findings provide managerial recommendations on the development of social media marketing strategies conveyed to enhance customer engagement.

The tourism industry has been gravely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, the purpose of this study was to explore residents’ support for sustainable tourism development in an integrative model that considered well-established factors and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing various research gaps caused by the pandemic, this study aimed to examine a model based on eight hypotheses. Using the premises of a cross-sectional study, data was gathered from residents from Sibiu. Data analysis implied various steps to provide an accurate understanding of the hypotheses and the model was developed based on structural equation modeling. Considering the results of hypothesis testing, our study reconfirmed the applicability of social exchange theory in describing residents’ attitudes toward tourism development and positioned quality of life as an important predictor for this construct. Also, the outcomes highlighted a negative relationship between the host community’s perceptions of the coronavirus pandemic and their subsequent support for sustainable tourism development. Overall, the results focused on offering contributions for a better understanding of residents’ behavior and the influence of the COVID-19 outbreak on their support for sustainable tourism development. The conceptual and practical ramifications of the study were addressed in the article’s conclusion.

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