The impact of social media marketing activities on consumer behavior towards green products - An analysis of local and global companies

Jovana Filipović and Srđan Šapić

University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Economics, the Republic of Serbia

Considering the significance of the Internet and communication with consumers in the online environment primarily through social media, as well as the growing importance of sustainability in modern business, this paper aims to analyze consumer behavior regarding green products in the context of social media. Specifically, social media marketing activities of local and global companies in the Republic of Serbia were analyzed, incorporating the five aspects: entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and electronic word-of-mouth. Empirical research was conducted using the survey method and the SEM analysis was applied so as to determine that the mentioned aspects of social media differently affected the attitudes towards the green products of local and global companies. A positive moderating influence of the global identity on the relationships in the models was found. The main contribution of the paper relates to the analysis of the relationship between social media marketing activities and consumer behavior towards green products, with a comparative analysis of local and global companies.

Keywords: sustainability, green marketing, consumer behavior, social media, local companies, global companies

JEL Classification: M31