Modelling the use of social network marketing in Indonesia

Abstract

This study focused on modelling the use of social network marketing in Indonesia. This platform was currently widely used as a means of trading among sellers and buyers so that they did not have to go to many stores to get their necessities. However, several studies showed that there was still a lack of trust, causing buyers to be reluctant to use the platform. Thereby, the objective of this study was to investigate what factors contribute to their reluctancy to use the platform. Therefore, a quantitative methodology was applied to model the use of social network marketing using PLS-SEM (Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling). After conducting purposive questionnaires to about 250 various buyers in Jakarta, Smart PLS was run to get a robust and accurate model (Goodness of Fit = 0.72). The result indicates that 1) Behavioural Intention is effected mainly by Perceived Usefulness (r=0.80), Awareness (r=0.67), Perceived Ease of Use (r=0.63), and Perceived Credibility (r=0.37), 2) Perceived Usefulness is effected mainly by Perceived Ease of Use (r=0.78) and Computer Self-Efficacy (r=0,56), 3) Perceived Ease of Use is effected by Computer Self-Efficacy (r=0.61), 4) Perceived Credibility (PC) is effected by Awareness (r=0.44) and Computer Self-Efficacy (r=0.28), and 5) Awareness is effected by Computer Self-Efficacy (r=0.32). Therefore, the implication of this study indicates that in order to promote the behavioral intention of buyers, sellers should mainly promote the perceived ease of use of their platforms and their buyers’ computer self-efficacy, followed by other remaining factors.