University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF GHANA SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER DECISION- MAKING IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY BY FREDERICK OKYERE ASIEDU (10550537) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MPHIL MARKETING DEGREE JUNE 2017 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis was prepared by me and it has not been submitted to any institution for any academic award. In addition, all references in the thesis are duly acknowledged. I solely bear responsibility for any shortcomings. ……………………….. ………………... FREDERICK OKYERE ASIEDU DATE (10550537) i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that this thesis was supervised in accordance with procedures laid down by University of Ghana, Legon. …………………………. ………................ DR. PRINCE KODUA DATE (PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR) …………………………. ………................ PROF. ROBERT EBO HINSON DATE (CO- SUPERVISOR) ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to the Almighty God for His abundant blessings, grace and guidance for a successful completion of this thesis. I also dedicate it to my family as well for the tremendous support that they provided to me during the writing of this thesis. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Glory be to the Most High God for His tremendous blessings and amazing grace throughout the entire thesis writing process. I will also want to immensely thank my principal supervisor, Dr. Prince Kodua for his guidance and unique contributions towards the writing of this thesis. Special thanks also go to Prof. Robert Ebo Hinson, my co-supervisor for his unflinching support and exceptional contributions in making this thesis a reality. I am deeply grateful to John Paul Basewe Kosiba, a Teaching Assistant as well, for his useful suggestions during the writing of this thesis. I will also thank my colleagues especially Matilda Adams, Michael Amoakoh, Patrick Anim and Bismark Omane Asante for with whom I shared academic thoughts. iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION...........................................................................................................................i CERTIFICATION ....................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION............................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...........................................................................................................iv TABLE OF CONTENT................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................................ix ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................x ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................xi CHAPTER ONE...........................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................1 1.0 Research Background ....................................................................................................1 1.1 Research Problem ...........................................................................................................5 1.2 Research Purpose ...........................................................................................................7 1.3 Research Objectives .......................................................................................................8 1.4 Research Questions .......................................................................................................8 1.5 Significance of the Study ...............................................................................................8 1.6 Scope of the Study ........................................................................................................9 1.7 Chapter Disposition.......................................................................................................9 CHAPTER TWO........................................................................................................................11 LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................................11 2.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................11 2.1 Web 2.0 and Brand Communities ................................................................................11 2.2 Social Media Insights...................................................................................................12 2.2.1 Historical Perspective of Social Media ................................................................12 2.2.2 Definitions of Social Media ..................................................................................13 2.3 Social Media Tools or Platforms .................................................................................14 2.3.1 Facebook...............................................................................................................14 2.3.2 Twitter...................................................................................................................15 2.3.3 Instagram ..............................................................................................................16 2.3.4 YouTube ................................................................................................................17 2.4 Social Media Characteristics........................................................................................18 v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.5 Marketing and Business Use of Social Media .............................................................19 2.6 Benefits of Social Media..............................................................................................20 2.7 Risks of Social Media ..................................................................................................22 2.8 Consumer Behaviour and Consumer Decision-Making ..............................................23 2.8.1 Problem Recognition ...........................................................................................24 2.8.2 Information Search ...............................................................................................25 2.8.3 Evaluation of Alternatives ...................................................................................25 2.8.4 Purchase Decision ................................................................................................26 2.8.5 Post-Purchase Behaviour .....................................................................................26 2.9 Advertising in Social Media ........................................................................................27 2.9.1 Advertising Effectiveness and Consumer Decision-Making.................................28 2.9.2 Emotional Appeal and Consumer Decision-Making ............................................29 2.9.3 Informativeness and Consumer Decision-making ................................................29 2.9.4 Advertising Creativity and Consumer Decision-Making......................................30 2.10 The Concept of Consumer Engagement...................................................................31 2.10.1 Consumer Engagement and Consumer Decision-Making....................................34 2.11 Theoretical Background ...........................................................................................34 CHAPTER THREE ....................................................................................................................38 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ....................................................................................................38 3.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................38 3.1 Overview of the Internet ..............................................................................................38 3.2 Internet in Ghana..........................................................................................................39 3.3 Social Media in Ghana.................................................................................................42 3.4 Fashion Definitions ......................................................................................................43 3.5 History of Branding in the Fashion Industry ...............................................................43 3.6 Brief Historical Account on Fashion and Clothing in Ghana ......................................45 3.7 Some Fashion Brands in Ghana ...................................................................................46 3.7.1 Ghanaian Fashion Brands in Ghana....................................................................46 3.7.2 Foreign Fashion Brands in Ghana .......................................................................49 CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................52 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................................52 4.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................52 4.1 Research Paradigm.......................................................................................................52 4.2 Research Design...........................................................................................................55 4.3 Research Population.....................................................................................................56 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.4 Sampling Technique ....................................................................................................56 4.5 Design of Research Instrument and Data Collection ...................................................58 4.6 Ethical consideration....................................................................................................60 4.7 Pre-testing of Data Collection Instrument ...................................................................60 4.8 Mode of Data Analysis ................................................................................................60 4.8.1 Factor Analysis .....................................................................................................61 4.8.2 Structural Equation Modelling .............................................................................62 4.9 Testing Model Fitness ..................................................................................................65 4.10 Reliability and Validity of the Research Instrument....................................................66 4.10.1 Reliability of the Research Instrument .................................................................66 4.10.2 Validity of Research Instrument ...........................................................................66 4.11 Mediation Analysis...................................................................................................67 CHAPTER FIVE ........................................................................................................................68 ANALYSES OF DATA AND DISCUSSION...........................................................................68 5.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................68 5.1 Data Editing, Coding and Screening and Entry ...........................................................68 5.2 Descriptive Statistics....................................................................................................69 5.3 Exploratory Factor Analysis ........................................................................................75 5.4 Confirmatory Factor Analysis......................................................................................77 5.4.2 Structural Model: Testing Independent and Dependent Relationship ...........................82 5.5 Discussion of Findings.................................................................................................87 CHAPTER SIX...........................................................................................................................90 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................90 6.0 Summary of the Study..................................................................................................90 6.1 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................91 6.2 Recommendations........................................................................................................92 6.3 Directions for Further Research ...................................................................................93 REFERENCES ...........................................................................................................................94 APPENDIX A...........................................................................................................................127 APPENDIX B...........................................................................................................................130 vii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Internet Usage in Ghana and Population Growth……...............................................42 Table 3.2 Ratings of Social Media Use in Ghana……………………………………………...43 Table 4.1 Research Paradigms…………………………………………………………………55 Table 5.1 Descriptive Statistics: Demographic Profile of Respondents……………………….70 Table 5.2 Descriptive Statistics: Mean, SE Mean and Std. Deviation…………………………74 Table 5.3 KMO and Bartlett’s Test Results……………………………………………………76 Table 5.4 Rotated Component Matrix………………………………………………………….77 Table 5.5 Improvement in Fit of Measurement Model………………………………………...80 Table 5.6 Model Fit Measures ………………………………………………………………...81 Table 5.7 Correlation Matrix…………………………………………………………………..82 Table 5.8 Validity and Reliability of Final Model……………………………………………..82 Table 5.9 Significance Testing Results………………………………………………………...84 Table 5.10 Structural Model Assessment Results ……………………………………………..87 viii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 The Consumer Purchasing Process…………………………………………………24 Figure 2.2 Conceptual Framework……………………………………………………………..37 Figure 5.1 Final Measurement Model………………………………………………………….80 Figure 5.2 Independent and Dependent Variable Relationship………………………………..83 Figure 5:3 Independent, Dependent and Mediating Variable Relationship……………………86 ix University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABBREVIATIONS AVE Average Variance Extracted CFA Confirmatory Factor Analysis EFA Exploratory Factor Analysis eWOM Electronic Word of Mouth SEM Structural Equation Modelling SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science ITU International Telecommunication Union IWS International Worldwide Stats LISREL Linear Structural Relations PC Personal Computer WWW World Wide Web WTO World Trade Organisation x University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT Social media advertising is a powerful tool in contemporary times. The study sought to explore the effectiveness of firms’ social media advertising of fashion brands on consumer decision- making with the mediating effect of consumer engagement in Ghana. Three constructs in assessing the effectiveness of firms’ social media advertising which included emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity were used. There were two objectives of the study. The first objective was to determine the relationship between social media advertising constructs and consumer decision-making. Another objective was to determine the mediating role of consumer engagement on social media advertising constructs and consumer decision- making. The study employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses along with structural equation modelling to evaluate a proposed model for understanding the relationships among the constructs and to examine the mediating effects. The findings indicated that there was no significant relationship between emotional appeal in social media advertising and consumer decision-making. And as a result, there was no mediation of consumer engagement in the relationship. Again, there was a significant relationship between informativeness in social media advertising and consumer decision-making and consumer engagement partially mediated the relationship. In addition, there was a significant relationship between advertising creativity in social media advertising and consumer decision-making and consumer engagement fully mediated the relationship. Thus, apart from emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity in social media advertising affected the decisions that consumers make. Furthermore, consumer engagement influenced the relationship between informativeness and advertising creativity in social media advertising and consumer decision- making. Therefore, consumer engagement which is the responses of consumers to brand – related content such as likes and comments influenced the decisions that other consumers made based on informativeness and advertising creativity in social media advertising. xi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Research Background Rapid technological innovation has taken place over a couple of decades (Lingelbach, Patino & Pitta, 2012; Moore, 2012) and improvements in technology have dramatically transformed the advertising industry in the 20th and 21st centuries. Radio broadcast discovery led to re- evaluation of the business of newspapers and the same occurred with the advent of television broadcasting and as a result, famous businesses which include Unilever and Procter & Gamble introduced advertisements (Barnes, Mattsson & Hartley, 2015; Kim & Lee, 2015). Subsequently, technology led to the invention of yellow pages, cable, mobile phones and the internet. The invention of the internet aided in re-defining the worldwide nature of advertising (Woo, Choi, Shin & Lee, 2014; Internet Advertising Bureau, 2014). According to Chen and Hsieh (2012), this evolution in information and communications technology (ICT) has affected consumer purchasing behaviour and this has also led to a change in corporate advertising strategies. Armstrong and Kotler (2000) defined advertising as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor. As a means of getting the attention and meeting specific needs of customers, experts in advertising have begun the use of social media website appeals in crafting advertisement in order to motivate users to share brand image (Waters, Canfield, Foster & Hardy, 2011; Gallaugher & Ransbotham, 2010; Dickey & Lewis, 2010).Thus, Lariscy, Avery, Sweetser and Howes (2009) argue, that businesses have integrated social media in their communication strategies in order to influence customers and achieve competitive advantage. According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), social media is “a group of internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content”. In 2012, research revealed an increase in businesses that 1 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh make use of social media who are part of Fortune 500 firms. The study further indicated that, 73 of these businesses possess a Twitter page and 66 percent have Facebook account. In the year 2011, there was a surge in the corporate blogs of these companies which indicated the highest increase since 2008 (Barnes, Lescault & Andonian, 2012). Brands such as Coca- Cola, Starbucks, Red Bull, and Converse each boasts of over 35 million fans on Facebook alone and spend significant organisational resources managing them. Firms have created specialised positions to handle their social media marketing activities. For instance, New York Times found it necessary to employ a social media editor (Nolan, 2009) and Honda Motor Company created a new social media position (Rechtin, 2012). Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) concluded that social media is found worldwide due to the increase of individuals who use internet and this has totally developed into an innovative way of business interaction. According to Shopify (2014), the largest online social medium worldwide is Facebook, with 1.32 billion active members and Facebook is regarded as the leading social business site because 85 per cent of customer orders on social media are through it. e-Marketer (2015) asserts that, an increase in online communities in recent times has resulted in substantial spending in social media advertising with an estimated growth of 25.4% globally in 2015. Social media still presents a less expensive and less risky solution to business than paying huge sums of money to advertise in a non-virtual world (Johns & Perrot, 2008). Thus, social media provides a cost-effective means of advertising. Social media trend also indicates a yearly increase in membership. Dossier (2014) assert that, there will be an increase of social media users from 0.97 million to 2.67 billion in the year 2018. In Ghana, as at June, 2016, there was an increase in users to 3,500,000 from a subscription base of 2,900,000 by Nov, 2015 on Facebook alone (Internet World Stats, 2017). The success of a business is based on decisions that customers make when buying goods and services. According to Liang and Lai (2002), and Darley, Blankson and Luethge ( 2010), 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh identifying problem, searching for information , evaluating alternatives, purchase, and post purchase behaviour are the purchasing process that consumers go. Kotler et al.(2009) also posit that there are instances where not all consumers of a product go through all the steps. Consumer decision-making in this study takes into consideration the purchasing decision as a whole and not the individual steps. Social media plays a substantial role in firms and marketers’ ability to communicate and influence attitudes of consumers, opinions and purchasing behaviours. For instance, retail stores continuously advertise new goods and services, provide discounts, engage with customers and seek feedback via social media (Oh, Roumani, Nwankpa & Hu, 2017). Brands that want to have visible networks within the social context develop a virtual presence which helps interaction and engagement with the users of their brands (Enginkaya & Yılmaz, 2014). Social media is regarded as a means of developing communities which make both old and new customers co-operate and engage with each other (Oh, Rouman, Nwankpa & Hu 2017). Barger, Peltier and Schultz (2016) makes a distinction between firm’s engagement and consumer engagement. Firm engagement is when businesses respond to user generated content from customers. A firm’s engagement has similarities with consumer engagement but the main distinction is that, the response of a firm to the content generated by consumers is a firm engagement whereas consumer engagement is the response of consumers to a firm’s brand- related content in a social media setting. Barger et al. (2016) therefore conceptualise consumer engagement as ‘a set of measurable actions that consumers take on social media in response to brand-related content: reacting to content (e.g. likes, hearts, _1s, 1 to 5 star ratings), commenting on content (e.g. Facebook comments, Twitter replies), sharing content with others (e.g. sharing of content on Facebook shares, and retweeting on Twitter) as well as posting user-generated content (UGC) (e.g. 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh product reviews, Facebook posts about brands)’. According to Hadija, Barnes and Hair (2012), social media users do accept advertisements as content they have to participate in order to get the services on the various networks for free. Scholars have argued that social media advertising must be effective in order to have impact on consumer decisions. As a result, Lee and Hong (2016) conducted a research and tested the impact of emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity in social media advertising. Fashion is now one of the dominating areas as far as social media is concerned (Pihl, 2011) although initially fashion brands thought that social media will weaken the relationship with their customers, it is currently seen as a tool that supports relationship with customers and attract more audience. Gucci for instance introduced a new brand of sunglasses on its new social website, “Guccieyeweb.com” which targets customers from diverse cultural backgrounds. Apart from that, the business regularly provides information on both its Facebook and Twitter social media sites on a daily basis (Kim & Ko, 2012). In addition, research by CliqAfrica and Avante (2016) postulate that the presence of fashion brands in Ghana is increasingly growing on social media platforms. This is therefore an indication that Ghanaian fashion brands are also embracing social media. Fashion includes any market or product which contains a stylist element and will possibly exist within a period of time (Christopher, Lowson & Peck, 2004). In other words, certain styles may no longer be fashionable within a particular period. In just some few years since its invention, social media is increasingly being accepted as the chosen media around the entire world (Dong-Hun, 2010).The explosive growth of social media in contemporary times makes it an important tool for communicating, content creating, sharing and growing of businesses (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.1 Research Problem Social media platforms are important digital communication channels for consumers in learning, information sharing and interacting with brands they consider, purchase and evaluate (Chappuis, Gaffey & Parvizi 2011; Qualman, 2013). However, some scholars such as Edelman (2010) and Barwise and Meehan (2010) argue that, how social media really impact on consumer decisions are yet to be well understood. Studies on social media have been done by scholars from different perspectives (see Kleinrichert, Ergul, Johnson & Uydaci, 2012; Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014; Rohm, Kaltcheva & Milne, 2013; Barger et al.,2016; McCarthy, Rowley, Jane & Pioch, 2014; Zhang & Vos, 2014) but there is little literature in the area particularly of social media advertising and consumer decision-making. Furthermore, some scholars argue that consumers are suspicious of social media advertisements by firms and rather trust opinions of other consumers. However, other scholars also doubt whether social media advertisements are noticed by consumers. Gillin (2007) in particular argue that although consumers are increasingly using social media, the views of other buyers are regarded as more objective by other consumers than promotional messages from businesses. This view is also shared by Akar and Topçu (2011). Gruber (2006) on the other hand argue that, the unanswered question is whether advertisements are noticeable by consumers in social media sites and whether those advertisements have an impact on consumer decision making. Again, within the Ghanaian context, there are studies in the area of social media (see Ahenkorah-Marfo & Akussah, 2016; Boateng 2016) and few studies on social media advertising and consumer decision-making. The need for more research on social media advertising and consumer decision-making in Ghana cannot be over-emphasised. 5 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Some studies have shown that consumer engagement influences other consumers’ attitude to content (Ludwig et al. 2013; Lepkowska-White, 2013). Jiménez & Mendoza (2013) also posit that consumer engagement also influences purchase intentions. Despite the importance of consumer engagement, Barger et al. (2016) indicated that although marketers have been able to increase the creation and patronage of social media sites, there is only a small proportionate rise in consumer-brand engagement and therefore proposed that marketers should create a long-lasting engagement with changing technologies. Studies from large scale businesses in recent times indicate that consumer engagement is still a problem for users of social media. This is an indication of failure on the part of companies to “exploit the opportunities arising from the data explosion and advanced analytics” (IBM, 2014 p. 4). Even researchers of social media have not been able to prove as to whether engagement relates to metrics such as loyalty or sales and the extent to which, engagement relates to such metrics (Elliott, 2014).So even though at least 100 workers in almost nine out of ten companies in the United States are visible on social media for marketing purposes, how their presence is able to generate customer value is a mystery (e-Marketer, 2015). There are factors that are associated with the social media engagement gap. To begin with, there is less experience in the creating, tracking and measuring of engagement because social media is a relatively new marketing phenomenon (Barger & Labrecque, 2013; Schivinski & Dabrowski, 2016). Social media is fragmented due to the several platforms and different formats and this has resulted in the difficulty for companies’ ability to monitor and coordinate their efforts (King, Delfabbro, Kaptsis & Zwaans, 2014; Straker, Wrigley & Rosemann, 2015). The fragmentation together with the saturation of content across platforms does not make consumers pay attention to content or makes them less selective in watching and processing due to greater cognitive demands (IBM, 2014).There is therefore the need for research in social media advertising and consumer decision-making and the mediating role of consumer engagement. 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In addition, Lindsey-Mullikin and Borin (2017) assert that fashion brands like Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors that regularly use the traditional retail system to reach consumers are now adopting the use of social media channels to directly help their connection. For instance, Net- A-Porter, a fashion brand has indicated its intention to create an application that will enable consumers to directly buy products viewed via social media platforms. The study of social media in fashion brands will help ascertain how the shift to social media advertising in the fashion industry is impacting on the consumer decision-making. Other scholars have also researched social media advertising using only one or two social media platforms. For instance, Duffet (2015) studied Facebook advertising and the intention- to-purchase and purchase and indicated that studies could be done in other social media sites like Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn. Consistent with this, are several calls for more research into the usage of social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook in order to contribute knowledge that can help expand the theoretical pillar in the marketing field (Hennig-Thurau, Friege, Gensler, Lobschat, Rangaswamy & Skiera, 2010). This research thus focuses not only on Facebook advertising but other social media platforms as well which include Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 1.2 Research Purpose The study seeks to explore the effectiveness of firms’ social media advertising on consumer decision-making of fashion brands with the mediating effect of consumer engagement in Ghana. In assessing the effectiveness of firms’ social media advertising, three constructs namely emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity are used. The study therefore seeks to ascertain how the presence of emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity in social media advertising can impact on consumer decision-making. 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In addition, the study also seeks to ascertain how the presence of response to brand-related content (advertisement) by consumers such as ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ on social media platforms, which is termed consumer engagement can affect decision-making of other consumers after they have been exposed to social media advertising that possess emotional, informativeness and advertising creativity. 1.3 Research Objectives The study has the following research objectives: 1. To determine the relationship between social media advertising constructs and consumer decision-making. 2. To determine the mediating role of consumer engagement on social media advertising constructs and consumer decision-making. 1.4 Research Questions The study has the following research questions: 1. What is the relationship between social media advertising constructs and consumer decision- making? 2. What is the mediating role of consumer engagement on social media advertising constructs and consumer decision-making? 1.5 Significance of the Study The significance can be viewed from two perspectives which are academia and industry. In the terms of academia, the study provides more insights into social media advertising in the fashion industry and helps generate more interest in academia to undertake more research in the area of social media advertising, consumer engagement, consumer decision-making and the 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh fashion industry as well. Furthermore, industry players and practitioners will also appreciate the role of social media advertising, consumer engagement and consumer decision-making. The research will also provide the necessary impetus that can help industry leverage on social media which is a fast growing promotional tool. 1.6 Scope of the Study The study focuses on the fashion industry and takes into consideration fashion brands in Ghana. The study also considers how social media advertising by firms affect consumer decision-making through consumer engagement. 1.7 Chapter Disposition The first chapter focuses on background of the study, problem statement, research gap, research objectives and questions, significance and the scope of the study as well as the disposition of the thesis .The second chapter entails a review of existing literature in order to provide in-depth knowledge of web 2.0, insights into consumer behaviour and consumer decision-making, social media, advertising effectiveness in social media, the concept of consumer engagement, the theoretical background and the conceptual framework of the research. The third chapter provides insights into the contextual background information of the study. The chapter provides information on the overview of the internet, social media in Ghana, fashion definitions, history of branding in the fashion industry, brief historical account of fashion and clothing in Ghana and some fashion brands in Ghana. The fourth chapter presents information about the methods used in this thesis to provide a solution for the research questions posed earlier in this study. The methodology provides insights into the usage of the gathered data to answer the research questions. The chapter presents insights into research paradigm, research population, sampling, design of research instrument, ethical considerations, pre-testing of data instrument, data analysis, testing model fitness, reliability and validity of data collection instrument and 9 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh mediation analysis. The fifth chapter provides information on data analysis and discussion of the findings of the study. Chapter six focuses on the summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations drawn from the findings of the study. 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction The second chapter entails a review of existing literature in order to provide in-depth knowledge of web 2.0 and brand communities, insights into consumer behaviour and consumer decision-making, social media, advertising effectiveness in social media, the concept of consumer engagement, the theoretical background and the conceptual framework of the research. 2.1 Web 2.0 and Brand Communities Web 2.0 was introduced by O’Reilly (2005) and has been in use since then. Web 2.0 is “a collection of open-source, interactive and user-controlled online applications expanding the experiences, knowledge and market power of the users as participants in business and social processes. Web 2.0 applications support the creation of informal users’ networks, facilitating the flow of ideas and knowledge by allowing efficient generation, dissemination, sharing and editing/refining of the informational content” (Constantinides & Fountain 2008, p. 232). According to McKinsey (2007) and Constantinides and Fountain (2008), web 2.0 helps firms to gain and maintain markets, acquire knowledge and communicate directly with customers. The opportunities that Web 2.0 presents have been identified by marketers who frequently design marketing strategies which incorporates it (McKinsey, 2007). Constantinides and Fountain (2008) asserts that web 2.0 can be classified under content aggregators, communities, social networks and blogs. Brand community which is a type of web communities is defined by Muniz and O’Guinn (2001, p. 412) as “a specialised, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand.” A brand community is made up of persons who create subculture which entails myths, values and rituals of a brand based on a common interest in a particular brand (Cova & Pace, 2006). 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Businesses use brand communities as an important platform to interact with buyers (Brodie, Ilic, Juric & Hollebeek, 2013; Dholakia & Durham, 2010; Kane, Fichman, Gallaugher & Glaser, 2009; McAlexander, Schouten & Koenig, 2002). A brand community serves as a platform when firms want to interact, impact and spread information and learn about loyal customers (Algesheimer, Dholakia & Herrmann, 2005), because customers obtain value as a result of offline and online activities (Schau, Muñiz & Arnould, 2009). Nambisan and Baron (2009) argue that, there are various behaviours that are exhibited by persons in brand communities which include customers engaging with each other in order to provide help or share various experiences. Businesses are developing brand communities in social media due to the growing importance attached to social media in marketing (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). 2.2 Social Media Insights Social media insights entail the historical perspective of social media and definitions of social media. 2.2.1 Historical Perspective of Social Media Usenet was invented in 1979 by two individuals from Duke University. These individuals, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis invention gave an opportunity for users to have global interaction through the posting of messages publicly. But before then, social media was perhaps invented earlier by Bruce and Susan Abelson who developed an online network that helped to assemble online diary writers. It was during that time that the term ‘weblog’ was created. Originally the term ‘we blog’ was ‘weblog’ but ‘we blog’ gained popularity after a blogger humorously converted the noun into a sentence. The increased accessibility of the internet served as a major boost to the concept. As a result, sites such as Myspace and Facebook were created in 2003 and 2004 respectively and this led to the creation of the name ‘social media’ as we have in contemporary times. 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The current stock to the social media environment is the introduction of computer driven avatars that do have three-dimensions and Second Life of Linden Lab which happens to be the virtual world with the most popularity (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2009). 2.2.2 Definitions of Social Media According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) and Van and Coursaris (2013), social media definition has not achieved consensus so far. Comm (2010) assert that several scholars define social media as “content that has been created by its audience”. Strauss and Frost (2009) define social media as “online tools and platforms that allow internet users to collaborate on content, share insights and experiences, and connect for business or pleasure”. According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), social media is “a group of internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content”. Hanna, Rohm and Crittenden (2011) also define social media as the creation, feeding and interchange of information through online social interactions and platforms. According to Centeno, Wainer, Misuraca, Punie and Broster (2009), social media is a broad term that includes well-known tools that help consumers engage in socially-based activities like the sharing of pictures and videos, networking within the social context and engage in both blogging and micro-blogging. Social media is a number of technological innovations that help in the generation of inexpensive content, interaction and interoperability by online consumers (Berthon, Plangger & Shapiro, 2012). Social media platforms are “the set of connectivity-enabled applications that facilitate interaction and the co-creation, exchange, and publication of information [within, between, and] among firms and their networked communities of [stakeholders]” (Larson & Watson, 2011). There are three main distinctions of social media from traditional computer-mediated communications. These are based on movement of desktop activities to web pages; movement to creating consumer value from the firm and a movement of power from the firm to the end 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh user. According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), there are no clear differences of various kinds of social media but the distinction is clear among sites that engage in social networking such as Facebook and platforms that are designed for professionals to interact like LinkedIn; those that are crafted for the dissemination of videos such as YouTube, sites for the sharing of pictures such as Flickr, social bookmarking sites like Delicious and Digg and those that are invented for the purpose of disseminating knowledge online such as Wikipedia. Others help users engage in microblogging like Twitter. There are also blogs for subscribers online. The usual feature of social media is the ability to present an opportunity for individuals to have social interactions in a manner that did not previously exist (Fischer & Reuber, 2011). 2.3 Social Media Tools or Platforms There is more connectivity among human beings due to digital technologies which are continuously making communication platforms to be ubiquitous (Smith, 2015, p. 35). There are different kinds of social media platforms that vary in terms of their functions, user groups and scope in recent times but they all play a significant role in accessing public opinion in real time (Kietzmann, Hermken, McCarth & Silvestre, 2011). The literature review focused on four of the social media platforms for this study. These include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 2.3.1 Facebook Facebook is noted as the most famous social networking site and second to Google in terms of most visited website (Alexa, 2016), which makes it possible for users to share information and pictures in a framework that is structured (Eskisu , Hosoglu & Rasmussen, 2017). Facebook is globally known and has 1.09 billion members who actively use the social networking site (Facebook, 2013).Facebook presents users with the right environment where predictions of social behaviour can be tested. 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Researchers have been able to establish Facebook-use features that are proven to be useful in interactions and friendship creation online. These are the frequency of use of members of Facebook (Vogel, Rose, Roberts & Eckles, 2014), the number of friends on Facebook (Lee, Moore, Park, & Park, 2012), settings that provide privacy (Smith, Mendez & White, 2014), as well as the number and kind of posts (Ryan & Xenos, 2011).According to Karal and Kokoç (2010), individuals use Facebook for acquaintance reasons (knowing people and people knowing you), social interaction (e.g. staying in touch with friends) and education (acquiring up-dated information or ideas that are of different nature). 2.3.2 Twitter Twitter has globally been established as a public communication platform as well as a micro- blogging service (Bruns & Burgess, 2012; Java, Song, Xiaodan, Finin, & Tseng, 2007). Twitter is regarded as a social network and a platform for information-sharing which provides real time news on a wide range of issues. Twitter has therefore increased opportunities available for undertaking scholarly research and as a result, has become a source of increased attention in recent years. Twitter in recent times experiences 500 million tweets in a day which makes it the largest micro-blogging service since its commercialization in October 2006 (Twitter, 2015). Recent global statistics indicate that about 22% active internet users frequently use Twitter (Globalwebindex, 2014). Twitter has five functions which are tweets, hashtags, @-messages, retweets, and follower relations. A Tweeter subscriber can tweet and follow tweets of other users as well. This establishes a social network of twitters where follower relationship and direct friendship exist (Marwick & Boyd, 2011).This system varies from other social media sites like Facebook which are undirected models. 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Tweet users can forward tweets in the form known as retweeting to other users by @- messages, or annotated by a #hashtag. Tweets can also provide information to web links where press releases, news articles or reports for instance can be accessed. The main types of interaction available to Tweeter users are daily chatter and conversations, news reporting and information sharing (Java, Song, Finin & Tseng, 2007). Twitter has transformed from mostly sharing of personal information to the sharing of various information (e.g. Risse, Peters, Senellart & Maynard, 2014). 2.3.3 Instagram Instagram is a mobile device application which is structured and developed in a way that allows the sharing of lifetime events through pictures in real time (Instagram, 2015). Instagram is the most growing major social network platform in the United States with active users of over 400 million and almost 80 million pictures are shared on a daily basis in the United States (Pew, 2015). Instagram allows the platform users to snap pictures and make improvements through the application of technology. Instagram users can make comments or ‘like’ the pictures of other users. Instagram possess a rare characteristic that allows users to create high- quality pictures (Lee, Lee, Moon & Sung, 2015). The reason behind the creation of Instagram is to provide users the opportunity to share their life stories through pictures. Previous studies have suggested that, interaction between individuals is one of the main motivations for the usage of the Instagram platform (e.g., Geurin-Eagleman & Burch, 2016; Pittman & Reich, 2016; Ridgway & Clayton, 2016). For example, Pittman and Reich (2016) indicated that a more positive attitude towards Instagram will lessen the possibility of feeling lonely. 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Just like the motivations for the use of Facebook and Twitter, social interaction plays a significant role for the use of Instagram (Lee et al., 2015). In other words, Lee et al., (2015) posit that, the major motivation behind the usage of Instagram is the creation and maintenance of social relationship. Self-expression is another important motivation for the use of Instagram apart from the primary motivation of social interaction. Instagram presents an opportunity for individuals to express themselves more than the use of an ordinary text (Marwick, 2015).According to Ridgway and Clayton (2016), Instagram users have stronger motivations which include self-presentation and the desire of being seen by others. Various ways by which this can be done are through the manipulation of pictures with filters and the use of ‘selfies’ by the users. The satisfaction of the image of an individual is positively related to the posting of selfie on Instagram. 2.3.4 YouTube YouTube presents a community where created content includes a social integration concept which helps to rate and comment on videos in order to increase their popularity (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). In this modern world, YouTube is becoming a medium that has impact on the way individuals interact within the society. YouTube is one of the platforms with a high demand for videos. YouTube provides an opportunity for subscribers to generate and disseminate content created by them in order to strengthen business opportunities (Cha, Kwak, Rodriguez, Ahn & Moon, 2007) and it allows for the creation of strategies that will aid marketing activities as well as branding (Mills, 2012). Shao (2009) stipulates that the content created as a result of social media (e.g. YouTube) makes it possible for users to inform, entertain and provide users the opportunity to manage their moods. YouTube presents many characteristics that strengthen social interaction (Benevenuto, Duarte, Rodrigues, Almeida & Ross, 2008), as a result, users are able to make comments on videos, 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh like or dislike videos, or share videos on other social network platforms like Facebook or Twitter (Benevenuto et al., 2008; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010: Lange, 2007). The feedback to YouTube videos specifically plays a critical role in users’ interaction and network relationship within the society. 2.4 Social Media Characteristics This research will not only consider a certain platform, but will regard social media as a broader concept. This refers to online social platforms which allow users to interact as well as share information or experiences online (Hajli, 2014). Chung and Austria (2010) and Hajli (2014) indicated some common features of social media which are discussed below. All consumers or internet users can participate in providing opinions, suggestions, comments, and reviews at anywhere at any time on social media platforms. Social media sites are accessible to every user to exchange information and have collaboration-work together. People can build or join in different groups or communities where they can share the common interests in social media platforms. In this kind of community, people can easily find social support, belongingness and friendship from an unknown person. Social media tools allow users to interact freely due to internet connectivity. People can have dialogue and build conversations with both unknown users and familiar users. Social media is built through interconnecting with people, resources, knowledge, and information (Chung & Austria, 2010; Hajli, 2014). As a result of advanced information technology, social media makes it possible for users to connect around the world with others, gain more resources from the internet, and learn more knowledge from others. Personal interests, business partners, worldwide information and many other things are intertwined through social media platform. 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.5 Marketing and Business Use of Social Media Business organisations have changed communication tools to target consumers due to social media (Hassan, Nadzim & Shiratuddin, 2015). Mangold and Faulds (2009) postulate that, the traditional marketing communication tools are blended together with social media and word- of-mouth comments which cannot be controlled by marketing managers. Social media is utilised by firms as a tool for marketing purposes (Birkner, 2011) because Woodcock and Green (2010) assert that, information on social media influence purchase decisions in the new millennium. Social media as a marketing tool is used by businesses in order to reach customers directly more efficiently compared to the traditional promotional tools of marketing. As a result of its efficiency, social media has been monopolised by large, medium and small scale businesses (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Furthermore, Reyneke, Pitt and Berthon (2011) argue that consumers are able to monitor the brands that they prefer on social media such Facebook and Twitter, comment and ask product related questions. These sites enable businesses to have interaction directly with users of their brands and it also serves as channel through which businesses tend to have information about their brands through following, tweeting, blogging and reviewing. Small firms are aided by buyers in order to make business attractive to new customers and provide the necessary support for the brand as well. Loyal customers develop word-of mouth online which is of importance to businesses because it helps to generate online marketing. The potency of the tools used in social media presents an opportunity for small firms to incorporate them in their marketing strategies. A lot of small businesses are devising ways of reaching their target audience (Small Business Trends, 2011). Despite the potency of social media marketing, small firms have not fully discovered the benefits that can be derived from it. SMB (2012) research findings indicate that one out of every five small firms does not incorporate social media in the formulation of marketing strategies. 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Social media therefore needs to be fully integrated in the marketing strategies of some small firms. Despite this, Lipsman, Mudd, Rich and Bruich (2012), study reveals that marketing budget for social media is growing rapidly. This gives an indication of a growing interest of brands in marketing products and services through the use of social media tools. According to Gillin (2007), there are many reasons for the shift to social media. Consumers are no longer interested in the conservative method of advertising goods and services online such as through the use of e-mails. There is the movement of consumers towards the use of online media channels. This has led to a reduction in the patronage of traditional media. The rapid growth and development of technology has presented innovative tools that have made social media appealing. The expenditure involved in an online campaign is less expensive than that of a campaign on television. Marketing managers are drifting towards social media because of the overwhelming prospects inherent in fully utilising social media to support both marketing objectives and strategies. 2.6 Benefits of Social Media The usage of the technological innovation, social media has both benefits and risks. i. Social media provides a new means for the strengthening of communications within the business environment (Gallaugher & Ransbotham, 2010). ii. Social can help create a bond between brands and consumers and aid in the consolidation of the relationship (Bartlett, 2010; Hackworth & Kunz, 2011; Monseau, 2009). iii. Marketers have an opportunity to be closer to customers now than before. Social media makes it possible for marketers to recognise the needs and wants of buyers and users of their products and provide the needed satisfaction to them through various interactions with consumers online (Kozinets, 2002). 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv. Social media presence compared to traditional media aids businesses to contact individuals that marketers initially could not access. The use of social media has provided information to different individuals because content can easily be created and disseminated to many people since the networks allow the quick transmission of information (Dong-Hun, 2010; Newman, 2003) .This has resulted in creation of brand awareness. As a result, customers are better equipped with knowledge about the firms and their brands (O’Flynn, 2012). v. According to New Media Age (2010), the social media presence of a business can create interactions that will lead to a rise in the sales of goods and services. O’Flynn (2012) argue that, social media has the prospect of increasing users’ access to pages of brands which can help develop online traffic and subsequently, generate more product purchases. Sony for example, revealed an excess of three million dollars in sales. An increase in sales in February 2012 was through its Twitter account. Similarly, there was also an announcement by Dell in June 2012 of a rise in sales of three million dollars due to social media presence. vi. Kim and Ko (2010) argue that social media positively influence the credibility of a brand. Burson-Marsteller (2012) revealed that social media is commonly used among Fortune Best 100 companies. Statistics indicate that Twitter is the leading social media platform among Fortune 500 companies with an 82% usage rate followed by YouTube and Facebook with 79% and 74% respectively. vii. Many companies adapt to the social media climate and use social media as strategic tool as means to have an advantage over competitors. Due to the wide access of population, social media offers positive values for business because it facilitates word- of-mouth production (Mikalef, Giannakos & Pateli, 2013) and communication (Hajli, 2014, Vollmer & Precourt, 2008). Social media presents an important media where 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh friends can generate their own content which can easily be spread among peers in a social setting. Indeed, the emergence of internet-based media has helped the development of word of mouth online (eWOM) (Chu & Kim, 2011). eWOM occurs on various online channels, like blogs, forums, virtual communities, and social networks (Dwyer, 2007). There is also the opportunity for social media users to have interactions about brands and obtain the requisite information in relation to various products which can eventually affect their decisions on whether to buy a particular brand or not (Kozinets et al., 2010). 2.7 Risks of Social Media Social media does not only present benefits to a business. There are also dangers inherent in the use of social media. A typical example is negative comments that are made by users of a brand online. This instance cannot be easily predicted by businesses. Recent research revealed that, several businesses did not provide a response to negative statements on corporate social media sites from consumers while others deleted them(Dekay, 2012). Furthermore, various businesses do not effectively handle such comments posted on their social media pages in order to translate the negativity into opportunities that will be beneficial to business communications strategies (Dekay, 2012). Negative word of mouth is the resultant effect of poor means of dealing with negative statements that have been posted by consumers of a brand on social media. Businesses are confronted with the challenge of effective managing of negative consumer statements (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010; Roehm & Tybout, 2006) since according to Schlosser (2005), the attitude of consumers can be substantially affected by few negative comments of a brand on social media pages. Corstjens and Umblijs (2012) asserted that brand image and sales would be negatively affected if firms do not put in place mechanisms to deal with negative consumer comments. The literature therefore reveals that 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh social media has many benefits compared to few risks but it is important for businesses to manage the risks in order to enjoy the full benefits of social media. 2.8 Consumer Behaviour and Consumer Decision-Making Consumer behaviour comprises of the various steps that individuals or groups go through in the identification, purchase, utilisation and disposal of products with the overall intention of satisfying needs (Solomon, 1995; Schiffman, Hansen & Kanuk, 2007). The study of consumer behaviour helps firms to know and better understand the consumer because it provides answers to very pertinent questions. The study provides answers to questions such as what product a customer purchases, why consumers purchase a product, where and when a consumer buys (Green, 1992). Studying consumer behaviour provides immense benefits to various firms because it helps them to develop proper plans and superior strategies (Khaniwale, 2015). Consumers have to cope with information overload as a result of many daily decisions (Scammon, 1977; Jacoby, 1984). Marketers are interested in obtaining insights in the manner in which consumers buy. This is a complicated process since the decisions that consumers make over a period of time need to be understood (Hoyer & Macinnis, 2001). Olshavsky and Granbois (1979) argue that consumers go through various processes when making a buying decision. Extant literature indicated the five steps that consumers go through in making decisions as identifying problem, searching for information ,evaluating alternatives, purchase and post purchase behaviour (Liang & Lai, 2002; Darley et al., 2010). 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh This is depicted in the diagram below. Figure 2.1: The Consumer Purchasing Process Source: Joberman (2001) 2.8.1 Problem Recognition The consumer purchasing process begins with the recognition of a need (Kardes, Cline & Cronley, 2011). According to Kotler et al. (2009), a consumer can identify a need due to the presence of either an internal or external stimuli. The internal stimuli are within the physiological make-up of the consumer whereas the external stimuli are due to the environment of the consumer. Consumers therefore identify the existence of a problem or problems. The problems or needs may be simple such as the need for food or a much more complex one such as the purchase of a vehicle. Consumers are shaped by factors which are social, cultural, reference groups and the environment in recognising their needs (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2010). 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.8.2 Information Search After the recognition of a problem, the consumer searches for information through various sources. The sources for information are internal and external. The internal source refers to the recall of a product from memory by consumers. This is what is referred to as internal search. Hawkins and Mothersbaugh (2010) and Agresta and Bough (2010) argue that, the use of the internet has become an important external source that consumers use to search for information in contemporary times. Bhatnagar and Ghose (2004) assert that, the frequency of information search by consumers on the internet, the more information they get which affects decision- making. Kotler et al. (2009) argue that close associates, peers and neighbours constitute personal sources of consumer information gathering. Exhibition of products, marketing intermediaries, salespersons, product packages, advertising content and business websites represent the commercial sources of consumer information. There is also another source of consumer information which is referred to as experiential source. This includes the handling, scrutinising and using a product by consumers. Commercial sources present most product information to consumers but the most effective sources are public or personal sources which are independent sources. 2.8.3 Evaluation of Alternatives At this stage, consumers compare and asses several options in terms of products’ characteristics and needs. Consumers’ choices could be based on a simple decision such as ‘buy the cheapest products’ but there are complex decisions. Consumers at this stage consider which alternative would be the best to satisfy needs (Blythe, 2008). According to Campbell and Goodstein (2001), a consumer’s decisions can be associated with perceived risk which may make a consumer modify, postpone or avoid a purchase. Kotler et 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh al. (2009) have identified five risks that the consumer takes into consideration at this stage. There is the risk that the product will not perform as expected and this is called functional risk. Physical risk is also the danger that the product may hurt the user or others. Consumers also fear that they will not receive value out of the product purchased. Thus, the product will not reflect value for money. This is called financial risk. In evaluating a product, there is also the risk that the product might embarrass the consumer or others and this is called the social risk. Consumers also have the risk of purchasing products that do not suit the image that they perceive about themselves. This also called psychological risk. Finally, consumers consider time risk which is the period which has been wasted in buying an unsatisfactory product. 2.8.4 Purchase Decision Once consumers have found their relevant alternatives and assessed them, they make their choice among the alternatives. Consumers choose particular products because the product appeals to them. The choice can be impacted by the gathered information from various sources (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2010).According to Kotler et al. (2009), consumers can reduce the uncertainty and negative effects of risk by gathering information from friends and preferences for national brand, so marketers must understand the factors that account for consumer risks and provide information to minimise perceive risk. 2.8.5 Post-Purchase Behaviour Consumers have expectations of how well the product purchased will perform. When a product performs based on the expectation of the consumer, such an individual becomes satisfied. Consumers become dissatisfied when the product falls short of providing the required satisfaction. This therefore implies that, what the consumer expects from a product was not achieved. A consumer becomes delighted if the product performance exceeds expectation (Mitchell & Boustani, 1994). A customer is likely to repeat the purchases if expectations are met or 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh exceeded. In situations where the performance of a product falls short of expectation, the customer will experience psychological discomfort (Kardes et al., 2011). 2.9 Advertising in Social Media Many customers have transformed the various ways that they interact with firms and other customers due the fast growing nature of social media platforms. As a result, firms have transformed their ways of attracting and maintaining prospective consumers (Leung, Bai & Stahura, 2015). According to Chandra, Goswami and Chouhan (2013); Patino, Pitta and Quinones (2012) and He and Zha (2014), marketers previously would design attractive advertising messages and buy mass media space and hope that it will create brand awareness and preference for consumers. The birth of social media has resulted to the loss of viewership and readership in traditional media such as television and their impact as advertising channels may have declined. The speed and many sources of online communications make traditional advertising sources less important. In addition, marketers swiftly recognised the impact of the interactive nature of social community in terms of customised segments, shopping experiences, greater convenience and many information searches .As a result, social media budgets with digital interactive advertising are being increased by marketers (eMarketer, 2014). According to Hart (2008) advertising placed on social media is new type advertising on the internet. This type of advertising has attracted the attention of the media. Rosenbush (2006) asserts that advertisers hasten to get their portion of advertising space due to low rates in online social media advertising. Gruber (2006) argue that social networking sites are gradually transforming advertising from a medium of push to that of a pull medium. A Fox Interactive Media studies revealed a 70% of return on investment (ROI) of businesses due to user exposure to online social network advertisements (Shields, 2007). Furthermore, Goldsmith and 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Lafferty (2002) indicated that 48.9% of research respondents liked advertisements on the internet. 73% of liked television advertisement and 41.8% of respondents liked advertisement on radio. These statistics is a confirmation of a rise in the popularity and the ability of internet advertisements to provide higher revenue to advertising companies. Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions (2007) finding revealed that 80% of customers have trust in information that peers online provided particularly in relation to brands. However, it remains unclear how to make advertisements attractive for leaders in order to merit recommendation to friends. 2.9.1 Advertising Effectiveness and Consumer Decision-Making Studies conducted highlight irritation (Logan, Bright & Gangadharbatla, 2012), cues within the society (Liu, 2014), creative nature of advertising (Reinartz & Saffert, 2013), informativeness and entertain (Gao & Koufaris, 2006) as the categories of advertising effectiveness towards the attitudes of consumers. Literature reviewed of related topics regarded informativeness, entertainment and advertising creativity as major sources of effectiveness of advertising (Taylor, Lewin & Strutton, 2011). Alhabash et al. (2013) focused on the entertainment and emotional content of the advertisement. They further argued that entertainment content in an advertisement played a major role in the formation of attitude towards the advertisement and social media subscribers have favourable reaction to a message that was persuasive or have online content which was designed to be emotionally appealing. However, Reinartz and Saffert (2013) asserted that, users of social media sites have more interest in advertisement that was rich in content and has informative value. Lee and Hong (2016) confirmed that informativeness and advertising creativity which advertising literature usually emphasise on do have an influence on the behavioural patterns of users of social media. The research adopted emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity as the constructs in determing the effectiveness of social media advertising. 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.9.2 Emotional Appeal and Consumer Decision-Making Emotional attraction is a persuasive technique and messages meant to trigger the emotions of the target audience such as the use of dreaded movies, sad stories and victorious music that are designed to make audience to a message have a feeling and response towards a message. Emotional appeal works better on individuals who are not very inspired by a message in a cognitive manner (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). According to Alhabash et al. (2013), emotions are generated by individuals due the importance that such individuals attach to messages. Such emotions may have a positive impact on an individual as well as a negative impact. Positive emotions may include love and anger is an example of a negative emotion. The conclusions of various studies present emotional appeal as a key component in determing how effective or potent a message can be (Xie, Donthu, Lohtia, & Osmonbekov, 2004). This confirms a study by Swani, Milne and Brown (2013) which revealed that messages on social media site, Facebook that contained emotional content had a higher response rate than messages that were not emotionally appealing. Sentimental reactions lead to attitude formation (Batra & Ray, 1986). Although Lee and Hong (2016) used emotional appeal as a construct, their study indicated that emotional appeal did not have a positive relationship with decisions that consumers make. This construct was adopted in order to test it within the Ghanaian context. 2.9.3 Informativeness and Consumer Decision-making Rotzoll, Haefner and Sandage (1990) defined informativeness as the “ability to inform users about product alternatives that enable them to make choices yielding the highest value”. This construct is developed based on how individuals perceive content and this is measured based on their feedback (Palvo, Liang & Xue, 2007). Informativeness embodies an appeal to individuals to take decisions rationally. It is therefore distinct from emotional appeal (Lee & Hong, 2016). 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Resnik and Bruce (1977) identified that the presence of information in an advertising material on television aids consumers to take decisions that are more intelligent and serve their interest when buying. According to Andrews (1989) and Taylor, Lewin and Strutton (2011), advertisement would be found valuable by consumers if it is consistent with the product that it displays. Gao and Koufaris (2006) argue that, businesses that engage in transactions electronically through the use of websites have identified the provision of information essential in the formation of the attitudes of consumers. This assertion is also shared by Resnik and Bruce (1977) who studied television adverting. Taylor et al. (2011) also argued that, within the social networking environment, informative advertising eventually leads to the development of word-of mouth comments by consumers. Literature generally agree that informative content of advertisements that are placed social media sites play a very significant because customers base on that to make future decisions (Lee & Hong, 2016) 2.9.4 Advertising Creativity and Consumer Decision-Making According to Haberland and Dacin (1992), advertising creativity is the degree to which an advertisement is innovative and unanticipated. Smith, MacKenzie, Yang, Buchholz and Darley (2007) argue that the main known features of advertising creativity are divergence and relevance. Divergence is linked with components regarded as new, unique, while relevance is associated with features that are important, suitable or beneficial to the target audience. Messages that are noted for creativity attract a lot of consumer attention to goods and services that are advertised. In addition, research findings indicated that sales nearly doubled on the average due to creative content of advertisement than those without creative content. This is an indication that creative advertisements have justified the investments that have been made in them (Reinartz & Saffert, 2013). Smith et al. (2007) in their experimental research identified that creative advertisement leads to a rise in enthusiasm to process an advertisement and strengthen the attitude towards the advertisement and that positive impact is transferred to the brand. Lee and Hong (2016) concluded that, there is a strong relationship between the 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh creativity of a social media advertisement and the effect that advertisement will have on the target audience. 2.10 The Concept of Consumer Engagement Various scholars have conceptualised consumer engagement in various ways and the concept has been used extensively by various researchers. Scholars such as Harter, Schmidt and Hayes (2002), Salanova, Agut and Peiró (2005), and Saks (2006) have all contributed to the concept of consumer engagement. In marketing research, the concept has been used frequently (Bowden, 2009). A common feature of this concept as used by various scholars is that, it includes processes that are intrapersonal within a particular setting in which relationship with entities of consumption is based on the specific behaviour exhibited towards the focal point (Patterson, Yu & De Ruyter, 2006; Sprott, Czellar & Spangenberg, 2009). Researchers assert that the concept of consumer engagement is rooted in consumer interactive relationship which results in a consumer perception of value of that interaction (Brodie et al., 2013; Mollen & Wilson, 2010). Patterson et al., (2006) assert that, consumer engagement is the relationship that customers have with businesses. The relationship of the customers is affected by the degree of consumers’ physical, cognitive and emotional involvement. In addition, Vivek, Beatty and Morgan (2012) demonstrated how consumer interactions with organisations based on particular activities provided could constitute as a source of engagement. Consumer engagement as a concept is related to the involvement of consumers (e.g. Hollebeek, 2011; Brodie et al., 2013). Consumer engagement has gained prominence in research and due to that, the usage of technologies which enhance information and communication especially social media has surged. The assertion is that, social media platform presents an opportunity for social 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh interactions in a virtual space. Therefore, users of social media platforms are categorised under socially engaged users. Achterberg et al. (2003) refer to social engagement as a response which is sufficient to stimuli within a social context which leads to the interaction and involvement in activities of societal nature with others. In other words, individuals communicate with each other within the social space (Hollebeek, 2011).Based on this view, users engage in interactions with others and objects of consumption based on their personal interest, individual values and self-concept (Van et al., 2010). As a result, Chevalier and Mayzlin (2006) and Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, Walsh and Gremler (2004) asserted that behaviours like posting on a web or engaging in blogging activities must be treated as indicators that have linkage with individual interest. Mollen and Wilson (2010) described customer engagement as the dedication that a customer has towards a brand within an online environment which has resulted in the development of a relationship with the brand. Brodie et al. (2013) indicated that engagement is due to “interactive, experiential processes, based on individuals’ engagement with specific objects (e.g. brands, organisations). Research by Schaufeli et al. (2002) has proven that engagement varies based on the contextual situations and in terms of level of intensity over time as well. Their findings were contrary to the notion that engagement was relatively persistent. Rather, engagement was conceptualised to be an embodiment of dynamism (Brodie et al., 2013). This was an addition to the criticism that consumer engagement is static and positively relate to loyalty exhibited by customers (Bowden, 2009; Patterson & De Ruyter, 2006). The engagement process begins with a person’s need for information about a particular brand or 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh organisation. Engagement is a broader concept that includes sharing with others, learning from others, socializing with others and developing with others (Brodie et al., 2013). Consumer brand engagement is incrementally being affected by the exponential growth of social media activities which allows users to make recommendations to their friends and permit platform subscribers to create their own content, review products and make the requisite response. Consumer engagement behaviour is widely defined as “a customer’s behavioral manifestations that have a brand or firm focus, beyond purchase, resulting from motivational drivers” (Van et al., 2010). As a result of the transformative nature of social media, the literature on customer engagement appears to be shifting towards social media. Based on the change, the transformation is not only limited to engagement but it also includes the source of engagement as well. The traditional meaning of consumer engagement is widening as it transforms into many different manifestations of the user. This indicates that social media is a productive research area due to its dynamic nature. This new media is also widely and increasingly adopted. Even though there are meanings of the concept of engagement in particular in social media settings (e.g. Brodie et al., 2013; De Valck , Van Bruggen & Wierenga, 2009; Nolan, Brizland & Macaulay, 2007; Wiertz & de Ruyter, 2007), more knowledge is required in a context that is more different and fashion-oriented (Geissinger & Laurell, 2016). The study adopted the conceptualisation of consumer engagement by Barger et al. (2016) which focuses on the response on the part of customers to brand related content in a social media environment. Social media platforms present firms with various types of advertisement which encourage consumer engagement. For instance, Facebook has advertisements which target users based on past actions website or application with a perfectly timed ad called Dynamic Product Ads. There is also Page Like Ads which can be displayed on all placements and include a visible call to action for users to immediately ‘like’ a page. There are also Page Post Photo Ads, Page 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Post Video Ads and Page Post Text which encourage consumers to ‘like’ or comment on advertisements (Ad Espresso, 2017). 2.10.1 Consumer Engagement and Consumer Decision-Making Deutsch and Gerard (1955) assert that consumers have two needs that influence them. The first need is psychological in nature and entails informational social influence which is the need to be right. There is also normative social influence which is the need to be liked. Informational social influence is “the influence to accept information obtained from another as evidence about the true state of some aspect of the individual’s environment,” whereas normative social influence is “the influence to conform to the expectations of another person or group” (Burnkrant & Cousineau, 1975; Deutsch & Gerard, 1955). The constructs for consumer engagement for this research are adopted from Barger et al. (2016) .These are Consumer Reactions such as likes, Consumer Comments and Consumer Sharing of Content. All these are classified as responses to brand-related content in social media environment. 2.11 Theoretical Background Social cognitive theory is the theory that underpins the research. Social cognitive theory which is also called social learning theory is based on the fundamentals of psychological behavioural patterns of persons and groups (Pincus, 2004). The theory is a largely recognised one for the behaviour of individuals (Chan & Lu, 2004) since it investigates the rationale behind the adoption of certain behaviours by persons (Bandura, 1986). According to La Rose and Eastin (2004), the theory asserts that a person’s behaviour can be assessed based on the expectation of the results of that behaviour. Thus, an individual tend to have expectation before having a direct experience and observing others can play a mediating 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh role. The theory’s asserts that individuals have the ability to influence their own activities. This serves as the main foundation of the social cognitive theory. According to Kock (2004), the theory is popularly applied in various disciplines because of its dynamism and its view that behaviour of human is prone to continuous change. Wood and Bandura (1989) assert that the theory has gained prominence due its usage in business in areas such as managing organisations. The theory has also been applied to tasks that are of complex nature (Bolt, Killough & Koh, 2001) and the acceptance of new technology (Compeau, Higgins & Huff, 1999).The speed of change in technology has made social cognitive theory an important one since it provides a framework to understand the behaviour of human beings. Social cognitive theory which is recognised by scholars as one of the most potent human behavioural theories (Bandura, 1986), has been adopted for this research. The main argument underpinning the theory is that an individual’s intention to act in a certain manner is influenced not only because of that action but the mental state, personal as well as the social relationships within the environment (Cooper & Lu, 2016).Bandura (1986) argue that an individual’s perception of events, anticipations of the person and beliefs shape the person’s behaviour. Therefore, intentions to behave in a certain way are linked with the thinking and feelings of a person (Bandura, 1986; Benight & Bandura, 2004).The implication inherent in the theory is that, a person indulges in a behaviour due to the capabilities, know-how and expertise at the disposal of him or her (Bandura, 1989; Prussia & Kinicki, 1996). Bandura (1989) further argue that the environment as a factor plays a significant part in determining individual behavioural patterns. The composition of the environment entails both the physical and the social make-up. The physical environment comprises of both natural and artificial make-up of a person’s surroundings. 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The close physical environs, social interactions and the cultural background of specific persons and how these groups function, co-operate and interrelate constitute the social environment (Barnett & Casper, 2001, p. 465). The social environment also entails societal customs; impact of friendship and value system (Bandura, 1991) and it is conceptualised to embrace the virtual and actual world (Narayan, 2013). This theory underpins the research because it recognises that the environment not only the physical environment but also the virtual world where social media falls plays a role in influencing the behaviour of individuals. 2.12 Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework represents the research study by stressing on patterns of elements and their relationship with major concepts in research (Fisher, Kulindwa, Mwanyoka, Turner & Burgess, 2010). The conceptual framework provides an understanding of the research work. The conceptual framework explains the relationship between social media advertising, consumer engagement and the consumer decision-making. Social media advertising in this study entails advertising that are placed by fashion businesses through the usage of platforms or tools which include Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. The constructs for effectiveness social media are emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising appeal. That of consumer decision-making entails the consumer purchasing decisions and the constructs for consumer engagement are consumer reactions, consumer comments and consumer sharing of content. The conceptual framework indicates the relationship of effectiveness of social media advertising on consumer decision-making through consumer engagement. The social media advertising constructs were adapted from Lee and Hong (2016). Consumer engagement constructs were also adapted from Barger et al. (2016) while the consumer decision-making construct was adapted from Liang and Lai (2002) and Darley et al. (2010). 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Figure 2.2 Conceptual Framework Consumer Engagement  Reacting to content  Commenting on content  Sharing of content Social Media Advertising Consumer Decision- Making  Emotional Appeal  Consumer  Informativeness Purchasing  Advertising Decisions Creativity Source: Author’s Own Construct The hypotheses for the relationship are stated below: H1: There is a positive relationship between Emotional Appeal (EAA) in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM) H2: There is a positive relationship between Informativeness (INFOR) in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM) H3: There is a positive relationship between Advertising Creativity (ACCC) in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM) H4: Consumer engagement mediates the relationship between Emotional Appeal (EAAA) in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM) H5: Consumer engagement mediates the relationship between Informativeness (INFOR) in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM) H6: Consumer engagement mediates the relationship between Advertising Creativity and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM) 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY 3.0 Introduction The third chapter provides insights into the contextual background information of the study. The chapter provides information on the overview of the internet, social media in Ghana, fashion definitions, history of branding in the fashion industry, brief historical account of fashion and clothing in Ghana and some fashion brands in Ghana. 3.1 Overview of the Internet The internet is not only a tool for communication or undertaking commercial activities but also a tool for creating social relationships where individuals have interactions in a virtual world with social media sites acknowledged to be one of the social tools that are mostly used (Amichai-Hamburger, Wainapel & Fox, 2002). Leiner, Cerf, Clark, Kahn, Kleinrock, Lynch, Postel, Roberts and Wolff (2000) assert that the internet which is a channel of spreading information and facilitating interaction between persons and their computers irrespective of geographical boundaries is seen as arguably the most important technological development discovered in the late 20th century. According to Dawson (1995), the internet as innovation originated from a United States Department Defense Project’s narrow base. There was a concern that US communication system could be destroyed due to the impact of missiles on main communication centres during the cold war era. The need to create a distribution system that can overcome such attacks lead to the development of original ‘internet’. The internet which was originally called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) in the late 1960s was purposely created to be used only by the military but it evolved to meet sophisticated standards as a result of interest exhibited by a lot of institutions in 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh networking their computer systems. The internet is now commonly used by civilians to communicate worldwide and has presented many opportunities for academia as well. Experts use the internet to support networking services among themselves across various geographical boundaries. The internet consists of local and wide area networks which are linked to provide a very quick and efficient communication (Krol, 1992).According to Sheldon (1996), the internet presents a system of communication which ensures the occurrence of various communications simultaneously with the use of the same network. Sheldon’s (1996) research revealed an increase of the number of pages from 320 to 380 million. It also indicated that a lot of new databases have been created (Kassel, 1999).As a result, the greatest challenging issue facing individuals who use the internet is how to browse through the various pages in order to identify important information from the databases in existence. Most internet services have been structured in a way that will help to easily locate a file, transfer and retrieve information. The services for retrieving information are search engines, information gateways, directories and metasearch engines (Hinson & Amidu, 2006). 3.2 Internet in Ghana According to Falch (2004), in Ghana, tele-centers provided inexpensive accessibility to internet connection. The tele-centers that were found in the capital city of Accra were more advanced than those found outside Accra. The tele-centres were about 150 tele-centres. Out of that number, 90% of the tele-centres that had internet connectivity were located within Accra. Entrepreneurs who engaged in small business created these tele-centres. The tele-centres were characterised by intense competition and were not highly profitable and as a result, those who managed these tele-centres sometimes could not afford to pay for the services of Capital Telecom. The presence of tele-centres in the business centre of Accra was less than the surrounding areas because people largely used fixed and mobile lines. 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The low income level in Ghana prevented large scale patronage of the services of tele-centres and telecommunications services. In 1997, some African countries became signatories to the WTO Telecommunications Agreement. These countries which were seven in number included Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritius, South Africa and Tunisia. The WTO Telecommunications Agreement aimed at the liberation of markets for foreign investment (Fuchs & Horak, 2008).Ghana is one of the countries in Africa that is highly liberalised in the telecommunications industry. The telecommunications industry in Ghana started liberalisation with 30% privatisation of Ghana Telecom in 1996. In 1997, Westel and Capital Telecoms became operational in Ghana. Four additional mobile service providers were also licensed between 1992 and 2000 (Sciadas, 2005, p. 67).Ghana was the first developing country to fully embrace privatisation and service competition nationwide (World Bank, 1999, p. 68). Liberalisation in the telecommunications sector in Ghana did not significantly lead to a rise in the usage of phones and internet connectivity although there was an increase in the number of fixed lines from 0.4 per 100 inhabitants in 1995 to 1.35 in 2003 (Sciadas, 2005, p. 68). This therefore indicates that there is no automatic link between opening markets and attracting foreign investment to a rise in internet usage (Fuchs & Horak, 2008). In addition, Fuchs and Horak argue (2008) that, poverty reduction will not automatically bridge the gap unless technological infrastructure, applications and digital literacy are provided. Wilson (2006) asserted that ‘‘progressive and visionary leaders’’ aided internet expansion by being against ‘‘conservative’’ strategies and persistently called for the liberalisation and deregulation of the telecommunications market in Ghana. Wilson argued that, Ghana’s economic and social problems are not as a result of lack of equal distribution of global wealth and colonialism by the West but are due to self-centred and corrupt governments. The ‘visionaries’ goal was to ensure that Ghana’s telecommunications market could attract 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh direct foreign investment. Due to that, Malaysia Telecom purchased 30% shares of Ghana Telecom which lead to a rise in direct foreign in Ghana. With respect to the internet usage in academia Ghana, Hinson and Amidu (2006) research indicated that most final year students in the University of Ghana Business School are aware of the existence of the internet through sources such as family, friends and self-tuition. Despite the awareness of the of the internet, the students did not fully utilise the internet as a resource and a learning aid due to their limitation to the use of e-mail and the WWW.The table below provides some statistical data on the internet usage in Ghana and the penetration rate based on Ghana’s population growth. Table 3.1 Internet Usage in Ghana and Population Growth Year Users Population %Percentage Usage Source 2000 30,000 18,881,600 0.02% ITU 2005 368,000 21,029,850 1.60% ITU 2006 401,300 21,801,662 1.80% ITU 2007 609,800 21,801,662 2.80% ITU 2008 880,000 23,382,848 3.80% ITU 2009 997,000 23,887,812 4.20% ITU 2010 1,297,000 24,339,838 5.30% ITU 2011 2,085,501 24,791,073 8.40% ITU 2015 5,171,993 26,327,649 19.60% IWS 2016 7,958,675 26,908,262 29.6 % IWS Source: (Internet World Stats, 2017) 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.3 Social Media in Ghana Social media has attracted the attention of some Ghanaian researchers even though it is a new media across the globe. Boateng (2016) study revealed that some telecommunications companies in Ghana make use of social media to manage customer knowledge. In addition, Boateng and Okoe (2015) findings revealed that there was a positive relationship between consumers and social media advertising and consumers take into consideration the reputation of the company that used social media advertising. Ahenkorah-Marfo and Akussah (2016) findings also indicated that many of the top libraries in Ghanaian universities had knowledge of social media but the integration of social media in the libraries was plagued with challenges such as apathy and inadequate skills. In addition, research findings by Stats Monkey (2015) revealed that Facebook was the most used social media tool in Ghana. Below is the table that presents the research findings. Table 3.2 Ratings of Social Media Use in Ghana Rank Ghana Social Media Usage % Social Media Usage 1 Facebook 94.89 94.89 2 Twitter 3.97 3.97 3 Pinterest 0.62 0.62 4 Google+ 0.18 0.18 5 Tumblr 0.16 0.16 6 YouTube 0.08 0.08 7 StumbleUpon 0.07 0.07 8 Reddit 0.02 0.02 9 Others 0.01 0.01 Total Usage 100 Source: (Stats Monkey, 2015) Furthermore, Internet World Stat (2016) research revealed that there are 3,500,000 users of Facebook in Ghana. 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.4 Fashion Definitions According to Drew (1992) , fashion broadly refers to a specific style that gains popularity within a period of time which can be clothes, toys, automobiles, food and others but the term is usually used to refer to a particular trend of clothing, accessories, cosmetics which are admired most by people and are worn within a specific period of time. Fashion is a way a person affirms himself or herself (Godart, 2012). Fashion broadly includes any market or product which contains a stylist element and will possibly exist within a period of time (Christopher, Lowson & Peck, 2004). Fashion appears to be differentiated on the basis of expensive fashion exhibited on the runways of Paris and New York and sportswear that are manufactured on a mass scale to street style sold in malls and markets globally. However, the fashion industry entails designing, producing, delivery, marketing and retailing various kinds of clothing which ranges from the most expensive exclusive haute couture and designer fashion to the usual ones that are used every day (Čiarnienė & Vienažindienė, 2014). Fashion represents dynamism in artistic, economic, political and socio-cultural way of existence. Fashion is used as a communication tool by individuals and the society to express the preferences and the lifestyle of a given society. The tastes and lifestyle that is predominant in a society represents that of the society as a whole. Fashion designers provide interpretations of new emerging lifestyles into fashion concepts which eventually lead to the production of fashion products (Cholachatpinyo, Fletcher, Padgett & Crocker, 2002).Fashion has grown to become an international and global industry in contemporary times even though the industry started developing in Europe and America (Burns, Mullet & Bryant, 2011). 3.5 History of Branding in the Fashion Industry The practice of branding fashion products with signatures, trademarks and logos can be traced to Charles Frédérick Worth (1825-1895) who was considered by fashion historians as the originator of haute couture in the second half of the nineteenth century. 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Charles Frédérick Worth did put labels on clothes that he produced in order to avert the counterfeiting of his designs. Subsequently, other French couturiers also bought into the idea of attaching labels or logos to their designs. Paul Poiret (1879-1944) for instance who was a fashion designer in Paris between the end of the 1800s and the First World War used a rose as the logo for products in order to intertwine his identity with that of the products with the intention to achieve loyalty from the customers. The French couturiers through their fashion designs portrayed attributes which included refinement and exclusivity to their target market which was the elites in American and European markets (Vergani, 2006). The source of contemporary concept of fashion can be attributed to the work of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (1883-1971) during the interwar era. As result of Chanel’s interpretation of the changes in the role of women due to the new century which was solidified by the First World War, he did use his designs to communicate a particular lifestyle through simplifying the clothing of women and the technical characteristics of the material rather than targeting a particular social class. Jersey before then was used for the production of underwear and sportswear and masculinisation of ladies’ clothes through the use of articles and features such as pockets and jacket which were previously reserved for men’s clothing. Chanel identified two significant proportions of branding that are the cornerstone of branding products and are luxurious in nature. According to Chanel, there must be the potential of the fashion brand to be associated with a specific lifestyle. In addition, not everybody who desired to buy a specific fashion brand could have the financial resource to purchase it. Due to this, Chanel was able to extend her brand with the introduction of Chanel perfume without causing any harm or endangering her established fashion brand identity. Thus, Chanel gained a reputation as a pioneer for brand-line extension (Fernie, Moore, Lawrie & Hallsworth, 1997). 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The mid-1970s saw a challenge by the Italian fashion designers to the French on the international stage through an innovative breed of fashion called ready-to-wear which was produced on a large for the general market compared to haute couture which was associated with uniqueness. The introduction of the Italian ready-to-wear clothes to the market led to a new era in the history of fashion which made it possible for the middle class to purchase fashion clothes (Merlo, 2012; Patsiaouras & Fitchett, 2012). Fashion clothes do not only serve as a means of communication between the manufacturer and the consumer but it also serves as means of communication between consumers and consumers. The various choices that consumers make communicate their belongingness to group whose formation is based on a blend of values and messages which the fashion brand stands for (Evans, 1989).However the creation of a successful fashion brand is a complex issue. Literature in the area of creating and developing brands makes it clear that substantial investment in resources and meticulous management of the marketing-mix elements are necessary in making brands successful (De Chernatony & McDonald, 1992). 3.6 Brief Historical Account on Fashion and Clothing in Ghana A historical perspective of clothing in Ghana in the 1700s as far as fashion clothing or styles and way of dressing are concerned started possibly without the influence of western countries. The type of clothes that were worn by the local people was complex and dependent on the status and ranks of persons in the community. The clothes were usually devoid of stitches and were wraparound covering the navel downwards as well as part of the legs. The clothes were sometimes wrapped around the necks and shoulders (Owusu, 1999). Seiber (1974) indicated that, the garments were so large that they were even used as blankets at night and as lounge clothes in the morning often wrapped around the body with one arm uncovered. This has similarity with the men’s clothing worn by Akans which was made of 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh about ten yards of textile covered around the body and hanged on the shoulder of the left hand. The attire which is commonly used by many men in the southern part of Ghana is now national attire in Ghana. The dressing in the northern part of Ghana was made up of many layers of clothes decently wrapped around their bodies (Gadzekpo, 2005). The arrival of the Portuguese and other Europeans influenced the clothing styles of settlers along the coast because of the barter trade of exchanging European clothes and others for gold (Bosmas, 1967). 3.7 Some Fashion Brands in Ghana The section provides insights into some fashion brands both local and foreign that are sold on the Ghanaian market and have social media presence as well. 3.7.1 Ghanaian Fashion Brands in Ghana Based on research findings by CliqAfrica and Avante (2016), luxury fashion brand, Chritie Brown was adjudged as the Most Influential Fashion Brand in 2016 with an increase of 30,442 new following on its social media platforms which include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Other fashion brands in Ghana’s Ten Influential Brands are Sa4a, Pistis, Selinab Beb, Duaba Serwaa, Chocolate, 101 Clothing, Sarah Christian, Poqua Poku and Abrantie. New entrants in the ranking are 101 Clothing, Selina Beb and Sarah Christian. The contextual information on Ghanaian fashion brands is based on the Five Top Most influential Ghanaian Fashion Brands on social media by CliqAfrica and Avante (2016). i. Christie Brown Christie Brown is the first most Ghanaian influential fashion brand on social media according to CliqAfrica and Avante (2016). According to Christie Brown (2015), the label was founded in Accra in March 2008 with the launch of the first run way show. The creative director, Aisha Obuobi developed love for fashion at an early age but her actual drive for fashion came as a result of watching her grandmother Chritie Brown who developed rich garments as a 46 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh seamstress. Christie Brown is now a fashion brand that produces unique women’s apparel and innovative accessories based on the inspiration of the African culture and art. Christie Brown has been able to produce fashion products made in Ghana and the brand is recognised internationally. In 2009, the fashion brand was the winner of Emerging Designer of the Year Award in Johannesburg at the Arise Africa Fashion Week. In March 2010, the brand was also the only Ghanaian brand showcased at the Arise L’Afrique-A-Porter in Paris Fashion Week. In addition, the brand was able to gain the attention of fashion influencers globally such as Harpers Bazaar, Vogue Italia, Canoe 53 and Glamour Magazine. The Christie Brown label holds the view of differentiating itself from the crowd and target its unique clientele. ii. Sa4a Sa4a is the second most influential Ghanaian fashion brand on social media according to CliqAfrica and Avante (2016).According to Yemilog.blogspot (2012), Sa4a was founded by Abena Safoa Amoako Gyimah in September 2009. She got her inspiration from watching a friend who wore slippers to an event. She then used African materials to create attractive fashion products. She developed the passion for fashion at a young age when she watched her mother sew. This made her start sewing dolls as well. As she grew older, she developed a lot of talent and interest in drawing. Sa4a also believes that African designers can differentiate themselves internationally.Sa4a’s range of products include bags and footwear. Sa4a Designs won the second edition of the Ghana Fashion Awards 2012 Accessories Designer of the Year (Bags, Shoes & Hair Option). The fashion brand has also won an award in the Year 2012 as Chivas Luxury Man Design during the Glitz Africa Fashion Week. Sa4a has participated in runway shows such as the Afro Rock Fashion Show. Others include Glitz Africa Fashion Week and Arise Fashion Week that were held in Nigeria and the Fashion Night Out in 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ghana.Sa4a also wants to excite its customers through listening to customers and creating new designs and enlivening products. iii. Pistis Pistis is the third most influential Ghanaian fashion brand on social media according to CliqAfrica and Avante (2016). According to Pistis (2012), the goal of the Pistis brand is to provide a new meaning to fabrics produced in Ghana. Pistis is committed to superiority and distinction in the fashion industry with its employees and experience. Pistis is a Ghanaian fashion label which was founded by Kabutey Dzietror and Sumaiya Mohammed in 2007.Pistis after its inception has been providing unique design since their design label debut on the runway at the 2013 Glitz Africa Fashion Week. Three years after starting operations, Pistis signed a contract with Charter House in order to provide clothing for delegates of a pageant, Miss Malaika Pageant. Pistis was invited by VLISCO, a textile manufacturing business to participate in a fashion show, Dazzling Graphics. One of the aims of Pistis is to provide manufactured fabrics a new meaning. Pistis is a fast growing brand throughout Ghana, West Africa and Africa and has the potential to spread throughout the world. Pistis accomplishment is due to hard work and the desire to excel. iv. Selina Beb The fourth most influential Ghanaian brand on social media according to CliqAfrica and Avante (2016) is Selina Beb. According to Selina Beb (2014), the brand, Selinab Beb is a Ghanaian fashion brand that specialises in a wide range of fashion products for men, women and children. The products include bags, footwear and modern accessories. Selina Beb products are made from leather, African wax prints and beads in order to get the best products. Selina Beb blends rich Ghanaian culture and heritage with modern and creative design in order 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh to bring a brand that its customers will love. Selina Beb made Ghana proud at the 2015 Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL).Selina Beb designed by Selina Bebaako-Mensah was one of the over 100 new and emerging designers who exhibited their products and services during that event. v. Duaba Serwa The fifth most influential Ghanaian fashion brand on social media according to CliqAfrica and Avante (2016) is Duaba Serwa. According to Ethicalfashioninitiative (2014), Duaba Serwa is a Ghanaian fashion brand founded by Nelly Hagan-Aboagye. It started as a jewellery designing business but it later developed into designing clothes for women. Duaba has had her collection exhibited on Altaroma’s Runway and at Biffi Boutiques Vogue Fashion’s Night Out in Milan. Duaba Serwa is a growing fashion brand that blends innovative intricate details, textures, structure and new types of volumes. The brand uses strong African colour and design scheme. The brand has been exhibited during fashion shows such as Mercedes Benz Africa Fashion Week in Johannesburg, ARISE Magazine Fashion Week, Lagos, Africa Fashion Week and the 2012 Ghana Fashion & Design Week. Duaba Serwa was also awarded as the Glitz Africa Fashion Award for Couture Designer of the Year 2013, African Fusion Designer of the Year at the GUBA (Ghana UK Based Achievements) Awards in 2013 and was nominated for the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 2013 Awards Designer of the Year. 3.7.2 Foreign Fashion Brands in Ghana There are some foreign fashion brands that are found on social media and are sold on the Ghanaian market. Among them are three topmost fashion brands per the findings of Digital IQ Index’s Annual Fashion Report (2016). According to l2inc (2016), Digital IQ Index rates the digital performance of luxury brands in the US market in terms of investments in e-commerce, 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh search visibility, social media and mobile aptitude, and social media engagement in the US market. Thus, a fashion brand needs to have a social media presence before Digital Index can include it into its research. The social media platforms that were included in the research were YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. The topmost three fashion brands according to Digital IQ Index’s Annual Fashion Report (2016) are Gucci, Burberry and Ralph Lauren. i. Gucci According to Gucci (2016), Gucci is part of a group that is a world leader in terms of clothing and accessories and has a portfolio of brands, the Kering Group. The Gucci brand has a range of products which include clothing, hand bags and jewelleries for men, women and children. Under the leadership of its creative director, Alessandro Michele, the Gucci brand is strengthening its position as one of the world’s desired brand. The Gucci brand was founded by Guccio Gucci when he started a company for leather products and a small luggage store in his hometown, Florence. Although, Gucci had inspiration while in London and working at Savoy Hotel, he always aimed at returning to Italy, the country of his nationality. The Gucci brand has successfully blended its rich history with the demands of contemporary times and this has helped it to achieve both commercial and critical successes. ii. Burberry According to Burberry (2017), the founder of this brand was Thomas Burberry, a 21- year old in 1856.Burberry provided military clothing and accessories to the British Military in the 1940’s during the Second World War and also provided clothing such as suits, overcoats and weatherproofs for both males and females. Burberry officially provided the outwear for the British Women’s Team for the Olympics games held in Tokyo in 1964. The brand was 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh purchased by UK retailing group Great Universal Stores (GUS) which positioned the brand as a worldwide luxury brand and it opened its first store on Bond Street, London. The brand introduced a social media website ArtoftheTrench.com, which celebrates wearers of its iconic trench coat. iii. Ralph Lauren According to Ralph Lauren (2017), the founder of the fashion brand was born on the 14th October 1939 in America, New York City. Ralph Lauren use to work in retail business at Brooks Brothers and produced neckties. He produced Polo which is currently a reputable international brand that comprises of a range of products such as clothing, fragrances and home furnishings. Lauren received an award, the Coty Award due to his exceptional men’s designs in 1970. After this achievement, Lauren added clothing of line of suits for women. Ralph is now an internationally recognised brand for quality fashion products. 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4.0 Introduction This chapter explains the research methods that were used to carry out the study and discusses the rationale behind the methods chosen in order to attain the objectives set in the first chapter. The methodology consists of the research paradigm, design, population, sample, sampling technique, method of data analysis, ethical considerations, pre-testing of the data collection instrument and mode of data analysis, reliability and validity of the research instrument and mediation analysis. 4.1 Research Paradigm Paradigm is defined as “a set of beliefs, values and techniques which is shared by members of a scientific community, and which acts as a guide or map, dictating the kinds of problems scientists should address and the types of explanations that are acceptable to them” (Kuhn, 2012). The paradigms that are mostly used for social science research are positivism, interpretivist, realism, relativism and critical realism (Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991). A belief held by most philosophers is that the positivist approach to research is the basis for management research in contemporary times and because of that, many researchers reveal their agreement or their disagreement to this approach (Johnson & Duberley, 2000). The philosophical underpinnings of the positivist approach is traced to August Comte, a French philosopher who believed that the approach to understand the behaviour of humans is to adopt methods premised on reasoning and observing (Dash, 2005). Determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and generality are scientific principles inherent in positivism (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2011). Determinism is the ability to control events 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh based on the understanding of the interconnected relationships caused by various situations. The explanation of an occurrence in a detailed but most comprehensive manner is referred to as parsimony and generality entails the summation of the views held by individuals in relation to a research to the world (Dash, 2005). The study adopted positivism since this paradigm allows the collection of large sample and the testing of hypothesis and it is based on unbiased and tangible reality. 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.1 Research Paradigms ONTOLOGY (What is EPISTEMOLOGY (What METHODOLOGY (How the nature of reality?) is the nature of knowledge is knowledge created) generated?) POSITIVISM There is a one, unbiased Value- Free. Knowledge Researchers formulate and tangible reality. created is objective, free of research questions and time impacts, and is hypotheses and then test context-free. them empirically under carefully controlled circumstances. Deductive reasoning INTERPRETIVIST Many realities exist, based Value-Laden. Knowledge Knowledge is made on human experiences and created is subjective, time- through researchers interpretation. Reality is bound and context identifying the various socially designed. dependent. interpretations and constructions of reality that exist, and endeavouring to establish patterns. Inductive logic and emergent design. REALISM Reality is “real” yet just Value-Cognisant/Value- Social phenomenon is partly and probabilistically aware. Findings are understood through comprehensible, so probably hypotheses which are tested triangulation from many true………researcher needs to establish patterns of sources is necessary to to triangulate any associations and hence, the attempt to know it. perceptions collected. most possible explanation. Hypothetico-Deduction Relativism Multiple realities exist. The interpretation of the The construction of Reality as truth is not world requires some form knowledge is influenced by "absolute", it is relative, it of human processing the worldview and research is dependent upon paradigm of a researcher. 'something' and it does Researchers should focus exist. more on creating and developing new 'useful' theories - useful solutions to specific problems. CRITICAL REALISM Two worlds - transitive and Transitive world is value- Researchers seek to intransitive. Transitive is laden and changing deconstruct and understand what we observe and learn continually. Intransitive that structures and with our mind - the world has underlying mechanisms underlying the perceptions of reality. structures and mechanisms subjective realities that Intransitive embodies the that are 'relatively enduring' exist. Triangulation from reality which is - that is what we want to many sources is required to independent of what the study. try to know it. Retroductive mind thinks. reasoning. Source: Boateng (2014) 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.2 Research Design Various definitions of research design exist from various scholars. According to Kumar (2011), a research design is a plan and structure that investigates in order to answer questions in relation to research or problems validly, objectively, accurately and economically. Cooper and Schindler (2008) argue that there is no single definition for research design but defines it as the blueprint for obtaining study objectives and answering research questions. Creswell (2009) also defines research design as plan and process used to undertake a research which is based on decisions from wide assumptions to comprehensive approaches of gathering data and analysing in achieving research objectives and answering research questions. Other scholars such as Hair, Wolfinbarger and Bush (2008) and Zikmund and Babin (2010) have recognised three major research designs which are exploratory, descriptive and causal. Descriptive research deals with the current status of the phenomena in order to achieve a better understanding of the existing situation, but does not take into consideration the cause of the research problem (Tustin, 2005). It describes the characteristics of groups and people (Zikmund & Babin, 2007). According to Hair et al. (2008), an exploratory research provides insights and increases the understanding of a research problem or a phenomenon. However, casual research design collects data that allows decision makers to ascertain the cause and effect relationship between two or more variables. Causal research design was used for this study. In this instance, the study is premised on social media users who are exposed to fashion brands advertising and are in Ghana and reveal their predisposition at a given point in time (decision-making towards effectiveness of social media advertising). There are three main approaches in undertaking a research and these are the qualitative approach, quantitative approach and mixed method approach (Creswell, 2013). 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh According to Creswell (2014), the philosophical strategies and approach adopted contribute to a research method that tends to be either quantitative, qualitative or mixed method. This study, however, employed a quantitative research method, which basically supports the positivist claims for developing knowledge (i.e., cause and effect relationship, questions and hypothesis testing and use of theories) through a research design such as experiments and surveys, data collection and analysis (Cooper & Schindler, 2011; Creswell, 2014). Zikmund (2000) indicated that the rationale behind quantitative research is to determine the quantity or extent of some phenomenon in the form of numbers while qualitative research presents stories, visual portrayals, meaningful characterisations, interpretations and other expressive descriptions. 4.3 Research Population Population is any complete group of entities like people, organisations, institutions, that share some common features in agreement with the purpose of the research under investigation and about which researchers will want to draw conclusions (De Vos, 2003). The study population were users of social media in Ghana who have also seen fashion brands’ advertisements. 4.4 Sampling Technique Sampling is a procedure for selecting research participants (Creswell, 2009). Convenience sampling was used for the study. According to Boateng and Okoe (2015) who conducted research in social media advertising, convenience sampling helps to hasten the data collection exercise and get respondents who are ready and accessible for a study. The use of an entire population to undertake a research will be most difficult and too large. Sampling is undertaken in order to achieve a representation from the entire population under 56 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh consideration in a research (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Therefore, users of social media in educational institutions who were exposed to fashion brands’ advertisements constituted the sample size for the study. The educational institutions included are University of Ghana, University of Professional Studies, Wisconsin International University College and Stream Street College. A large sample size is more desirable (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2009), since there is a relationship between the precision of the research findings and the sample size (Burns & Bush, 2014). The sample size has an effect on the accurate representation of the population. The sample size entails the entire number of elements that the researcher measures. It is difficult to ascertain the sample size (Malhotra, 2012) as a result, Tabachnick and Fidell (2007) proposed a formula for determining the sample size in undertaking regression analysis. The formula is N > 50 + 8m. Where N represents the number of respondents in a study and the number of independent variable is represented by m. The independent variables for this research comprised of three constructs– emotional appeal, advertising creativity and informativeness (therefore, N > 50 + 8(3) = 74). Hair et al. (2008) also asserted that a representative sample for a quantitative should be 300 or more respondents. The sample size for this research which is 510 respondents is desirable since it is consistent with both Tabachnick and Fidell’s (2007) formula and Hair et al. (2008) assertion of not less than 300 respondents. 200 of the respondents were used to conduct exploratory factor analysis while 310 were used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis. 57 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.5 Design of Research Instrument and Data Collection Yin (2003) stipulated that experiment, surveys, archival analysis, history and case studies are varied strategies that can be used for exploratory, descriptive and causal research. The study used the survey approach in data collection and analysis because according to Saunders et al. (2009), survey serves as a basis to provide empirical evidence and the authentication of hypothesis via the collection of a sample size that is large. Furthermore, Bhattacherjee (2012) stipulated that the main merit of survey is its ability to collect a large quantity of data, while its main demerit is its expensive nature due to cost incurred in adequately training field workers (Maree, 2007). Thus, self-administered questionnaires which were structured were distributed to collect the necessary data for the study. Data can be collected from various sources and for various reasons. Data can be used for different purposes, therefore it is important to determine where the sources of data and find the most valid and required data for the specific research purposes (Mason, 2002). Researchers originally collect primary data for particular purpose in current research (Merriam, 2002). In this study, the data collection instrument, specifically, a questionnaire was used to collect data in order to ascertain the effectiveness of social media advertising on the consumer decision-making with the mediating effect of consumer engagement of fashion brands in Ghana. The data was collected from 10th-13th April, 2017. A self-administered survey provides respondents the ability to fill the questionnaire on their own. The benefits inherent in self-administered surveys are the ability to eliminate bias of the interviewer as well as the ability to reach large study populations and achieve satisfactory response rate (Denscombe, 2010; Burns & Bush, 2012; Haydam & Mostert, 2013). The major disadvantage of self-administered questionnaires is the low level of response if it is distributed through post mail, e-mail or online (Bhattacherjee, 2012), however, the 58 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh questionnaires were administered on a face-to-face basis in order to overcome this challenge. There was high rate of response due to the use of face-to-face administration although no incentive was provided for respondents. Another disadvantage of self-administered questionnaires is the difficulty that could arise in obtaining large information from respondents if the survey instrument is too long or too complicated (Blumberg, Cooper & Schindler, 2011). In order to overcome this challenge, the researcher simplified the questionnaire and also assured the respondents that the questionnaire would not take too much time to fill. Two pre-screening questions were asked by researcher in order to find possible respondents (Duffet, 2015) therefore only respondents who were on social media and have seen fashion brands’ advertisement by firms and were in Ghana qualified to participate in the research. The first and second sections of the questionnaire were adapted from Duffet (2015). The first section of the questionnaire included five multiple-choice questions on the demographic physiognomies that included gender, age, educational level, employment status and level of income. The second part of the questionnaire entailed multiple-choice questions that asked respondents questions about their social media usage characteristics in terms being on social media platforms, choice of social media platforms, mostly used platform, usage frequency, device mostly used for access log-in duration and fashion products whose brands advertisements have been seen on social media by respondents . The third section focused on social media advertising, consumer engagement and consumer decision-making of fashion brands in Ghana. The five-point Likert scale for social media advertising was adapted from Lee and Hong (2016) and that of consumer engagement was adapted from Barger et al. (2016). That of consumer decision-making was also adapted from Liang and Lai (2002) and Darley et al. (2010). 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.6 Ethical consideration The respondents were assured of strict confidentiality and their identity were protected since they were not made to write their names on the data collection instrument, the questionnaire in this case and the researcher’s objectives and purpose of the study were properly explained to the respondents. In addition, the questionnaire also stated that the honest responses were required (see in Narteh, 2013). Confidentiality nature of the survey also accounted for the high response rate. According to Podsakoff, MacKenzie and Lee (2003), “these procedures should reduce people’s evaluation apprehension and make them less likely to edit their responses to be more socially desirable, lenient, acquiescent and consistent with how the researcher wants them to respond”. 4.7 Pre-testing of Data Collection Instrument Pre-test and pilot studies are carried out on a small subgroup of the population to ascertain whether the research instrument and method to collect data are relevant, dependable and valid (Du Plooy, 2009; Bhattacherjee, 2012). The questionnaire was pre-tested among 50 University of Ghana students in order to check the reliability of the scales, wording and question order and the ability of respondents to understand the meaning of the questions. This is consistent with Saunders, et al. (2009) who asserts that, a questionnaire that is pre-tested helps to refine some of the questions in order to make the questions suitable for respondents. 4.8 Mode of Data Analysis There are two main techniques that researchers adopt to analyse data. These are qualitative and quantitative techniques. The rationale behind the use of qualitative analysis is to achieve results that are not numerical based and interpreted to provide meanings as well as establish relationships. Quantitative data analysis is a technique that presents the researcher the opportunity to make findings based on numbers. Quantified data provides a description and 60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh explanation of the phenomena which those data reflect (Babbie, 2004). Since the study was a quantitative one, the researcher employed the use of IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20 and undertook structural equation modelling with AMOS version 21. The SPSS software has been used extensively by various researchers in quantitative study in analysing data (Wong & Merilees 2005; Herrmann, Henneberg & Landwehr, 2010; Roy & Banerjee 2012; Asamoah, 2014). Primary data was collected with the aid of a questionnaire and the data was coded and inserted into the SPSS software. The data was checked for errors in order to ensure that, the data in the SPSS was consistent with the collected data from the field before undertaking exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Pallant (2011) asserts that screening of data should follow three steps. These include data error check on every variable, location of place of error occurrence and deleting or correcting of error. These steps were rigorously followed and due to that, data inserted into the SPSS system were rightly done and there were no missing values as well. The researcher used descriptive statistics, undertook exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factory analysis and multiple regression as a means of achieving the research objectives set. 4.8.1 Factor Analysis According to Tabachnick and Fidell (2007) and Pallant (2011), factor analysis can be categorised into two major types. These are exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Factor analysis is of much significance to researchers who develop and evaluate items and test those items. Exploratory factor analysis is the initial stage of the research in order to identify and obtain the relevant information about the interrelationship that exists among a set of variables. Hair et al.(2010) argued that EFA can be used for 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “examining the underlying patterns or relationships for a large number of variables and to determine whether the information can be condensed or summarised in a smaller set of factors or components.’’ In undertaking exploratory factor analysis, the researcher adhered to the three processes which were propounded by Pallant (2011).The three steps include assessing the appropriateness of the data, undertaking extraction of factor and factor rotation and interpretation. Confirmatory factor analysis is undertaken after the exploratory factor analysis stage. Whereas the exploratory factor analysis explores, the confirmatory factor analysis confirms. Thus, exploratory factor analysis is employed to test the hypothesis stated in a research or theories in relation to the structure that underpins a set of variables (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007; Pallant, 2011). In this study, the researcher collected a first set of data which was 250 to undertake exploratory factor analysis and a second set of data of 310 to undertake the confirmatory factor analysis. This is consistent with the recommendation by Brown (2015) who argued that separate data sets should be used to perform exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).Using the same data set would merely fit the EFA results directly to the CFA (O'Rourke & Hatcher, 2013). Therefore, an EFA was performed on an initial sample, and CFA was performed on a subsequent, separate sample. 4.8.2 Structural Equation Modelling According to Ullman (2006), structural equation modelling is a technique for multivariate data analysis that examines the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is an analytical technique that is used to test various hypotheses whether functional, predictive or causal hypotheses (Schumacker & Lomax, 2004). Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson and Tatham (2006) define structural equation modelling as a family of statistical models that seek to explain the relationships among multiple 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh variables, and it examines the structure of interrelationships expressed in a series of equations, similar to a series of multiple regression equations (Hair et al., 2006).There are three characteristics of SEM which makes it a unique statistical technique in multivariate data analysis.  estimating of multiple interrelated dependence relationships  incorporating latent variables not measured directly  defining a model Today, SEM has become a well-known technique. Several textbooks (e.g., Hair et al., 2006) have been published and different software packages like AMOS, LISREL and EQS for computers have been developed (Henriksen & Pedersen, 2007). This has made SEM an easily accessible analytical method. Hair et al. (2006) indicated that SEM estimates a series of separate, but interdependent variables. Normally, researchers will base the proposed relationship of a model upon the theory and prior experience and then translate these variables into a series of structural equations for each dependent variable. SEM has the ability to incorporate latent variables into the analysis and it provides the measurement model which specifies the rules of correspondence between measured and latent variables. It can also improve statistical estimation, represent the theoretical framework and identify the measurement error. A complete SEM model consists of measurement and structural models. A model should always be developed based on some underlying theory. A structural model involves specifying structural relationships between latent constructs which can be related to measured variables with a dependence relationship. Two types of relationships are possible among constructs. The first is a dependence relationship, which is always depicted by a straight arrow and used between an exogenous construct and an endogenous construct. The second is a correlation relationship, which is depicted by a two-headed arrow connection, which can be shared only between exogenous constructs. 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Structural equation modelling is a contemporary statistical technique which is beneficial because of its ability to take into consideration errors that previous statistical tools could not take into consideration (Edwards & Bagozzi, 2000). Bagozzi and Yi (2012) provided a summary of the benefits that are derived from using structural equation modelling. Apart from taking error into consideration, the statistical technique also has the capacity to test models which possess several dependent variables. The test of both moderating and mediating variables is also possible with the use of structural equation modelling. The usage of structural equation modelling is easier in AMOS, STATA, LISREL or MPlus. The analytical tool is able to effectively deal with challenging data. SEM has the capacity to holistically test models rather than reliance on individual coefficients. In undertaking research whether cross-sectional or longitudinal, survey method or experimental research, SEM is of significance in such instances whether within or across groups, organisations or cultural settings. Structural equation modelling presents an opportunity for the blend of factor analysis and multiple regressions. SEM allows analysis of complicated dependent relationships (Bagozzi & Yi, 2012). Byrne (2013) asserted that structural equation is of significance because of its ability to assess and test relationships of various constructs with a particular model (Byrne, 2013). The researcher used the framework proposed by Jöreskog and Sörbom (1996) as well as Byrne (2013) in testing the various hypotheses. There are two widely used approaches in performing SEM: one-stage and two-stage. The one-stage approach (also called a single-stage approach) purposes to process the analysis of both the measurement and structural models simultaneously (Kline, 2005; Schumacker & Lomax, 2004). In the two-stage approach, the measurement model and structural model estimation are separated (Hair et al., 2010). The 64 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh researcher adopted the two-stage approach which according to Anderson and Gerbing (1988) helps to avert any interaction between constructs which are of no importance when undertaking a test within the structural model. Thus, both exploratory and confirmatory analysis where conducted. According to Kline (2005), the measurement model is of significance because it presents estimates of relationships within the various constructs which helps structural tests and also help to ascertain whether various constructs meet the requisite criteria for validity and reliability. 4.9 Testing Model Fitness According to Hu and Bentler (1999); Bagozzi and Yi (2012); Hair et al., (2014), the structural model’s goodness of fit is evaluated using Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA), the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) and the Comparative Fit index (CFI), Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Normed Fit Index (NFI). The researchers asserted that Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA ≤ 0.08), Goodness of Fit Index (GFI ≥ 0.90), Normed Fit Index (NFI ≥ 0.90) and Comparative Fit Index (CFI ≥ 0.90) are requirements for structural goodness fit. The research took into consideration all indices in order to satisfy the goodness of level at the structural model stage. These indices are all of significance to the researcher because of the ability to determine how well a conceptualised model fits empirical data collected for a study and this process includes the choice of various fit indices (Schumacher & Lomax, 2004; Hair et al., 2010; Bagozzi & Yi, 2012).According to Hu and Bentler (1999), the sufficiency of created model of a covariance matrix considers the application of χ2 goodness-of-fit value but a sample size which is large can cause the χ2 to be inflated. As a result, many researchers have adopted the method of dividing the χ2 the degree of freedom. A Normed Chi Square value which is less than 3 is considered acceptable. The use of these 65 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh indices is consistent with assertion by Kline (2005) and Byrne (2013) who argue that these indices are the ones that social sciences widely regard as acceptable. 4.10 Reliability and Validity of the Research Instrument Reliability and validity are mechanisms that are used to ensure that the questionnaire is devoid of any misinterpretation or bias (Golafshani, 2003; Roberts, Priest & Traynor, 2006). Hair, Babin, Money and Samouel (2003) also argued that it also is a requirement for achieving consistent findings in more than one study. 4.10.1 Reliability of the Research Instrument Cronbach alpha serves as a measurement of reliability of the data collection instrument specifically the questionnaire. The Cronbach alpha value should be 7.0 before a data collection instrument can be deemed reliable (Cronbach 1951). Some scholars have also proposed that, a Cronbach alpha value that is above 5.0 is acceptable value for reliability test for an exploratory research. Apart from the Cronbach alphas, composite reliability (CR), and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) were all reliability measures that were considered in this study. Whereas the AVE indicates the level of variance that scales share with constructs, CR measures various different but similar items. 4.10.2 Validity of Research Instrument According to Streiner (2013), validity is the ability of a scale to measure what it is expected to be measured. The types of validity include content validity and construct validity. The study applied both content validity and construct validity. The sufficiency that a research instrument has sampled out of the total population is called content validity. Construct validity on the other hand refers to subjecting scales testing not based on a single criterion but through theory based hypotheses in relation to a construct or variable (Pallant, 2011). 66 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Construct validity was done by undertaking Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. 4.11 Mediation Analysis The conceptual model for the study points out the presence of some mediation from the predictor variables to the outcome variable. Baron and Kenny (1986) define a mediator as any variable which “accounts for the relation between the predictor and the criterion.” In terms of process analysis, the role of mediation and moderation cannot be underestimated due to their significant role (Hayes, 2013). A mediator is a variable that “accounts for the relation between the predictor and the criterion.” A moderator is “a qualitative or quantitative variable that affects the direction and/or strength of the relation between an independent and dependent or criterion variable” (Baron & Kenny, 1986). According to Hayes (2013), moderators are used by researchers to ascertain the situation in which a specific impact can be expected. Mediators on the other hand are of much significance in recognising the machinery in which casual variables have impact on outcome variables. This study relied on the mediation analysis in order to establish the relationship between effectiveness of social media advertising and consumer decision-making with consumer engagement as a mediator. 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE ANALYSES OF DATA AND DISCUSSION 5.0 Introduction This chapter presents quantitative analysis in order to meet the research objectives that were set in the first chapter. The analysis commences with the descriptive statistics of the sample that were selected out of the total population. Afterwards, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) findings were highlighted. The results of a series of reliability and validity tests that were conducted in order to determine the suitability of the items were presented. Furthermore, this chapter also presents both the measurement and the structural model and the mediating results based on the conceptual framework after collected data was submitted to structural equation modelling. 5.1 Data Editing, Coding and Screening and Entry According to Saunders et al. (2009), there are a number of activities that must be undertaken after data has been collected before the commencement of the analysis. The data was inputted into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (S.P.S.S.). The researcher coded and screened the data in order to correct errors and remove all missing values. Coakes (2006) asserts that, screening data helps to eliminate inputs that could skew the research findings. This is also consistent with Baumgartner and Homburg (1996) who asserted that, these processes ensure that the data is error free and suitable for analysis purposes. 68 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2 Descriptive Statistics Pallant (2011) stipulated that, statistical analysis is the fundamental analysis that must be undertaken before data is further subjected to further validation analysis. Descriptive statistics provide a measurement of central tendency. Table 5.1: Descriptive Statistics: Demographic Profile of Respondents Profile of Respondents Freq. % Gender Male 153 49.4 Female 157 50.6 Age 18-27 146 79.4 28-37 33 10.6 38-47 26 8.4 48-57 2 0.6 58 and + 3 1 Educational Level Senior High School 40 12.9 Diploma 8 2.6 Degree 219 70.6 Post-Graduate 43 13.9 Employment Status Unemployed 75 24.2 Salaried worker 180 58.1 Self-employed 50 16.1 Retired 5 1.6 Income Level None 12 3.9 100-399 33 10.6 400-699 186 60 700-999 35 11.3 1000 and + 44 14.2 Social Media Platform Usage Yes 310 100 No 0 0 Marital Status Single 267 86.1 Married 33 10.6 Separated 7 2.3 Divorced 3 1 69 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Social Media Platform Mostly Used Facebook 229 73.9 Twitter 30 9.7 Instagram 27 8.7 YouTube 24 7.7 Daily 232 74.8 Frequency of Social Media Usage Once a Week 19 6.2 More than Once a 43 13.9 Week Once a Month 10 3.2 More than Once a 6 1.9 Month Mostly Used Device to Access Social Mobile Device Only 147 47.5 Media PC Only 11 3.5 Mobile Device and 152 49 PC Fashion Products Advertised on Social Yes 255 82.3 Media Clothing No 55 17.7 Footwear Yes 192 61.9 No 118 38.1 Bags Yes 160 51.6 No 150 48.4 Watches Yes 145 46.8 No 165 53.2 Source: Field Data, 2017 There were 153 males and 157 females representing 50.6 % and 49.4% respectfully out of a sample size of 310. 146 respondents’ ages ranged between 18-27 representing 79.4% of the sample size. 33 of the respondents were within the ages of 28-37 representing 10.6% of the sample size. 26 of the participants were between the ages of 38-47 representing 8.4% of the sample size. There were 2 respondents whose ages ranged between 48-57 representing 0.6% off the sample size and 3 of the respondents were 58 and above representing 1% of the 70 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh sample size. In terms of educational background, there were 40 respondents who had completed senior high school representing 12.9%. The diploma level was 8 representing 2.6% of the sample size. Degree level had 219 respondents representing 70.6% and the post- graduate level had 43 respondents representing 13.9% of the sample size. Respondents had varied employment levels as well. The findings indicated that 75 of the respondents representing 24.2% were unemployed. A total of 180 respondents representing 58.1% were salaried workers. The findings also revealed that 50 respondents of the sample representing 16.1% were self-employed. There were 5 respondents who were retired workers representing 1.6% of the respondents. In terms of income levels, 35 of the respondents representing 11.3% did not have regular income. 33 of the respondents representing 10.6% had income level ranging from GH 100- GH 399. 186 participants representing 60% received income within the range of GH 400-699.In addition, 12 participants representing 3.9% received income within the range of GH 700-999. 44 of the participants representing 14.2 % also received income that of GH 1000 and above. This study used individuals who were users of social media platforms as the sample. As a result, the researcher asked respondents to indicate whether they have used social media platforms and were exposed to fashion brands advertisements in order to screening and obtain the right respondents. As a result, the respondents totalling 310 indicated that they have all used social media platforms and were exposed to fashion brand advertisement. The findings also indicated that 267 out of 310 participants of the sample size representing 86.1% where single. A total of 33 representing 10.6% were married. The statistics also indicated that, 7 participants representing 2.3% were separated and 3 respondents representing 1% were divorced. 71 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Four social media platforms were considered for the study based on the recommendations of scholars such as Duffet (2015) and Hennig-Thurau et al. (2010) that studies should be conducted into several social media platforms. The social media platforms were Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The selected platforms were based on responses from the pre-testing responses. 229 respondents representing 73.9% mostly used Facebook platform. Twitter was the second ranked social media platform mostly used with 30 respondents representing 9.7%. Instagram had 27 respondents representing 8.7% was the third mostly used platform. YouTube was the least used social media platform among the respondents. 24 of the respondents representing 7.7% mostly used YouTube. Most of the respondents used social media platform daily. This is because, 232 respondents representing 74.8% used social media on a day-to-day basis. This is confirms finding by Tuurosong and Faisal (2014) that most subscribers of social media in Ghana use it daily. Out of a sample size of 310, 19 of the participants accessed social media platform once a week representing 6.2%. 43 of the respondents representing 13.9% used social media platforms more than once in a month. 10 participants representing 3.2% used social media once a month and 6 respondents representing 1.9% accessed social media platforms more than once in a month. In terms of the mobile device that is mostly use to access social media, 152 respondents representing 49% indicated that they use both mobile device and personal computers. The study also revealed that, 147 participants representing 47.5% used mobile device only and 11 respondents representing 3.5% use personal computers only. The study also revealed that advertisement on clothing was the most fashion product seen by respondents on social media. 255 participants out of a sample size of 310 representing 82.3% had seen fashion clothing advertisement on social media. Footwear was the second ranked fashion product advertisement seen on social media by respondents. 192 respondents representing 61.9% had seen social media advertisement of fashion products. Bag was the third ranked fashion 72 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh product advertisement seen by respondents on social media platforms. The number of respondents was 160 representing 51.6%.Watch was the fourth product advertisement mostly seen on social media with 145 respondents representing 46.8%. The products were selected based on feedback received during the pre-testing of the questionnaire. From the table below, the highest mean was 3.90 (Information from fashion brands’ adverts on social media is useful) while the lowest was 2.75 (I like fashion brands’ adverts on social media because non- friends ‘liked’ or ‘hearted’ them). The 35 variables displayed in the table below represented the components of the 7 main constructs depicted in the conceptual framework for the study. Effectiveness of Social Media Advertising had three constructs which included Emotional Appeal (Ea), Informativeness (Inf) and Advertising Creativity (Ac). The mediating variable which is consumer engagement had three constructs. These were Consumer Reactions (Cr), Consumer Comments (Cc) and Consumer Sharing of Content (Csc). The dependent variable which was Consumer Decision-Making had 1 Construct which was Consumer Purchasing Decision (Cpp). Table 5.2 Descriptive Statistics: Variable Code, Mean, SE Mean and Std. Deviation Scale Items Variable Mean SE Std. code Mean Deviation I am emotionally attached to fashion brands’ adverts on Ea1 3.17 0.07 1.19 social media The emotional content makes me pay attention to Ea2 3.11 0.06 1.14 fashion brands’ adverts on social media I like fashion brands’ adverts on social media because Ea3 2.99 0.06 1.11 of the emotional content in the adverts I am satisfied with fashion brands’ adverts on social Ea4 2.90 0.06 1.00 media because of the emotional content I tell others of fashion brands’ adverts on social media Ea5 2.86 0.06 1.13 because of the emotional content Fashion brands’ adverts on social media is a source of Inf1 3.83 0.06 1.00 information to me Information from fashion brands’ adverts on social Inf2 3.90 0.05 0.88 media is useful I learn a lot from watching fashion brands’ adverts on Inf3 3.76 0.05 0.93 social media 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I am satisfied with information received from fashion Inf4 3.49 0.05 0.95 brands’ adverts on social media I tell others of fashion brands’ adverts on social media Inf5 3.41 0.06 1.06 because of the information content I consider fashion brands’ adverts on social media Ac1 3.32 0.06 1.01 unique I consider fashion brands’ adverts on social media Ac2 2.96 0.06 1.05 surprising I consider fashion brands’ adverts on social media Ac3 3.50 0.05 0.95 exciting I am satisfied with the creativity of fashion brands’ Ac4 3.55 0.05 0.94 adverts on social media I tell others of fashion brands’ adverts because they are Ac5 3.36 0.06 1.02 creative I pay attention to ‘likes’ or‘ hearts’ of fashion brands’ Cr1 3.24 0.06 1.11 adverts on social media I like fashion brands’ adverts on social media because Cr2 2.89 0.06 1.08 friends ‘liked’ or ‘hearted’ them I like fashion brands’ adverts on social media because Cr3 2.75 0.06 1.06 non- friends ‘liked’ or ‘hearted’ them I prefer fashion brands’ adverts on social media with Cr4 3.13 0.06 1.07 more ‘likes’ or ‘hearts’ I adopt the choice of consumers who ‘liked’ or ‘hearted’ Cr5 2.99 0.06 1.06 fashion brands’ adverts on social media I pay attention to consumer comments about fashion Cc1 3.61 0.06 1.08 brands’ adverts on social media I am influenced by comments from friends about Cc2 3.37 0.06 1.07 fashion brands’ adverts on social media I am influenced by comments from non-friends about Cc3 3.26 0.06 1.04 fashion brands’ adverts on social media I prefer fashion brands’ adverts on social media with Cc4 3.43 0.06 1.00 more consumer comments I adopt the choice of consumers because of their Cc5 3.29 0.06 1.01 comments about fashion brands’ advert on social media I pay attention to fashion brands’ adverts shared by Csc1 3.42 0.05 0.95 social media consumers I am influenced by fashion brands’ adverts shared by Csc2 3.38 0.06 0.97 friends on social media I am influenced by fashion brands’ adverts shared by Csc3 3.09 0.06 1.02 non- friends on social media I prefer fashion brands’ adverts on social media shared Csc4 3.46 0.06 1.01 by more consumers I adopt the choice of consumers who share fashion Csc5 3.25 0.06 1.01 brands’ adverts on social media I recognise a need in fashion brands’ adverts on social Cpp1 3.66 0.06 1.05 media I search for information in fashion brands’ adverts on Cpp2 3.61 0.06 1.04 social media 74 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I evaluate alternatives to buy based on fashion brands’ Cpp3 3.58 0.06 1.01 adverts on social media I have purchased because of fashion brands’ adverts on Cpp4 3.35 0.06 1.10 social media My behaviour after purchase is influenced by fashion Cpp5 3.28 0.06 1.12 brands’ adverts on social media Source: Field Data, 2017 5.3 Exploratory Factor Analysis Principal Component Analysis was undertaken with Eigen values greater than 1. A Varimax Rotation was conducted and small co-efficients were suppressed. The absolute value was 0.5.The principal component analysis was conducted based on the responses of the 35 scales on the likert scale with the aid of SPSS version 20. The correlation matrix indicated a lot of coefficients with acceptable values of 0.3 and above. In addition, Kaiser (1970) asserted that the suitable value for the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) should be 0.6 or above. The value for the KMO was .929. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity Bartlett (1954) reached statistical significance (Approx.: Chi-square= 6949, df. 780, sig. 0.000) which aided the correlation matrix to be factorised. Table 5.3 KMO and Bartlett’s Test Results Source: Field Data, 2017 75 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 5.4 Rotated Component Matrix Results Rotated Component Matrix and Internal Consistencies Principal Component Loadings Internal Consistencies Varimax Variance Cronbach's Item- Total Alpha if Item Items Variables Explained Alphas Correlation is deleted Factor 1 Inf2 0.8 61.279 0.841 0.715 0.788 Inf1 0.739 0.643 0.806 Inf3 0.65 0.663 0.8 Inf4 0.544 0.58 0.822 Inf5 0.531 0.622 0.813 Factor 2 Ea2 0.822 68.526 0.885 0.851 0.715 Ea3 0.798 0.849 0.663 Ea1 0.793 0.861 0.643 Ea4 0.737 0.86 0.58 Ea5 0.679 0.873 0.622 Factor 3 Cc2 0.728 60.057 0.832 0.735 0.769 Cc1 0.688 0.65 0.794 Cc5 0.628 0.62 0.803 Cc4 0.616 0.609 0.805 Cc3 0.557 0.62 0.822 Factor 4 Cr2 0.756 67.212 0.837 0.683 0.787 Cr5 0.722 0.662 0.796 Cr4 0.698 0.69 0.784 Cr1 0.559 0.638 0.808 Factor 5 Cpp4 0.696 62.506 0.798 0.649 0.728 Cpp3 0.637 0.647 0.731 Cpp5 0.612 0.56 0.774 Cpp2 0.597 0.59 0.757 Factor 6 Ac1 0.668 54.877 0.726 0.528 0.657 Ac2 0.598 0.538 0.651 Ac5 0.578 0.531 0.655 Ac4 0.535 0.464 0.693 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax Source: Field Data, 2017 76 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Data dimension or reduction was done in order to drop some scales or items that were inappropriate for further analysis in the research. As a result, rotated component matrix was undertaken and the threshold was set at 0.5. All variables that did not load and those that fell below 0.5 were dropped. The table above indicates the various constructs and items that loaded well .Out of a total of 35 items, 27 loaded very well. All the items in the constructs of effectiveness of social media advertising namely emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity were maintained with the exception of one item under advertising creativity for further analysis. In terms of the mediating variable, consumer engagement, the scales for consumer sharing of content were dropped because of poor loadings. All 5 items under consumer comments were maintained and 1 out of the 5 items of consumer reactions was dropped. In terms of the dependent variable, consumer purchasing decisions, 4 of the items were maintained while 1 dropped. Internal consistencies were examined through the use of Cronbach Alpha and item-total correlation values. The retained scales or items met the threshold for Cronbach alpha of 7.0. According to Cronbach (1951), the Cronbach Alpha value should be 7.0 or above before a data collection instrument can be deemed reliable. Reliability is defined as the degree to which measurement duplicates outcomes that are consistent if the procedural measurement steps are repeated (Malhotra & Birks, 2007). 5.4 Confirmatory Factor Analysis The codes of the variables that were used in the exploratory factor analysis were maintained at the confirmatory factor analysis. Model fit criteria commonly used in absolute fit are chi- square (χ²), goodness-of-fit index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), root-mean- square residual (RMR) and Root-Mean-Square-Error of Approximation (RMSEA). These criteria are based on differences between the observed and model-implied correlation or covariance matrix (Hair et al., 2014). Comparative fit deals with whether the model being considered is better than a competing model in accounting for observed data. Comparative fit 77 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh assessment is based on the examination of a “baseline” model in comparison with theoretically derived models (Kelloway, 1998). Some criteria in this category include normed fit index (NFI), comparative fit index (CFI) and the relative non-centrality index (RNI). The following fit indexes were used to evaluate how well the measurement model fit the data collected, with each one having conventionally acceptable values: Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA ≤ 0.08), Goodness of Fit Index (GFI ≥ 0.90), Normed Fit Index (NFI ≥ 0.90) and Comparative Fit Index (CFI ≥ 0.90) (Bagozzi & Yi, 2012; Hair et al., 2014). The sufficiency of the theorised model’s creation of a covariance matrix is evaluated by the χ2 goodness-of-fit value; it also estimates coefficients compared with the observed covariance matrix. However, since the value of χ2 is affected by the sample size, a large number of participants can cause χ2 to be inflated when assessing model fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Many researchers have applied the method that divides the value of χ2 by degrees of freedom instead of relying only on the overall χ2 and its associated test of significance. It is typically suggested that a χ2/df ratio (Normed Chi square) of less than 3 is favourable for a large sample. These fit indices were employed to assess the strength and acceptability of the construct measurements. The selection of these fit indices was based on the classification proposed by Kline (2005) and Byrne (2013) as being the most commonly accepted criteria in social sciences. 78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 5.5: Improvement in Fit of Measurement Model Fit Indices Phase Modification GFI RMSEA NFI CFI AGFI χ2/df Original I 0.846 0.062 0.83 0.899 0.812 2.177 Model Deleted: Inf3, II Inf4, Ac4, Cr2, 0.961 0.14 0.955 0.997 0.941 1.061 Cr4,Cpp 5 Source: Field Data, 2017 The table above shows the items that were deleted in order to achieve the fit indices. 5.4 2 Final Measurement Model Figure 5.1 Final Measurement Model Source: Field Data, 2017 79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The final measurement model achieved after some items were deleted. EAA represent Emotional Appeal, INFOR represents Informativeness and ACC represents Advertising Creativity. These are the constructs for the independent variable (Social Media Effectiveness). Consumer Engagement which is the mediating variable is constituted by CRR (Consumer Reactions) and CCC (Consumer Comments). Consumer Purchasing Decision is the dependent variable with (CPPD). Table 5.6 shows the fit indices. Table 5.6: Model Fit Measures. Model Fit Measures Measure Estimate Threshold Interpretation CMIN 108.207 - - DF 102 - - CMIN/DF 1.061 Between 1 and 3 Excellent CFI 0.997 >0.95 Excellent SRMR 0.04 <0.08 Excellent RMSEA 0.014 <0.06 Excellent Pclose 1 >0.05 Excellent Source: Field Data, 2017 The above results were generated by the AMOS version 21 .Other fit indices obtained are GFI .961, AGFI .941, NFI .955, IFI .997, TLI .996, CFI .997, RMSEA .014. These are consistent with Hu and Bentler (1999) and Bagozzi and Li (2012) for model fit. 80 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.4.1 Validity and Reliability of Final Model Table 5.7 Correlation Matrix EAA INFOR ACC CRR CCC CPPP EAA 0.805 INFOR 0.345 0.726 ACC 0.344 0.393 0.742 CRR 0.359 0.403 0.487 0.762 CCC 0.219 0.37 0.345 0.552 0.816 CPPD 0.251 0.389 0.322 0.347 0.345 0.738 Source: Field Data, 2017 There were no validity concerns. The results above presents the validity test results after model fit for the final measurement model. EAA, INFOR and ACC where the constructs for the independent variable, Effectiveness of Social Media Advertising; CRR and CCC where the constructs for Consumer Engagement and CPPD was the construct for Consumer Decision-Making. Table 5.8 Validity and Reliability of Final Model Standardised Items Loadings CR AVE Cronbach α EAA Ea1 0.75 0.902 0.649 0.913 Sou Ea2 0.79 Ea3 0.9 rce Ea4 0.81 Ea5 0.76 : INFOR Inf1 0.76 0.768 0.527 0.75 Inf2 0.77 Fiel Inf5 0.64 ACC Ac1 0.79 0.709 0.55 0.705 d Ac2 0.69 CRR Cr1 0.84 0.733 0.581 0.723 Dat Cr4 0.67 CCC Cc1 0.84 0.799 0.666 0.798 a, Cc2 0.79 CPPD Cpd2 0.72 0.78 0.544 0.77 201 Cpd3 0.84 Cpd4 0.64 7 The reliability measures in this study are above the acceptable satisfactory levels (Cronbach’s alphas > .70, Average Variance Extracted > .50, composite reliability > .70) as recommended 81 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh by scholars (Fornell and Larcker, 1981; Vandenbosch, 1996). Furthermore, the factor loadings (ranging from 0.64 to 0.9) showed good convergent validity. The resulting validity and reliability indicators of the final measurement model together with their correlations are displayed above. Thus, the measurement model represented above is regarded as the model which adequately fits the data for this research. 5.4.2 Structural Model: Testing Independent and Dependent Relationship Figure 5.2 Independent and Dependent Variable Relationship Source: Field Data, 2017 Hypothesis relationship with the independent variable which are emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity and the dependent variable, consumer decision- making are tested with age as a control variable. Hypothesis: H1: There is a positive relationship between Emotional Appeal (EAAA) in Social Media Advertising Effectiveness and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM). H2: There is a positive relationship between Informativeness (INFOR) in Social Media Advertising Effectiveness and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM). 82 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh H3: There is a positive relationship between Advertising Creativity in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM). The following fit indices were achieved. The model fit indices are χ2/df 1.885, GFI 0.993, AGFI 0.964, NFI 0.951, IFI 0.976, and TLI 0.916. CFI 0.975, RMSEA 0.054, PCLOSE 0.378. These are consistent with Hu and Bentler (1999) and Bagozzi and Li (2012) for model fit. Table 5.9 Significance Testing Results β T- P- Relationship SE Outcome Estimate Values Values Hypothesis Hypothesis 1:Emotional Appeal has a Positive Not Relationship With EAA--> CDM 0.09 0.048 1.907 0.056 Supported Consumer Decision- Making Hypothesis 2: Informativeness has a Positive Relationship with INFOR >CDM 0.27 0.066 4.022 *** Supported Consumer Decision- Making Hypothesis 3: Advertising Creativity has a Positive relationship with ACCC->CDM 0.16 0.052 3.089 0.002 Supported Consumer Decision- Making Source: Field Data, 2017 Table 5.9 explains the direct relationship among the various constructs of the independent variable (Effectiveness of Social Media Advertising) and the dependent variable (Consumer Decision-Making). Emotional Appeal which is a construct for effectiveness of social media advertising does not have a significant relationship with consumer decision-making and as a result of that, the 83 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh hypothesis is not supported. This is because, a construct or a variable must have a t-value ≥ 1.96 and p-value ≤ 0.05 in order for the relationship to be supported and since the relationship between emotional appeal and consumer decision-making has t-value <1.96 which is 1.907 and a corresponding p-value of 0.056 which is >0.05, there is no significant relationship. Informativeness which is a construct for effectiveness of social media advertising has a significant relationship with consumer decision-making and as a result of that, the hypothesis is supported. This is because, a construct or a variable must have a t-value ≥ 1.96 and p-value ≤ 0.05 in order for the relationship to be supported and since the relationship between emotional appeal and consumer decision-making has t-value is > 1.96 which is 4.022 and a corresponding p-value (***) which is <0.05, there is a significant relationship. Advertising Creativity which is a construct for effectiveness of social media advertising has a significant relationship with consumer decision-making and as a result of that, the hypothesis is supported. This is because, a construct or a variable must have a t-value ≥1.96 and p-value ≤ 0.05 in order for the relationship to be supported and since the relationship between advertising creativity and consumer decision-making has t-value > 1.96 which is 3.089 and a corresponding p-value of 0.002 which is <0.05, there is a significant relationship. 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.4.3 Structural Model: Testing Independent Variable Relationship and Dependent Variable with Mediator Figure 5.3 Independent, Dependent and Mediating Variable Relationship Source: Field Data, 2017 Effectiveness of Social Media Advertising which is the independent variable is represented by Emotional Appeal, Informativeness and Consumer Decision-making which is the dependent variable with Consumer Engagement as the mediator. The model fit indices are χ2/df 1.955, GFI 0.992, AGFI 0 .957, NFI 0.961 IFI 0.981, TLI 0.923. CFI 0.979, RMSEA .042, PCLOSE 0.363 .The indices are consistent with Hu and Bentler (1999) and Bagozzi and Yi (2012) thresholds for fit indices. The table below presents insights into hypotheses 4-6 which highlight the relationship between Emotional Appeal, Informativeness and Advertising Creativity and Consumer Decision-Making with the presence of the mediating variable, Consumer Engagement. 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The researcher used bootstrapping by Preacher and Hayes (2004) in determining the indirect effects in the mediation models. Table 5.10 Structural Model Assessment Results MEDIATION TEST Direct Without Direct WithMediator Mediator Indirect Effect Mediation β β β Effect Estimate P- Estimate P- Estimate P- Value Value Value Hypothesis 4:Consumer Engagement Mediates the relationship between 0.09 0.056 0.08 0.174 0.03 0.007 No Emotional Appeal and Mediation Consumer Decision- Making Hypothesis 5:Consumer Engagement Mediates the relationship between 0.27 (***) 0.18 0.011 0.05 0.001 Partial Informativeness and Mediation Consumer Decision- Making Hypothesis 6:Consumer Engagement Mediates the relationship between 0.16 0.002 0.12 0.58 0.06 0.023 Full Advertising Creativity and Mediation Consumer Decision- Making Source: Field Data, 2017 Hypothesis 4: Consumer Engagement mediates the relationship between Emotional Appeal and Consumer Decision-Making Consumer Engagement does not mediate the relationship between Emotional Appeal in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making since the relationship is not significant and as a result of that mediation could not occur. Thus, the hypothesis is not supported. 86 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Hypothesis 5: Consumer Engagement mediates the relationship between Informativeness and Consumer Decision-Making. Consumer Engagement partially mediates the relationship between Informativeness in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making. Thus, the hypothesis is supported. Hypothesis 6: Consumer Engagement mediates the relationship between Advertising Creativity and Consumer Decision-Making Consumer Engagement fully mediates the relationship between Advertising Creativity in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making. Thus, the hypothesis is supported. 5.5 Discussion of Findings The discussions of the findings are presented below. H1: There is a positive relationship between Emotional Appeal (EAAA) in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM) The research finding indicated that emotional appeal in social media advertising does not influence consumer decision-making. This is because, the relationship between emotional appeal and consumer decision-making is not supported. Thus, emotional appeal in a social media advertisement does not directly influences consumer decision-making. This finding is contrary to Xie, Donthu, Lohtia and Osmonbekov (2004); Swani, Milne and Brown (2013) who asserted that emotional messages affect the decisions that consumers make due to the presence of social media advertisement but it is consistent with research findings of Lee and Hong (2016) which indicated that emotional appeal does not affect consumer decision making. 87 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh H2: There is a positive relationship between Informativeness (INFOR) in Social Media Advertising and Consumer Decision-Making (CDM) The finding supported the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between informative content of a social media advertisement and consumer decision-making. Thus, informativeness in social media advertising directly influences consumer decision-making. This confirms finding of Resnik and Bruce (1977) who asserted that the presence of information in an advertising material aids consumers to take decisions that are more intelligent and will serve their interest when buying. The findings also confirm that of Lee and Hong (2016) which revealed that informativeness affect consumer decision-making. H3: There is a positive relationship between Advertising Creativity and Consumer Decision- Making (CDM) The finding supported the existence of a positive relationship between advertising creativity and consumer decision-making. Thus, advertising creativity directly influences consumer decision-making. The finding of the research confirms Lee and Hong (2016) who asserted that creativity in advertisements that are placed on social media play a very significant role because consumers base on that to make decisions. Thus, apart from emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity of social media advertisement directly influences consumer decision-making. The study confirms previous studies by Lee and Hong (2016) and Maria and Carlos (2014) that social media advertisement affect consumer decision-making contrary to Hadija, Barnes & Hair (2012) study that social media advertising is not noticed. 88 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Hypothesis 4: Consumer Engagement mediates the relationship between Emotional Appeal and Consumer Decision-Making. The research finding indicated that there is no significant relationship between emotional appeal and consumer decision-making and due to that, consumer engagement cannot mediate the relationship between emotional appeal and consumer decision-making since that relationship is not supported. Thus, mediation can only occur when the relationship between independent (emotional appeal) and dependent variable (consumer decision-making) is significant. Hypothesis 5: Consumer Engagement mediates the relationship between Informativeness and Consumer Decision-Making The study concluded that, there is a significant relationship between informativeness and consumer decision-making and consumer engagement partially mediates the relationship between informativeness and consumer decision-making. In order for mediation to occur, the relationship between the independent and dependent variables must be significant. Partial mediation occurred because the relationship between the independent variable (informativeness) and the dependent variable (consumer decision-making) is significant. Hypothesis 6: Consumer Engagement mediates the relationship between Advertising Creativity and Consumer Decision-Making Although there is a significant relationship between advertising creativity and consumer decision-making, the research finding also indicated that consumer engagement fully mediates the relationship between advertising and consumer decision-making. In order for mediation to occur, the relationship between the independent and dependent variables must be significant. Full mediation occurred because the relationship between the independent variable (advertising creativity) and consumer decision-making (consumer decision-making) is significant. 89 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.0 Summary of the Study The study sought to ascertain the effectiveness of social media advertising with the use of constructs which were emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity on consumer decision-making which was the dependent variable. Consumer engagement which was the mediating variable represented the responses of consumers towards brand-related content (social media advertising) and how these responses affect the decisions of other consumers who were exposed to social media advertisements of fashion brands in Ghana. There were two objectives of the study. The first objective was to determine the relationship between social media advertising constructs and consumer decision-making. The constructs for social media advertising were emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity. The findings indicated that there was no significant relationship between emotional appeal in social media advertising and consumer decision-making. Again, there was a significant relationship between informativeness in social media advertising and consumer decision- making. Also, there was a significant relationship between advertising creativity in social media advertising and consumer decision-making. Thus, apart from emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity in social media advertising affected the decisions that consumers make. Another objective was to determine the mediating role of consumer engagement on social media advertising constructs and consumer decision-making. Consumer engagement did not 90 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh mediate the relationship between emotional appeal and consumer engagement since the relationship was not supported. As a result, no mediation could occur. Consumer engagement partially mediated the relationship between informativeness and consumer decision-making. Furthermore, consumer engagement fully mediated the relationship between advertising creativity in social media advertising and consumer decision-making. The study used convenience sampling approach with a sample size of 250 to undertake exploratory factor and 310 respondents to undertake confirmatory factor analysis with the use of AMOS version 21. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to confirm how well the variables represented the constructs. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the reliability of the measurements. 6.1 Conclusion The conclusion is discussed below. The effectiveness of social media advertising and the role that consumer engagement plays on the decisions that other consumers make cannot be underestimated. The research findings indicated that social media advertising variables which are informativeness and advertising creativity significantly affect consumer decision-making of fashion brands in Ghana. This is a clear indication that social media advertisements that are informative and creative affect the decisions that consumers of fashion brands make. The findings contribute to academic knowledge in the area of social media advertising, consumer decision-making and consumer engagement. The research findings also provides a basis for investment in social media advertising and the need for businesses to recognise 91 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh social media advertising tool as an effective communication tool that can transform their businesses. 6.2 Recommendations The following recommendations have been made based on the research findings and conclusion. Firms that advertise fashions brands must focus on crafting advertisements that are creative and informative in order to influence the decisions that consumers make on social media platforms. According to Maria and Carlos (2014) advertising content that is relevant and worthwhile must be developed in order to have highest-impact on consumers. In addition, fashions brands must also ensure that products and services produced and marketed meet the needs and expectations of customers and possibly delight them. This is because, the research findings indicated that consumer engagement does influence decisions of other consumers even with the presence social media advertising. Consumer engagement can build or hurt a brand. Dissatisfaction with a brand can result in consumer brand sabotage. According to Kähr, Nyffenegger, Krohmer and Hoyer (2016), “consumer brand sabotage” is “a deliberate form of hostile, aggressive behaviour of a consumer to harm a brand”. A key motivation is poor experience with a brand which leads to anger, frustration, outrage and hatred for the brand and consumers can use social media to cause significant harm to the brand. Positive comments on the other hand can attract other consumers to form purchase intentions or engage in purchases of brands. Firms should be strategically visible on many social media platforms as much as possible since brand presence on social media platforms will encourage consumer engagement. 92 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh According to Hudson and Hudson (2013) visibility on many social media platforms will ‘enable all site visitors to share accessed content with their personal networks easily’. Firms such as producers and retailers of fashion brands must always ensure that their advertisements are creative and informative in order to encourage consumer decision-making. It is also imperative that purchasers of fashion brands are satisfied and possibly delighted. This will encourage positive comments that can serve as a compliment to creative and informative advertisements which will encourage other consumers in their decision-making. 6.3 Directions for Further Research There are some directions for future research. Researchers can incorporate other variables that will mediate or moderate the relationship between the effectiveness of social media advertising (emotional appeal, informativeness and advertising creativity) and consumer decision-making. Furthermore, future research can study the individual steps of consumer decision-making in order to ascertain the effect that social media advertising has on each step of the process. In addition, the researcher used a non-probability sampling technique, convenience sampling which makes generalisation of the findings difficult. A probability technique such as simple random can be used to undertake future research. A qualitative study based on firms’ perspective on how social media advertising aids to generate revenue and profitability can be considered for future studies. 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SECTION A: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE 1. Gender: a. Male [ ] b. Female [ ] 2. Age Group: a. 18-27 [ ] b. 28-37[ ] c. 38-47[ ] d.48 -57[ ] e.58+ [ ] 3. Educational Level: a. Senior High School [ ] b. [ ] Diploma c. Degree [ ] d. Post-Graduate [ ] e. Others …….. 4. Employment Status: a. Unemployed [ ] b. Salaried worker [ ] c. Self-employed [ ] d. Retired [ ] 5. Level of Income (GHC): a None [ ] b. 100-399 [ ] c.400-699 [ ] d.700-999[ ] e.1000+ [ ] 6. Marital Status: a. Single [ ] b. Married [ ] c .Separated [ ] d. Divorced [ ] SECTION B: SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE 7. Are you on any social media platform? a. Yes [ ] b. No [ ] 8. Which of the following social media platforms do you use? a.Facebook [ ] b. Twitter [ ] c. Instagram [ ] d. YouTube [ ] 9. Which of the social media platforms do you mostly use? a. Facebook [ ] b. Twitter [ ] c. Instagram [ ] d. YouTube [ ] 10. How often do you engage in social media activities? a. Daily [ ] b. Once a week [ ] c. More than once a week [ ] d. Once a month [ ] e. More than once a month [ ] 11. Which device do you use to access social media? a. Mobile Device Only [ ] b. PC [ ] Only c. Mobile Device and PC [ ] 12. Which of the following fashion products have you seen their brands advertised on social media? a. Clothing [ ] b. Footwear [ ] c. Bags [ ] d. Watches [ ] e. None [ ] 127 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh SECTION C: Please kindly indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following statement below, ranking from the lowest 1 – Strongly Disagree (SD), 2 – Disagree (D), 3 – Neutral (N), 4 – Agree (A), and to the highest 5- Strongly Agree (SA). QUESTIONS SD D N A SA 1 2 3 4 5 ADVERTISING ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY FASHION FIRMS Emotional Appeals 13. I am emotionally attached to fashion brands’ adverts on social media 14. The emotional content makes me pay attention to fashion brands’ adverts on social media 15. I like fashion brands’ adverts on social media because of the emotional content in the adverts 16. I am satisfied with fashion brands’ adverts on social media because of the emotional content 17. I tell others of fashion brands’ adverts on social media because of the emotional content Informativeness 18.Fashion brands’ adverts on social media is a source of information to me 19.Information from fashion brands’ adverts on social media is useful 20. I learn a lot from watching fashion brands’ adverts on social media 21. I am satisfied with information received from fashion brands’ adverts on social media 22. I tell others of fashion brands’ adverts on social media because of the information content Advertising Creativity 23.I consider fashion brands’ adverts on social media unique 24. I consider fashion brands’ adverts on social media surprising 25. I am satisfied with the creativity of fashion brands’ adverts on social media 26. I tell others of fashion brands’ adverts because they are creative CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT Consumer Reactions 27. I pay attention to ‘likes’ or‘ hearts’ of fashion brands’ adverts on social media 28. I like fashion brands’ adverts on social media because friends ‘liked’ or ‘hearted’ them 29. I prefer fashion brands’ adverts on social media with more ‘likes’ or ‘hearts’ 30. I adopt the choice of consumers who ‘liked’ or ‘hearted’ fashion brands’ adverts on social media 128 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh QUESTIONS SD D N A SA 1 2 3 4 5 CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT Consumer Comments 31.I pay attention to consumer comments about fashion brands’ adverts on social media 32. I am influenced by comments from friends about fashion brands’ adverts on social media 33. I am influenced by comments from non-friends about fashion brands’ adverts on social media 34. I prefer fashion brands’ adverts on social media with more consumer comments 35. I adopt the choice of consumers because of their comments about fashion brands’ advert on social media CONSUMER DECISION-MAKING Consumer Purchasing Decision 36. I search for information in fashion brands’ adverts on social media 37.I evaluate alternatives to buy based on fashion brands’ adverts on social media 38. I have purchased because of fashion brands’ adverts on social media 39. My behaviour after purchase is influenced by fashion brands’ adverts on social media 129 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX B 130 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Social Media Advertisement by Businesses that Encourage Consumer Engagement 131