Effects of social media-mediated customer engagements on purchase intentions: Evidence from selected full-service restaurants in South Africa.

Despite the growing literature on consumer participation on social media, little is known about customer experiences of social media interactions with brands and the subsequent impact on full-service restaurants, an economic sector that has heavily embraced social media marketing. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of social media-mediated customer engagements with brands on restaurant customers' purchase intentions in South Africa's Free State Province. Drawing on a positivist epistemology and a quantitative research methodology, a convenience sample of 379 full-service restaurant customers was surveyed, and 307 customers responded successfully. According to the analyses, customer-to-customer (C2C) and customer to business (C2B) social media engagements positively influenced customer purchase intentions both directly and indirectly through brand equity. The study recommended interventions to augment customers purchase intentions and actual purchases in full-service restaurants, such as incorporating content creation, customer relationship management, on-the-job digital skills training, and a social media marketing strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]