Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to systematically review and summarize the literature addressing various sources of online brand equity. The evolution of social media, online forums and virtual communities drive the diversity in nomenclature of online marketing variables. Different researchers have used different marketing variables to indicate the same source of online brand equity. The definitions of the marketing variables change with the change in context, due to the complex e-commerce environment. The marketing variables used in different studies have lead to a conceptual overlap and repetitiveness. Design/methodology/approach – This confusion is sought to be classified by the proposed classificatory scheme that used content analysis of 42 previous studies. The definitions of the antecedents of sources of the online brand equity used by the authors are analyzed with the help of content analysis to summarize the marketing variables in a meaningful way. Findings – The paper identifies 15 major marketing variables by authors in their studies related to various sources of online brand equity. The final list contains 13 frequently used variables which also comprises variables which are evolving due to the dynamic e-commerce environment like the feeling of “virtual-real”. Practical implications – The variables identified can be used by the businesses as a check list to their marketing activities. Originality/value – This is the first paper which identifies and clarifies the ambiguity present in the application of the various online marketing variables.

<p>Facebook is one of the leading and rapidly growing online networks. With over 845 million users, Facebook is a very effective place for businesses. There is possibility to attract new customers, build online relationships and use Facebook as an online marketing communication channel. With its highly targeted marketing features and its smooth ability to spread information across the networks of each other, Facebook becomes an important marketing place for marketers these days. Facebook is a convenient medium for customers and prospects to communicate directly to brand representative or about your brand with their friends. However, the question is, which group of people are actually receiving the information and does this information influence their buying behaviour?</p><p>This paper aims to answer this question based on a study regarding the online activities of 200 Facebook users, by identifying and understanding the consumers buying behaviour varied with different factors like age, gender, occupation, income and how different factors related to Facebook have influenced the respondents’ perception of Facebook marketing in Kathmandu valley. The secondary data comes from several reports, past research, published articles, books, newspaper, website and journals. For clarity purposes, data obtained was reported using simple percentages and frequencies. The study uses mathematical tool, SPSS and Microsoft excel to present the data into quantitative form.</p><p>Results of the analysis indicates that although marketers spend hours in building brand image, the study found that consumers are less concern about the brand image while making a purchase decision. The findings also reveals that people are more influenced by word of mouth and opinion given by the people they know on Facebook and it substantially affects their buying behaviour. The least effective Facebook marketing factor is celebrity endorsement which implicates that consumers are more affected by views of friends and family rather than endorsement done by celebrities. This calls for more conjunct efforts on the part of companies, ad agencies and advertisers to extend their brand equity and build their customer base. Marketers should adopt relationship marketing strategy and work on bonding with customers for positive impact with better communication and interaction. The targeted customer should be the opinion leaders and social group to facilitate more patronage of the marketed product or service.</p><p>Journal of Business and Social Sciences Research, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 111-128</p>

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This paper is an attempt to investigate and empirically validate e-marketing mix framework creating online brand equity suitable for adaptation in the Indian context. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis are used to identify and validate the e-marketing mix variables to create online brand equity. Primary product and service offerings, website content, customer care and relationship, website interactivity, website's security and reliability, and website speed are the six e-marketing mix elements identified. Also, a conceptual categorization is used to propose and develop a typology that classifies these six variables into primary and secondary activities. The identified e-marketing mix variables will be an insightful aid to planning various marketing activities and controlling other outcome variables like online satisfaction, e-loyalty, online brand equity, etc. This is one of the first attempts to propose and verify e-marketing mix variables for a developing economy like India and classify them under a generic parsimonious dimensional framework for e-commerce.