Facebook Ad Engagement: A Cross-cultural Analysis

Abstract

The paper analysed cultural differences to explain ad engagement (AE) among Facebook users in India and Tanzania. It uses Hofstede’s model and theory of planned behaviour to examine the differences in cultural values and AE between the two countries and to evaluate AE and its determinants. The paper used a cross-sectional descriptive design to collect data from 700 students from Indian and Tanzanian universities by using self-administered questionnaires. Data were analysed by using an independent sample t-test, Spearman’s Rank correlation coefficient, Multi-group differences test, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) methods. These analyses were run in SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 24. The paper confirms cultural convergence for individualism and masculinity values, but significant differences in indulgence and uncertainty avoidance across India and Tanzania were observed. Also, significant differences in AE across the two countries were observed. Moreover, we found that attitude to Facebook advertising, subjective norms and perceived herd behaviour positively determines AE, while perceived intrusiveness determines AE negatively. Indulgence has an insignificant relationship with AE while other cultural values have a significant positive relationship. The paper adopted purposive sampling and limited the scope to Facebook, thus, the findings may lack generalisability to other social media platforms. Hence, multiple-platform ad engagement research is encouraged. The marketing implications from this paper include the development of AE strategies, designing culturally relevant ad content and themes and ad targeting. This paper contributes to the understanding of the relationship between cultural values and users’ engagement with Facebook advertising.

Barriers and Factors Affecting E-commerce Utilization of Thai Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Food and Beverage and Retail Services

“…More specifically, Facebook usage was found to significantly and positively influence SMEs' non-financial performance, such as cost reduction on marketing and customer service and improvements in customer relations and accessibility of information (Moghavvemi, 2015). Sharma and Lulandala (2021) also highlighted that Facebook users are positively affected to engage with advertisements when they notice engagement by other users. In Thailand, social media product development and implementation capabilities can significantly enhance customer relationship and financial performance, as revealed by Tarsakoo and Charoensukmongkol (2019).…”