The Influence of Social Media Behavior of University Students in Lebanon on Their Purchasing Habits : The Mediating Effect of E-Word-of-Mouth

Consumers are increasingly seeking information through Social Media (SM) platforms to guide their future purchasing decisions. Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) through the ever popular SM, especially among young consumers, can have great influence on consumers' perception and buying intention. In this paper, we analyze consumer behavior of university students in Lebanon through studying the effect of their SM habits and impact of eWOM on their purchase habits and intentions. SM considered Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat; eWOM refers to recommendations by friends and experts. A conceptual model is presented and tested empirically taking advantage of data collected from different universities. The model tests the mediating effects of eWOM on the relationship between SM usage of students on their purchase intentions of products discussed on SM platforms by friends and experts. A sample of 200 university students in Lebanon who responded to an online survey is used to examine proposal model. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) through the Smart PLS3 software is used to analyze survey data. The preliminary results support the hypothesis that the more time students spend on SM, the more likely they will be influenced by e-WOM by friends and experts which in turn might influence their buying intentions