Title:
The Impact of ePWOM and Social Media Marketing on Purchase Intention: the Mediating Role of Product Trust

Authors:
Agata Bella Lakshmita, Yong Dirgiatmo, Indonesia

Abstract:

This study investigates the influence of positive electronic word-of-mouth (ePWOM) and social media marketing on purchase intention, with trust in product as a mediating variable. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 250 Shopee users who had never purchased rice on the platform. Validity testing involved assessing convergent validity through outer loading values and Average Variance Extracted (AVE), while the Fornell-Larcker Criterion method was employed to evaluate discriminant validity. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's Alpha and Composite Reliability, with data analyzed via SmartPLS 3. The findings reveal that online customer review ePWOM, influencer review ePWOM, and social media marketing significantly affect both purchase intention and trust in product. Moreover, trust in product plays a mediating role in the relationship between these variables and purchase intention. Theoretically, the results reinforce signaling theory by highlighting the role of trust in shaping consumer behavior. Practically, this study underscores the importance of leveraging ePWOM and social media marketing to build product trust and drive consumer purchase decisions.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2025.9511