Social Media Communication, Customer-Based Brand Equity, and Purchase Intention: Evidence from Battambang

The current research aims to examine the influence of social media communication on the customer-based brand equity (CBBE) and purchase intention of consumers in Battambang city in Cambodia. A quantitative research methodology was used in this study, where structured questionnaires were administered to 300 respondents who were social media users and consumers with brand experience. Given that the population in Battambang city was unknown, a nonprobability sampling technique was used to recruit participants from Battambang city. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis via Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlation, regression analysis in JASP, and bootstrapped mediation analysis were used for the data analysis. Both Firm- Created Content (FCC) and User-Generated Content (UGC) positively influence all four CBBE dimensions, such as Brand Awareness, Brand Image, Perceived Quality, and Brand Loyalty (p < .001). Brand Awareness (β = .477, p < .001), Brand Image (β = .215, p = .002), and Perceived Quality (β = .173, p = .010) positively influence Purchase Intention, but Brand Loyalty has no statistical influence (β = .081, p = .231). In addition, the Firm-Created Content (β = .387, p < .001) and User-Generated Content (β = .542, p < .001) significantly and directly influence Purchase Intention; however, UGC has the strongest effect. The full model with all six predictors explained 84.4% of the variance in Purchase Intention (R2 = .844), and the four CBBE dimensions jointly and partially mediated the effects of both content types. Thus, the findings indicate that business owners in Battambang may consider paying more attention to credible and attractive user- generated content when developing Brand Awareness, Brand Image, and Perceived Quality related to consumers' purchase intentions.