Papers by Prof Neo Ligaraba
Future business journal, Mar 5, 2024
It is of interest to examine how consumers perceive luxury brands with the different elements of ... more It is of interest to examine how consumers perceive luxury brands with the different elements of authenticity, leading to brand image, for companies to create and build a brand that is conducive to influence purchase intention. Through a proposed conceptual research model, brand authenticity and brand image as the predictor variables, with brand preference as the outcome variable, the study investigates the causal relationship of these constructs, where eight (8) determinants of brand authenticity are assessed. Findings of the research support all nine proposed hypotheses, as a result, indicated that brand authenticity and brand image influence consumers' brand preference. The same model development for the current study can be applied in other geographical zones and in different contexts to prove its generalisability. This study assists fashion marketing practitioners and brand managers to remain sustainable and better identify the factors that influence brand authenticity and brand image on brand preference of luxury sneakers among young adults in South Africa. The rapid globalization and increase in competition has caused a shift in the luxury industry so marketers need to focus on the authenticity of a brand to influence consumers' brand preference. Theoretically, this study adds to the limited academic literature on the theory of reasoned action and the brand equity theory, with regard to branding.
Springer proceedings in business and economics, 2024
Studies in Media and Communication
Instagram has emerged as one of the most popular social media platforms. This study examined Inst... more Instagram has emerged as one of the most popular social media platforms. This study examined Instagram usage of young adults in an emerging market, South Africa. The research sought to establish the extent to which Instagram usage may affect self-esteem among young consumers in emerging markets. A conceptual model has been developed based on identified factors such as Instagram usage, emotional investment in Instagram, self-efficacy, sense of community and self-esteem. 361 active Instagram users were selected through convenience sampling and the feedback they provided was processed for insights. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to investigate the interrelationships between the constructs. Implications for marketers include promoting adequate use of Instagram and making users aware of the potential threats of its excessive usage.
International Journal of Research In Business and Social Science, May 6, 2023
The study examined the factors influencing motor vehicle purchase intention during the COVID-19 p... more The study examined the factors influencing motor vehicle purchase intention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Social Judgement Theory, and the Self-Congruency Theory were employed for the study. A quantitative research approach was applied, and data was collected using a questionnaire that 223 respondents completed and selected through convenience sampling. A structural equation model was used to test the proposed conceptual model of the study. The empirical results revealed that perceived value, perceived reliability, and brand awareness of the vehicle, together with the manufacturer's and/or seller's website quality, positively impact the consumer's attitude, which subsequently affects their purchase intentions. The study has both practical and theoretical implications. The findings from the study could assist motor vehicle marketers in developing marketing strategies during a pandemic and provide policymakers with guidelines for the marketing of motor vehicles during a pandemic.
Journal of Business and Management Review, Jun 27, 2023
The present study examines the antecedents and outcomes of brand preference in the South African ... more The present study examines the antecedents and outcomes of brand preference in the South African Cement Industry. Due to the unavailability of a sampling frame, non-probability sampling, a form of convenience sampling was adopted to determine suitable respondents. A self-administered questionnaire was utilised to obtain 260 valid responses from individuals identifying as customers of the South African cement industry. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics and hypotheses testing was conducted through SPSS28 and AMOS 28 respectively. The findings of the study revealed that perceived quality, brand image, price and the influence of others positively impact brand preference. Brand preference positively influences word-of-mouth and purchase intentions and packaging do not play significant roles as antecedents of brand preference in the cement industry. It is imperative to allocate most of the organisation's resources towards increasing brand preference as it has the most impact on purchase intention. This study explored the choice of cement brand from a business-to-business point of view and from a retail to consumer point of view. This is first study to investigate brand preference in the South African Cement Industry.
Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, Dec 15, 2022
PurposeThis study investigates the factors influencing re-usage intention of online and mobile gr... more PurposeThis study investigates the factors influencing re-usage intention of online and mobile grocery shopping among young adult consumers in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from selected young adult participants using a stratified probability sampling strategy. Smart PLS was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that perceived usefulness (PU), peer review (PR) and attitude (ATT) positively influence continuance intention (CI).Research limitations/implicationsIn line with the available literature, there are few prior post-adoption studies that delineate the influence of individual characteristics on digital commerce usage activities. There is high mobile penetration as a result of positive digital commerce and mobile application usage and adoption, creating the need to investigate and better understand the drivers behind, not just adoption and usage, but continued use of digital commerce platforms and applications. Since the sample size is relatively small, further future research studies can test the same model with bigger sample sizes to assess generalisability of the results in different locations.Practical implicationsThis study adds to the current literature by concentrating on the extent to which systems and marketing elements influence young adult customers' intention to continue using online and mobile grocery shopping platforms in South Africa.Originality/valueThe study adds value from a theoretical standpoint, contributing to the antecedent factors of the technology acceptance model (TAM), theory of reasoned action (TRA) and stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model and giving marketing academics insights into what aspects drive re-use of online and mobile grocery shopping and on what should be the focus.
Solid State Technology, Jan 31, 2021
This experiment explored the effects of thematic and episodic and gain and loss frames on emotion... more This experiment explored the effects of thematic and episodic and gain and loss frames on emotional responses and attribution of responsibility. Also, it analyzed whether or not emotions mediate the effect offrames on attribution of responsibility. Participants were randomly assigned to read stories about obesity and lung cancer that employed thematic1 loss, thematiclgain, episodiclloss, or episodiclgain frames. The relationship betzueen gain frames and social attribution of responsibility was mediated by guilt. Thematic, episodic, loss, and gain frames elicited significant emotional responses when used in stories about lung cancer and obesity.
Cogent Business & Management, Feb 28, 2023
The paper examines the influence of opt-in e-mail marketing on consumer behaviour. The study att... more The paper examines the influence of opt-in e-mail marketing on consumer behaviour. The study attempts to extend the Stimuli–Organism–Response (S– O–R) theory that has been broadly explored in consumer research. Following a critical review of the literature organisation approach, a hypothetical model has been proposed for this study, based on identified factors, such as, informational value, entertainment-based message content, layout, visual appeal, attitude toward e-mail advertising and intention towards the sender in the context of opt-in email marketing. Data were collected in South Africa through an online survey of 436 optin e-mail marketing subscribers. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to measure the proposed hypotheses of the study. The research results suggest that even during a pandemic, e-mail marketers could employ certain features in promotional and informational e-mail marketing communication, particularly informational value, entertainment-based message content, layout, visual appeal, as a means to design their e-mail marketing messages and plan e-mail advertising campaigns. The findings of the study are intended to advance the e-mail marketing knowledge base to help marketers during a pandemic, such as COVID-19. The paper provides marketers with relevant insights on how to effectively engage with e-mail subscribers.
Service Industries Journal, Dec 11, 2017
ABSTRACT Recent trends in consumerism have highlighted the proliferation of the global flea marke... more ABSTRACT Recent trends in consumerism have highlighted the proliferation of the global flea market economy, which contributes significantly to the growing informal sector. Although a number of studies have explored the present topic within different contexts, few studies have addressed the factors that contribute to flea market loyalty among Millennial consumers. The purpose of the present paper is therefore to investigate the influence of market location and product assortment on market loyalty and the inter-construct relationships of market experience and purchase intention. By means of a quantitative study, 280 self-administered questionnaires were distributed amongst Millennial consumers. The data analysis was done using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in SPSS 23 and AMOS 23. The results indicated that all seven proposed hypotheses were significant. In other words, market location, product assortment and market experience positively influence consumer’s purchase intention and market loyalty. This paper is of paramount importance to brands and retailers who wish to expand their distribution network to the informal market economy, also known as the flea market economy. Marketers should realize the importance of the market’s location and the product assortment when investing in the flea market economy. The results of this paper contribute to literature in the informal market economy, which is rapidly expanding.
Real Estate Management and Valuation, Mar 1, 2022
A good image of millennials' residential rental space is an important issue. This image can be im... more A good image of millennials' residential rental space is an important issue. This image can be impacted by the available telecommunication technology. Social media marketing can, therefore, be an important marketing tool to achieve it. Many studies have shown that a good brand image positively impacts brand preference. This study quantitatively investigated the impact of social media attributes of trendiness, entertainment, customization, information, interaction on Sandton's rental market's brand image, and the relationship between this image and millennials' rental preference. Data were collected from millennials who have lived, live or intend to live in Sandton. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The findings of the study are that entertainment, customization, and information positively impact Sandton's image and that trendiness and interactions do not. Also, the image of Sandton's rental market has a positive influence on the millennials' preferences as to rental housing. The outcomes will find application for both academics and management practice as will be shown below.
Young Consumers
Purpose Young consumers are increasingly using online reviews and celebrity influence to make pur... more Purpose Young consumers are increasingly using online reviews and celebrity influence to make purchase decisions. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the influence of online customer reviews, celebrity influencer’s attractiveness, celebrity influencer’s credibility on female millennials’ purchase intention of beauty products. Design/methodology/approach To validate the research questions and hypotheses, data were obtained from young female consumers using an electronic self-administered survey questionnaire that was close ended. A total of 203 valid responses were obtained from which data were analysed by making use of structural equation modelling Mplus and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 28. Findings The obtained results showed that the seven hypotheses of the study were positive. However, two hypotheses were negative, namely, celebrity influencer attractiveness did not have a significant influence on the attitude of consumers; and brand loyalty was n...
Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research
PurposeThis study investigates the factors influencing re-usage intention of online and mobile gr... more PurposeThis study investigates the factors influencing re-usage intention of online and mobile grocery shopping among young adult consumers in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from selected young adult participants using a stratified probability sampling strategy. Smart PLS was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that perceived usefulness (PU), peer review (PR) and attitude (ATT) positively influence continuance intention (CI).Research limitations/implicationsIn line with the available literature, there are few prior post-adoption studies that delineate the influence of individual characteristics on digital commerce usage activities. There is high mobile penetration as a result of positive digital commerce and mobile application usage and adoption, creating the need to investigate and better understand the drivers behind, not just adoption and usage, but continued use of digital commerce platforms and applications. Since the...
Journal of Business and Management Review
The present study examines the antecedents and outcomes of brand preference in the South African ... more The present study examines the antecedents and outcomes of brand preference in the South African Cement Industry. Due to the unavailability of a sampling frame, non-probability sampling, a form of convenience sampling was adopted to determine suitable respondents. A self-administered questionnaire was utilised to obtain 260 valid responses from individuals identifying as customers of the South African cement industry. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics and hypotheses testing was conducted through SPSS28 and AMOS 28 respectively. The findings of the study revealed that perceived quality, brand image, price and the influence of others positively impact brand preference. Brand preference positively influences word-of-mouth and purchase intentions and packaging do not play significant roles as antecedents of brand preference in the cement industry. It is imperative to allocate most of the organisation’s resources towards increasing brand preference as it has the most impact on ...
Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research
PurposeThis paper is a bibliometric analysis of articles published on the influence of Covid-19 o... more PurposeThis paper is a bibliometric analysis of articles published on the influence of Covid-19 on consumer behaviour.Design/methodology/approachBiblioshiny and VOSviewer applications are employed for the bibliometric analysis and visualisation, respectively.FindingsThe most influential documents, authors, affiliations, countries and journals are presented. Citation, Co-citation and keyword co-occurrence analysis is conducted and presented in the form of a clustered network diagram.Practical implicationsThis paper found three main themes of the research in consumer behaviour amid Covid-19 a) Food purchasing decisions and food wastage, b) Adoption of technology and c) Intrinsic and extrinsic influence on consumer behaviour.Social implicationsThe Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the world’s economy and left behind its adverse effect on almost every walk of life. Consumer behaviour is no exception, studies have reported paradigm shifts in the way consumers are reacting to marketing stimuli...
International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147- 4478)
The study examined the factors influencing motor vehicle purchase intention during the COVID-19 p... more The study examined the factors influencing motor vehicle purchase intention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Social Judgement Theory, and the Self-Congruency Theory were employed for the study. A quantitative research approach was applied, and data was collected using a questionnaire that 223 respondents completed and selected through convenience sampling. A structural equation model was used to test the proposed conceptual model of the study. The empirical results revealed that perceived value, perceived reliability, and brand awareness of the vehicle, together with the manufacturer’s and/or seller’s website quality, positively impact the consumer’s attitude, which subsequently affects their purchase intentions. The study has both practical and theoretical implications. The findings from the study could assist motor vehicle marketers in developing marketing strategies during a pandemic and provide policymakers with guidelines for the marketing of m...
Cogent Business & Management
The paper examines the influence of opt-in e-mail marketing on consumer behaviour. The study att... more The paper examines the influence of opt-in e-mail marketing on consumer behaviour. The study attempts to extend the Stimuli–Organism–Response (S– O–R) theory that has been broadly explored in consumer research. Following a critical review of the literature organisation approach, a hypothetical model has been proposed for this study, based on identified factors, such as, informational value, entertainment-based message content, layout, visual appeal, attitude toward e-mail advertising and intention towards the sender in the context of opt-in email marketing. Data were collected in South Africa through an online survey of 436 optin e-mail marketing subscribers. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to measure the proposed hypotheses of the study. The research results suggest that even during a pandemic, e-mail marketers could employ certain features in promotional and informational e-mail marketing communication, particularly informational value, entertainment-based message content, layout, visual appeal, as a means to design their e-mail marketing messages and plan e-mail advertising campaigns. The findings of the study are intended to advance the e-mail marketing knowledge base to help marketers during a pandemic, such as COVID-19. The paper provides marketers with relevant insights on how to effectively engage with e-mail subscribers.
Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, Dec 15, 2022
Purpose – This study investigates the factors influencing re-usage intention of online and mobile... more Purpose – This study investigates the factors influencing re-usage intention of online and mobile grocery shopping among young adult consumers in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from selected young adult participants using a stratified probability sampling strategy. Smart PLS was used to analyse the data.
Findings – The findings of the study indicate that perceived usefulness (PU), peer review (PR) and attitude (ATT) positively influence continuance intention (CI).
Research limitations/implications – In line with the available literature, there are few prior post-adoption studies that delineate the influence of individual characteristics on digital commerce usage activities. There is high mobile penetration as a result of positive digital commerce and mobile application usage and adoption,
creating the need to investigate and better understand the drivers behind, not just adoption and usage, but continued use of digital commerce platforms and applications. Since the sample size is relatively small, further future research studies can test the same model with bigger sample sizes to assess generalisability of the results in different locations.
Solid State Technology, Jan 31, 2021
Real Estate Management and Valuation, 2022
A good image of millennials’ residential rental space is an important issue. This image can be im... more A good image of millennials’ residential rental space is an important issue. This image can be impacted by the available telecommunication technology. Social media marketing can, therefore, be an important marketing tool to achieve it. Many studies have shown that a good brand image positively impacts brand preference. This study quantitatively investigated the impact of social media attributes of trendiness, entertainment, customization, information, interaction on Sandton’s rental market’s brand image, and the relationship between this image and millennials’ rental preference. Data were collected from millennials who have lived, live or intend to live in Sandton. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The findings of the study are that entertainment, customization, and information positively impact Sandton’s image and that trendiness and interactions do not. Also, the image of Sandton’s rental market has a positive influence on the millennials’ preferences as...
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Papers by Prof Neo Ligaraba
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from selected young adult participants using a stratified probability sampling strategy. Smart PLS was used to analyse the data.
Findings – The findings of the study indicate that perceived usefulness (PU), peer review (PR) and attitude (ATT) positively influence continuance intention (CI).
Research limitations/implications – In line with the available literature, there are few prior post-adoption studies that delineate the influence of individual characteristics on digital commerce usage activities. There is high mobile penetration as a result of positive digital commerce and mobile application usage and adoption,
creating the need to investigate and better understand the drivers behind, not just adoption and usage, but continued use of digital commerce platforms and applications. Since the sample size is relatively small, further future research studies can test the same model with bigger sample sizes to assess generalisability of the results in different locations.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from selected young adult participants using a stratified probability sampling strategy. Smart PLS was used to analyse the data.
Findings – The findings of the study indicate that perceived usefulness (PU), peer review (PR) and attitude (ATT) positively influence continuance intention (CI).
Research limitations/implications – In line with the available literature, there are few prior post-adoption studies that delineate the influence of individual characteristics on digital commerce usage activities. There is high mobile penetration as a result of positive digital commerce and mobile application usage and adoption,
creating the need to investigate and better understand the drivers behind, not just adoption and usage, but continued use of digital commerce platforms and applications. Since the sample size is relatively small, further future research studies can test the same model with bigger sample sizes to assess generalisability of the results in different locations.