Abstract

Background: The influence of social media advertising on consumer behaviour has received significant acceptance. However, there exist limited knowledge on the mechanisms through which advertising quality impacts purchase intention. Even though the direct influence of social media advertising on consumer behaviour has been widely researched, the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between advertising quality and purchase intention have received less attention. Hence, the relationship between Facebook advertisement quality and purchase intention, with a specific focus on the mediating roles of consumer trust and perceived risk is being investigated to address this gap using Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed for the analysis.

Methods: A quantitative research design was adopted. Survey data were collected from 520 active Facebook users in Ghana and Guyana. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to examine the direct and indirect relationships among the variables. Standardized path coefficients (β), t-values, and significance levels were used to evaluate the hypothesized relationships.

Results: The findings indicated that advertising quality significantly increased consumer trust (β = 0.48, p < 0.001) and significantly reduced perceived risk (β = −0.41, p < 0.001). Advertising quality was also found to exert a significant positive influence on purchase intention (β = 0.37, p < 0.001). In addition, consumer trust positively affected purchase intention (β = 0.52, p < 0.001), while perceived risk negatively influenced purchase intention (β = −0.44, p < 0.001). Consumer trust was found to significantly reduce perceived risk (β = −0.46, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis revealed that consumer trust mediated the relationship between advertising quality and purchase intention (β = 0.25, t = 5.87, p < 0.001). Perceived risk also mediated this relationship (β = 0.18, t = 5.12, p < 0.001). Furthermore, a sequential mediation effect was identified, whereby higher advertising quality increased consumer trust, which in turn reduced perceived risk, ultimately enhancing purchase intention (β = 0.10, t = 3.94, p < 0.001).

Implications: The study contributes to the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework by explaining how advertising quality shapes internal consumer evaluations that influence purchase behaviour. From a managerial perspective, it is recommended that marketers design clear, credible, and visually appealing social media advertisements in order to strengthen consumer trust, reduce perceived risk, and ultimately improve purchase intention in digital markets.

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