Title: Social media advertising and marketing performance of SMEs in Ghana: moderating roles of firm size and fear of missing out

Authors: George Asamoah; Samuel Kingsford Seglah; Isaac Sewornu Coffie; Lawrence Yaw Kusi; Ebenezer Afum; Henry Kojo Bonsu-Owu

Addresses: Department of Integrated Marketing, Ghana Institute of Journalism, Ghana ' Department of Marketing, Ghana Communication Technology, Ghana ' Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School, Ghana ' Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, School of Business, University of Cape Coast, Ghana ' Department of Transportation and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, China ' Department of Advertising, Ghana Institute of Journalism, Ghana

Abstract: The study sought to examine the impact of social media advertising (SMA) on marketing performance (MP) and the moderating effects of firm size and FoMO on the SMA-MP relationship from an emerging market context. Data from 248 SMEs in Ghana was analysed using PLS-SEM. The study's findings indicate that SMA has a positive and significant relationship with MP, suggesting that when SMEs invest in SMA initiatives, they are more likely to reap the benefit in terms of marketing performance. The study also found that firm size has a substantial negative but significant moderating effect on the SMA-MP association. Additionally, the study's findings also show that FoMO moderates the predictive association between SMA and MP in a positive and substantial way. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Keywords: social media advertising; SMA; marketing performance; fear of missing out; FoMO; small- and medium-sized enterprise; SME; Ghana.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEMR.2024.135530

International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 2024 Vol.15 No.1, pp.68 - 88

Received: 25 Jun 2021
Accepted: 18 Dec 2021
Published online: 18 Dec 2023 *

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