Effect of the social media marketing strategy on customer participation intention in light of the mediating role of customer perceived value

Abstract

Purpose – The main purpose of this study is to assess the effect of social media marketing strategy compo-nents on customer participation with organizations ac-tive in the Iranian insurance industry, taking into account the mediating role of value perceived by insurance service customers. Design/Methodology/Approach – This is an applied research study based on the objective and a descrip-tive survey. A questionnaire was used in the research to collect the research data among the customers of Iranian insurance companies. Fifteen insurance compa-nies were randomly selected for the sample using the simple random sampling method. The respondents to the questionnaires were identified using a judgmental method. Findings and implications – The results of this study show that social media marketing strategy has a positive and significant effect on customer participation inten-tion. The results also indicated that the perceived value of customers in the insurance industry plays a mediating role in the relationship between the social media marketing strategy and customer participation intention. Companies working in the insurance industry as well as other service-providing organizations can apply the findings of this research to enhance the level of participation of their customers and improve the performance of social media marketing in attracting customers. Limitations – Since this is an exploratory study, the research findings are limited to the specific sample, and thus, the results may change in the case of changes in the sample size. Also, different opinions about the research topic among members of the sample population can affect the research results to a certain extent. Originality – Proper analysis of the impact of social media marketing strategies on customer participation intention, and attention to the perceived value of customers when receiving insurance services, is crucial in improving the performance of insurance companies. This is the first time that research on the Iranian insurance industry was conducted for this purpose and the results can be very effective.