Browsing by Author "Dasanayake, A"

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    PublicationEmbargo
    From initiations to sales: leveraging social media referral initiatives on customer willingness to participate in the cosmetics landscape in Sri Lanka
    (Emerald Publishing, 2025-06-03) Jayasuriya, N; Jayasinghe, P. S.K; Rajapaksha, A; Dharmasiri, T; Sumanasinghe, D; Dasanayake, A
    Purpose: Referral marketing can be identified as the commercial form used to encourage word-of-mouth (WOM) communication. It has become popular in recent times, supporting organisations to attract new customers towards making strides in how customers are pursued to purchase certain types of products/industries. However, some factors impact the success of referral marketing programmes. This study focuses on analysing the impact of such factors as brand, rewards and celebrity endorsement on user engagement in social media referral marketing programmes. Design/methodology/approach: Further, this study discusses the moderating impact of social ties on this relationship mainly focusing on the cosmetic industry. The data were collected from respondents with exposure to referral marketing programmes through the social media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Instagram. The structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data collected. Findings: The results of the study revealed that brand, reward and celebrity endorsement significantly impact the participation willingness of customers in social media referral marketing programmemes. Moreover, it showed that the social tie moderates only the brand impact on the participation willingness of customers, whereas it does not moderate the impact of rewards and celebrity endorsement on the participation willingness of customers. In doing so, the study looks extensively into the elements that drive or shape customer behaviour within this specific market niche by investigating the effect of brand, incentives and endorsements by celebrities on customer engagement. Originality/value: Accordingly, this study sheds light on the complex relationship among brands, rewards and celebrity endorsements, while also considering social ties within the context of social media referral marketing initiatives. It also delivers useful information for academics as well as practitioners. Limited studies have been conducted in this field, and therefore, this study adds some knowledge, also highlighting the moderation effect of social ties.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Social Media Referral Marketing and Consumer Engagement in Sri Lanka's Cosmetics Industry: Unravelling the Moderating Impact of Social Ties
    (SLIIT Business School, 2023-12-14) Rajapaksha, A; Sumanasinghe, D; Dharmasiri, T; Dasanayake, A; Jayasuriya, N; Jayasinghe, P
    The aim of this research is to examine the influence of many variables, including brand, rewards, and celebrity endorsement, on consumer participation in social media referral marketing campaigns in the cosmetic sector. Furthermore, this study investigated the moderating effect of social ties on the influence of these factors on consumers' propensity to participate in referral marketing initiatives. A self-administered survey questionnaire was utilized to collect a total of 384 responses from individuals in Sri Lanka who utilize WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin. The researchers employed a convenience sampling strategy to choose the sample. The researchers conducted the final data analysis utilizing a structural equation model. The findings of this study indicate that the influence of brand and rewards on customer willingness to participate is greater compared to the impact of celebrity endorsement. Furthermore, based on the findings, it can be concluded that the presence of a social tie moderates only the impact of brand on customer willingness to participate, and it does not moderate the impact of rewards and celebrity endorsement on customer willingness to participate. This study corroborates certain findings from prior research while also presenting contradictory outcomes. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.