Social media marketing gains importance after Covid-19

Mason, Andrew; Narcum, John; Mason, Kevin Article Social media marketing gains importance after Covid-19 Cogent Business & Management Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Mason, Andrew; Narcum, John; Mason, Kevin (2021) : Social media marketing gains importance after Covid-19, Cogent Business & Management, ISSN 2331-1975, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 8, Iss. 1, pp. 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/270198 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 Cogent Business & Management ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/oabm20 Social media marketing gains importance after Covid-19 Andrew N. Mason, John Narcum & Kevin Mason | To cite this article: Andrew N. Mason, John Narcum & Kevin Mason | (2021) Social media marketing gains importance after Covid-19, Cogent Business & Management, 8:1, 1870797, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 © 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. Published online: 11 Jan 2021. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 131904 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 64 View citing articles MARKETING | RESEARCH ARTICLE Social media marketing gains importance after Covid-19 Andrew N. Mason 1 *, John Narcum 2 and Kevin Mason 2 Abstract: This exploratory research examines how the COVID-19 pandemic led to increases in consumers’ social media marketing behaviors in the United States (U.S.). Previous research on the impact of a pandemic has focused on behavior for preventive health, however, little attention has been given to the impact of a pandemic on consumer behaviors. To bridge this gap, the Consumer Decision- Making Model was used as a framework to investigate changes in consumers’ social media behaviors as they preform various consumer decision-making processes. More specifically, a questionnaire was used to collect survey data from 327 U.S. consumers. Analysis of Variance tests were performed to examine mean differences in consumers’ use of social media as a consumer decision-making tool. The findings showed that consumers have increased their utilization of social media as a tool for identifying products, collecting information on products, evaluating products, and making product purchases. Thus, the findings demonstrate the growing importance of social media marketing since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic is a global phenomenon, the findings likely can be extrapolated across many nations. Suggestions are provided to help businesses adopt to changes in consumers’ social media behaviors as they relate to the consumer decision-making processes. Andrew N. Mason ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew N. Mason is Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine at Juntendo University in Tokyo, Japan. Andrew’s research interests are in the merged disciplines of medicine and business. Andrew has published articles in several journals including the Journal of Customer Behaviour and the Journal of Applied Financial Research. John Narcum is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Arkansas Tech University in the USA. John’s research interests include social media marketing, non-profit marketing, and consumer behavior. John has published in a variety of journals including Business Strategy and the Environment, and the Review of Business Research. Kevin Mason is Professor of Marketing at Arkansas Tech University in the USA. Kevin’s primary research interest is examining how consumers process marketing information to formulate product evaluations. Kevin has published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and the Journal of Customer Behaviour. PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT Social media platforms have transformed consumer decision-making behaviors. COVID-19 health-care concerns have increased the value of online consumer behaviors and, thus, enhanced the role of social media as a marketing tool. Consumer behaviors are a function of a variety of factors which emerge from various disciplines, including marketing, economics, psychology, and health. As such, this topic of research is multidisciplined, and it invites scholars from various disciplines to discuss the ideas presented and hopefully will encourage future research across multiple fields. The current research focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for increasing the importance of consumers’ social media behaviors on marketing operations. Understanding the impact of this pandemic is important because of its potential to make structural changes in businesses’ marketing operations. Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 1 of 17 Received: 8 October 2020 Accepted: 6 December 2020 *Corresponding author: Andrew N. Mason, Medicine, Juntendo University, Japan E-mail: [email protected] Reviewing editor: Usama Awan, Industrial Engineering and Management, Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Korkeakoulu: LUT University, Finland Additional information is available at the end of the article © 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. Subjects: Sales; Consumer Behaviour; Marketing Communications; Retail Marketing Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; social media; consumer behaviors 1. Introduction Early in 2020, the U.S. began to experience a healthcare pandemic from a novel coronavirus commonly known as COVID-19. Previous research on the impact of a pandemic has focused on behavior for preventive health, however, little attention has been given to the impact of a pandemic on consumer behaviors. To bridge this gap, the Consumer Decision-Making Model was used as a framework to investigate changes in consumers’ social media behaviors that have occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Investigating the impact of this pandemic on consumers’ social media marketing behaviors is important because recent findings indicate that the pandemic is having significant and structural impacts on consumers’ purchase behaviors (Mason, In Press), as well as their decision-making processes (Mason et al., in press), which could result in significant changes in marketing practices. More specifically, Mason et al., in press analyzed changes in U.S. consumer decision-making behaviors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the COVID-19 pandemic altered consumers’ product needs, shopping and purchasing behaviors, and post-purchase satisfaction levels. With public healthcare concerns and governmental COVID-19 pandemic mitigation policies, the role and impact of social media as a marketing tool stands to increase in importance because, at a time when social distancing is a common practice, social media offers avenues for consumers to interact with others without having physical contact. As such, COVID-19 will likely also result in shifts in consumers’ use of social media during consumer behaviors. Therefore, businesses may find new opportunities to gain competitive advantage through their use of effective social media marketing strategies. While research is sorely needed to understand the healthcare and macro-economic implications of COVID-19, marketing research is also needed to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on consumers’ behaviors. For example, with restrictions on personal contact and other pandemic mitigation policies, consumers may alter their decision-making behaviors, such as behaviors related to shopping and product acquisition, as well as their post-purchase behaviors. COVID-19 is a recent phenomenon, therefore, little has been published of its impact on social media marketing behavior in the U.S. This paper explores the role that social media plays in the consumer decision-making process. The authors hypothesize that social media marketing behaviors have shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current research focused on the U.S. economy because it is the largest consumer spending economy in the world and the COVID- 19 pandemic has significantly impacted U.S. healthcare. 2. Literature review Laato et al. (2020) provided a summary of the literature on the impact of pandemics on human behavior and found that researchers have given little attention to a pandemic’s impact on consumer behavior. Rather, research has primarily focused on pandemic impacts on behavior for preventive health. The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to gain valuable consumer behavior insights during a situation of consumer uncertainty about how to react. Thus, the current study sheds light on how consumers’ social media behaviors have shifted since the pandemic emerged. Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts consumers’ social media behaviors can be framed with the S-O-R Theory (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974) and the Consumer Decision-Making Model (Nicosia, 1982). The S-O-R Theory is an environmental psychology-based explanation for how external stimuli can impact behavior (Laato et al., 2020; Xu et al., 2014). Mehrabian and Russell (1974) developed the S-O-R framework, which states that an external stimuli (S) affects an organism (O) leading to a behavioral response (R). Kumar et al. (2020) used S-O-R to explain moderators of consumer behaviors and found that the model is useful for explaining how external Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 2 of 17 stimuli (S) can affect consumers’ (O) affective and cognitive processes, thus, impacting consumer behaviors (R). Regarding the impact of COVID-19 on consumers’ behaviors, COVID-19 news would serve as an external stimuli. As such, S-O-R Theory provides justification for how the COVID-19 pandemic can change consumers’ perceptions and behaviors. Nicosia’s Consumer Decision-Making Model is used to examine the types of behavioral changes that are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, consumers operationalize behaviors as they engage in the consumer decision-making processes. Nicosia proposed a model to explain and research the processes involved in consumer decision-making which consists of five stages, or behaviors, related to the identification of product needs, product information searches, alternative product evaluations, purchase decisions, and post-purchase behaviors (Nicosia, 1982). Figure 1 provides an illustration of the consumer decision-making processes. 2.1. Social media marketing In recent years, the use of social media has increased significantly (Thota, 2018), and the COVID- 19 pandemic has accelerated social media use among U.S. adults (Samet, 2020). Furthermore, the growth of social media platforms has transformed the dynamics of the electronic marketplace by creating social networks of consumers, opinion leaders, and field experts. Kumar et al. (2020) illustrated the importance of social media marketing when they found that integrated marketing promotional messages can be effective at influencing consumers’ perceptions about product image and lead to consumption behaviors. There are various reasons that people are attracted to social media. Based upon Uses and Gratification Theory, Malik et al. (2016) examined benefits that Facebook users’ derived from social media activity. Specifically, from their online survey of 368 Facebook users, they identified six different types of gratifications achieved from sharing photos. They found that user gratification can result from affection, attention seeking, habit, information sharing, disclosure, and social influence. In addition, Agarwal and Karahanna (2000) found that when users are deeply involved in information technology, they experience a state of cognitive absorption (CA). Agarwal and Karahanna (2000) found that CA draws users into the use of social media for a variety of reasons. For one, social media offers temporal dissociation, which limits the user’s awareness of the time passing. Also, social media provides users with focused immersion, which allows the user to escape life’s unpleasant realities. Third, social media can provide heightened enjoyment from successful interactions between the user and the software. Fourth, social media provides the user with a sense of control, and lastly, it can satisfy users’ curiosity by providing novelty and amazement. While use of social media is appealing to many, it can have negative effects on the mental health of the population. For instance, in studying adolescents in India, Dhir et al. (2018) found that social media fatigue may result from uncontrolled use of such platforms, and that social media fatigue may lead to increased levels of anxiety and depression. Nevertheless, social media is increasingly being used to facilitate communications between businesses and consumers (Knowles et al. (2020)). Kumar et al. (2020) illustrated the importance of social media in marketing when they found that integrated marketing promotional messages can be effective at influencing consumer perceptions about product image and lead to consumption behaviors. The following literature review sections provide a brief discussion on how social media fits into the Consumer Decision-Making Model, which is illustrated in Figure 1. Stage I Identify Product Needs Stage II Product Information Search Stage III Evaluation of Product Alternatives Stage IV Purchase Decision Stage V Post-Purchase Behaviors Figure 1. Consumer decisionmaking model. Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 3 of 17 2.2. The role of social media in identifying product needs The first stage of the consumer decision-making process is the realization of a product need. A product need is activated when a consumer’s actual state and desired state of being become incongruent (Bruner, 1987). Consistent with S-O-R Theory, when external stimuli, such as promotional material, other consumers, product packaging, etc. are noticed by a consumer, they may perceive that they have an unmet need and become motivated to seek additional information to resolve the perceived need. For example, consider a health-conscious female consumer who is exposed to online information about health-related issues and discovers that many Americans lack sufficient vitamins and minerals in their diet. This information may cause the consumer to perceive a discrepancy between her perceived state (insufficient health) and her desired state (improved health). As a result, the consumer may develop a felt need (i.e., problem recognition) that is sufficiently strong as to lead her to seek a product solution. Thota (2018) argues that businesses can use social media to activate consumers’ product needs by triggering brand conversations that promote positive perceptions about products, services, or ideas. For example, consider Starbucks. While the brand has a global presence, Starbucks continues to engage the marketplace with social media to generate felt needs (i.e. problem recognition) by sustaining consumers’ brand awareness. In addition, Starbucks consistently deploys virtual messaging to promote consumers’ preference for their brand in the marketplace. Social media is a powerful tool for message exposure. Thota (2018) found that 93% of U.S. businesses use Facebook and other platforms, such as Twitter and LinkedIn. As such, social media provides businesses with virtual avenues to enhance consumers’ product/brand awareness. Social media platforms are also used for consumer-to-consumer interactions to share their product/brand experiences (Thota, 2018). As such, social media offers businesses a means to generate brand awareness for their products or services. For example, using owned media, businesses can post brand content related to their products and services. Awareness and excitement for brands can also be generated with paid media, such as boosted Facebook posts, in order to activate recognition of a need/problem that the brand can resolve. In addition, posts by consumer peers and opinion leaders can provide brand influencing stimuli. For example, Jashari and Rrustemi (2017) assert that “every photo, video, comment, review, and other content posted on social media, to which consumers are exposed, plays the role of stimulus (incentives) in recognizing a new need” (p. 4). Thus, companies may also encourage customers to post-product purchases in hopes of activating the product need stage within consumers. Utilization of macro-influencers to help build product awareness is also a common practice among businesses attempting to build brands on social media. Businesses can hire elite influencers (e.g., celebrities and athletes) to post-favorable information about their products (Wertz, 2019). This practice is effective because many highly paid macro-influencers (i.e., opinion leaders) have millions of followers on their social media platforms. All such content posted by these opinion leaders has the potential to influence the consumer decision-making process. 2.3. The role of social media in product information searches The second stage of the consumer decision-making process occurs when a consumer conducts a product information search. In other words, upon activation of a perceived need, the consumer is motivated to gather information concerning a way to satisfy the need. During this process, consumers become aware of the relative features of competing brands or products. Consumers sometimes initiate the information search process by asking influencers (i.e., opinion leaders) in their network for product or service recommendations. Positive brand content, developed by a business, can be met with skepticism. However, peer product reviews are viewed more favorably because they are considered more credible than information provided by the marketer (Jin & Lee, 2014; Sher & Lee, 2009). The level of importance a consumer places upon a product is referred to as the consumer’s involvement with the product. A consumer’s involvement with a given product moderates the way Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 4 of 17 they process the information provided in a consumer review. Sher and Lee (2009) conducted an experiment with 278 subjects and found that highly involved consumers engage in formal, detailed analysis of product information (i.e., elaborate processing), whereas less involved consumers are more persuaded by the quantity of reviews provided by other consumers (i.e., reliance on peripheral cues). If the consumer has a low involvement need, then s/he will exert little effort during the information search. More specifically, when involvement is low, the consumer is likely to process information through peripheral routes and rely on cues as opposed to investigating more detailed product-specific information (Cacioppo et al., 1986). The use of cues such as colors, images, and sounds are salient factors for gaining consumers’ attractions when they are in a low involvement situation. However, consumers who are highly involved with a given product or purchase activity are motivated to engage in elaborate information searches. That is, the consumer is prone to seek out detailed information from multiple sources and acquire information through product trial experiences (Beatty & Smith, 1987). In the high involvement situation, consumers are inclined to directly engage with potential influencers (e.g., opinion leaders, friends, sales staff, other consumers, etc.). To increase messaging impact, higher levels of consumer involvement are necessary. Increased consumer involvement can be achieved with high-quality, unusual, or entertaining communication among buyers and sellers through multiple social media channels (Liu & Arnett, 2000; Rambe & Retumetse, 2017). 2.4. The role of social media in evaluating product alternatives During stage three of the consumer decision-making process, consumers’ evaluate product and brand choices from a set of considered options, commonly referred to as the evoked set. That is, after consumers complete the information search, they create a mental conceptual map of the alternative products that might reduce or eliminate their recognized need (Bettman, 1979; Howard & Sheth, 1972; Jacoby, 1975; Phillips et al., 1995). To arrive at an evoked set, consumers use a number of decision heuristics, or rules of thumb, to evaluate the product options. Potential heuristics include the lexicographic rule, the conjunctive rule, and the compensatory rule (Srinivasan, 1987; Wright, 1972). Using the lexicographic rule, consumers look for the product that performs the best on the attribute that is perceived to be most important. For example, price is sometimes used by consumers looking for the least expensive product alternative. A consumer uses a conjunctive heuristic to eliminate product options that are perceived as performing poorly on a salient attribute. For example, product style/fashion may be so important to the consumer that s/he only considers a product that is perceived to be stylish/fashionable, even if it does not perform well on other desirable characteristics, such as price or comfort. Consumers use the compensatory rule when they seek the best “overall” performing product. With the compensatory rule, the consumer will consider multiple product attributes, such as price, durability, and style. Then, the consumer mentally creates a weighted average performance rating across the set of attributes for each product in the evoked set. Businesses can utilize social media strategies to create favorable information and resolve concerns relevant to the consumers’ decision criteria. Social media affords a business with the ability to have two-way conversations with customers. Potential consumers can comment on product/brand posts or directly contact the business with direct messaging to obtain more information on product offerings. For instance, consumers can use social media to ask questions about products. In turn, the business can directly respond to the consumer questions/concerns on the same post. 2.5. The role of social media in purchase decisions During the fourth stage of the Consumer Decision-Making Model, the consumer makes a purchase decision. While, the primary strength of social media is to build awareness for products and services, some platforms allow consumers to make direct purchases. However, for many businesses, the degree to which consumers have purchased from such platforms has been Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 5 of 17 disappointing. For example, Halzack (2016) found only 1.8% of online U.S. sales during the 2015 holiday shopping season were made on social media platforms. Nevertheless, it seems intuitive that as social media platforms evolve with greater capabilities, their use for purchases will also increase. An important factor related to the purchase decision is the consumer’s perceived risk that a given product will not deliver as desired. Pre-COVID-19, consumers typically addressed their perceived risk by seeking product validation from family, friends, perceived experts, and opinion leaders (Delener, 1990; Voyer & Ranaweera, 2015). However, the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted consumers’ ability to directly contact their social influencers. Fortunately, social media platforms allow consumers to interact with a greater number of consumers without the need to make physical contact. Therefore, in the COVID-19 pandemic environment, social media may play an increased role in consumers’ engagement with influencers as they seek to reduce their perceived risk. In other words, the role of social media for purchase decision behaviors is likely to increase. 2.6. The role of social media in post-purchase behaviors In the final stage of the Consumer Decision-Making Model, the consumer engages in post-purchase processes, such as formulating purchase satisfaction or dissatisfaction emotions. Consumers’ level of satisfaction is a key element in the development of consumers’ relationships and repeat purchase behaviors, otherwise known as customer loyalty (Shemwell et al., 1998; Spreng et al., 1996). Often when consumers are dissatisfied with a purchase, they do not express why they are dissatisfied. Rather, they shift their future consumer shopping and/or purchase behaviors towards other options. Social media offers a method whereby consumers can express shopping and purchase satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Therefore, social media offers businesses with a quick, efficient and relatively inexpensive means of getting feedback from consumers and, thus, provides a method to quickly resolve concerns. After making a purchase, consumers can turn to social media to show off and/or discuss their new purchase. When pleased, the consumer may turn to social media to promote or endorse the company. For example, if the product is a luxury brand, the consumer may post to display their ownership of the product in order to enhance their status among peers. However, consumers can also post their dissatisfactions about a product or shopping experience. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated government mitigation policies make direct social contact more difficult and, thus, hinder businesses’ service efforts. With poorer customer service, customer dissatisfaction will likely increase and, therefore, harm a business’ efforts to generate consumer loyalty. Athwal et al. (2019) argue that social media marketing can lower dissatisfaction by providing gratification of consumers’ emotional needs and cognitive needs. More specifically, social media marketing activities have been found to satisfy consumers’ emotional needs for entertainment (e.g., joy, humor, excitement) and their cognitive needs were satisfied through the use of social media as an information source (Athwal et al., 2019). 2.7. Hypotheses Knowles et al. (2020) found that consumers’ fear of having physical contact with other customers and retail sales representatives is increasing. So, it seems intuitive that consumers may increase their reliance on social media to seek out product needs and information, as well as to evaluate products and make purchases. Furthermore, it has been speculated by Root (2020) that social distancing policies may hinder businesses’ abilities to preform customer service and, therefore, lessen service efficiencies. Therefore, use of social media to maintain communication and contact with consumers is expected to increase. Hence, the authors postulated the following hypotheses: Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 6 of 17 Hypothesis 1: Consumers’ usage of social media to identify product needs has increased since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hypothesis 2: Consumers’ usage of social media in shopping to acquire product comparison information has increased since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hypothesis 3: Consumers’ usage of social media to evaluate the perceived risks of products has increased since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hypothesis 4: Consumers’ usage of social media to purchase products has increased since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hypothesis 5: Consumers’ usage of social media to express product purchase satisfaction or dissatisfaction has increased since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. 3. Research methods For this study, the defined population was U.S. consumers. Several dependent variables were assessed that consisted of consumers’ social media behaviors that followed the Consumer Decision- Making Model. Specifically, the dependent variables were measured as the degree to which respondents use social media to (1) identify product needs; (2) conduct product information searches; (3) compare product alternatives; (4) purchase products, and; (5) express post-purchase satisfaction/ dissatisfaction. The independent variable was the COVID-19 pandemic, which was measured as two time periods: pre- and post-news about the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was obtained with a survey of consumers. The survey consisted of a questionnaire that was created by the authors. To complete the survey, respondents rated various statements about their use of social media in consumer decision-making behaviors. For example, respondents were asked to “Please rate the degree to which you used social media to identify needed products before the COVID-19 pandemic” and they were also asked to “Please rate the degree to which you currently use social media to identify needed products.” Responses were provided on a seven-point scale, where one indicated very low social media usage and seven indicated very high usage. To summarize, the questionnaire had two items dealing with each of the five consumer decision-making social media behaviors (i.e., dependent variables), where one item measured behaviors before the pandemic and the other measured behaviors since the pandemic began. Therefore, a total of 10 items were used to measure the dependent variables. In addition, the questionnaire utilized five items to collect demographic profiles of the respondents. More details of questionnaire are shown in the Appendix. The survey questionnaire was administered to 327 respondents across the U.S. The majority of the respondents (n = 291) were acquired through a service provided by Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), with some observations (36) acquired from university students. MTurk was utilized because it has been shown to provide high-quality data (Buhrmester et al., 2011). MTurk allows requesters (e.g., researchers) the ability to hire individuals to complete a virtual task known as a Human Intelligence Task (HIT). In this study, the HIT was participation in the survey. MTurk also allows requesters the ability to set qualifications for those who can participate in the HIT. Two qualifications were required for participation. One requirement was that the MTurk participants be located in the U.S. Second, the participants had to demonstrate a history of dependability. More specifically, participation was limited to those who had at least a 90% HIT approval rating for previous HITs. In other words, previous researchers accepted input from those who participated in our survey at least 90% of the time. This limits involvement from participants who do not fully complete surveys and who fail to provide reliable responses. Participants were compensated 1.00 USD for their participation in our survey. While the majority of the respondents (n = 291) were recruited through MTurk, the remainder of observations (n = 36) were collected in the summer of 2020 from online students at a midsize university located in the U.S. Midwest. The students participants were scattered across various Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 7 of 17 Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their supportive comments and suggestions. Funding The authors received no direct funding for this research. Author details Andrew N. Mason 1 E-mail: [email protected] John Narcum 2 E-mail: [email protected] Kevin Mason 2 E-mail: [email protected] 1 School of Medicine, Juntendo University, 1-1 Hirakagakuendai, Inzai, Chiba 270-1695, Japan. 2 Management and Marketing Department, Arkansas Tech University, 106 West O Street, Rothwell Building #417, Russellville, AR 72801-2222, USA. Ethic Approval Statement Prior to collecting data, the authors obtained IRB Committee approval from Arkansas Tech University. The research was exempted. Approval number is: Narcum_062920. 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MIS Quarterly, 38(2), 379–406. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2014/38.2.03 Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 15 of 17 Appendix Survey Instrument Dependent Variable 1: Identification of Product Needs Items* (1) Please rate the degree to which you used social media to identify needed products before the COVID- 19 pandemic. (2) Please rate the degree to which you currently use social media to identify needed products. Dependent Variable 2: Product Comparison Information Search Items* (1) Please rate the degree to which you used social media to gather information to compare products before the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Please rate the degree to which you currently use social media to gather information to compare products. Dependent Variable 3: Product Evaluation Items* (1) Please rate the degree to which you used social media to evaluate product purchase risk before the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Please rate the degree to which you currently use social media to evaluate product purchase risk. Dependent Variable 4: Product Purchase Items* (1) Please rate the degree to which you used social media to purchase products before the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Please rate the degree to which you currently use social media to purchase products. Dependent Variable 5: Post—Purchase Processes Satisfaction Items* (1) Please rate the degree to which you used social media to express post-purchase satisfaction or dissatisfaction before the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Please rate the degree to which you currently use social media to express post-purchase satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Respondent Demographic Items (1) Age (2) Gender (3) Race (4) Annual Income (5) Highest Education Level * Rated items used a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 = very low and 7 = very high. Mason et al., Cogent Business & Management (2021), 8: 1870797 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1870797 Page 16 of 17 © 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms. Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. 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