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Building Lovemarks with social media marketing: A methodological comparison

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  • Westland, J. Christopher

Abstract

This study provides a methodological exploration of the ‘Lovemarks’ framework in social media marketing by replicating and extending the work of (Fetais et al., 2023a). While the original study found strong mediating effects using Partial Least Squares SEM (PLS-SEM) on a narrow sample, its conclusions may be sensitive to methodological choices. To investigate this, we conduct a large-scale simulation study (N = 11,398) and analyze the data using both the original limited-information method (PLS-SEM) and a full-information method (Lavaan SEM-ML). The results reveal a stark contrast: while PLS-SEM supports the original findings, the more stringent full-information SEM challenges them, finding minimal or non-significant relationships. This study contributes by demonstrating the critical impact of methodological choice in social media research and cautions against over-reliance on variance-based SEM for complex theoretical models. It offers practical implications for both marketers and academic researchers by highlighting the divergent findings and underscoring the need for methodological rigor when examining the link between social media activities and brand loyalty.

Suggested Citation

  • Westland, J. Christopher, 2026. "Building Lovemarks with social media marketing: A methodological comparison," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:88:y:2026:i:c:s0969698925002826
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104503
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruno Godey & Aikaterini Manthiou & Daniele Pederzoli & Joonas Rokka & Gaetano Aiello & Raffaele Donvito & Rahul Singh, 2016. "Social media marketing efforts of luxury brands : Influence on brand equity and consumer behavior," Post-Print hal-02313434, HAL.
    2. Simone Zhang & Janet Xu & AJ Alvero, 2025. "Generative AI Meets Open-Ended Survey Responses: Research Participant Use of AI and Homogenization," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 54(3), pages 1197-1242, August.
    3. Barbara Carroll & Aaron Ahuvia, 2006. "Some antecedents and outcomes of brand love," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 79-89, April.
    4. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
    5. Godey, Bruno & Manthiou, Aikaterini & Pederzoli, Daniele & Rokka, Joonas & Aiello, Gaetano & Donvito, Raffaele & Singh, Rahul, 2016. "Social media marketing efforts of luxury brands: Influence on brand equity and consumer behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5833-5841.
    6. Abdulla H. Fetais & Raed S. Algharabat & Abdullah Aljafari & Nripendra P. Rana, 2023. "Do Social Media Marketing Activities Improve Brand Loyalty? An Empirical Study on Luxury Fashion Brands," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 795-817, April.
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