IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/futbus/v11y2025i1d10.1186_s43093-025-00492-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Examining the impact of advertising, firm-generated content, and user-generated content on customers’ propensity to buy food online

Author

Listed:
  • Sudharshini Vasan

    (The NorthCap University)

  • Akshat Aditya Rao

    (The NorthCap University)

  • Nimit Gupta

    (Fraser Valley University)

Abstract

This study examines the impact of advertising, firm-generated content (FGC), and user-generated content (UGC) on the customer's propensity to buy food online. An online survey questionnaire was developed and administered to users of food aggregators. The collected responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between advertising, user-generated content (UGC), firm-generated content (FGC), and customers’ propensity to buy. The findings reveal that both advertising and firm-generated content (FGC) influence customers' propensity to buy. However, user-generated content (UGC) does not appear to have a significant impact. Additionally, advertising does not directly influence the creation of UGC, suggesting that customers may not produce content purely based on advertising, and other factors likely play a role in encouraging UGC. This study offers valuable insights into the varying impacts of different marketing communication channels on consumer behavior within the food aggregator context. By differentiating the effects of advertising, FGC, and UGC, the research deepens our understanding of how these channels influence customers' propensity to buy. The implications of these findings can help marketing managers better understand the flow of communication across these mediums.

Suggested Citation

  • Sudharshini Vasan & Akshat Aditya Rao & Nimit Gupta, 2025. "Examining the impact of advertising, firm-generated content, and user-generated content on customers’ propensity to buy food online," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:futbus:v:11:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1186_s43093-025-00492-z
    DOI: 10.1186/s43093-025-00492-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s43093-025-00492-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s43093-025-00492-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shuba Srinivasan & Oliver J. Rutz & Koen Pauwels, 2016. "Paths to and off purchase: quantifying the impact of traditional marketing and online consumer activity," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 440-453, July.
    2. Lesscher, Lisan & Lobschat, Lara & Verhoef, Peter C., 2021. "Do offline and online go hand in hand? Cross-channel and synergy effects of direct mailing and display advertising," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 678-697.
    3. Bharadwaj, Neeraj & Ballings, Michel & Naik, Prasad A., 2020. "Cross-Media Consumption: Insights from Super Bowl Advertising," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 17-31.
    4. Beth L. Fossen & David A. Schweidel, 2017. "Television Advertising and Online Word-of-Mouth: An Empirical Investigation of Social TV Activity," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(1), pages 105-123, January.
    5. Bigne, Enrique & Simonetti, Aline & Ruiz, Carla & Kakaria, Shobhit, 2021. "How online advertising competes with user-generated content in TripAdvisor. A neuroscientific approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 279-288.
    6. Kapoor, Anuj Pal & Vij, Madhu, 2018. "Technology at the dinner table: Ordering food online through mobile apps," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 342-351.
    7. Khim-Yong Goh & Cheng-Suang Heng & Zhijie Lin, 2013. "Social Media Brand Community and Consumer Behavior: Quantifying the Relative Impact of User- and Marketer-Generated Content," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 88-107, March.
    8. Valter Afonso Vieira & Marcos Inácio Severo Almeida & Raj Agnihotri & Nôga Simões De Arruda Corrêa Silva & S. Arunachalam, 2019. "In pursuit of an effective B2B digital marketing strategy in an emerging market," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 1085-1108, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bharadwaj, Neeraj & Ballings, Michel & Naik, Prasad A., 2020. "Cross-Media Consumption: Insights from Super Bowl Advertising," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 17-31.
    2. Lesscher, Lisan & Lobschat, Lara & Verhoef, Peter C., 2021. "Do offline and online go hand in hand? Cross-channel and synergy effects of direct mailing and display advertising," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 678-697.
    3. Yen-Yao Wang & Chenhui Guo & Anjana Susarla & Vallabh Sambamurthy, 2021. "Online to Offline: The Impact of Social Media on Offline Sales in the Automobile Industry," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(2), pages 582-604, June.
    4. Christian Hildebrand & Tobias Schlager, 2019. "Focusing on others before you shop: exposure to Facebook promotes conventional product configurations," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 291-307, March.
    5. Nan Feng & Yanan Shi & Yadi Li & Dahui Li & Jie Zhang & Minqiang Li, 2024. "An Exploration of the Dynamics Between Social Media and Box Office Performance," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 591-608, April.
    6. Ryan Mullins & Raj Agnihotri, 2022. "Digital selling: organizational and managerial influences for frontline readiness and effectiveness," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 800-821, July.
    7. Dominik M. Wielgos & Christian Homburg & Christina Kuehnl, 2021. "Digital business capability: its impact on firm and customer performance," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 762-789, July.
    8. Irina Heimbach & Oliver Hinz, 2018. "The Impact of Sharing Mechanism Design on Content Sharing in Online Social Networks," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 592-611, September.
    9. Liuan Wang & Lu (Lucy) Yan & Tongxin Zhou & Xitong Guo & Gregory R. Heim, 2020. "Understanding Physicians’ Online-Offline Behavior Dynamics: An Empirical Study," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 537-555, June.
    10. Bertschek, Irene & Kesler, Reinhold, 2022. "Let the user speak: Is feedback on Facebook a source of firms’ innovation?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    11. Tingting Song & Jinghua Huang & Yong Tan & Yifan Yu, 2019. "Using User- and Marketer-Generated Content for Box Office Revenue Prediction: Differences Between Microblogging and Third-Party Platforms," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(1), pages 191-203, March.
    12. Beth L. Fossen & Girish Mallapragada & Anwesha De, 2021. "Impact of Political Television Advertisements on Viewers’ Response to Subsequent Advertisements," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(2), pages 305-324, March.
    13. Halloran, Timothy J. & Lutz, Richard J., 2021. "Let's Give Them Something to Talk About: Which Social Media Engagements Predict Purchase Frequency?," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 83-95.
    14. Amit Kumar Kushwaha & Arpan Kumar Kar, 2024. "MarkBot – A Language Model-Driven Chatbot for Interactive Marketing in Post-Modern World," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 857-874, June.
    15. Kübler, Raoul V. & Manke, Kai & Pauwels, Koen, 2025. "I like, I share, I vote: Mapping the dynamic system of political marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    16. Jose Benitez & Laura Ruiz & Ana Castillo & Javier Llorens, 2020. "How corporate social responsibility activities influence employer reputation: The role of social media capability," Post-Print hal-02462583, HAL.
    17. Bayer, Emanuel & Srinivasan, Shuba & Riedl, Edward J. & Skiera, Bernd, 2020. "The impact of online display advertising and paid search advertising relative to offline advertising on firm performance and firm value," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 789-804.
    18. Pradeep Kumar Ponnamma Divakaran & Jie Xiong, 2022. "Eliciting brand association networks: A new method using online community data," Post-Print hal-03700393, HAL.
    19. Tajvidi, Mina & Richard, Marie-Odile & Wang, YiChuan & Hajli, Nick, 2020. "Brand co-creation through social commerce information sharing: The role of social media," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 476-486.
    20. Vivian Qin & Koen Pauwels & Bobby Zhou, 2024. "Data-driven budget allocation of retail media by ad product, funnel metric, and brand size," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(2), pages 235-249, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:futbus:v:11:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1186_s43093-025-00492-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.