Factors Affecting Social Media Adoption Among Wood Products Consumers

Authors

  • Kathryn Arano Gazal West Virginia University
  • Iris Montague US Forest Service Northern Research Station & Forest Products Marketing Unit
  • Janice Wiedenbeck US Forest Service

Keywords:

Social media, wood products, digital market

Abstract

As a result of the rise of the digital market, social media has emerged as one of the most popular marketing tools. Consumers today increasingly rely on social media when shopping and thus it can influence consumer behavior and purchasing decisions.  We know that a growing number of wood products companies are using a variety of social media approaches to focus their marketing efforts as they seek to remain competitive in the digital marketplace. Although previous studies have examined social media use by forest products companies, none have examined social media use by wood products consumers. Forest products companies can design more effective social media marketing efforts if they understand the decision process of potential customers with regards to social media. Thus, a survey was conducted in 2017 to investigate factors affecting social media adoption among wood products consumers in the U.S. The results show that social media adoption by consumers is influenced by the ease of use and perceived usefulness of social media, product characteristics, demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, age, income) and situational factors (e.g., community type). Understanding the factors that motivate wood products consumers’ social media adoption is important when developing and designing social media marketing strategies that target consumers’ needs. 

Author Biographies

Kathryn Arano Gazal, West Virginia University

Associate Professor of Forest Economics

Division of Forestry and Natural Resources

West Virginia University

Iris Montague, US Forest Service Northern Research Station & Forest Products Marketing Unit

Research Forester

Janice Wiedenbeck, US Forest Service

Team Leader/Research Forest Products Technologist

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2019-03-27

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Empirical Manuscripts