International Journal of Digital Marketing Science

Examining Adoption and Effectiveness of WhatsApp as a Marketing Tool: An Example of an Austrian Fitness and Health Center

Claudia Brauer, Julia Pronnet, Anita Zehrer — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This study explores the factors influencing user acceptance and intention to use WhatsApp as a business-to-consumer (B2C) communication and marketing tool in the fitness industry, using an Austrian fitness center as a case study. Given WhatsApp's growing commercial relevance, understanding customer interaction determinants is crucial. Despite the overall growth of the fitness sector, businesses face challenges that necessitate innovative communication strategies. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Theory of Reasoned Action, this research identifies twelve key acceptance factors. A quantitative deductive approach was applied, and survey data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. The findings reveal that perceived value, attitude towards use, and perceived ease of use significantly influence the intention to use WhatsApp. Additionally, perceived usefulness correlates positively with perceived ease of use and the perceived informational and entertainment value. These insights highlight WhatsApp's potential as a marketing and communication tool in the fitness industry. The study offers a foundation for further research and provides practical implications for optimizing business performance through targeted marketing and customer engagement strategies.

Swipe, Stream, and Splurge: Systematic Literature Review on The Triggers of Impulsive Buying in Live Streaming Commerce

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Recently live streaming has become popular media that enabling public to broadcast their video content through numerous platform (i.e., social media and e-commerce). In live streaming, live streamer could have real-time and interactive communication to their audience. Hence many people including marketer use live streaming as essential marketing tools that can shorten customer’s purchase decision time, and provoke customer’s impulse buying urge. Given the popularity of live steaming in numerous platform and impulse buying behavior become imperative topic in consumer behavior study, synthetizing the existing literature related to impulse buying in live streaming is needed. This study occupies the past and present of impulse buying in live streaming to gain better understanding of impulse buying in live streaming, and also gives insight about prospective of impulse buying in live streaming study for the future research. The author used secondary data from Scopus database in doing systematic literature review. In term of data extracting process, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) is used, and 30 papers that meet the criteria are included to be reviewed. Author synthesize articles reviewed and found some findings such as studies progression, research design and methodology adopted in the reviewed article, theories used, and research theme. The research contributes to enhance theoretical and practical implications that is needed by academician for future research directions, and practitioners to strengthen their marketing strategy using live streaming feature to trigger people buy their product impulsively.

Examining the Role of Oil and Non-Oil Revenues, and Oil Price Fluctuations on Economic Growth in African Oil Exporting Countries

Farag khalifa Gaballa, Nazatul Faizah Haron — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This study investigates the complex relationships between oil revenues, non-oil revenues, oil price fluctuations, and economic growth in African oil-exporting countries. Targeting Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt, the research analyzed a comprehensive dataset spanning 1970-2023 using advanced second-generation panel econometric techniques. The cross-sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model examined the long-run and short-run dynamics of economic growth determinants. The sample comprised five leading African oil-producing countries, with data sourced from the World Bank Development Database. Results demonstrated significant positive relationships between GDP and oil revenue, non-oil revenue, oil prices, capital, and labor. The research revealed the critical importance of economic diversification, human capital investment, and strategic revenue management in driving sustainable economic growth. The study offers substantial implications for policymakers, economists, and development practitioners by providing insights into economic transformation mechanisms in resource-dependent economies. It contributes to resource economics literature by offering empirical evidence of complex economic interactions in African contexts. The originality of the research lies in its comprehensive approach, innovative methodological techniques, and detailed exploration of economic growth dynamics in African oil-exporting countries.