Social media communication with intensified pandemic fears: evaluating the relative impact of user- and firm-generated content on brand loyalty

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse user-generated content and firm-generated content on perceived quality and brand trust, and eventually how it impacted brand loyalty with pandemic fear as the moderator. Design/methodology/approach This study employed an online survey questionnaire method in the Facebook online shopping groups to collect the data. The filter question technique was adopted to verify the respondent's validity. A total of 434 samples was collected using purposive sampling. The data were then analysed using SmartPLS 3.0. Findings The analysis showed that firm-generated content appeared to have a stronger positive relationship on perceived quality and brand trust than on user-generated content. Brand trust and perceived quality are found to influence brand loyalty positively. However, pandemic fears only moderate the relationship between firm-generated content and brand trust and perceived quality. This study revealed that the main components in social media communication do not influence perceived quality and brand trust to the same extent. Originality/value This study contributes to the knowledge of social media communication during the pandemic period that has not been studied empirically in the Malaysian context. The main components in social media communication were delineated and the impact of pandemic fears on how they would possibly affect the established relationships in the literature were examined. This study enables the researchers and practitioners to take a closer look at how the pandemic crisis could provide a shift on what has been understood so far.