Vusimuzi Makhubela

Type of the article: Research article

Abstract
The growing prevalence of social media marketing, particularly Facebook advertising, offers SMMEs a cost-effective, flexible, and far-reaching promotional tool. Despite its potential, South African SMMEs have been slow to adopt Facebook advertising. This study seeks to investigate the antecedents of Facebook advertising usage amongst South African SMME owners/managers. The study employed a quantitative approach to collect data from a convenience sample of 400 SMME owners/managers from various sectors in 2024 across South Africa. Convenience sampling was selected due to time and cost constraints. Participants either completed a hand-delivered or online questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. The structural model reveals that perceived ease of use (β = 0.22, p < .001) and external pressure (β = 0.27, p < .001) influence behavioral intention to use Facebook advertising, and that perceived usefulness (β = 0.38, p < .001) and perceived compatibility (β = 0.57, p < .001) influence perceived value. Perceived value (β = 0.57, p < .001) together with perceived relative advantage (β = 0.43, p < .001) influence attitudes toward Facebook advertising. Attitude (β = 0.54, p < .001), in turn, predicts behavioral intention to use Facebook advertising. The model satisfied all specified model fit criteria (SRMR = 0.038, CFI = 0.911, GFI = 0.929), suggesting acceptable fit and accurate representation of the data.