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This study examined how the repeated information posted by sports teams on their social media pages influences the purchase intention of sports consumers. More specifically, the mere exposure effect was used to describe how relevant, valuable and credible social media posts affect sports consumers’ brand awareness, brand attitude and brand images as well as how these effects ultimately influence their purchase decisions.

A total of 458 respondents who use social media platforms to access sports team-related information were reached via purposive sampling. Confirmatory factor analysis and covariance-based structural equation modeling were conducted to evaluate measurement and path models. This study also attempted to detect whether there is an indirect effect of sponsor brand awareness on the purchase intention of sports consumers.

The relevance, value and credibility of social media information significantly and positively affected sponsor brand awareness among the respondents. Such awareness favorably influenced their attitude and perceptions toward sponsor brands. This awareness also indirectly influenced their purchase intention through brand image as a mediator. As well, brand image strongly and directly affected purchase intention.

By identifying the importance of sports team information posted on social media platforms, this study guide sports teams and sponsors in crafting high-quality social media content that enhances brand awareness, brand image and positively shapes consumer attitudes, ultimately driving purchase intention.

This study develops a comprehensive research model and investigates the significant factors affecting positive marketing outcomes in the Metaverse through perceived social benefits and trust.

The authors propose a new research model based on social exchange theory (SET) and examine the impact of cost and reward factors. Using 327 survey samples collected from current Metaverse users in South Korea, dual-stage analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and an artificial neural network (ANN) were employed to test the study’s hypotheses.

The results showed that perceived social benefit and trust had significant mediating effects on marketing outcomes, such as loyalty to the seller, product/service attitude, and purchase intention. All antecedents, except perceived performance risk, had a crucial impact on the two mediators. The most interesting finding of this study is the positive influence of knowledge-seeking efforts on perceived social benefits.

This study is the first empirical research to examine the effectiveness of marketing in the Metaverse. It also proposes a new theoretical model based on SET to investigate users’ behavioral intentions regarding marketing in the Metaverse, and confirms its explanatory power. Moreover, the results of this study also offer suggestions to brands on how to market to consumers in the Metaverse.