Psychological Well-Being in Social Media Ads’ Effect on Hedonic and Utilitarian Consumption: Mediator and Moderator Effect Analysis

The aim of the study was determined as the mediating and moderating role of psychological well-being in the effect of perception towards social media advertisements on hedonic and utilitarian consumption. In this context, the study analyzed the direct effect of social media ad perception on hedonic and utilitarian consumption, along with the mediating and moderating role of psychological well-being. Data were collected from 456 participants via an online survey using convenience sampling. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed in AMOS to assess scale validity, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The analyses revealed that social media advertisements have a stronger relationship with hedonic consumption, while psychological well-being shows a stronger association with utilitarian consumption. Psychological well-being played a partial mediating role in the effect of social media ads on hedonic consumption and a full mediating role on utilitarian consumption. Additionally, both social media advertisements and psychological well-being were found to have a positive moderating effect on hedonic and utilitarian consumption. These results suggest that businesses aiming to enhance their marketing effectiveness should consider the role of psychological well-being in shaping perceptions of social media ads that influence consumption decisions.