외식기업의 소셜미디어 마케팅 활동이 브랜드 자산에 미치는 영향: 프랜차이즈 운영 여부의 조절효과를 중심으로

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of social media marketing on brand equity in the restaurant industry. This study also investigates the moderating effect of franchising on the relationship between social media marketing and brand equity. Data on social media marketing from restaurant firms were collected through representative social networking websites, such as Instagram and Naver Blog, and data for brand equity were collected from K-BPI(Korea Brand Power Index). The dataset was structured based on firm and year. To analyze the panel data set, the generalized least squares estimation - random effects model was conducted. The findings of this study can be summarized as follows. First, firm-created content (FCC) did not show any significant effect on both brand awareness and brand image. On the other hand, consumer engagement behaviors (CEB) had a significant positive impact on brand awareness. Additionally, CEB such as “likes” and “blog posts” were found to have a significant positive impact on brand image. Second, when “likes” and “comments” within CEB had significant positive impacts on brand awareness, a negative moderating effect of franchising was found. Based on the evidence from analyzing the secondary data, this study empirically found that social media marketing of restaurant firms positively influences brand equity. Moreover, from a knowledge-based perspective, this research found that franchising moderates the relationship between social media marketing and brand equity, contributing to the existing knowledge of the franchise literature. Specifically, this study provides evidence that CEB plays a significant role in establishing brand equity, which can be useful in making a successful marketing strategy for the restaurant business. It also provides managerial suggestions for franchise firms by highlighting the importance of the knowledge transfer process within the franchise system.