Beyond Engagement: How Sustainable Marketing, AI Personalization, and Influencer Marketing Build Brand Trust Among Thai Digital Consumers — A Multi-Generational SEM Analysis
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Abstract
Contemporary digital marketing increasingly relies on three interdependent forces—Sustainable Marketing Practices (SMP), AI-Powered Personalization (AIP), and Influencer Marketing Effectiveness (IME)—yet the simultaneous impact of these forces on consumer behavior remains underexamined in emerging economies. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior and Consumer Behavior Theory, this study develops an integrative structural model positioning Brand Trust (BT), Customer Engagement (CE), and Perceived Value (PV) as parallel mediators linking the three marketing drivers to Purchase Intention (PI) and Brand Loyalty (BL). Survey data were collected from 450 Thai digital consumers, stratified into three generational cohorts (Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X), and analyzed using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) with multi-group analysis. The findings reveal that all three marketing drivers significantly and positively influenced BT, CE, and PV, with mediated pathways to PI and BL fully supported. Notably, Influencer Marketing had the strongest effect on CE (β = 0.389), while Brand Trust was the most powerful predictor of PI (β = 0.423), explaining 67% of the variance in PI and 73% in BL. Multi-group analysis further demonstrated meaningful generational moderation: Gen Z responded more strongly to AIP and IME, whereas Gen X showed greater sensitivity to SMP. These results reposition Brand Trust from a passive equity metric to an active, measurable precursor to purchase conversion—one that practitioners in emerging markets can build in parallel across all three marketing strategies.
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