The Mediating Role of Viewer Trust in the Relationship between Social Media Advertising and Consumer Buying Behavior: Evidence from Kabul’s Restaurant Sector

Abstract

This study examines the influence of social media advertising on consumer buying behavior in the restaurant industry of Kabul, Afghanistan, with a particular focus on the mediating role of viewer trust. Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the research investigates how trust mechanisms shape consumer responses to digital advertising in a developing-country context. The study adopted a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, and primary data were collected from 130 respondents using a convenience sampling technique. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Hayes’ PROCESS Macro (Model 4) to test the mediating effect of viewer trust. The findings reveal a strong positive relationship between social media advertising and consumer buying behavior (β = 0.705, p < 0.001), while viewer trust partially mediates this relationship. The model explains 49.7% of the variance in consumer buying behavior, highlighting that trust plays a critical, though not exclusive, and role in translating advertising exposure into purchase decisions. The study contributes theoretically by extending the TPB framework through the inclusion of trust as a mediating mechanism and offers practical implications for restaurant marketers, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, transparent communication, and effective social media engagement strategies.