The Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction in the Effect of Social Media Marketing Activities on Corporate Reputation: Evidence from the Airline Industry

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 26 Sayı: 1, 472 - 494, 27.03.2026

Mehmet Yalçınkaya

https://doi.org/10.11616/asbi.1824167

https://izlik.org/JA56ZA89EC

Öz

This study, which investigates the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between social media marketing activities (Entertainment, Interaction, Trendiness, Advertisement, Customization) and corporate reputation, adopts the correlational survey model from quantitative research approaches. The research was conducted using data obtained from 619 volunteer participants aged 18 and over who are active social media users in Turkey and customers of the airline industry. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 24 and AMOS 22.
According to the research findings, social media marketing activities (Entertainment, Interaction, Trendiness, Advertisement, Customization) have a significant and direct impact on both corporate reputation and customer satisfaction. Additionally, it has been determined that customer satisfaction has a strong and positive impact on corporate reputation. The most critical finding of the study is that customer satisfaction plays a significant and partial mediating role in the relationship between social media marketing activities and corporate reputation. This result clearly shows that a large part of the overall positive impact of social media activities on corporate reputation occurs indirectly through customer satisfaction.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Social Media Marketing Activities , Corporate Reputation , Customer Satisfaction

Etik Beyan

Ethical approval was obtained from Ordu University Social and Human Sciences Research Ethics Board.

Havayolu Sektöründe Sosyal Medya Pazarlama Aktivitelerinin Kurumsal İtibara Etkisinde Müşteri Memnuniyetinin Aracı Rolü

https://izlik.org/JA56ZA89EC

Öz

Sosyal medya pazarlama aktiviteleri (Eğlence, Etkileşim, Güncellik, Reklam, Kişiselleştirme) ile kurumsal itibar ilişkisinde müşteri memnuniyetinin aracılık rolünün araştırıldığı bu çalışmada nicel araştırma yaklaşımlarından ilişkisel tarama modeli benimsenmiştir. Araştırma, havayolu sektörü müşterisi olan 18 yaş ve üzeri Türkiye'deki aktif sosyal medya kullanıcısı 619 gönüllü katılımcıdan elde edilen verilerle gerçekleştirilmiştir. Verilerin analizinde SPSS 24 ve AMOS 22 programları kullanılmıştır.
Araştırma sonuçlarına göre, sosyal medya pazarlama aktivitelerinin (Eğlence, Etkileşim, Güncellik, Reklam, Kişiselleştirme) hem kurumsal itibar hem de müşteri memnuniyeti üzerinde anlamlı ve doğrudan bir etkiye sahip olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Ayrıca, müşteri memnuniyetinin kurumsal itibar üzerinde de güçlü ve pozitif bir etki yarattığı belirlenmiştir. Çalışmanın en kritik bulgusu ise, müşteri memnuniyetinin; sosyal medya pazarlama aktiviteleri ile kurumsal itibar arasındaki ilişkide önemli ve kısmi aracı bir rol üstlenmesidir. Bu sonuç, sosyal medya aktivitelerinin kurumsal itibar üzerindeki toplam pozitif etkisinin büyük bir kısmının müşteri memnuniyeti kanalıyla dolaylı olarak gerçekleştiğini açıkça göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Sosyal Medya Pazarlama Aktiviteleri , Kurumsal İtibar , Müşteri Memnuniyeti

Etik Beyan

Ordu Üniversitesi Sosyal ve Beşeri Bilimler Araştırmaları Etik Kurulundan etik yönden uygun olduğuna dair izin alınmıştır

Kaynakça

• Al-Dmour, R., Alkhatib, O. H., Al-Dmour, H., ve Basheer Amin, E. (2023). The influence of social marketing drives on brand loyalty via the customer satisfaction as a mediating factor in travel and tourism offices. Sage Open, 13(2), 21582440231181433.
• Al-Hujri, A., Al-Hakimi, M. A., Alshageri, S., Keshavrao, B. V. ve Al Koliby, I. S. (2025). The impact of social media marketing activities on brand loyalty and awareness: The mediating role of customer satisfaction in Yemen’s telecom industry. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1), s.1–19.
• Ali, W., Danni, Y., Latif, B., Kouser, R., & Baqader, S.. (2021). Corporate social responsibility and customer loyalty in food chains: Mediating role of customer satisfaction and corporate reputation. Sustainability, 13, 8681, s.1–15.
• Anas, A. M., Abdou, A. H., Hassan, T. H., Alrefae, W. M. M., Daradkeh, F. M., El-Amin, M. A. M. M., ... ve Alboray, H. M. M. (2023). Satisfaction on the driving seat: exploring the influence of social media marketing activities on followers’ purchase intention in the restaurant industry context. Sustainability, 15(9), s. 7207.
• Baber, R., ve Baber, P. (2023). Influence of social media marketing efforts, e-reputation and destination image on intention to visit among tourists: Application of SOR model. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 6(5), s. 2298-2316.
• Banerji, R. ve Singh, A. (2024). Do social media marketing activities promote customer loyalty? A study on the e-commerce industry. LBS Journal of Management & Research, 22(1), s. 93-109.
• Bartlett, J. E., Kotrlik, J. W. ve Higgins, C. C. (2001). Organizational research: Determining appropriate sample size in survey research. Information Technology, Learning, and Performance Journal, 19(1), s.43–50.
• Başgöze, P. ve Özdestici, H. (2021). Sosyal medya pazarlamasının kurumsal itibar algısına etkisi: Kişiselleştirme metaforu. Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi İİBF Dergisi, 11(1), s.95–127.
• Benoit, S., Kienzler, M. ve Kowalkowski, C. (2020). Intuitive pricing by independent store managers: Challenging beliefs and practices. Journal of Business Research, 115, s.70–84.
• Bilgin, Y. (2018). The effect of social media marketing activities on brand awareness, brand image and brand loyalty. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 6(1), s.128–148.
• Biswas, A., Jaiswal, D., ve Kant, R. (2022). Determinants and consequences of customer satisfaction in Indian retail banks: moderation of bank reputation. Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective, 09722629221108492.
• Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2024). Sosyal bilimler için veri analizi el kitabı: İstatistik, araştırma deseni, SPSS uygulamaları ve yorum (31. Baskı). Ankara: Pegem Akademi.
• Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2. Baskı). New York: Taylor & Francis.
• Carmeli, A. ve Tishler, A. (2005). Perceived organizational reputation and organizational performance. Corporate Reputation Review, 8(1), s.13–30.
• Castellano, S. ve Khelladi, I. (2016). Reputation, image, and social media as determinants of e-reputation. International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction, 12(4), s.48–64.
• Chen, S. C., ve Lin, C. P. (2019). Understanding the effect of social media marketing activities: The mediation of social identification, perceived value, and satisfaction. Technological forecasting and social change, 140, s. 22-32.
• Chi, C. G. ve Qu, H. (2008). Examining the structural relationships of destination image, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. Tourism Management, 29(4), s.624–636.
• Dierickx, I. ve Cool, K. (1989). Asset stock accumulation and sustainable competitive advantage. Management Science, 35(12), s.1504–1511.
• Dijkmans, C., Kerkhof, P., ve Beukeboom, C. J. (2015). A stage to engage: Social media use and corporate reputation. Tourism management, 47, s. 58-67.
• Ebrahim, R. S. (2020). The role of trust in understanding the impact of social media marketing on brand equity and brand loyalty. Journal of relationship marketing, 19(4), s. 287-308.
• Erevelles, S. ve Leavitt, C. (1992). A comparison of current models of consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 5(10), s.104–114.
• Etter, M. (2013). Reasons for low levels of interactivity: (Non-)interactive CSR communication on Twitter. Public Relations Review, 39(5), s.606–608.
• Fırat, İ. ve Bal, C. G. (2023). The mediating role of brand trust concerning the impact of social media communication on the corporate reputation. İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi, 15(4), s. 2543-2561.
• Fombrun, C. J. (1996). Reputation: Realising value from the corporate image. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
• Fornell, C., ve Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), s. 39–50.
• Galbreath, J. (2010). How does corporate social responsibility benefit firms? European Business Review, 22(4), s.411–431.
• Garanti, Z., Igbudu, N., Popoola, T., Vrontis, D., ve Melanthiou, Y. (2022). Building corporate reputation through social media marketing efforts: the mediating role of corporate brand credibility. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 17(3-4), s. 370-393.
• Godey, B., Manthiou, A., Pederzoli, D., Rokka, J., Aiello, G., Donvito, R. ve Singh, R. (2016). Social media marketing efforts of luxury brands. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), s.5833–5841.
• Guo, Y., Fan, D. ve Zhang, X. (2020). Social media–based customer service and firm reputation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 40(5), s.575–601.
• Hair, J. F. (2009). Multivariate data analysis (7. Baskı). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J. ve Anderson, R.E. (2014), Multivariate data analysis: Pearson New International Edition, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
• Hanaysha, J. R. (2017). Impact of social media marketing, price promotion and CSR on customer satisfaction. Jindal Journal of Business Research, 6(2), s.132–145.
• Hanaysha, J. R. (2022). Impact of social media marketing features on consumer's purchase decision in the fast-food industry: Brand trust as a mediator. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights, 2(2), 100102.
• Hanaysha, J. R. ve Alhyasat, K. M. K. (2025). Leveraging technological innovation, social media, and green marketing for corporate reputation: The mediating role of business sustainability. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1), s.1–18.
• He, J. ve Calder, B. J. (2020). The experimental evaluation of brand strength and brand value. Journal of Business Research, 115, s.194–202.
• Heiets, I., Ng, S., Singh, N., Farrell, J., ve Kumar, A. (2024). Social media activities of airlines: What makes them successful? Journal of the Air Transport Research Society, 2, 100017, s. 1-11.
• Helm, S. (2005). Designing a formative measure for corporate reputation. Corporate Reputation Review, 8(2), s.95–109.
• Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., ve Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 43(1), s.115-135.
• Irdasyah, R. R., Risqiani, R., ve Margaretha, F. (2022). The influence of social media marketing activities, brand awareness, brand image, against purchase intention. Jurnal Economic Resource, 5(2), s. 402-416.
• İzmir, O. (2023). How is CSR perception formed and when does it affect purchase intention: a mixed method study in the Turkish Airline Industry. Uluslararası Akademik Birikim Dergisi, 6(Özel Sayı), s. 283-304.
• İzmir, O., Eroglu-hall, E., ve Sevim, N. (2023). Deneyimsel Tüketim Bakış Açısıyla Kalite, Algılanan Değer, Tatmin ve Sadakat Zincirinin İncelenmesi: Üçüncü Dalga Kahve Tüketimi. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 14(1), s. 294-310.
• Jamal, A. ve Naser, K. (2002). Customer satisfaction and retail banking: An assessment of some of the key antecedents of customer satisfaction in retail banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 20(4), s.146–160.
• Jamil, K., Dunnan, L., Gul, R. F., Shehzad, M. U., Gillani, S. H. M., ve Awan, F. H. (2022). Role of social media marketing activities in influencing customer intentions: a perspective of a new emerging era. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 808525.
• Jiang, Y. ve Zheng, X. (2025). Digital media communication, FinTech, and corporate reputation. Finance Research Letters, 109266, s. 1-9.
• Junaedi, W. R., Muhdar, H. M., ve Firmansyah, A. (2022). Consumer loyalty of Indonesia e-commerce SMEs: the role of social media marketing and customer satisfaction. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 6(2), s. 383-390.
• Kamboj, S., Yadav, M. ve Rahman, Z. (2018). Impact of social media and customer-centric technology on performance outcomes: The mediating role of social CRM capabilities. International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 9(2), s.109–125.
• Karasar, N. (2011). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri. Ankara: Nobel Yayınları.
• Khan, M. F., Amin, F., Jan, A., ve Hakak, I. A. (2025). Social media marketing activities in the Indian airlines: Brand equity and electronic word of mouth. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 25(4), s. 537-554.
• Kim, A. J., & Ko, E. (2012). Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An empirical study of luxury fashion brand. Journal of Business research, 65(10), s. 1480-1486.
• Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (5. Baskı). New York: Guilford Press.
• Koay, K. Y., Ong, D. L. T., Khoo, K. L. ve Yeoh, H. J. (2020). Perceived social media marketing activities and consumer-based brand equity: Testing a moderated mediation model. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 33(1), s.53–72.
• Kotler, P. ve Keller, K. L. (2013). Marketing management (14. Baskı). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, s.110.
• Lariscy, R. W., Avery, E. J., Sweetser, K. D. ve Howes, P. (2009). Monitoring public opinion in cyberspace: How corporate public relations is facing the challenge. Public Relations Journal, 3(4), s.1–17.
• Lim, J. S. ve Young, C. (2021). Effects of issue ownership, perceived fit, and authenticity in corporate social advocacy on corporate reputation. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 102071, s.1–9.
• Mahmoud, M. A., Hinson, R. E. ve Anim, P. A. (2018). Service innovation and customer satisfaction: The role of customer value creation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 21(3), s.402–422.
• Majeed, M., Asare, C., Fatawu, A., ve Abubakari, A. (2022). An analysis of the effects of customer satisfaction and engagement on social media on repurchase intention in the hospitality industry. Cogent Business & Management, 9(1), 2028331.
• Manthiou, A., Chiang, L. ve Tang, L. (2013). Identifying and responding to customer needs on Facebook fan pages. International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction, 9(3), s.36–52.
• McWilliams, A., Siegel, D. S. ve Wright, P. M. (2006). Corporate social responsibility: Strategic implications. Journal of Management Studies, 43(1), s.1–18.
• Mendoza Villafaina, J. ve López-Mosquera, N. (2025). From satisfaction to reputation: a SEM approach to understanding key drivers in higher vocational education and training in Spain. Education+ Training, s. 1-18.
• Mohamed Sadom, N. Z., Mat Yusoff, S. H., ve Mohd Sauh, S. (2024). The relationship between social media marketing, trust, reputation and purchase intention: empirical evidence from fast-food industry. Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 36(5), s. 956-984.
• Moslehpour, M., Dadvari, A., Nugroho, W., ve Do, B. R. (2021). The dynamic stimulus of social media marketing on purchase intention of Indonesian airline products and services. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 33(2), s. 561-583.
• Nkpurukwe, O. I., ve Opara, B. C. (2022). Social media marketing and customer fulfillment of airline operators in Nigeria. International Journal of Advancement in Strategic Management and Marketing, 9(2), s. 107-116.
• Özcan, F. ve Elçi, M. (2020). Employees’ perception of CSR affecting employer brand, brand image, and corporate reputation. SAGE Open, s.1–13.
• Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. ve Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implication for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49(4), s.41–50.
• Park, E. O., Chae, B. K., Kwon, J. ve Kim, W. H. (2020). The effects of green restaurant attributes on customer satisfaction using the structural topic model on online customer reviews. Sustainability, 12, 2843, s.1–20.
• Patricks, A., Libaque-Saenz, C. F., Fan, S. ve Chang, Y. (2016). An expectation-confirmation model of continuance intention to use mobile instant messaging. Telematics and Informatics, 33(1), s.34–47.
• Ramanathan, U., Subramanian, N. ve Parrott, G. (2017). Role of social media in retail network operations and marketing to enhance customer satisfaction. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 37(1), s.105–123.
• Sano, K. (2015). An empirical study of the effect of social media marketing activities upon customer satisfaction, positive word-of-mouth and commitment in indemnity insurance service. Proceedings of the International Marketing Trends Conference, Paris, France, s.21–32.
• Saraç, H. (2023). The effects of social media marketing activities on brand credibility and purchase intention in the airline industry: A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (Yayımlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi). Marmara Üniversitesi, İstanbul.
• Saraç, H., Erdoğmuş, Z. İ. E., ve Dirsehan, T. (2025). Decoding credibility signals of social media marketing activities on airline customers: A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. Journal of the Air Transport Research Society, 100070, s.1-10
• Sarstedt, M., Hair Jr, J. F., Cheah, J. H., Becker, J. M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). How to specify, estimate, and validate higher-order constructs in PLS-SEM. Australasian Marketing Journal, 27(3), s.197-211.
• Seo, E. J. ve Park, J. W. (2018). A study on the effects of social media marketing activities on brand equity and customer response in the airline industry. Journal of Air Transport Management, 66, s.36–41.
• Shafiq, M. A., Khan, M. M. A., Gul, R., Hussain, M., ve Javaid, M. Q. (2023). Influence of social media marketing in development of customer trust and satisfaction through the moderating role of electronic word of mouth. Journal of Social Sciences Review, 3(1), s. 623-638.
• Shapiro, C. (1983). Premiums for high quality products as returns to reputation. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 98(4), s.659–679.
• Sipahi, B., Yurtkoru, E. S. ve Çinko, M. (2018). Sosyal bilimlerde SPSS’le veri analizi (7. Baskı). İstanbul: Beta Yayıncılık.
• Smith, K. T., Blazovich, J. L. ve Smith, L. M. (2015). Social media adoption by corporations: An examination by platform, industry, size, and financial performance. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 19(2), s.127–143.
• Statista. (2025). Global digital population as of October 2025. Erişim adresi ve tarihi: https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/ (02.01.2026)
• Syahfudin, E. ve Ruswanti, E. (2017). The impact of service quality and brand image on customer loyalty mediated by customer satisfaction: The Indonesian banking industry. UEU–International Journal, Jakarta, s.1–12.
• Tarabieh, S. M. A. (2022). The impact of social-media marketing activities on consumers’ loyalty intentions: The mediating roles of brand awareness, consumer brand engagement and brand image. Jordan Journal of Business Administration, 18(4), s. 477-499.
• Tuten, T. L. ve Solomon, M. R. (2016). Social media marketing. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
• Tutkun, A., ve Eroğlu, F. (2022). The effect of social media activities on consumers’ attitudes and behaviour in aviation sector. Journal of Aviation, 6(1), s.33-41.
• Walsh, G., Mitchell, V. W., Jackson, P. R. ve Beatty, S. E. (2009). Examining the antecedents and consequences of corporate reputation: A customer perspective. British Journal of Management, 20(2), s.187–203.
• Wibowo, A., Chen, S. C., Wiangin, U., Ma, Y., ve Ruangkanjanases, A. (2020). Customer behavior as an outcome of social media marketing: The role of social media marketing activity and customer experience. Sustainability, 13(1), s.189.
• Wonua, A. R., Sovianti, R., Risdwiyanto, A., Sutaguna, I. N. T., ve Rukmana, A. Y. (2023). Social Media Marketing And Customer Satisfaction. Jurnal Manajemen Riset Inovasi, 1(4), s.50-60.
• Xia, L., Xu, Y., Zhang, Y., Jiang, H., ve Cui, B. (2024). Impact of airline social media marketing on purchase intention: Evidence from China using PLS-SEM. Transport Economics and Business, 2, s.249–262.
• Yadav, M. ve Rahman, Z. (2017). Measuring consumer perception of social media marketing activities in e-commerce industry: Scale development and validation. Telematics and Informatics, 34(7), s.1294–1307.
• Yadav, M. ve Rahman, Z. (2018). The influence of social media marketing activities on customer loyalty. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 25(9), s.3882–3905.
• Yang, X. (2019). Consumers’ decisions in social commerce: The role of guanxi elements. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 31(4), s.759–772.
• Yum, K., ve Yoo, B. (2023). The impact of service quality on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction in mobile social media. Sustainability, 15(14), 11214, s.1-14.
• Zanubiya, J., Meria, L., ve Juliansah, M. A. D. (2023). Increasing consumers with satisfaction application based digital marketing strategies. Startupreneur Business Digital (SABDA Journal), 2(1), s.12-21.
• Zarei, A., Farjoo, H., ve Bagheri Garabollagh, H. (2022). How social media marketing activities (SMMAs) and brand equity affect the customer's response: does overall flow moderate it?. Journal of Internet Commerce, 21(2), s.160-182.
• Zhu, Y. Q. ve Chen, H. G. (2015). Social media and human need satisfaction: Implications for social media marketing. Business Horizons, 58(3), s.335–345.