The Effects of Facebook on Automobile Purchasing Behavior among International Students in Northern Cyprus

Purchasing an automobile is one of the most expensive decisions among younger generations, yet an increasing number of international university students in Northern Cyprus keep acquiring luxury ones. Even so, it is unclear what motivates international students into such expensive purchasing behavior, and as a result this study seeks to investigate factors that prompt such behavior, and the effects of Facebook as a new media tool on automobile purchasing behavior among international students in Northern Cyprus. It aims to establish a relationship between Facebook use, brand loyalty, automobile purchasing behavior, and other moderating factors such as need to boost self-esteem and travel convenience, as well as age and family income. This is a quantitative research design. It uses online questionnaires, with 400 (133 female, 267 male) randomly selected international students in Northern Cyprus, from the 2020/2021 spring semester as study participants. With Google forms, 40-question English questionnaires were created and distributed online through Whatsapp, Facebook, and Snapchat. The study found several links between Facebook and automobile purchasing behavior among international students. For example, it found links between brand loyalty and Facebook use, automobile reviews and automobile purchasing behavior, and self-esteem/convenience and automobile purchasing behavior. However, no relationship was found between automobile purchasing behavior and the ages/yearly family income of international students in Northern Cyprus. Consequently, the findings showed a relationship between Facebook and automobile buying behavior among international students in Northern Cyprus.