The Impact of Social Marketing on Sustainable Development Goals: Aims &Challenges : An Analytical Study of a Sample of Mosul University Students

Authors

  • Anas Maaroof Department of Studies &Planning, Presidency University of Mosul, University of Mosul, Iraq
  • Zainab Alhamdani Administrative & Financial Affairs Department, Presidency University of Mosul, University of Mosul, Iraq.
  • Omar Q. Alshebly Department of Statistics and Informatics, College of Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
  • Abdulhamid Adam Vice President for Academic and Scientific Affairs Department of Business Management, Zaytoonah International University, Aleppo, Syria.
  • Mohammed Alblewi Department of Business Management, Fahad bin Sultan University, Tabuk, Kingdom Saudi Arabic
  • Murat DEDEOĞLU Department of Accounting & Tax, Van Yuzncu Yil Unıversity, Ozalp Vocational School, Turkey

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33095/5dmm8j16

Keywords:

Social Marketing, Sustainable Development Goals, University of Mosul.

Abstract

This study aims to identify the impact of social marketing on the sustainable development goals at the University of Mosul. The study consists of two main variables: the independent variable, which includes social marketing, and the four dimensions: social product, social price, social promotion, and social distribution. The dependent variable represents the sustainable development goals, whose dimensions consist of: Goal 1: No Poverty, Goal 2: Zero Hunger, Goal 3: Good Health, and Goal 4: Quality Education. This research paper highlight on social marketing as a modern trend in business organizations linked to sustainable development goals, which has led many companies to adopt the philosophy of sustainable development as a development model for managing their businesses, the results of the finding notified the existence of a significant relationship between of the Social Marketing and Sustainable Development Goals in Mosul University.  To achieve the objectives of the study, the main results of the research paper, we note that the value of the regression coefficients for the dimensions of the independent variable social marketing with its dimensions (product, pricing, promotion, distribution) respectively, as the significance is less than (0.05), except the pricing dimension, which has a statistically insignificant significance, as its significance reached (0.066). From another hand, questionnaire forms were distributed to (384) individuals from the students at the University of Mosul, including 184 Paper Questionnaire and (200) Electronic form for hard-to-reach colleges (geographically distant) and all forms were retrieved as the number of forms valid for analysis was 384 by a 100% percentage, in addition to the challenges of cost, time, and effort. The sample size was 384 in various faculties, with 17 faculties. The number of students at the university was 51253 for the academic year 2023-2024. On the other hand, the data was analyzed using the statistical package SPSS Version 25. The research reached a set of recommendations, the most important of which were: Benefiting from successful international experiences in major countries and working to implement them on the ground in developing countries to motivate governments to achieve the sustainable development goals in all areas, thus ensuring the achievement of sustainable development in the long term.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abbasi, A. Z., Qummar, H., Bashir, S., Aziz, S., & Ting, D. H. (2024). Customer engagement in Saudi food delivery apps through social media marketing: Examining the antecedents and consequences using PLS-SEM and NCA. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 81. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104001

Abdul Karim, O. A. R., & Tala Asim Faiq, T. A. F. (2025). Strategic Leadership and Their Impact on the Quality of Work Life: An Analytical Study in the Directorate of Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism. Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 31(145), 18-31. doi:10.33095/pcg53m11

Agnihotri, R., Afshar Bakeshloo, K., & Mani, S. (2023). Social media analytics for business-to-business marketing. Industrial Marketing Management, 115, 110-126.

doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.09.012

Ahmed, W., Hardey, M., & Vidal-Alaball, J. (2025). Organ Donation Conversations on X and Development of the OrgReach Social Media Marketing Strategy: Social Network Analysis. J Med Internet Res, 27, e59872. doi:10.2196/59872

Alshaikh, M., Maynard, S. B., & Ahmad, A. (2021). Applying social marketing to evaluate current security education training and awareness programs in organisations. Computers & Security, 100. doi:10.1016/j.cose.2020.102090

Alsharairi, N. A., & Li, L. (2024). Social marketing targeting healthy eating and physical activity in young adult university students: A scoping review. Heliyon, 10(11), e31930. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31930

Ayokunmi, L. A., Abu Seman, N. A., Rashid, U. K., & Mohamad, A. (2025). The Role of Social Media Marketing as an ICT Tool in Improving Supply Chain Sustainability of SMEs: A Systematic Literature Review. Procedia Computer Science, 253, 1392-1401. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.201

Balaji, M. S., Behl, A., Jain, K., Baabdullah, A. M., Giannakis, M., Shankar, A., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2023). Effectiveness of B2B social media marketing: The effect of message source and message content on social media engagement. Industrial Marketing Management, 113, 243-257. doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.06.011

Bandyopadhyay, T., Woszczynski, A. B., & Crowell, D. (2025). Musical attributes, cultural dimensions, social media: Insights for marketing music to consumers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 82. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104103

Baninla, Y., Wang, C., Pu, J., Gao, X., & Zhang, Q. (2025). Evaluating the progress and identifying future improvement areas of mining's contribution to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Extractive Industries and Society, 23. doi:10.1016/j.exis.2025.101637

Bashirzadeh, Y., Howard-Malek, S. L., Yamim, A. P., Petersen, J. A., & Nadalizadeh, A. (2024). The impact of “use in moderation” corporate social marketing (CSM) campaigns on free-to-play mobile game app usage and spending. International Journal of Research in Marketing. doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2024.11.007

Beninger, S., & Robson, K. (2025). Social, economic, and environmental implications of drones in marketing: A framework of safeguards for sustainable technology implementation. Journal of Business Research, 191. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115251

Boadi, S., Osei-Tutu, P., Acquah, E., & Tenkorang, M. (2025). Physical injuries among illegal miners in Ghana: Implications for attaining the sustainable development goals. Resources Policy, 104. doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105576

Bosch-Badia, M.-T., Montllor-Serrats, J., & Tarrazon-Rodon, M.-A. (2025). How can derivatives contribute to sustainable development goals? An analysis of synergies, contradictions, and challenges. Sustainable Futures, 9. doi:10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100600

Braithwaite, F. A., Deshpande, S., Buchbinder, R., Dennett, L., St Jean, C. R., Krebs, B., & Gross, D. P. (2025). Contemporary media campaigns for musculoskeletal pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis with social marketing benchmarking. J Pain, 28, 104739. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104739

Capar, H., & Arslanoglu, A. (2025). The Impact of Sustainable Development Goals as a Driving Force in the Development of Medical Tourism. Eval Program Plann, 111, 102587. doi:10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2025.102587

Cardwell, E. T., Ludwick, T., Chang, S., Walsh, O., Lim, M., Podbury, R., . . . Hocking, J. S. (2025). Engaging End Users to Inform the Design and Social Marketing Strategy for a Web-Based Sexually Transmitted Infection/Blood-Borne Virus (STI/BBV) Testing Service for Young People in Victoria, Australia: Qualitative Study. J Med Internet Res, 27, e63822. doi:10.2196/63822

Chae, M.-J., Rodríguez-Vilá, O., & Bharadwaj, S. (2025). Real-time marketing messages and consumer engagement in social media. Journal of Business Research, 191. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115266

Danook, A. A., & Al.obaidy, O.-F. H. (2022). Evaluating the dimensions of strategic intent according to the Hamel and Prahalad model/a case study in Oil Projects SCOP Company. Nankai Business Review International, 15(1), 67-87. doi:10.1108/NBRI-04-2022-0043

Danook, A. A., Yassin, M. S., al.obaidy, O. F. H., & Almejdhab, F. j. (2023). The Absorptive Capacity of Knowledge as an Approach for Building Strategic Reliability in the Sponge Organizations/Small Organizations in Kirkuk Governorate as a Model. Corporate Reputation Review, 27(1), 33-51. doi:10.1057/s41299-023-00160-4

Duffett, R. G., & Thomas, S. (2024). Health nonprofit organizations use of social media communication and marketing during COVID-19: A qualitative Technology Acceptance Model viewpoint. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 10. doi:10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101042

Fergus, L., Holston, D., & Long, A. (2022). Modeling Behavioral Economic Strategies in Social Marketing Messages to Promote Vegetable Consumption to Low-Resource Louisiana Residents: A Conjoint Analysis. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 122(9). doi:10.1016/j.jand.2022.06.077

Fergus, L., Long, A. R., & Holston, D. (2023). Modeling Behavioral Economics Strategies in Social Marketing Messages to Promote Vegetable Consumption to Low-Resource Louisiana Residents: A Conjoint Analysis. J Acad Nutr Diet, 123(6), 876-888 e871. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2023.01.011

Fusté-Forné, F., & Filimon, N. (2025). From post to table: The social media marketing of food tourism. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, 39. doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2025.101107

Gavahian, M., Chaosuan, N., Yusraini, E., & Sastry, S. (2025). Roles of ohmic heating to achieve sustainable development goals in the food industry: From reduced energy consumption and resource optimization to innovative production pathways with reduced carbon footprint. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 159. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2025.104947

Gordon, R. (2012). Re-Thinking and Re-Tooling the Social Marketing Mix. Australasian Marketing Journal, 20(2), 122-126. doi:10.1016/j.ausmj.2011.10.005

Guan, Y., Li, B., Xiao, Y., Qiang, Y., Zhang, N., & Shi, R. (2025). Identifying the interactions between the Beautiful China Goals: An analytical localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 114. doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107945

Han, L., Mingying, H., & Peng, Z. (2025). The influence of social media marketing on the quality of hotel services and the behavioral intentions of tourists. Acta Psychol (Amst), 255, 104881. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104881

Hao, X., Li, K., Li, Y., & Wu, H. (2025). How do trade patterns of renewable energy products affect sustainable development goals? Evidence from Belt and Road countries. Renewable Energy, 247. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2025.123023

Hoang, M. T., & Pham, H. T. (2025). Global dynamics and numerical simulation of a modified epidemiological model for viral marketing on social networks. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 228, 225-244. doi:10.1016/j.matcom.2024.08.024

Ibraheem, H. K., & Mhaibes, H. A. M. (2025). The Effect of Dynamic Capabilities on High Performance: An Analytical Study of Administrative Units in Anbar Governorate. Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 31(145), 1-17. doi:10.33095/ybd3bz20

Jave-Chire, M., Alvarez-Risco, A., & Guevara-Zavaleta, V. (2025). Footwear industry's journey through green marketing mix, brand value and sustainability. Sustainable Futures, 9. doi:10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100561

Keke, M. E. (2022). The use of digital marketing in information transport in social media: the example of Turkish companies. Transportation Research Procedia, 63, 2579-2588. doi:10.1016/j.trpro.2022.06.297

Kim, D., & Wang, Z. (2024). Social media influencer vs. virtual influencer: The mediating role of source credibility and authenticity in advertising effectiveness within AI influencer marketing. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 2(2). doi:10.1016/j.chbah.2024.100100

Laradi, S., Elfekair, A., Alrawad, M., Hashim, M., & Derouez, F. (2024). Leveraging capabilities of social media marketing for business success. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 16. doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100524

Ma, C., Wang, B. W., Dai, L., Guan, X., & Yang, Z. (2025). What determines the effectiveness of social media influencer marketing? An fsQCA-based study of influencer characteristics and content features’ configurational effects. Journal of Business Research, 189. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115170

MAAROF, A., & OĞRAK, A. J. T. O. J. o. E. T. (2022). Consumer Behavior After the Corona Pandemic: An Analytical Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Consumers in Iraq. 49.

Maaroof, A., & Oğrak, A. (2024). The Impact of E-Commerce on Digital Marketing Hopes And Ambitions: A Case Study in Airline Reservation Offices in Iraq. Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 30(144), 397-413. doi:10.33095/y6mzns54

Maaroof, A. (2021). The Brand distentions and the extent of its Effect on the Purchase Decision / An Exploratory Study for a Sample of Consumer of Nissan Motor Cars company in Turkey. Tanmiyat Al-Rafidain, 40(130), 349-365. doi:10.33899/tanra.2021.128986.1063

MAAROOF, A., ATAMAN, S., & NASIF, A. J. R. J. f. S. P. (2022). The impact of organizational citizenship behavior on Social Responsibility-A field study in the Iraqi Airways sector.Rihan Journal, (30), pp 18:40.

Maaroof, A., & Çalık, A. J. R. J. f. S. P. (2021). Why is an organization's culture an important relationship to its human resource management? (17).

Maaroof, A., Dedeoğlu, M., & Ahmed, H. (2025). The Impact of Green Marketing on Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Issues. Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 31(147), 50-67. doi:10.33095/rp0r4f88

Maaroof, A., & Kalay, F. J. U. F. E. v. B. U. D. (2020). The Impact Of Strategic Management In Raising The Efficiency Of Business Organizations A Field Study In The Iraqi Communications Sector. 1(2), 78-102.

Macapagal, K., Zapata, J. P., Ma, J., Gordon, J. D., Owens, C., Valadez-Tapia, S., . . . Pickett, J. (2025). Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents' Preferences for HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Social Marketing Campaigns: Qualitative Preimplementation Study. JMIR Form Res, 9, e60398. doi:10.2196/60398

Maduku, D. K. (2024). Social media marketing assimilation in B2B firms: An integrative framework of antecedents and consequences. Industrial Marketing Management, 119, 27-42. doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.003

Maghsoudi, M., Mohammadi, N., Soghi, M., & Sabet, M. (2025). Technological trajectories in circular economy: Bridging patent analytics with sustainable development goals. Journal of Environmental Management, 379, 124752. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.124752

Malarvizhi, C. A., Al Mamun, A., Jayashree, S., Naznen, F., & Abir, T. (2022). Modelling the significance of social media marketing activities, brand equity and loyalty to predict consumers' willingness to pay premium price for portable tech gadgets. Heliyon, 8(8), e10145. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10145

Martinengo, B., Diamanti, E., Uliassi, E., & Bolognesi, M. L. (2025). Medicinal Chemistry: A Key Driver in Achieving the Global Sustainable Development Goals. J Med Chem, 68(7), 6916-6931. doi:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c03016

Moeini, B., Barati, M., Khazaei, M., Tapak, L., & Hashemian, M. (2024). In-depth analysis to develop a social marketing model to promote women's participation in waste segregation behaviour: A qualitative study. Heliyon, 10(7), e28690.

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28690

Mohtasim, M. S., Kibria, M. G., Pranto, M. M. H., & Das, B. K. (2025). Hybrid PVT integrated pyramid solar still: 11E, sustainability, and sustainable development goals assessment. Renewable Energy, 246. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2025.122914

Mourre, M.-L. (2022). Une autre approche pour faciliter les changements comportementaux des patients : le marketing social. Kinésithérapie, la Revue, 22(245), 3-7. doi:10.1016/j.kine.2022.01.009

Munther Sami Qasim, M. s., & Hamed, S. (2025). The Role of Leadership Talent Management in Strategic Supremacy: Analytical Research. Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 31(146), 13-24. doi:10.33095/f9k0w692

Nurhadi, M., Suryani, T., & Fauzi, A. A. (2025). Cultivating domestic brand love through social media marketing activities: Insights from young consumers in an emerging market. Asia Pacific Management Review, 30(1). doi:10.1016/j.apmrv.2024.100349

Oltra, I., Camarero, C., & San José, R. (2025). Agility in marketing teams: An analysis of factors influencing the entry decision into a trendy social network. Journal of Business Research, 187. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115054

Omeish, F., Al Khasawneh, M., & Khair, N. (2024). Investigating the impact of AI on improving customer experience through social media marketing: An analysis of Jordanian Millennials. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 15. doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100464

Ong, Y. X., Sun, T., & Ito, N. (2024). Understanding followers’ processing and perceptions of social media influencer destination marketing: Differences between #Millennials and #GenZs. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 60, 194-207. doi:10.1016/j.jhtm.2024.07.003

Raman, R., Kautish, P., Siddiqui, A., Siddiqui, M., & Nedungadi, P. (2025). The role of metaverse technologies in energy systems towards sustainable development goals. Energy Reports, 13, 4459-4476. doi:10.1016/j.egyr.2025.04.012

Raman, R., Sreenivasan, A., Kulkarni, N. V., Suresh, M., & Nedungadi, P. (2025). Analyzing the contributions of biofuels, biomass, and bioenergy to sustainable development goals. iScience, 28(4), 112157. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.112157

Revinova, S., & Lazanyuk, I. (2025). Adopting internet project management to achieve sustainable development goals in the context of energy transition. Unconventional Resources, 6. doi:10.1016/j.uncres.2025.100158

Rohit, S., Ranjan, K. R., & Shainesh, G. (2025). Service marketing mix and customer engagement: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Research, 194.

doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115363

Saifi Gomair Elias, S. S., & Al.zubaidi, G. D. A. z. (2025). An Evaluation and Improvement of the Quality of the Smart Ration Card by ISO 37301:2023. Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 31(146), 1-12. doi:10.33095/ycfa4j75

Saraç, H., Erdoğmuş, Z. İ. E., & 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. doi:10.1016/j.jatrs.2025.100070

Sheau-Ting, L., Mohammed, A. H., & Weng-Wai, C. (2013). What is the optimum social marketing mix to market energy conservation behaviour: an empirical study. J Environ Manage, 131, 196-205. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.10.001

Shepherd, H., & Lane, J. (2019). In the mix: Social integration and social media adoption. Soc Sci Res, 82, 1-17. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.02.004

Sheykhan, S., Boozary, P., GhorbanTanhaei, H., Behzadi, S., Rahmani, F., & Rabiee, M. (2024). Creating a fuzzy DEMATEL-ISM-MICMAC -fuzzy BWM model for the organization's sustainable competitive advantage, incorporating green marketing, social responsibility, brand equity and green brand image. Sustainable Futures, 8.

doi:10.1016/j.sftr.2024.100280

Shi, S., Hu, Z., Nagasawa, S., & Gao, S. (2024). Role models or competitors? Understanding influencer marketing in restaurants from the perspective of customers’ social comparison orientation. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 61, 156-164. doi:10.1016/j.jhtm.2024.10.004

Singh, P. (2024). Beyond the basics: Exploring the impact of social media marketing enablers on business success. Heliyon, 10(5), e26435. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26435

Smith, W. A. (2006). Social marketing: an overview of approach and effects. Inj Prev, 12 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), i38-43. doi:10.1136/ip.2006.012864

Sohaib, M., & Han, H. (2023). Building value co-creation with social media marketing, brand trust, and brand loyalty. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 74. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103442

Spörl-Wang, K., Krause, F., & Henkel, S. (2025). Predictors of social media influencer marketing effectiveness: A comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis. Journal of Business Research, 186. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114991

Vassey, J., Chang, H. H., Valente, T., & Unger, J. B. (2025). Worldwide connections of influencers who promote e-cigarettes on Instagram and TikTok: a social network analysis. Comput Human Behav, 165. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2024.108545

Wang, Z., Zhang, H., Li, H., & Zhang, B. (2025). Towards sustainable future: Assessing the impact of coal phase-down on the sustainable development goals in China. J Environ Manage, 378, 124713. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.124713

Waqar, A., Othman, I., & Shafiq, N. (2025). The role of sustainable procurement in attaining sustainable development goals: Insights from sustainable logistics and sustainable metamorphosis practices. Journal of Cleaner Production, 500.

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145285

Weinberg, B. D., & Pehlivan, E. (2011). Social spending: Managing the social media mix. Business Horizons, 54(3), 275-282. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.008

Xia, L., Xu, Y., Zhang, Y., Jiang, H., & Cui, B. (2024). Impact of airline social media marketing on purchase intention:Evidence from China using PLS-SEM. Transport Economics and Management, 2, 249-262. doi:10.1016/j.team.2024.09.003

Ye, X., Hou, R., Wang, S., & Omar, N. A. B. (2024). Social media, relationship marketing and corporate ESG performance. Finance Research Letters, 63. doi:10.1016/j.frl.2024.105288

Ying, L. J., Te Chuan, L., Rashid, U. K., & Abu Seman, N. A. (2025). Social Media Marketing in Industry 4.0: The Role of TikTok in Shaping Generation Z’s Purchase Intentions. Procedia Computer Science, 253, 2176-2185. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.278

Zhang, C., Zhou, J., Wei, W., & Shi, Y. (2025). Order-sensitive competitive revenue maximization for viral marketing in social networks. Information Sciences, 689. doi:10.1016/j.ins.2024.121474

Zhu, Z., Kong, L., Deng, X., & Tan, B. (2020). A 2020 perspective on “A graph-oriented model for hierarchical user interest in precision social marketing”. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 41. doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2020.100962

Zhu, Z., Zhou, Y., Deng, X., & Wang, X. (2019). A graph-oriented model for hierarchical user interest in precision social marketing. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 35. doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2019.100845

Published

2025-08-01

Issue

Section

Managerial Researches

How to Cite

Maaroof, A. (2025) “The Impact of Social Marketing on Sustainable Development Goals: Aims &Challenges : An Analytical Study of a Sample of Mosul University Students”, Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 31(148), pp. 48–69. doi:10.33095/5dmm8j16.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 948

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.