How Digital Marketing Builds Purchase Intention for Laboratory Equipment: The Mediating Roles of Brand Image and Perceived Value

Abstract

This study examined how digital marketing shaped purchase intention for high-involvement laboratory equipment through brand image and perceived value among prospective customers of PT Lichem Center Indonesia. A quantitative causal-associative survey involved 151 purposively selected individuals who had encountered the company's digital marketing, had participated in product evaluation, and had not yet purchased its laboratory equipment. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS 4 with 5,000 bootstrap subsamples. Digital marketing positively affected brand image, perceived value, and purchase intention. Brand image and perceived value also increased purchase intention. The indirect effects through brand image and perceived value were significant, and both mechanisms constituted complementary partial mediation. Digital marketing, brand image, and perceived value explained 35.8% of purchase intention. Perceived value was the strongest direct predictor of purchase intention, while digital marketing most strongly shaped brand image. The findings show that B2B digital communication should move beyond exposure and lead generation by converting technical specifications into credible evidence of functional benefits, economic value, application fit, service support, and professional use.