<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze the mediating role of Brand Trust in the relationship between Social Media Marketing Capability (SMMC), Electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM), and Purchase Intention among culinary Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Bekasi City, Indonesia. A quantitative causal-explanatory approach was employed. Data were collected from 185 respondents who are consumers of culinary SMEs in Bekasi, using a purposive sampling technique. Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with SmartPLS 3.0. The results confirm all seven hypotheses. SMMC and e-WOM have a positive and significant effect on Brand Trust. SMMC, e-WOM, and Brand Trust positively and significantly affect Purchase Intention. Furthermore, Brand Trust significantly mediates the effects of both SMMC and e-WOM on Purchase Intention, indicating a partial mediation mechanism. This study integrates SMMC and e-WOM within a single model and positions Brand Trust as a mediator in the context of culinary SMEs in a developing country's urban setting (Bekasi), an area that has received limited attention. Culinary SMEs should focus not only on creating engaging content and encouraging e-WOM but also on consistently building brand trust through reliability, honesty, and safety to convert online activities into actual purchase intentions.]]>
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