Impacts of influencer attributes on purchase intentions in social media influencer marketing: Mediating roles of characterizations

Abstract

• Influencer attributes cause customers to form and maintain influencer characterizations. • Characterizations determine purchase intention according to the persuasion theory. • Parasocial relationship (PSR) characterization is stronger than expertise or trustworthiness. • In forming PSR, social attractiveness is stronger than physical attractiveness or attitude homophily. • The persuasion theory is empirically validated in the context of social media influencer marketing. Social media influencer marketing has recently received significant attention. Many studies have explored the parasocial relationship (PSR) formation between influencers and followers. PSR has not often been weighted against other widely used relationship marketing constructs, despite the multitude of PSR studies. This study developed a research model based on the theory of persuasion, which was constructed to investigate the relative weight of the PSR. The study considered three personal attributes (attitude homophily, physical attractiveness, and social attractiveness) and three characterizations (trustworthiness, perceived expertise, and PSR) as antecedents of purchase intention. Data were collected through a survey of respondents who bought products/services after watching YouTube advertisements made by influencers. The study found that PSR had a significantly positive impact on purchase intentions relative to other characterizations and that PSR was significantly related to the three personal attributes. In addition, PSR formation was significantly influenced by consumers’ perceived influencer types. The survey showed that social media influencer marketing strategies need to be fine-tuned based on personal attributes, characterizations, and influencer types. This paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.