The Influences of Parasocial Relationship and Sources Credibility in Promoting Sustainable Fashion in Social Network Sites

Abstract

Fashion industry is the second most polluted industry in the world that has caused social and environmental issues. Pointing to the fact, sustainable fashion has been designed to reduce pollution and to improve working conditions in the industry. Concurrently, many consumers have claimed that they are concerned about the impact of major fashion brands on the planet. However, beyond the concerned, the market share produced on this fashion concepts are still lagging. In reaching potential consumers, advertisement via social network sites (SNS) appears to be the most effective medium to reach them. Due to this reason, this study designed the most persuasive ways of promoting sustainable fashion advertising. By engaging the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM), this conceptual paper demonstrates the relationships between parasocial relationship, sources credibility, and sustainable fashion consumption. This study proposes three hypotheses based on the growth of sustainable fashion within the Malaysian context. As this study will involves with quantitative analysis, the researchers will employ the PLS software for data analyses in future. Although the sustainable fashion scene in Malaysia is still slow, its growth is promising. The findings can be leveraged to gain deeper understanding on how to create effective digital advertising with the implementation of persuasive knowledge, parasocial relationships, and sources credibility. Accordingly, the study outcomes contribute to various practical implications that may be beneficial for marketing, policy making, and non-governmental action aimed at stimulating sustainable fashion consumption from a dyadic perspective.