The Mediating Effect of Information Adoption on The Association between Social Media Influencer Information Credibility and Purchase Intention

Abstract

As social media continues to gain popularity, people are increasingly turning to various social media websites to engage with one another and exchange information. Consequently, the flow of information has shifted from a one-direction communication process to interactive communication in which people exchange and obtain information from various online platforms. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of information adoption on the relationship between information credibility and purchase intention. An online questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was made available to respondents by sharing a link to a Google Form across several social media sites, including Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Responses from 384 respondents were used for further analysis. The results revealed that information credibility significantly influenced information adoption, and information adoption significantly influenced purchase intention. Further, information adoption partially mediated the relationship between information credibility and purchase intention. Results of the study imply that social media influencers must provide credible information to convince customers to adopt the information, thus influencing their purchase intention.