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Trust me, trust me not: A nuanced view of influencer marketing on social media

2021; Elsevier BV; Volume: 134; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.024

1873-7978

Do Yeon Kim, Hye-Young Kim,

Impact of Technology on Adolescents

Social media influencers are widely employed as a marketing strategy as they successfully attain trust from followers. Applying the social exchange theory and its principle of reciprocity, this study investigated whether the source characteristics of an influencer (i.e., expertise, authenticity, physical attractiveness, homophily) can function as relational resources in the formation of follower trust. Whether followers’ trust in the influencer leads to their loyalty to the influencer and desirable marketing outcomes (i.e., product attitude, purchase intention) was also examined. Results revealed that trust mediated the impacts of expertise, authenticity, and homophily on loyalty and marketing outcomes. However, physical attractiveness was not significant in building relational trust. Also, the moderating role of relationship strength was confirmed in authenticity-trust and trust-loyalty linkages. The findings suggest implications for the strategic use of influencer marketing and provide a better understanding of persuasion mechanisms manifested in influencer-follower relationships.