When Credibility Meets Quality: Examining Social Media Influencers’ Role in Shaping Purchase Intentions in Pakistan
Abstract
This study attempts to understand the impact of social media influencers on the user purchasing intention of social media users in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. This study hinges on Source Credibility Theory, and the Elaboration Likelihood Theory in its exploration of the online consumer behavior on the message’s qualitative attributes and the credibility clues. The primary method of data collection utilized a structured questionnaire administered to 300 social media users and the subsequent data was analyzed utilizing correlation regression in conjunction with a battery of descriptive statistics and reliability analysis. This study has found that influencer’s content intention and influencer’s credibility independently and jointly predict content authenticity with content quality having the greater impact of the two. This study posits that the increased focus and investment on the enhancement of content reliability, consumer trust, and content quality will prove to be beneficial in the context developing economies. This study attempts to bridge the gaps left in the extant literature on influencer marketing in the context of Pakistan, greatly enriching previous global research, and providing more insights to the brands and marketers operating in the digital domain. The study also includes recommendations for future research to address its shortcomings.
Copyright Notice Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication. Copyrights for articles published in IJSSA journal are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author’s responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.
