THE ROLE OF BRAND CREDIBILITY, BRAND ATTITUDE AND INVOLVEMENT TOWARDS THE EFFECT OF PARASOCIAL INTERACTION ON PURCHASE INTENTION

Abstract

The increasing of digital information has resulted in a developing way of promoting products. As celebrity endorsements have extended from traditional media to social media, the role of celebrities has been amplified and celebrities have been able to establish unprecedentedly close relationships through interacting with consumers. This research, grounded in the theory of parasocial interactions with aims to propose a framework of antecedents and outcomes of parasocial interactions with celebrities on social media. Using a quantitative survey-based approach, this research collected 170 usable responses, and data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling. The research found that brand credibility fully mediate the relationship between brand attitude and purchase intention, celebrity attachment influences purchase intention directly and indirectly through both cognitive (brand credibility) and affective (brand attractiveness) elements, the need to belong moderates the relationship between social media interaction and parasocial interactions and the need to belong involvement to moderates the relationship between brand attitude and brand credibility. An exploratory analysis uncovers whether different types of social platforms may be more conducive to establishing parasocial interactions. This study explores the mechanisms by which celebrity interactions on social media can impact the brands they endorse and the role that parasocial interactions and the need to belong play in interactions and outcomes.