Exploring the impact of social media influencers on customers’ purchase intention: A sequential mediation model in Taiwan context
Exploring the impact of social media influencers on customers’ purchase intention: A sequential mediation model in Taiwan context

Summary/Abstract: Objective: The objective of the article is to investigate the impact of social media influencers (SMI) on Taiwanese customers’ intent to buy, using sequential mediating effects of parasocial interaction, per- ceived value, and brand image.Research Design & Methods: The study focused on Taiwan and 384 samples were gathered using a conven- ience-based sampling technique. Variance-based structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to evaluate the sequential mediating effects through Smart PLS 3.0 statistical software.Findings: The study’s findings suggested that social media influencers’ credibility has a statistically significant impact on generating a parasocial relationship with the audience, leading to positive perceived quality and brand image that eventually results in purchase intention.Implications & Recommendations: The full sequential mediating model reflected that brand managers should choose the right social media figure who can connect with consumers and who simultaneously acts as a cata- lyst for the advertising industry.Contribution & Value Added: This study contributes in anticipating consumer behaviour and understanding the role of social media influencers credibility in developing a sense of intimacy with the audience and exam- ining its antecedents in one conceptual model in the form of the comprehensive and sequential model, which is a novel theoretical insight for media figures and consumer purchase behaviour literature.

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