“How I think, Who I am”—Role of social media influencers (SMIs) as change agents

Abstract

Social media influencers (SMIs) have gained critical standing due to their capability to generate trust and alter behaviors. Trust in the influencer has further encouraged the followers to value the relationship equally and sometimes more than family and friends. In a mixed-method approach, the study investigates the role played by SMIs as change agents by generating trust. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess the measurement and structural models. Findings reveal that influencer characteristics—interactivity and informativeness—significantly impact the followers' social, physical, and emotional self-concept. Trust fully mediated the relationship between interactivity and emotional self-concept, and partially mediated the relationship between interactivity and social & physical self-concept. However, informativeness was not significant in building trust leading to self-concept. The findings imply that SMIs must engage in more consistent, meaningful, and real conversations with their followers to create an effective communication strategy. The current study based on the findings develops a conceptual model to demonstrate the impact of SMI characteristics on self-concept, by generating trust.