Investigating the relationships between influencers and their followers: Moderator of human brand of influencer (HBI) phase

Abstract

Given the rise of influencer marketing on social media, understanding how to develop influencer marketing strategies has become an important issue. Few studies have addressed the process of formation of the follower-influencer relationship or the key determinants of followers’ behavioral intentions. This study addresses these research gaps. Drawing on social identity theory and human brand theory, this study proposes an integrated research model to examine the three antecedents (i.e., influencer distinctiveness, similarity, and prestige) of influencer attractiveness and investigate the impacts of influencer attractiveness on dual identification (i.e., follower-influencer identification and community identification). Relationships between dual identification and behavioral intentions, namely electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention and purchase intention, are also examined. Data were collected from 590 respondents and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Influencer distinctiveness, similarity, and prestige contribute to influencer attractiveness, which increases dual identification. Dual identification facilitates followers’ behavioral intentions. Because influencers manage their own virtual communities to build themselves up as human brands, the results confirm the moderating role of human brand of influencer (HBI) phase on the formation of the follower-influencer relationship. The findings contribute to the research on influencer marketing and suggest that practitioners should consider HBI phase when developing influencer marketing strategies.