Social media influencers play a crucial role in promoting vegan food by creating captivating content that educates and inspires a wide audience about plant-based lifestyles, fostering a culture of compassionate and sustainable living. Within the context of the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) paradigm, this study attempts to examine the effects of social media influencer credibility dimensions on parasocial interaction, which further affects brand attitude, leading to purchase intention towards vegan food. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyze the 210 responses from consumers who participated in the survey. Results revealed a positive association between all the relations hypothesized; further, the parasocial interaction and brand attitude significantly mediate the relationship between social media influencers’ credibility dimensions and the purchase intention towards vegan food. The results of this study may help producers, retailers and distributors in the vegan food sector to enhance their marketing tactics for vegan food that has eco-friendly qualities.
AakerD. A., & KellerK. L. (1990). Consumer evaluations of brand extensions. Journal of Marketing, 54(1), 27–41.
2.
AbbasiG. A., GohY. N., IranmaneshM., & Liebana-CabanillasF. (2024). Determinants of continuous intention to use retail apps: A hybrid PLS-ANN approach. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 32(3), 413–434.
3.
AbidinC. (2016). Visibility labour: Engaging with influencers’ fashion brands and# OOTD advertorial campaigns on Instagram. Media International Australia, 161(1), 86–100.
4.
Alcántara-PilarJ. M., Rodriguez-LópezM. E., KalinićZ., & Liébana-CabanillasF. (2024). From likes to loyalty: Exploring the impact of influencer credibility on purchase intentions in TikTok. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 78, 103709.
5.
ArachchiH. D. M., & SamarasingheG. D. (2023). Influence of corporate social responsibility and brand attitude on purchase intention. Spanish Journal of Marketing—ESIC, 27(3), 389–406.
6.
ArbitN., RubyM., & RozinP. (2017). Development and validation of the meaning of food in life questionnaire (MFLQ): Evidence for a new construct to explain eating behavior. Food Quality and Preference, 59, 35–45.
7.
BallantineP. W., & MartinB. A. (2005). Forming parasocial relationships in online communities. Advances in Consumer Research, 13(2), 197–202.
8.
BarrettJ., & RaskoffS. Z. (2023). Ethical veganism and free riding. Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy, 24(2), 184.
9.
BianchiC., AndrewsL., WieseM., & Fazal-E-HasanS. (2017). Consumer intentions to engage in s-commerce: A cross-national study. Journal of Marketing Management, 33(5–6), 464–494.
10.
BuxbaumO. (2016). Key insights into basic mechanisms of mental activity. Springer International Publishing.
11.
ChanT. K., CheungC. M., & LeeZ. W. (2017). The state of online impulse-buying research: A literature analysis. Information & Management, 54(2), 204–217.
12.
ChangH. J., EckmanM., & YanR. N. (2011). Application of the stimulus-organism-response model to the retail environment: The role of hedonic motivation in impulse buying behavior. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 21(3), 233–249.
13.
ChetiouiY., BenlafqihH., & LebdaouiH. (2020). How fashion influencers contribute to consumers’ purchase intention. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 24(3), 361–380.
14.
CheungC. M., LeeM. K., & RabjohnN. (2008). The impact of electronic word-of-mouth: The adoption of online opinions in online customer communities. Internet Research, 18(3), 229–247.
15.
ChungS., & ChoH. (2017). Fostering parasocial relationships with celebrities on social media: Implications for celebrity endorsement. Psychology & Marketing, 34(4), 481–495.
16.
De VeirmanM., CaubergheV., & HuddersL. (2017). Marketing through Instagram influencers: The impact of number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude. International Journal of Advertising, 36(5), 798–828.
17.
DholakiaR. R., & SternthalB. (1977). Highly credible sources: Persuasive facilitators or persuasive liabilities?Journal of Consumer Research, 3(4), 223–232.
18.
DjafarovaE., & RushworthC. (2017). Exploring the credibility of online celebrities’ Instagram profiles in influencing the purchase decisions of young female users. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 1–7.
19.
ErdoganB. Z. (1999). Celebrity endorsement: A literature review. Journal of Marketing Management, 15(4), 291–314.
20.
EvansN. J., & BangH. (2019). Extending expectancy violations theory to multiplayer online games: The structure and effects of expectations on attitude toward the advertising, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intent. Journal of Promotion Management, 25(4), 589–608.
21.
EvansN. J., PhuaJ., LimJ., & JunH. (2017). Disclosing Instagram influencer advertising: The effects of disclosure language on advertising recognition, attitudes, and behavioral intent. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 17(2), 138–149.
22.
FarooqM. S., & Radovic-MarkovicM. (2016). Modeling entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial skills as antecedents of intention towards entrepreneurial behaviour in single mothers: A PLS-SEM approach. Entrepreneurship: Types, Current Trends and Future Perspectives, 198, 216.
23.
FornellC., & LarckerD. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.
24.
GoksenG., AltafQ. S., FarooqS., BashirI., CapozziV., GurukM., BavaroS. L., & SarangiP. K. (2023). A glimpse into plant-based fermented products alternative to animal based products: Formulation, processing, health benefits. Food Research International, 173, 113344.
25.
GomesM. A., MarquesS., & DiasÁ. (2022). The impact of digital influencers’ characteristics on purchase intention of fashion products. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 13(3), 187–204.
26.
Grand View Research. (2023, December31). Vegan food market size to teach $37.5 billion by 2030. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-vegan-food-market.
27.
GrewalD., GotliebJ., & MarmorsteinH. (1994). The moderating effects of message framing and source credibility on the price-perceived risk relationship. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(1), 145–153.
28.
HaH. Y., & PerksH. (2005). Effects of consumer perceptions of brand experience on the web: Brand familiarity, satisfaction and brand trust. Journal of Consumer Behaviour: An International Research Review, 4(6), 438–452.
29.
HaenleinM., & KaplanA. M. (2004). A beginner’s guide to partial least squares analysis. Understanding Statistics, 3(4), 283–297.
30.
HairJ. F.Jr, MatthewsL. M., MatthewsR. L., & SarstedtM. (2017a). PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: Updated guidelines on which method to use. International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis, 1(2), 107–123.
31.
HairJ. F.Jr, SarstedtM., HopkinsL., & KuppelwieserV. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): An emerging tool in business research. European Business Review, 26(2), 106–121.
32.
HairJ. F., BlackW. C., BabinB., AndersonR. E., & TathamR. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis. Pearson Education.
33.
HairJ. F., HultG. T. M., RingleC. M., SarstedtM., & ThieleK. O. (2017b). Mirror, mirror on the wall: A comparative evaluation of composite-based structural equation modeling methods. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45, 616–632.
34.
HayesA. F., MontoyaA. K., & RockwoodN. J. (2017). The analysis of mechanisms and their contingencies: PROCESS versus structural equation modeling. Australasian Marketing Journal, 25(1), 76–81.
35.
HenselerJ., HubonaG., & RayP. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: Updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2–20.
36.
HenselerJ., RingleC. M., & SarstedtM. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115–135.
37.
HenselerJ., RingleC. M., & SinkovicsR. R. (2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. In New challenges to international marketing (Vol. 20, pp. 277–319). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
38.
HoraiJ., NaccariN., & FatoullahE. (1974). The effects of expertise and physical attractiveness upon opinion agreement and liking. Sociometry, 37(4), 601–606.
39.
HortonD., & WohlR. R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction; observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry, 19(3), 215–229.
40.
HovlandC. I., JanisI. L., & KelleyH. H. (1953). Communication and persuasion; psychological studies of opinion change. Yale University Press.
41.
HuarngK. H., YuT. H. K., & HuangJ. J. (2010). The impacts of instructional video advertising on customer purchasing intentions on the Internet. Service Business, 4, 27–36.
42.
IslamJ. U., ShahidS., RasoolA., RahmanZ., KhanI., & RatherR. A. (2020). Impact of website attributes on customer engagement in banking: A solicitation of stimulus-organism-response theory. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 38(6), 1279–1303.
43.
JudgeM., & WilsonM. S. (2015). Vegetarian Utopias: Visions of dietary patterns in future societies and support for social change. Futures, 71, 57–69.
44.
KaminsM. A., & MarksL. J. (1987). Advertising puffery: The impact of using two-sided claims on product attitude and purchase intention. Journal of Advertising, 16(4), 6–15.
45.
KelmanH. C. (1958). Compliance, identification, and internalization three processes of attitude change. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2(1), 51–60.
46.
KelmanH. C. (2017). Processes of opinion change. In Attitude change (pp. 205–233). Routledge.
47.
KimD. Y., & KimH. Y. (2021). Trust me, trust me not: A nuanced view of influencer marketing on social media. Journal of Business Research, 134, 223–232.
48.
KimT., & ReadG. L. (2022). Influencers’ smiles work regardless of product and message. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 40(4), 425–440.
49.
KoayK. Y., CheungM. L., SohP. C. H., & TeohC. W. (2022). Social media influencer marketing: The moderating role of materialism. European Business Review, 34(2), 224–243.
50.
KobiaC., & LiuC. (2017). Why forward viral fashion messages? The moderating roles of consumers’ fashion traits and message orientation. Journal of Internet Commerce, 16(3), 287–308.
51.
KotlerP., & ArmstrongG. (1996). Principles of marketing, international edition. Pearson Education Limited.
52.
LabrecqueL. I. (2014). Fostering consumer–brand relationships in social media environments: The role of parasocial interaction. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28(2), 134–148.
53.
LeeJ. E., & WatkinsB. (2016). YouTube vloggers’ influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), 5753–5760.
54.
LeongL. Y., HewT. S., OoiK. B., & LinB. (2019). Do electronic word-of-mouth and elaboration likelihood model influence hotel booking?Journal of Computer Information Systems, 59(2), 146–160.
55.
LiY., & PengY. (2021). Influencer marketing: Purchase intention and its antecedents. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 39(7), 960–978.
56.
LimX. J., RadzolA. M., CheahJ., & WongM. W. (2017). The impact of social media influencers on purchase intention and the mediation effect of customer attitude. Asian Journal of Business Research, 7(2), 19–36.
57.
LinC. A., CroweJ., PierreL., & LeeY. (2021). Effects of parasocial interaction with an instafamous influencer on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 10(1), 55–78.
58.
LuoM. M., ChenJ. S., ChingR. K., & LiuC. C. (2011). An examination of the effects of virtual experiential marketing on online customer intentions and loyalty. The Service Industries Journal, 31(13), 2163–2191.
59.
MacKenzieS. B., & SprengR. A. (1992). How does motivation moderate the impact of central and peripheral processing on brand attitudes and intentions?Journal of Consumer Research, 18(4), 519–529.
60.
MacKinnonD. P., WarsiG., & DwyerJ. H. (1995). A simulation study of mediated effect measures. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 30(1), 41–62.
61.
ManosuthiN., LeeJ. S., & HanH. (2020). Impact of distance on the arrivals, behaviours and attitudes of international tourists in Hong Kong: A longitudinal approach. Tourism Management, 78, 103963.
62.
McCrackenG. (1989). Who is the celebrity endorser? Cultural foundations of the endorsement process. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(3), 310–321.
63.
MehrabianA., & RussellJ. A. (1974). An approach to environmental psychology. The MIT Press.
64.
MiguelI., CoelhoA., & BairradaC. M. (2020). Modelling attitude towards consumption of vegan products. Sustainability, 13(1), 9.
65.
MunnukkaJ., UusitaloO., & ToivonenH. (2016). Credibility of a peer endorser and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 33(3), 182–192.
66.
OhanianR. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers’ perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of Advertising, 19(3), 39–52.
67.
OlfatM., NasirM., ShokoohyarS., & ShokouhyarS. (2024). Bloggers’ interactive practices and their followers’ purchase intentions: The mediating roles of perceived credibility and followers’ para-social interactions. Journal of Promotion Management, 30(3), 390–415.
68.
OliverR. L. (2014). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Routledge.
69.
ParkH. H., JeonJ. O., & SullivanP. (2015). How does visual merchandising in fashion retail stores affect consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention?The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 25(1), 87–104.
70.
PettyR. E., & CacioppoJ. T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion (pp. 1–24). Springer.
71.
PfeufferA., LuX., ZhangY., & HuhJ. (2021). The effect of sponsorship disclosure in YouTube product reviews. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 42(4), 391–410.
72.
PickM. (2021). Psychological ownership in social media influencer marketing. European Business Review, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-08-2019-0165.
73.
PradhanD., DuraipandianI., & SethiD. (2016). Celebrity endorsement: How celebrity–brand–user personality congruence affects brand attitude and purchase intention. Journal of Marketing Communications, 22(5), 456–473.
74.
PreacherK. J., & HayesA. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36, 717–731.
75.
ProshanskyH. M., FabianA. K., & KaminoffR. (2014). Place-identity: Physical world socialization of the self (1983). In The people, place, and space reader (pp. 77–81). Routledge.
76.
RossJ. A. (1973). Influence of expert and peer upon negro mothers of low socioeconomic status. The Journal of Social Psychology, 89(1), 79–84.
77.
RubinR. B., & McHughM. P. (1987). Development of parasocial interaction relationship. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 31, 279.
78.
Saima, & KhanM. A. (2020). Effect of social media influencer marketing on consumers’ purchase intention and the mediating role of credibility. Journal of Promotion Management, 27(4), 503–523.
79.
SardarS., TataS. V., & SarkarS. (2024). Examining the influence of source factors and content characteristics of influencers’ post on consumer engagement and purchase intention: A moderated analysis. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 79, 103888.
80.
SenguptaJ., & JoharG. V. (2002). Effects of inconsistent attribute information on the predictive value of product attitudes: Toward a resolution of opposing perspectives. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(1), 39–56.
81.
ShaZ., & ZhouD. (2013). The para-social interaction research between entrepreneur and fans in microblog. Industrial Engineering Management, 18, 112–117.
82.
ShamimK., AzamM., & IslamT. (2024). How do social media influencers induce the urge to buy impulsively? Social commerce context. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 77, 103621.
83.
SinhaM., & SrivastavaM. (2023). Augmented reality: New future of social media influencer marketing. Vision, 09722629221147124.
84.
SneijderP., & Te MolderH. (2009). Normalizing ideological food choice and eating practices. Identity work in online discussions on veganism. Appetite, 52(3), 621–630.
85.
SokolovaK., & KefiH. (2020). Instagram and YouTube bloggers promote it, why should I buy? How credibility and parasocial interaction influence purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101742.
86.
TaylorC. R. (2020). The urgent need for more research on influencer marketing. International Journal of Advertising, 39(7), 889–891.
87.
TukachinskyR., WalterN., & SaucierC. J. (2020). Antecedents and effects of parasocial relationships: A meta-analysis. Journal of Communication, 70(6), 868–894.
88.
Van der WaldtD. L. R., Van LoggerenbergM., & WehmeyerL. (2009). Celebrity endorsements versus created spokespersons in advertising: A survey among students. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 12(1), 100–114.
89.
van ReijmersdalE. A., WaletM., & GudmundsdóttirA. (2024). Influencer marketing: Explaining the effects of influencer self-presentation strategies on brand responses through source credibility. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 42(7), 1214–1233.
90.
VrontisD., MakridesA., ChristofiM., & ThrassouA. (2021). Social media influencer marketing: A systematic review, integrative framework and future research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(4), 617–644.
91.
VuV. C., WangS., KeatingB. W., & ChenE. Y. (2024). Increasing social media stickiness through parasocial interaction and influencer source credibility. Australasian Marketing Journal, 14413582241306130.
92.
WeismuellerJ., HarriganP., WangS., & SoutarG. N. (2020). Influencer endorsements: How advertising disclosure and source credibility affect consumer purchase intention on social media. Australasian Marketing Journal, 28(4), 160–170.
93.
WielkiJ., & GrabaraJ. (2018). The impact of Ad-blocking on the sustainable development of the digital advertising ecosystem. Sustainability, 10(11), 4039.
94.
WrennC. L. (2019). Black Veganism and the Animality Politic. Society & Animals, 27(1), 127–131.
95.
WuP. C., & WangY. C. (2011). The influences of electronic word-of-mouth message appeal and message source credibility on brand attitude. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 23(4), 448–472.
96.
WuY., YangS., & LiuD. (2023). The effect of social media influencer marketing on sustainable food purchase: Perspectives from multi-group SEM and ANN analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 416, 137890.
97.
YilmazB. (2023). Factors influencing consumers’ behaviour towards purchasing organic foods: A theoretical model. Sustainability, 15(20), 14895.
98.
YuZ., KlongthongW., ThavornJ., & NgamkroeckjotiC. (2021). Understanding rural Chinese consumers’ behavior: A stimulus–organism–response (SOR) perspective on Huawei’s brand loyalty in China. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), 1880679.
99.
YuanC. L., KimJ., & KimS. J. (2016). Parasocial relationship effects on customer equity in the social media context. Journal of Business Research, 69(9), 3795–3803.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
