“I will buy what my “friend” recommends”: the effects of parasocial relationships, influencer credibility and self-esteem on purchase intentions
Abstract
Purpose: Influencer marketing is a newer interactive marketing model that has attracted the attention of scholars and marketers. The study aimed to examine the mediation role of influencer credibility (IC) and the moderation role of self-esteem in the effects of individuals' parasocial relationships (PSR) with YouTube influencers on their product attitudes (PATs) and purchase intentions (PIs). Design/methodology/approach: The researchers used an online survey to test a sequential mediation model and moderation mediation models using Hayes PROCESS modeling. Findings: The researchers revealed a sequential mediation model that IC and PAT mediate the association between PSR and PI. Individuals who perceived IC to be low were more likely to buy an endorsed product when their self-esteem got lower. When their self-esteem is low, individuals tend to purchase the endorsed products if they have stronger PSR with the influencers. However, they are less likely to buy the endorsed products when their self-esteem gets higher. Originality/value: The study expands the dimensions of IC. The persuasive power of IC and influencer-user relationship was affected by individual differences, namely, self-esteem. Brands should pay attention to customers' personalities, motivations and preferences when designing strategies to market their products via social media.
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Bi and Zhang (2022) demonstrate that parasocial relationships mediate the effect of credibility on purchase intentions.
“Bi and Zhang (2022) demonstrate that parasocial relationships mediate the effect of credibility on purchase intentions, while Reinikainen et al. (2020) show that audience comments moderate this process by reinforcing parasocial bonds.”
From Understanding consumer purchase intention in social media influencer marketing: the mediating role of parasocial relationship and trust in the Moroccan context (2026) · cites this paper as Bi and Zhang, 2022
Influencers perceived as credible are more likely to foster stronger parasocial relationships, which increase consumers' receptiveness to influencer recommendations and consequently strengthen purchase intention.
“Influencers perceived as credible are more likely to foster stronger parasocial relationships, which increase consumers' receptiveness to influencer recommendations and consequently strengthen purchase intention (Bi and Zhang, 2022;Sokolova and Kefi, 2020;Yi, 2023).”
From Understanding consumer purchase intention in social media influencer marketing: the mediating role of parasocial relationship and trust in the Moroccan context (2026) · cites this paper as Bi and Zhang, 2022
The sequential mediation model (IC → PSR → TR → PI) extends prior mediation models that examined credibility and parasocial relationships as independent mediators by proposing and empirically testing their theorized sequential ordering.
“Third, the sequential mediation model (IC → PSR → TR → PI) extends prior mediation models that examined credibility and parasocial relationships as independent mediators (Bi and Zhang, 2022;Sharkasi and Rezakhah, 2023) by proposing and empirically testing their theorized sequential ordering.”
From Understanding consumer purchase intention in social media influencer marketing: the mediating role of parasocial relationship and trust in the Moroccan context (2026) · cites this paper as Bi and Zhang, 2022
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Balaskas, S., & Yfantidou, I. (2026) · Frontiers in Communication · doi:10.3389/fcomm.2026.1764803 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Additionally, PSR includes the relational path to persuasion: people who feel a stronger one-sided connection with an influencer are considered usually more credible and have better attitudes and behaviors (Bi and Zhang, 2023).”
InfluentialNassim, S., Soulami, M., Hasinat, I., Nassim, I., & Touate, S. (2026) · Frontiers in Communication · doi:10.3389/fcomm.2026.1911649
- Authors
- Bi, N. C., & Zhang, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Nebraska at Omaha (US)
- Auburn University at Montgomery (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2022-02-25
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 157-175
- ISSN
- 2040-7122 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4213419052
- Cited by
- 170
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 51 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 4
- FWCI
- 37.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior and Marketing Influence
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Keywords
- influencer marketing, parasocial relationships, influencer credibility, self-esteem, purchase intention, product attitude, YouTube influencers, social media marketing, individual differences, mediating and moderating effects
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