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

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, perceived value, and brand image. Research Design & Methods: The study focused on Taiwan and 384 samples were gathered using a convenience-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 catalyst 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 examining 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.