The pathways of increasing online celebrity brand equity and followers' hotel booking intention: a serial multiple mediation model

Purpose From a consumer–brand relationship (CBR) perspective, this study proposes a serial multiple mediation model to explore the pathways (e.g. cognitive, affective and hybrid) to increase online celebrity brand equity (OCBE) and follower's hotel booking intentions (FBI). Design/methodology/approach Paper-based and online surveys were used to collect data from 443 respondents who had been using TikTok and had followed at least one online celebrity on TikTok, while that online celebrity had reviewed one or more types of accommodation. A serial multiple mediation model was evaluated through covariance-based structural equation modeling. Findings The results confirmed the hybrid cognitive–affective and cognitive–affective–conative pathways among antecedents and components of OCBE and FBI. Originality/value From a CBR perspective, this study provides a serial multiple mediation model to increase OCBE via hybrid cognitive–affective pathways and to drive FBI via cognitive–affective–conative pathways. These sequential relationships contribute to the human branding literature by defining a mechanism of how online celebrities can efficiently attract followers, thus driving online celebrity brand loyalty and hotel booking intentions. Research limitations/implications The results should be validated in other cultural contexts to generalize findings and broaden the range of target respondents to include international followers and those within other nations.