Abstract

This study examines how influencer–product congruence and relationship norms (i.e., exchange versus communal) between an influencer and followers affect consumer responses to influencer-sponsored ads. In Study 1, in a low-involvement product condition (sunscreen), we found that relationship norms moderate the effect of influencer–product congruence on source credibility and brand attitudes. In particular, if the influencer–follower relationship is perceived as exchange oriented, participants in an influencer–product-congruent condition perceive higher credibility of the influencer and thus indicate more favorable brand attitudes toward the influencer-sponsored ad than those in a noncongruence condition. However, if the relationship is communal oriented, influencer–product congruence does not significantly affect participants’ responses. Source credibility mediates the interaction effect between congruence and relationship norms on brand attitudes. In Study 2, we further examined how product involvement interacts with influencer–product congruence, as well as relationship norms. We found a significant three-way interaction effect among the three constructs, such that the significant moderating effect of relationship norms on influencer–product congruence is evident in a low-product-involvement condition but not in a high-product-involvement condition.

摘要

本研究探讨了影响者和追随者之间的影响者-产品一致性和关系规范（即交流与公共）如何影响消费者对影响者赞助的广告的反应。在研究 1 中，在低参与度的产品条件（防晒霜）中，我们发现关系规范会调节影响者-产品一致性对来源可信度和品牌态度的影响。特别是，如果影响者-追随者关系被认为是交换导向的，则影响者-产品-一致条件下的参与者认为影响者的可信度更高，因此表明对影响者赞助的广告的品牌态度比非一致条件下的参与者更有利。然而，如果关系是面向公共的，影响者-产品一致性不会显着影响参与者的反应。来源可信度在一致性和关系规范对品牌态度的交互作用中起到中介作用。在研究 2 中，我们进一步研究了产品参与如何与影响者-产品一致性以及关系规范相互作用。我们发现这三种结构之间存在显着的三向交互作用，因此关系规范对影响者-产品一致性的显着调节作用在产品参与度低的情况下很明显，但在产品参与度高的情况下则不明显。