The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between influencer worship and consumers' self-connection with the brands promoted by the influencer in social media contexts. Data from 698 active social media users who follow influencers were collected to test the conceptual framework. The findings support the positive link between influencer worship and consumers' self-connection with the brands promoted by the influencer on social media and suggest that this relationship is mediated by the activation of benign envy. The results also confirm the positive moderating effect of trait competitiveness on this relationship. Specifically, the effect is stronger for individuals with a higher level of competitive orientation. The findings contribute to the understanding of the relationship between influencers and their followers through computer-mediated environments. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are presented.

中文翻译：

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影响者崇拜和与社交媒体上推广品牌的自我联系：为什么良性嫉妒和特质竞争力很重要

本研究的目的是调查影响者崇拜与消费者与社交媒体环境中影响者推广的品牌的自我联系之间的关系。收集了来自 698 名关注影响者的活跃社交媒体用户的数据，以测试概念框架。研究结果支持影响者崇拜与消费者与社交媒体上影响者推广的品牌的自我联系之间的正相关，并表明这种关系是由良性嫉妒的激活所调节的。结果还证实了特质竞争力对这种关系的积极调节作用。具体而言，对于具有更高竞争导向水平的个人，效果更强。这些发现有助于通过计算机介导的环境了解影响者与其追随者之间的关系。提出了理论贡献和管理意义。