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JCR Category: Business in ESCI edition

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues Open access
Journal Impact FactorTM (2025) 1.5 Q3
Journal Citation IndicatorTM (2025) 0.25 Q4
Received: 2024-11-19  |  Accepted: 2025-03-26  |  Published: 2025-06-30

Title

Influencer marketing: impact of authenticity on customer purchase intentions


Abstract

Social Media Influencers (SMIs) are vital to the automotive sector by shaping consumer perceptions, increasing brand visibility, and driving purchase intentions through authentic and relatable content. Their ability to engage with specific audiences allows automotive brands to build trust and credibility, influencing the choices of prospective buyers. This study attempts to investigate the effect of SMI authenticity on consumer attitudes and purchasing intentions within the automobile sector in Pakistan. This study employs the Meaning Transfer Model of Celebrity Endorsement (McCracken, 1989) and the Authenticity Model of Computer-Mediated Communication (Lee, 2020) to investigate the impact of perceived authenticity on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions regarding automotive products. A quantitative approach was employed to collect data (N=385) from consumers in Pakistan who interact with SMIs in the automotive sector. The findings indicate that SMI authenticity significantly impacts consumer attitudes and purchase intentions, with consumer attitudes mediating between authenticity and purchase intentions. This study enhances the current literature on influencer marketing by highlighting the importance of authenticity in influencing consumer behaviour within high-involvement industries. The discourse encompasses ramifications for marketers and suggestions for subsequent research.


Keywords

social media influencers, perceived authenticity, consumer attitude toward SMI, consumer purchase intention


JEL classifications

M31 , M37


URI

http://jssidoi.org/jesi/article/1298


DOI


Pages

25-42


Funding


This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Authors

Mahmood, Chaudhry Kashif
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://www.iau.edu.sa
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Singh, Harcharanjit
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia https://www.utm.my
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Khalil, Tayyiba
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://www.iau.edu.sa
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia https://www.utm.my
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Aftab, Faisal
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://www.iau.edu.sa
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Khan, Hina
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://www.iau.edu.sa
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Manzoor, Imran
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://www.iau.edu.sa
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Abdulhayee, Kashif Ahmed
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://www.iau.edu.sa
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Journal title

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues

Volume

12


Number

4


Issue date

June 2025


Issue DOI


ISSN

ISSN 2345-0282 (online)


Publisher

VšĮ Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited

Google Scholar

Article views & downloads

HTML views: 2026  |  PDF downloads: 1244

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