Making and breaking relationships on social media: the impacts of brand and influencer betrayals

6533b871fe1ef96bd12d23c8

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Making and breaking relationships on social media: the impacts of brand and influencer betrayals

Vilma Luoma-aho Teck Ming Tan Hanna Reinikainen Jari Salo

subject

PERCEPTIONS influencer betrayal Brand trust Betrayal CONSUMERS Brand attitude parasocial relationships 0508 media and communications vaikuttaminen Management of Technology and Innovation 512 Business and Management Brand betrayal ONLINE REGRET EXPERIENCE brand trust Applied Psychology media_common social media influencers Influencer coolness 05 social sciences ENGAGEMENT ENDORSERS Influencer marketing Social media influencers brändit Feeling Psychology Social psychology CELEBRIFICATION FOLLOWERS influencer coolness verkkoyhteisöt media_common.quotation_subject Parasocial interaction PARASOCIAL INTERACTION sosiaalinen media 050801 communication & media studies Transgressions Affect (psychology)Purchase intention imago vaikuttajamarkkinointi brand attitude Perception 0502 economics and business Social media uskottavuus Business and International Management Parasocial relationships purchase intention transgressions Success factors ostopäätökset Influencer betrayal maineenhallinta brand betrayal vastuu yhteisvastuu luottamus 050211 marketing TRUST luotettavuus

description

This study considers how the relationships between social media influencers, brands and individuals are intertwined on social media and analyses the spill-over effects of feelings of betrayal. An experimental design with two transgression scenarios (influencer vs. brand) was created, and 250 individuals were recruited to participate in the study. The results show that a perceived betrayal by a brand can negatively affect the perceived coolness of the social media influencer that has endorsed the brand, as well as the parasocial relationships that followers have with the influencer. Accordingly, a perceived betrayal by a social media influencer can negatively affect attitudes, trust and purchase intentions toward a brand that the influencer has endorsed. The current research helps in understanding brand and influencer transgressions and highlights the fact that both influencers and brands should have a sense of collaboration responsibility. It also introduces the concept of influencer coolness, understood here as a desirable success factor for social media influencers, which partly explains their desirability and influence, and a feature that can be endangered through both influencer and brand betrayals. Peer reviewed

year	journal	country	edition	language
2021-10-01	Technological Forecasting and Social Change

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120990