Exploring the effects of audience and strategies used by beauty vloggers on behavioural intention towards endorsed brands

The study addresses how and why beauty vloggers influence consumers’ purchase intentions toward endorsed brands in a social media context. It situates the research within the growth of influencer marketing and highlights gaps regarding the role of interactional elements that foster influencer–audience relationships, as well as the overlooked roles of self-concept and user–influencer personality congruence. The work integrates social exchange theory and self-congruence theory to propose a model where interactional elements (parasocial interactions, emotional attachment, meaning transfer, informational value) and audience characteristics (self-concept, user–influencer personality congruence) affect purchase intention via mediators (perceived influence, consumer attitude). Objectives: O1 examine how interactional elements affect purchase inclination; O2 test perceived influence as mediator between interactional elements and purchase intention; O3 assess effects of audience characteristics on purchase intention; O4 examine consumer attitude as mediator between audience characteristics and purchase intention.

Theoretical background and hypotheses development draw on two frameworks. Social exchange theory explains influencer–follower dynamics as reciprocal exchanges of resources (status, information, affection) that build psychological bonds and influence behaviour. Interactional elements—parasocial interactions (PSI), emotional attachment, informational value, and meaning transfer—are theorized to operate as exchange mechanisms that strengthen perceived influence and purchase intention. PSI reflects one-sided but relational bonds with influencers; emotional attachment fosters psychological proximity; informational value enhances trust and communication quality; meaning transfer posits that symbolic meanings associated with influencers move to endorsed brands and then to consumers. Hypotheses H1–H4 propose positive effects of interactional elements on perceived influence and purchase intention, and mediation by perceived influence. Self-congruence theory frames audience characteristics: self-concept (actual/ideal self) and user–influencer personality congruence. Literature suggests alignment with self-concept and personality congruence can shape attitudes and intentions; therefore, H5–H8 posit positive effects of audience characteristics on consumer attitude and purchase intention, and mediation by consumer attitude on the path to purchase intention.

Design: Cross-sectional survey analyzed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4.0. Constructs include higher-order constructs (HOCs) for Interactional Elements (PSI, emotional attachment, informational value, meaning transfer) and Audience Characteristics (self-concept, user–influencer personality congruence), mediators (perceived influence, consumer attitude), and outcome (purchase intention). Measurement: Multi-item scales adapted from prior literature; some items self-constructed based on validated frameworks. Five-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree). Sources: PSI (Lou & Kim, 2019; Lee & Watkins, 2016), emotional attachment (Choi & Lee, 2019; Ladhari et al., 2020), informational value (Ki & Kim, 2019; Lou & Kim, 2019; Lee et al., 2014), meaning transfer (Roy & Jain, 2017; Jain & Roy, 2016), self-concept (Malhotra, 1981; Goñi et al., 2011), user–influencer personality congruence (Ki & Kim, 2019; Casaló et al., 2020; Belanche et al., 2021), perceived influence and consumer attitude (Chanana, 2015; Jiménez-Castillo & Sánchez-Fernández, 2019), purchase intention (Jiménez-Castillo & Sánchez-Fernández, 2019; Meng & Wei, 2020; Lou & Kim, 2019). Sample and data collection: Online questionnaire to individuals aged 16–45 who regularly watch beauty vlogger content on YouTube or similar platforms and use social media 1–3 hours daily. Convenience sampling of Northern India users; data collected June 2022–March 2023. Of 500 contacted, 367 usable responses (73.4%). Demographics: 54.76% male; majority aged 18–30; heavy YouTube/Instagram use. Analysis: PLS-SEM with repeated indicator approach for Type 1 HOCs. Reliability/validity: Reflective indicator outer loadings mostly >0.708; some items removed (SC1, CA5, PARA INT.3,6,8,9). Cronbach’s alpha 0.70–0.95 (HOCs: Interactional Elements α=0.884; Audience Characteristics α=0.526 given 2 indicators). Composite reliability (rho_c) ≥0.805; AVE ≥0.506 across constructs. Discriminant validity: HTMT largely within conservative thresholds; for HOCs, liberal approach with bootstrapped CIs (HTMT Interactional Elements–Audience Characteristics=0.968 within CI bounds) supports discriminant validity. Multicollinearity: Inner VIF <3. Model fit and predictive ability: R2 Perceived Influence=0.507; Consumer Attitude=0.266; Purchase Intention=0.581. SRMR=0.063. Bootstrapping with 10,000 subsamples for significance testing. Q2 predictive >0 for endogenous constructs (Consumer Attitude 0.259; Perceived Influence 0.503; Purchase Intention 0.465). PLSpredict showed mostly lower RMSE vs LM indicating moderate predictive relevance.

- Interactional elements strongly increased perceived influence: β=0.712, t=23.507, p<0.001 (H1 supported). - Interactional elements positively affected purchase intention: β=0.257, t=3.209, p=0.001 (H2 supported). - Perceived influence positively affected purchase intention: β=0.411, t=5.893, p<0.001 (H3 supported). - Mediating role of perceived influence between interactional elements and purchase intention was significant (indirect effect β=0.293, t=5.624, p<0.001), indicating complementary partial mediation (H4 supported). - Audience characteristics positively affected consumer attitude: β=0.516, t=10.496, p<0.001 (H5 supported). - Audience characteristics did not have a significant direct effect on purchase intention: β=0.055, t=0.972, p=0.331 (H6 not supported). - Consumer attitude positively influenced purchase intention: β=0.134, t=1.988, p=0.047 (H7 supported). - Mediating role of consumer attitude between audience characteristics and purchase intention showed a marginally significant indirect effect: β=0.069, t=1.904, p=0.057, consistent with full mediation given non-significant direct path (H8 supported as full mediation interpretation). - Model fit/predictive metrics: R2 Perceived Influence=0.507; Consumer Attitude=0.266; Purchase Intention=0.581; SRMR=0.063; Q2 predictive >0 for all endogenous constructs.

Findings show that the interactional strategies used by beauty vloggers—parasocial interactions, emotional attachment, meaning transfer, and informational value—operate as social exchange mechanisms that heighten perceived influence and, in turn, increase purchase intentions. This supports applying social exchange theory to influencer–follower dynamics, where reciprocal exchanges (attention, information, emotional connection) build trust, dependency, and persuasive power. Meaning transfer helps link the influencer’s symbolic attributes to endorsed brands, reinforcing perceived influence and intention. The audience-side factors (self-concept and user–influencer personality congruence) did not directly drive purchase intention but shaped favourable consumer attitudes toward vloggers, which then increased purchase intention. This aligns with self-congruence theory, emphasizing that identification with influencers translates into behavioural outcomes primarily through attitudinal shifts. Overall, the study clarifies the mechanisms by which vloggers’ interactional elements and audience characteristics jointly shape consumer behaviour, resolving mixed prior evidence on influencer effectiveness by highlighting the critical mediating roles of perceived influence and consumer attitude.

The paper contributes by integrating social exchange and self-congruence theories to explain how beauty vloggers impact consumers’ purchase intentions through interactional elements and audience characteristics, mediated by perceived influence and consumer attitudes. It extends social exchange theory to digital influencer contexts and foregrounds audience self-concept and personality congruence as indirect drivers via attitudes. Practically, marketers should select influencers whose values and personalities align with target audiences, prioritize influencers who deliver high informational value and foster emotional bonds and parasocial relationships, and leverage meaning transfer to enhance brand fit. Future research should further examine evolving power dynamics in influencer–follower relationships, cultural/contextual moderators, long-term relationship processes (loyalty, commitment), the role of sponsorship disclosures, and broaden testing across product categories and demographic segments.

- Sample composition skewed toward 18–30-year-olds and limited to Northern India, constraining generalizability across ages and cultures. - Convenience sampling of social media users introduces selection bias. - Context restricted to beauty vloggers and primarily cosmetics products; results may differ in other categories (health, gaming, food, travel). - The study did not explicitly examine effects of sponsorship disclosures/hashtags on perceptions and behaviour. - Cross-sectional design limits causal inference; longitudinal studies are suggested.