Understanding followers’ stickiness to digital influencers: The effect of psychological responses |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Economics and Management, Dalian University of Technology, 2 # Linggong Road, Dalian 116024, China;2. Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, Nodhuset, Borgarfjordsgatan 12, Postbox 7003, 16407, Kista, Sweden;1. UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;2. Institute of Innovation and Circular Economy, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan;3. Department of Business Administration, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan;1. Department of Marketing, Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201?W. University Dr. ECOBE 211, Edinburg, TX 78539-2999, USA;2. Department of Marketing, College of Business, Bowling Green State University, 234?A Business Building, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0268, USA;3. Schroeder School of Business Administration, University of Evansville, 1800 Lincoln Ave., Evansville, IN 47722, USA |
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| Abstract: | The ability of digital influencers to convert their followers into paying customers relies heavily on the followers’ “stickiness”, a topic that has not been adequately investigated in the existing literature. From a psychological perspective, this study develops a theoretical model of followers’ stickiness. Two forms of followers’ psychological responses to digital influencers are jointly considered: wishful identification and parasocial relationships. This study also categorizes and examines the moderating effects exerted by the genres of digital influencers’ revenue models, which represent a vital contextual factor for forming followers’ stickiness. A survey was conducted on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, with a sample of 319 followers of real digital influencers that are using different genres of revenue models. The findings indicate that both wishful identification and parasocial relationships have significant but different impacts on followers’ stickiness in different genres of influencers’ revenue models. This paper enriches our understanding of the phenomenon of followers’ stickiness toward digital influencers and provides practical guidance for digital influencers and social commerce/media platform providers. |
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| Keywords: | Digital influencer Stickiness Parasocial relationships Wishful identification Revenue model |
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