The effect of Instagram influencers' online source credibility on purchase intention: The mediating role of brand attitude

With the increase of social media usage, consumers share their thoughts, lifestyles, and evaluations about the products they buy on social media platforms. Thus, some social media users' followers have increased, and they have started to be followed by large masses. People who become popular by sharing pictures, videos on social media are called micro celebrities or influencers. Consumers are curious about the opinions and experiences of other users on social media before they purchase a products or services. It is thought that they are influenced by the suggestions of the influencer whose they trust experiences and ideas. Therefore, influencer marketing has been used by businesses in recent years to increase brand awareness, promote products and services, and trigger consumer buying behavior. The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of the online source credibility dimensions of Instagram influencers on the consumer's brand attitude and purchase intention, and the mediating role of brand attitude in the effect of these dimensions on purchase intention. The sample of the research was determined by the convenience sampling method, which is one of the non-random sampling methods. Online survey was created by using GoogleForms and 610 people answered, but 527 surveys was suitable for the analysis. For the analyzing the data, factor analysis has been used and for the analysis of the hypothesis, SPSS has been used. According the result of the analysis attractiveness, trustworthiness and online behavior/self-presentation are effective on brand attitude, while the competence dimension is not. Also, attractiveness, competence and online behavior/self presentation of the influencer had an effect on the purchase intention, while the trustworthiness dimension did not have a significant effect. In addition, the mediating role of brand attitude in the effect of source credibility dimensions on purchase intention was examined and it is concluded that brand attitude has a mediating effect on the effect of attractiveness, trustworthiness and online behavior/self-presentation on purchase intention, while brand attitude has not a mediating effect on the competence factor. This study contributes to literature studying the effects of online source credibility of Instagram influencers on consumers' brand attitudes and purchase intentions and the mediating role of brand attitude.