Influencer credibility and brand loyalty: Brand attitude and brand trust as mediating mechanisms, and invariance across consumer segments

Abstract

Influencer marketing has expanded rapidly, but it remains unclear which influencer attributes build long term brand loyalty and through which mechanisms. Drawing on source credibility theory, trust transfer theory and the attitude behaviour framework, this study models five influencer attributes (attractiveness, expertise, homophily, information quality and trustworthiness) as antecedents of brand attitude and brand trust, which in turn predict brand loyalty. Survey data from 600 social media users who follow at least one influencer were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Permutation based multigroup analysis then compared groups with low and high threat appraisal, and with low and high perceived utility, formed by mean splits. Trustworthiness and expertise had the strongest positive associations with both brand attitude and brand trust, homophily had smaller associations, and attractiveness and information quality showed no reliable association with either mediator. Brand attitude and brand trust were each strongly associated with brand loyalty. The model explained 32.2% of the variance in loyalty but only 8.5% and 5.9% of the variance in attitude and trust, and the effects of influencer attributes were small. No path differed significantly between the low and high groups, so the data provide no evidence that threat appraisal or perceived utility alters the structure of the model, although the test has limited power. Because the design is cross sectional and self reported, the findings indicate associations rather than causal effects. The study suggests that brands should prioritise credibility over visual appeal when selecting influencers.