Influencer marketing and buying behaviour: The role of governance and integrity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/jgi.9.1.2026.11277Keywords:
ANOVA, Correlation analysis, Descriptive analysis, Influencer marketing, Purchasing behaviour, Young consumersAbstract
Influencer marketing has emerged as a powerful strategy for shaping young consumers' purchasing behaviour through authentic, relatable, and engaging content. However, its effectiveness depends heavily on strong governance and integrity, particularly transparency, honesty, accountability, and responsible consumer communication. This study aims to identify the key social influencing factors that affect young adults’ purchasing behavior, evaluate the overall impact of influencer marketing using descriptive analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and examine the relationship between social media influencers and consumer decision-making through correlation analysis. Data were collected through a survey of young adults aged 18 to 26, focusing on their responses to influencer marketing across diverse product and service categories. The findings reveal that influencer credibility exerts the strongest influence on young consumers’ purchase intentions, followed by trustworthiness and attractiveness. Furthermore, the frequency of consumer interaction with influencers demonstrated a statistically significant association with purchasing frequency. These results underscore the critical role of governance and ethical integrity in marketing; transparent disclosures, honest recommendations, and responsible communication foster consumer trust while reinforcing ethical standards. Ultimately, this study offers practical insights for businesses and marketers aiming to build effective, responsible influencer strategies that harmonise consumer engagement with strong governance, integrity, and ethical responsibility.
References
Abidin, C. (2016). Visibility labour: Engaging with influencers’ fashion brands and #OOTD advertisements on Instagram. Media International Australia, 161(1), 86–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X16665177
Agam, D. N. L. A. (2017). Celebrity endorser physical attractiveness effect on consumers’ attitude toward online advertisement. Australian Journal of Accounting, Economics and Finance, 3(1), 25–29.
Ahmad, H., & Halim, H. (2017). Determining sample size for research activities: The case of organisational research. Selangor Business Review, 2(1), 20–34. https://sbr.journals.unisel.edu.my/index.php/sbr/article/view/12
Aljazzaf, Z. M., Perry, M., & Capretz, M. A. M. (2010). Online trust: Definition and principles. In 2010 Fifth International Multi-Conference on Computing in the Global Information Technology (pp. 163–168). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCGI.2010.17
Anand, A., Dutta, S., & Mukherjee, P. (2020). Influencer marketing with fake followers (IIM Bangalore Research Paper No. 580). Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3306088
Balabanis, G., & Chatzopoulou, E. (2019). Under the influence of a blogger: The role of information-seeking goals and issue involvement. Psychology & Marketing, 36(4), 342–353. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21182
Brown, D., & Hayes, N. (2008). Influencer marketing (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780080557700
Byrne, E., Kearney, J., & MacEvilly, C. (2017). The role of influencer marketing and social influencers in public health. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 76, E103. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665117001768
Camilleri, D. (2015). The effects of celebrity endorsements, particularly by footballers, on the consumer buying behaviour of young Maltese adults [Bachelor’s thesis, University of Malta]. University of Malta Library OAR. https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/5484
Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. (2020). Influencers on Instagram: Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership. Journal of Business Research, 117, 510–519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.005
De Veirman, M., Cauberghe, V., & Hudders, L. (2017). Marketing through Instagram influencers: The impact of number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude. International Journal of Advertising, 36(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2017.1348035
Djafarova, E., & Rushworth, C. (2017). Exploring the credibility of online celebrities’ Instagram profiles in influencing the purchase decisions of young female users. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.009
Erdogan, B. Z. (1999). Celebrity endorsement: A literature review. Journal of Marketing Management, 15(4), 291–314. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725799784870379
Escalas, J. E., & Bettman, J. R. (2003). You are what they eat: The influence of reference groups on consumers’ connections to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13(3), 339–348. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327663JCP1303_14
Evans, N. J., Phua, J., Lim, J., & Jun, H. (2017). Disclosing Instagram influencer advertising: The effects of disclosure language on advertising recognition, attitudes, and behavioral intent. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 17(2), 138–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2017.1366885
Išoraitė, M., Alperytė, I., & Svirbutaitė-Krutkienė, G. (2020). Impact of influencers on purchasing decisions. Įžvalgos, 1, 30–43.
Kemp, S. (2023, April 27). Digital 2023: April global statshot report. DataReportal. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-april-global-statshot
Khaniwale, M. (2015). Consumer buying behavior. International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, 14, 278–286.
Lou, C., & Yuan, S. (2019). Influencer marketing: How message value and credibility affect consumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2018.1533501
Pham, M. (2021). The effects of online social influencers on purchasing behavior of Generation Z: An empirical study in Vietnam. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(11), 179–190. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no11.0179
Rahmah, S., & Ren, D. (2019). The impact of micro-influencer marketing on millennials’ purchasing decisions [Master’s thesis, SKEMA Business School]. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.26944.35841
Rebelo, T. (2017). Social influencers and consumer purchase intentions: The mediating role of trust.
Schouten, A. P., Janssen, L., & Verspaget, M. (2020). Celebrity vs. influencer endorsements in advertising: The role of identification, credibility, and product-endorsers’ fit. International Journal of Advertising, 39(2), 258–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1634898
Sternthal, B., Dholakia, R. R., & Leavitt, C. (1978). The persuasive effect of source credibility: Tests of cognitive response. Journal of Consumer Research, 4(4), 252–260. https://doi.org/10.1086/208704
Tanujaya, B., Prahmana, R. C. I., & Mumu, J. (2022). Likert scale in social sciences research: Problems and difficulties. FWU Journal of Social Sciences, 16(4), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.51709/19951272/Winter2022/7
Wansi, J. (2020). How do Instagram influencers affect the consumer buying behaviour of Gen-Z? [Bachelor’s thesis]. Scriptiebank. https://www.scriptiebank.be/sites/default/files/thesis/2020-10/%20BAP%20Jalean%20Wansi%20%28pdf%29.pdf
Weismueller, J., Harrigan, P., Wang, S., & Soutar, G. N. (2020). Influencer endorsements: How advertising disclosure and source credibility affect consumer purchase intention on social media. Australasian Marketing Journal, 28(4), 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2020.03.002
Wiedmann, K. P., & Mettenheim, W. (2019). Attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise: The impact of influencer credibility on brand attitude and purchase intention. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 18(6), 564–578. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2019-2442
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
