IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v134y2021icp122-142.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How social media influencers’ narrative strategies benefit cultivating influencer marketing: Tackling issues of cultural barriers, commercialised content, and sponsorship disclosure

Author

Listed:
  • Zhou, Shuang
  • Blazquez, Marta
  • McCormick, Helen
  • Barnes, Liz

Abstract

Social media influencers (SMIs) are increasingly involving in influencer marketing to promote products. However, there are both opportunities and issues with influencer marketing. SMIs’ narrative strategies can be of great value as high-quality eWOM content is vital to maintain influencer marketing effectiveness. This paper adopts the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework to explore the value of SMIs’ narrative strategies to overcome potential influencer marketing issues within the context of China’s luxury market. A qualitative approach is applied to explore Chinese consumer perceptions toward capabilities of three SMIs’ narrative strategies (brand attribute evaluation, brand love inspiration, self-identity construction) to deal with the issues of cultural barriers, commercial–personal tension, and sponsorship disclosure in SMIs’ eWOM. Based on the research findings, this paper develops a conceptual model to illustrate how SMIs’ narrative strategies benefit the cultivation of influencer marketing on social media.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou, Shuang & Blazquez, Marta & McCormick, Helen & Barnes, Liz, 2021. "How social media influencers’ narrative strategies benefit cultivating influencer marketing: Tackling issues of cultural barriers, commercialised content, and sponsorship disclosure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 122-142.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:134:y:2021:i:c:p:122-142
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296321003404
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berthon, Pierre R. & Pitt, Leyland F. & Plangger, Kirk & Shapiro, Daniel, 2012. "Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 261-271.
    2. Jennifer Edson Escalas, 2007. "Self-Referencing and Persuasion: Narrative Transportation versus Analytical Elaboration," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 33(4), pages 421-429, December.
    3. Audrezet, Alice & de Kerviler, Gwarlann & Guidry Moulard, Julie, 2020. "Authenticity under threat: When social media influencers need to go beyond self-presentation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 557-569.
    4. Zhan, Lingjing & He, Yanqun, 2012. "Understanding luxury consumption in China: Consumer perceptions of best-known brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(10), pages 1452-1460.
    5. Zhang, Bopeng & Kim, Jung-Hwan, 2013. "Luxury fashion consumption in China: Factors affecting attitude and purchase intent," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 68-79.
    6. Caroline Ardelet & Barbara Slavich & Gwarlann de Kerviler, 2015. "Self-referencing narratives to predict consumers\textquotesingle preferences in the luxury industry: A longitudinal study," Post-Print hal-01563027, HAL.
    7. Bigne, Enrique & Chatzipanagiotou, Kalliopi & Ruiz, Carla, 2020. "Pictorial content, sequence of conflicting online reviews and consumer decision-making: The stimulus-organism-response model revisited," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 403-416.
    8. Kristine de Valck & Roberts V. Kozinets & Andrea C. Wojnicki & Sarah J.S. Wilner, 2010. "Networked Narratives: Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing in Online Communities," Post-Print hal-00458424, HAL.
    9. de Kerviler, Gwarlann & Rodriguez, Carlos M., 2019. "Luxury brand experiences and relationship quality for Millennials: The role of self-expansion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 250-262.
    10. Yu, Shubin & Hu, Yangjuan, 2020. "When luxury brands meet China: The effect of localized celebrity endorsements in social media marketing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    11. Gwarlann de Kerviler & Carlos Rodriguez, 2019. "Luxury brand experiences and relationship quality for Millennials: The role of self-expansion," Post-Print hal-02114441, HAL.
    12. Seo, Yuri & Buchanan-Oliver, Margo, 2019. "Constructing a typology of luxury brand consumption practices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 414-421.
    13. Ardelet, Caroline & Slavich, Barbara & de Kerviler, Gwarlann, 2015. "Self-referencing narratives to predict consumers' preferences in the luxury industry: A longitudinal study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(9), pages 2037-2044.
    14. Liu, Sindy & Perry, Patsy & Moore, Christopher & Warnaby, Gary, 2016. "The standardization-localization dilemma of brand communications for luxury fashion retailers' internationalization into China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 357-364.
    15. Jennifer Edson Escalas & James R. Bettman, 2005. "Self-Construal, Reference Groups, and Brand Meaning," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(3), pages 378-389, December.
    16. Campbell, Colin & Farrell, Justine Rapp, 2020. "More than meets the eye: The functional components underlying influencer marketing," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 469-479.
    17. Li, Guoxin & Li, Guofeng & Kambele, Zephaniah, 2012. "Luxury fashion brand consumers in China: Perceived value, fashion lifestyle, and willingness to pay," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(10), pages 1516-1522.
    18. Tom Tyson, 2009. "Discussion of photo‐elicitation: an ethno‐historical accounting and management research prospect," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(7), pages 1130-1141, September.
    19. Bian, Qin & Forsythe, Sandra, 2012. "Purchase intention for luxury brands: A cross cultural comparison," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(10), pages 1443-1451.
    20. Kazadi, Kande & Lievens, Annouk & Mahr, Dominik, 2016. "Stakeholder co-creation during the innovation process: Identifying capabilities for knowledge creation among multiple stakeholders," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 525-540.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alam, Faizan & Tao, Meng & Rastogi, Rashmi & Mendiratta, Aparna & Attri, Rekha, 2024. "Do social media influencers influence the vaccination drive? An application of source credibility theory and uses and gratification theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    2. Xiao Liu & Xiaoyong Zheng, 2024. "The persuasive power of social media influencers in brand credibility and purchase intention," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Komal Shamim & Muhammad Azam, 2024. "The power of social media influencers: unveiling the impact on consumers’ impulse buying behaviour," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Alboqami, Hassan, 2023. "Trust me, I'm an influencer! - Causal recipes for customer trust in artificial intelligence influencers in the retail industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Zibarzani, Masoumeh & Abumalloh, Rabab Ali & Nilashi, Mehrbakhsh & Samad, Sarminah & Alghamdi, O.A. & Nayer, Fatima Khan & Ismail, Muhammed Yousoof & Mohd, Saidatulakmal & Mohammed Akib, Noor Adelyna, 2022. "Customer satisfaction with Restaurants Service Quality during COVID-19 outbreak: A two-stage methodology," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    6. Dr. Rana Muhammad Shahid Yaqub & Muhammad Aqeel Atif & Fawad Waseem & Ehtisham, 2023. "Unveiling The Dynamics: Exploring The Stimulus-Organism-Response (Sor) Model In The Context Of Social Media Influencer Marketing, Electronic Word Of Mouth, And Purchase Decisions, With A Focus On The ," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 12(2), pages 427-438.
    7. AlRabiah, Sara & Marder, Ben & Marshall, David & Angell, Rob, 2022. "Too much information: An examination of the effects of social self-disclosure embedded within influencer eWOM campaigns," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 93-105.
    8. Santiago Joanna Krywalski & Su Xiaolin, 2023. "Can a Vlogger Help to Build Brand Awareness? The Impact of Vloggers on Customers’ Attitude towards Brand Advertisement and Purchase Intention," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 15(1), pages 4-40, March.
    9. Pangarkar, Aniruddha & Patel, Jayesh & Kumar, Sampath K., 2023. "Drivers of eWOM engagement on social media for luxury consumers: Analysis, implications, and future research directions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Sardar, Sainaz & Tata, Sai Vijay & Sarkar, Subhro, 2024. "Examining the influence of source factors and content characteristics of influencers' post on consumer engagement and purchase intention: A moderated analysis," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    11. Cheung, Man Lai & Leung, Wilson K.S. & Aw, Eugene Cheng-Xi & Koay, Kian Yeik, 2022. "“I follow what you post!†: The role of social media influencers’ content characteristics in consumers' online brand-related activities (COBRAs)," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pangarkar, Aniruddha & Patel, Jayesh & Kumar, Sampath K., 2023. "Drivers of eWOM engagement on social media for luxury consumers: Analysis, implications, and future research directions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Sharma, Purva & Srivastava, Ankur & Sharma, Veenu & Singh, Nidhi & Nijjer, Shivinder, 2024. "Understanding consumer repurchase intentions towards luxury retail brands: Evidence from an emerging market," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Ko, Eunju & Costello, John P. & Taylor, Charles R., 2019. "What is a luxury brand? A new definition and review of the literature," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 405-413.
    4. Pillai, Kishore Gopalakrishna & Nair, Smitha R., 2021. "The effect of social comparison orientation on luxury purchase intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 89-100.
    5. Kauppinen-Räisänen, Hannele & Björk, Peter & Lönnström, Alexandra & Jauffret, Marie-Nathalie, 2018. "How consumers' need for uniqueness, self-monitoring, and social identity affect their choices when luxury brands visually shout versus whisper," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 72-81.
    6. Gurzki, Hannes & Woisetschläger, David M., 2017. "Mapping the luxury research landscape: A bibliometric citation analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 147-166.
    7. Bahri-Ammari, Nedra & Coulibaly, Daouda & Ben Mimoun, Mohamed Slim, 2020. "The bandwagon luxury consumption in Tunisian case: The roles of independent and interdependent self concept," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    8. Husain, Rehan & Paul, Justin & Koles, Bernadett, 2022. "The role of brand experience, brand resonance and brand trust in luxury consumption," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    9. Chan, Wing Yin & To, Chester K.M. & Chu, Wai Ching, 2015. "Materialistic consumers who seek unique products: How does their need for status and their affective response facilitate the repurchase intention of luxury goods?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-10.
    10. Eunkyung Lee & Yeosun Yoon, 2022. "Heading Up or Stuck Down Here? The Effect of Perceived Economic Mobility on Subjective Social Status and Brand Identification," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    11. Sindy Liu & Patsy Perry & Gregory Gadzinski, 2019. "The implications of digital marketing on WeChat for luxury fashion brands in China," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(4), pages 395-409, July.
    12. Pizzetti, Marta & Chereau, Philippe & Soscia, Isabella & Teng, Fangyuan, 2023. "Attitudes and intentions toward masstige strategies: A cross-cultural study of French and Chinese consumers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    13. Hsiang-Ming Lee & Ya-Hui Hsu & Tsai Chen, 2020. "The Moderating Effects of Self-Referencing and Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal in Anti-Smoking Advertising for Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-19, November.
    14. Tiphaine Gorlier & Géraldine Michel, 2020. "How special rewards in loyalty programs enrich consumer–brand relationships: The role of self‐expansion," Post-Print hal-02494605, HAL.
    15. Huan Chen & Ye Wang, 2017. "Connecting or disconnecting: luxury branding on social media and affluent Chinese female consumers’ interpretations," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(6), pages 562-574, November.
    16. Sharma, Amalesh & Soni, Mauli & Borah, Sourav Bikash & Saboo, Alok R., 2020. "Identifying the drivers of luxury brand sales in emerging markets: An exploratory study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 25-40.
    17. Marta Pizzetti & Philippe Chereau & Isabella Soscia & Fangyuan Teng, 2023. "Attitudes and intentions toward masstige strategies: A cross-cultural study of French and Chinese consumers," Post-Print hal-04207447, HAL.
    18. Li Chen & Yajie Yan & Andrew N. Smith, 2023. "What drives digital engagement with sponsored videos? An investigation of video influencers’ authenticity management strategies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 198-221, January.
    19. Ma, Jieqiong & Hong, JungHwa & Yoo, Boonghee & Yang, Jie, 2021. "The effect of religious commitment and global identity on purchase intention of luxury fashion products: A cross-cultural study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 244-254.
    20. Pengji Wang & Adrian T. H. Kuah & Qinye Lu & Caroline Wong & K. Thirumaran & Emmanuel Adegbite & Wesley Kendall, 2021. "The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(3), pages 325-346, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:134:y:2021:i:c:p:122-142. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.