From Attraction to Action: The Role of Parasocial Relationship in Linking Influencer Attractiveness and Perceived Authenticity to Purchase Intention
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64060/IJPSSDV2i25Keywords:
Influencer marketing , influencer attractiveness, perceived authenticity, purchase intention, parasocial relationship, PLS-SEM, social mediaAbstract
Influencer marketing has grown rapidly and has been the subject of growing academic interest in understanding the impact of certain influencer attributes on consumer purchase behavior. Focusing on the emotional relational mechanism between the influencer traits and purchase intention, however, has received limited empirical attention. This study takes into account the source attractiveness model and parasocial interaction theory to analyze how the attractiveness of the influencers and authenticity perception of the influencers affect the purchase intention, while parasocial interaction is used as a mediator. This study used a quantitative, cross-sectional research design and a structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 320 active users of social media. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis using SmartPLS software. The measurement model was found to have satisfactory reliability and validity for all four constructs, and the results of the structural model were found to support all seven hypothesized relationships. In particular, the attractiveness of the influencers and their perceived authenticity were significant predictors of parasocial relationship, and the latter was a significant predictor of purchase intention. This research contributes to the body of knowledge on influencer marketing by making parasocial relationship a significant emotional process between source characteristics and consumer behavioral outcomes. In practice, the results indicate that brands should focus on attracting influencers who are both attractive and authentic to build more relational bonds with audiences, which will lead to purchase behavior.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Touqeer Azam (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
