Mega-influencer follower effect: the mediating role of sense of control in brand attitudes, purchase intentions and engagement

Abstract

Purpose

In influencer advertising, followers engage in more frequent and timely interactions compared to nonfollowers, making them the primary audience for these advertisements. Building on this premise, this study aims to examine the impact of different influencer types, categorized by follower count, on the advertised brands.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors tested the hypotheses in four studies, including one secondary data analysis and three experiments.

Findings

Combining real-world data with a series of experiments, the authors show that the followers of mega-influencers (vs micro influencers) have a more positive response to the advertised brands, with more positive brand attitudes, greater purchase intentions and higher engagement. The authors call this the “mega-influencer follower effect.” It is driven by the sense of control. This effect only occurs among the followers and not nonfollowers. Moreover, the mega-influencer follower effect only existed in human influencers, not virtual influencers.

Research limitations/implications

This study takes influencer followers as influencer advertising audiences and investigates the effect of influencer types (based on the number of followers) on the advertised brands; however, future research may investigate how consumers respond to brands in different categories endorsed by influencers.

Practical implications

The authors argue that influencer advertising audiences are more likely to be followers of the influencer. From this perspective, the results suggest that marketers should cooperate with mega-influencers.

Originality/value

Through emphasizing the value of followers rather than nonfollowers as audiences, this study expands the literature on influencer marketing and the explanatory mechanisms regarding which types of influencers are more effective.

Citation

Dong, X., Zhou, R. and Liao, J. (2024), "Mega-influencer follower effect: the mediating role of sense of control in brand attitudes, purchase intentions and engagement", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-04-2023-0278