Antecedents of consumer intention to follow and recommend an Instagram account

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of consumers’ perceived enjoyment and usefulness on their intention to follow and recommend an official account of a brand community on Instagram through satisfaction, following a perception-evaluation-intention chain.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study suggests that both perceived enjoyment and usefulness have a positive influence on satisfaction, which in turn affects intended following and recommendation of an account on Instagram. Data are collected from 548 members of a fashion brand community official Instagram account. After the validation of measurement scales, the hypotheses are contrasted using a structural equation model.

Findings

Results show that both perceived enjoyment and usefulness have a positive effect on satisfaction with the Instagram account, which in turn positively affects the intention to follow and recommend the account. Specifically, satisfaction fully mediates the influence of perceptions on intentions, except for the influence of perceived usefulness on intended recommendation as these variables are also directly linked.

Practical implications

The findings help managers to understand consumers’ behavioral intentions on Instagram and note the relevant role of perceived enjoyment and usefulness in creating a satisfactory experience in this context.

Originality/value

Nowadays, brands and users are continuously joining Instagram and, as a result of its growing importance, there is a need to better understand consumer behavior in this context. This research analyses the antecedents of both the intention to follow and recommend an account on Instagram.

Citation

Casaló, L.V., Flavián, C. and Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. (2017), "Antecedents of consumer intention to follow and recommend an Instagram account", Online Information Review, Vol. 41 No. 7, pp. 1046-1063. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-09-2016-0253