Building influencer' credibility on instagram: The integration of signaling theory and trust transfer theory

Abstract

Instagram is a popular commerce platform used by people all over the world. Although the number of consumers choosing Instagram as a place to shop online is increasing significantly, they still have concerns about the information or product suitability. Therefore, the online review trend was born and helped solve the problem that consumers are facing. With the rampant flow of information on Instagram, consumers are demanding on this trend in terms of reliability and accuracy. Faced with the standards of online review trends, influencers’ credibility plays an important role in converting consumer trust to behavioral intention. Building on the integration of signaling theory and trust transfer theory, this study aims to investigate how review content-related signals and review-related signals influence the building of influencers’ credibility. The data was collected through a questionnaire survey of 270 users in Vietnam who are currently using the Instagram platform to view Influencers’s reviews. The results show that a new custom variable like paid communication has a negative impact on post credibility; review expertise has a positive impact on influencer credibility. In addition, we find that the control variable, brand involvement does not affect the behavioral intention of consumers. This study enriches the Influencer literature and contributes to both Marketing and Sales fields. Our findings provide organizations with new insights into how to maintain the efficiency of marketing on Instagram and business operations under Influencers advertising.