Role of celebrities in creating brand advocacy: An analysis of social media users in Pakistan

Authors

Syeda Batool Abbas, Kinnaird College for WomenFollow
Usamah Iyyaz Billah, Kinnaird College for WomenFollow

Abstract

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the role of celebrities in creating brand advocacy for mobile phones amongst social media users of Pakistan. The role of celebrities has been tested through the constructs of celebrity attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise while brand trust has been added as a mediator. The study variables of the research have been empirically tested for the first time for the mobile phone industry and from social media users. The theoretical framework was developed based on relevant research on the study topic. Research design of the study is Quantitative, one-shot, cross-sectional in nature. Data collection was done through a study questionnaire which was developed based on items from the literature. Sample size was 220 respondents, based on principles set by the item response theory. This is a novel research study as it applies the renowned tri component attitude model to a new area of behavioral research. Data analysis was done using Process Macro by Hayes mediation model 4 in SPSS. Findings reveal that the chosen celebrity attributes have a positive and significant relation with brand advocacy while brand trust acts as a mediator. The results also support the tri component model as cognitive and affective components lead to conation, i.e., brand advocacy in this case. The results have meaningful implications for business practitioners as to the usage of celebrities having relevant expertise along with attractiveness and trustworthiness, which lead to advocacy through trust. A key limitation of this research includes that it focuses mainly on the mobile industry while the same study can be adopted for other sectors as well.

Keywords

Brand Advocacy, Celebrities, Mobile phones, Social media, Brand trust

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54784/1990-6587.1474

Journal of Economic Literature Subject Codes

M00, M1, M31

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Abbas, S. B., & Billah, U. I. (2022). Role of celebrities in creating brand advocacy: An analysis of social media users in Pakistan. Business Review, 17(2), 93-124. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.54784/1990-6587.1474