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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting the effectiveness of influencer advertising. Influencer type, product placement, and product involvement were investigated to gain insight into how influencer advertising affects consumers’ decision-making journey. Two online experiments were conducted with young female and male consumers. In the first experiment, the results of a 2 (Influencer Type: Micro- vs. Mega-influencers) × 2 (Product Placement: Product Placement with Influencer-product Interactions vs. Placement without Interactions) × 2 (Product Involvement: High vs. Low) between-subjects experiment found that influencer type significantly affected young female consumers’ brand attitudes, information-seeking intention, and purchase intention after exposure to influencer advertising. The results showed that when an advertised product was used by an influencer, a micro-influencer led to more favorable brand attitudes and purchase intention of young female consumers than a mega-influencer whereas influencer type did not significantly affect their responses when the advertised product was placed without influencer-product interactions. The interaction effects of influencer type and product placement type were significant for the high-involvement product, not for the low-involvement product. The results of mediation analyses found that brand attitudes and information-seeking intention mediated the effects of influencer type on young female consumers’ purchase intention. The second experiment was designed to replicate the first experiment and to explore potential gender effects in influencer advertising. The results of the second experiment showed that influencer type, product placement type, and product involvement did not significantly affect young male consumers’ brand attitudes, information-seeking intention, and purchase intention.