The Role of Social Media Influencer, Trustworthiness, and its Impact on Consumers’ Purchase Intention: A Conceptual Paper

In an evolving digital marketing landscape, understanding the factors that shape consumer purchase intention is crucial for brand success. This conceptual paper proposes the roles of influencer credibility, influencer attractiveness, perceived quality, and trustworthiness in influencing consumers' intention to purchase. Guided by the Social Credibility theory and Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory, this study proposes a framework that integrates these constructs to explain their impact on consumer decision making. This study examines the consumer behaviour pathway through which influencer credibility (stimuli) impacts consumer purchase intention (response) via the mediating role of trustworthiness (organism). This study hypothesises that influencer credibility and influencer attractiveness act as external marketing cues that enhance the trustworthiness of endorsed products. These stimuli in turn significantly strengthens consumer' intention to purchase. Therefore, this paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of consumer behaviour in the digital landscape and offers insight for marketers to develop their branding strategies. Future empirical research is encouraged to validate the proposed framework across different digital platforms and cultural settings.