The Importance of Influencer-Message Congruence When Employing Greenfluencers to Promote Pro-Environmental Behavior

To combat climate change, it is of vital importance that people change their behaviors. This study explores how influencers, or so-called greenfluencers, on Instagram could be utilized to stimulate pro-environmental behavior. We examine the effects of influencer-message congruence on influencer credibility (i.e. trustworthiness and expertise) and pro-environmental intentions, and compare the effects of influencer-message congruence between micro-(1000-10,000 followers) and meso-(10,000-1 million followers) influencers. Results of a 2 (influencer-message: incongruence vs. congruence) 2 (influencer type: micro-vs. meso-influencer) online experiment amongst 201 Instagram users revealed that influencermessage congruence increased influencer credibility and proenvironmental intentions. Influencer credibility did not appear to be the underlying mechanism of the effect of congruence on pro-environmental intentions. Moreover, influencer type did not moderate the effect of influencer-message congruence. Our results imply that choosing an influencer whose image aligns with the pro-environmental message is important to stimulate Instagram users' pro-environmental behavior.