Effects of parasocial interaction, brand credibility and product involvement on celebrity endorsement on microblog

Purpose This study explores the influence of parasocial interaction (PSI), brand credibility and product involvement on celebrity endorsement, and how PSI interacts with brand and product factors and affects celebrity endorsement synthetically. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a 2 (high/low product involvement) by 2 (high/low brand credibility) between-subjects factorial design experiment to test the hypotheses. Findings Brand credibility has a positive effect on followers' attitudes toward advertising and products, and product involvement influences its moderation. PSI has salient positive effects on followers' attitudes and behavioral intention, regardless of high/low product involvement. Brand credibility mediates PSI's influence on celebrity endorsement. Research limitations/implications The results reinforce the significant effect of PSI on endorsement effectiveness and brand credibility, show the influence of brand credibility and product involvement and show how their influence conditionally interacts with others. Practical implications The corporate advertiser should prefer a high PSI celebrity as their endorser. The advertising message design on the microblog also deserves the attention of advertisers. Originality/value This study is the primary attempt to construct an integral model to demonstrate the synthetic effect and interaction process of consumers' perception of the endorser, brand and product category factors on celebrity endorsement within the social media context.