Influencer Breaks as Relational Interruptions: The Roles of Attribution, Disappointment, and Emotional Attachment

Temporary breaks from content creation have become increasingly common among social media influencers, yet little is known about how such interruptions affect follower retention. Drawing on attribution theory and relationship research, we conceptualize influencer breaks as relational interruptions and examine how followers respond to these events. Across a pilot field study and three experiments, we examine how followers' perceptions of break controllability shape disappointment and unfollow intention, and how emotional attachment conditions these effects. The findings show that breaks perceived as more controllable generate greater disappointment and stronger unfollow intention than breaks perceived as less controllable. Disappointment mediates the relationship between perceived controllability and unfollow intention. Although emotionally attached followers are generally less likely to unfollow, emotional attachment also amplifies emotional responses to controllability cues, strengthening the indirect effect of perceived controllability on unfollow intention. These findings contribute to influencer marketing research by extending the concept of relational interruptions to influencer–follower relationships and demonstrating how attributional interpretations influence follower retention during temporary breaks. More broadly, they apply attribution theory to digitally mediated relationships by identifying disappointment as the mechanism linking perceived controllability to unfollow intention. The findings also offer practical insights for influencers, brands, and agencies seeking to manage breaks while preserving follower relationships.