Effects of Fashion Influencers' Characteristics on Instagram Information Acceptance, Continuance Usage Intention and Purchase Intention Moderating Effects of Influencer Type

This study aimed to investigate the effects of Instagram fashion influencers’ characteristics on their followers’information acceptance, continuance usage intention and purchase intention, as well as the moderating effects of influencer type. Data were collected by surveying 685 female Korean Instagram users after a pilot test and questionnaire revision. After deleting incomplete surveys, 507 were used for the statistical analysis. The results of the present study were as follows: four factors of influencers’ characteristics were extracted, namely: expertise, trustworthiness, similarity and attractiveness. Regarding the effects of fashion influencers’characteristics on information acceptance, trustworthiness, similarity and attractiveness had a positive influence on information acceptance, while expertise had a negative effect. Information acceptance affected continuance usage and purchase intention. The influencer type showed a significant moderating effect in the research model, and there was an important causal relationship between the expertise of professional influencers and the acceptance of information. These results indicate that Instagram fashion influencers’ trustworthiness, similarity, and attractiveness, as well as their types, played a significant role in the followers’ information acceptance, intention to continue following the fashion influencers’ Instagram accounts and to purchase fashion products reviewed by these influencers. The present study has practical significance in that it presented marketing strategies and practical guidance for fashion companies to effectively utilize fashion influencers.