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Social media campaigns by fashion brands typically rely on two types of accounts: official brands' accounts and social media influencers' accounts. The current study investigates relevant mechanisms that explain the effectiveness of Instagram posts contingent upon their account types (commercial brand's Instagram account versus influencer's Instagram account) and content types (the absence versus presence of human figures in the posted contents).

Conducting an online experiment (N Females = 195), it was tested if parasocial interaction (PSI) and feelings of social presence moderate the effects of Instagram accounts' promotional posts on consumers' perceived trustworthiness of the endorsed fashion brand. The experiment employed a 2 (Type of Instagram posts: product-only posts versus product posts with a person content) × 2 (Type of Instagram account: a fashion-brand account versus a a fashion-influencer account) between-subjects factorial design.

Results demonstrate three-way interaction effects among the type of the Instagram account, the type of Instagram posts and PSI/social presence on the perceived trustworthiness of a brand. When the content is coming from a fashion-influencer account, there is no difference between product posts with a person and product-only posts conditions with regard to the positive relationship between PSI/social presence and trustworthiness. In contrast, when the source is a fashion-brand account on Instagram, the positive relationship between PSI/social presence and trustworthiness is stronger for product posts with a person. These findings suggest that Instagram posts that are promoted by fashion influencers would have similar effects of PSI and social presence, even if they do not appear themselves in the branded content.

This research contributes to our understanding of the effective antecedents of trustworthiness in social media-based fashion marketing and fashion brand management. Instagram account types and content types influence the extent to which social media communication allows for the formation of emotional ties with and positive evaluation of the fashion brand.

The purpose of this paper is to test the effects of two types of celebrities (Instagram celebrity vs traditional celebrity) on source trustworthiness, brand attitude, envy and social presence. The proposed theoretical model consists of the celebrity type as the independent variable, social presence as the mediator and self-discrepancy as the moderator.

A randomized two-group comparison (Instagram celebrity vs traditional celebrity) between-subjects experiment (n=104) was conducted.

The results indicate that consumers exposed to Instagram celebrity’s brand posts perceive the source to be more trustworthy, show more positive attitude toward the endorsed brand, feel stronger social presence and feel more envious of the source than those consumers exposed to traditional celebrity’s brand posts. Structural equation modeling (Mplus 8.0) and bootstrap confidence intervals indicate that social presence mediates the causal effects of celebrity type on trustworthiness, brand attitude and envy. Multiple regression analyses reveal the moderating effects of appearance-related actual–ideal self-discrepancy.

Ultimately, managerial implications for social media marketing and Instagram influencer-based branding are provided. From the perspective of marketing planning, the findings speak to the power of influencer marketing as an effective branding strategy.

The paper discusses theoretical implications for the marketing literature on celebrity endorsements.

Through two experiments, this study assessed source and message effects of Instagram-based pro-veganism messages.

Experiment 1 (N = 294) examined effects of organization (brand vs nonprofit) and message types (egoistic vs altruistic) on consumer responses to Instagram-based pro-veganism content. Experiment 2 (N = 288) examined effects of source type (celebrity vs noncelebrity) and message valence (positive vs negative) on consumer responses to Instagram-based pro-veganism content.

Results demonstrated significant main effects of organization type, with consumers indicating more positive attitudes and higher credibility toward the brand. Significant main effects of message type were also found, with altruistic messages eliciting higher perceived information value than egoistic messages. Subjective norms had moderating effects on attitude toward the organization, while attitude toward veganism had moderating effects on perceived information value. Results also indicated significant main effects of message valence on perceived information value of pro-veganism Instagram posts and significant interaction effects of the two manipulated factors on intention to spread electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) about pro-veganism.

Implications for use of Instagram-based health marketing communication about veganism were discussed. Specifically, organizations looking to use social media to influence attitudes and behavioral intentions toward health issues should seek to reach their target audiences through selecting endorsers and messages that will optimally present the health issue in a relatable and engaging way.

Luxury fashion brands harness the power of Instagram and fashionistas for strategic brand management. This study aims to test interaction effects among luxury brand posts’ Instagram source type (brand versus fashionista), visual image type (product-centric versus consumer-centric) and consumers’ characteristics (vanity, opinion leadership and fashion consciousness) on brand recognition and trust.

A quantitative 2 (source type: brand versus fashionista) × 2 (branded visual image type: product-centric luxury versus consumer-centric luxury) between-subjects online experiment (N males = 195 and N females = 182) was conducted by recruiting participants from MTurk.

Logistic regression analyses indicated two-way interaction effects between sources and visual images on brand recognition. Brand recognition was higher for product-centric images when the source was the fashionista, whereas brand recognition was equivalent regardless of the image type when the source was the brand. Logistic regression and multiple regression analyses revealed the moderating effects of sources and visual images on the association between consumer traits and branding outcomes.

Meticulously choosing effective methods of showcasing branded content and persuasive luxury visual image strategies via Instagram is more important for fashionistas than for established brands in increasing brand recognition. Instagram fashionistas are more effective in increasing females’ brand trust through delivering product-centric visual images when targeting women with high vanity, opinion leadership and fashion consciousness. Brands as the Instagram profile source are more persuasive in increasing males’ brand trust through delivering product-centric visual images when targeting men with high vanity.

This experiment provides theoretical discussions and empirical findings about social media influencer marketing and managerial implications for Instagram-based luxury branding. This research revolves around the overarching theme of the interactive effects of multifaceted branded contents and market segments in social media influencer marketing environments.

In light of Facebook-based viral marketing and social commerce, the purpose of this paper is to test the moderating role of social identification with the Facebook profile owner (celebrity as aspirational reference group vs ingroup member (college student, same school) vs outgroup member (college student, different school)) in Facebook-based fashion brand marketing and management.

A randomized between-subjects experiment (celebrity’s Facebook profile vs ingroup member’s Facebook profile vs outgroup member’s Facebook profile vs control condition, n=73) was conducted. The sample was composed of college students recruited from a subject pool in a US university.

Results of multiple regression analyses indicate that social identification with the Facebook profile owner and ingroup vs outgroup perception moderate the influence of consumers’ materialism, fashion involvement and opinion leadership on interpersonal attraction to the celebrity, wishful identification with the celebrity, emotional quotient, involvement with the ads, advertising believability and willingness to buy the advertised fashion products. Furthermore, the results of structural equation modeling analyses show that source credibility perception (both the celebrity who endorses her own brand and the Facebook profile owner) mediates the relationship between experimental conditions (celebrity as aspirational outgroup vs same school student as an ingroup member vs different school student as an outgroup member) and the outcome variables (interpersonal attraction to the celebrity, involvement with ads, and advertising believability) in viral marketing leveraging a social media platform.

This study makes several theoretical contributions to consumer psychology and provides managerial implications for Facebook-based fashion marketing and fashion brand management.

This study aims to explore the personality traits (agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience and neuroticism) of the students. The differences among the personality traits of students toward social networking sites (SNS) usage, benefits and risks are also analyzed.

Two instruments including; BFI scale and self-structured instrument, were administered to collect data. Kruskal–Wallis test was applied to determine the differences between the personality traits of students.

Results revealed that the majority of the students (298) possessed openness to experience, while only 12 possessed extraversion in their personality traits. Moreover, students possessing the extraversion trait use more SNS that impact negatively, while, students of the conscientiousness trait use SNS moderately that impact positively on their health, education and daily routine life. However, students of neuroticism are increasingly more users of SNS without considering the benefits or risks of SNS. Moreover, students having extraversion and conscientiousness traits can more judge the benefits and risks of SNS as compared to other personalities’ students. A significant difference was found among the personality traits of student’s use of SNS and risks while no difference was observed toward SNS benefits.

The findings of this study will help the students studying in different Pakistani universities/institutions to identify their personality traits and reduce the negative effects of SNS.

Analyses the evolution of China’s telephone and cable systems, in terms of the public interest, discussing current bureaucratic conflicts and policy debates over convergence, and construction of an independent broadband cable network. Looks in depth at China’s problems and the different problems for its citizens with regard to poverty levels and access to the Web.

This study adopted the functional, expressive and aesthetic (FEA) consumer needs model, aimed to examine the influence of consumers' FEA perceptions of three-dimensional printing (3DP) integrated apparel products on their product satisfaction and purchase intention.

An online survey was employed with a sample of 332 participants (165 female and 167 male) aged 19 to 76, mean age of 35 years. A gender-neutral, 3DP integrated hooded sweatshirt was developed for this study featuring flexible, white 3D printed insets fabricated with an FDM 3D printer and white TPU filament sewn with traditional gray knit fleece.

The findings of this study suggest that the FEA model is appropriate in predicting consumers' satisfaction with 3DP integrated apparel products. Specifically, aesthetic (perceived beauty) and expressive (perceived coolness) dimensions are more influential than functional factors, except for the positive influence of perceived fit, in predicting consumers' satisfaction and purchase intentions for 3DP integrated apparel products.

Future studies could consider data collection from participants' physical fit testing or try on evaluation to determine the importance of the functional dimension in consumer response to 3DP integrated apparel product. Future studies could also examine full 3D printed apparel, or other 3DP integrated wearable products to expand the understanding of consumer perception of the application of 3DP technology.

Despite the increasing exploration of 3DP integrated apparel products and industry attempts to make this innovation in apparel more mainstream, research on how mainstream consumers perceive such 3DP integrated apparel products is limited. This study addresses this gap, providing critical implications for future research and design.