IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i2p1113-d1028937.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Fitness Influencers on a Social Media Platform on Exercise Intention during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Parasocial Relationships

Author

Listed:
  • Wenjia Li

    (College of Communication and Art Design, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Huangyi Ding

    (College of Communication and Art Design, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Guifen Xu

    (College of Communication and Art Design, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Jidong Yang

    (School of Creativity and Art, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai 201210, China)

Abstract

In the context of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, fitness influencers on social media are greatly involved in people’s home fitness processes, but there is limited research examining the role of fitness influencers on social media in exercise intention. This study aimed to explore whether people’s perceptions of the personal attributes and content quality of fitness influencers can promote a strong emotional connection between the two, thereby influencing people’s exercise intentions. Based on the theory of the parasocial relationship, we investigated the influence of social attractiveness (SA), physical attractiveness (PA), task attractiveness (TA), and content quality (CQ) of fitness influencers on the parasocial relationships (PSRs) between viewers and fitness influencers on social media and whether PSRs positively contribute to viewers’ exercise intentions (EI). The results revealed that SA, PA, TA, and CQ have positive influences on PSRs and CQ; PSRs directly contribute to EI; and PSRs have a mediating effect between EI and CQ. This study provides new insights into understanding the relationship between fitness influencers and people’s online fitness behaviors.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenjia Li & Huangyi Ding & Guifen Xu & Jidong Yang, 2023. "The Impact of Fitness Influencers on a Social Media Platform on Exercise Intention during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Parasocial Relationships," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:1113-:d:1028937
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1113/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1113/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Onofrei, George & Filieri, Raffaele & Kennedy, Lorraine, 2022. "Social media interactions, purchase intention, and behavioural engagement: The mediating role of source and content factors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 100-112.
    2. Georgia Gilbert & Chloë Williamson & Justin Richards & Taya Annabelle Collyer & Paul Kelly, 2021. "Do Framed Mental Health Messages on Social Media Influence University Students’ Motivation for Physical Activity?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-11, August.
    3. Sokolova, Karina & Kefi, Hajer, 2020. "Instagram and YouTube bloggers promote it, why should I buy? How credibility and parasocial interaction influence purchase intentions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    4. Alzahrani, Ahmed Ibrahim & Al-Samarraie, Hosam & Eldenfria, Atef & Dodoo, Joana Eva & Alalwan, Nasser, 2022. "Users’ intention to continue using mHealth services: A DEMATEL approach during the COVID-19 pandemic," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Lee Cronbach, 1951. "Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 16(3), pages 297-334, September.
    6. Héctor José Tricás-Vidal & María Concepción Vidal-Peracho & María Orosia Lucha-López & César Hidalgo-García & Sofía Monti-Ballano & Sergio Márquez-Gonzalvo & José Miguel Tricás-Moreno, 2022. "Impact of Fitness Influencers on the Level of Physical Activity Performed by Instagram Users in the United States of America: Analytical Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-10, November.
    7. Patzer, Gordon L., 1983. "Source credibility as a function of communicator physical attractiveness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 229-241, June.
    8. Kim, Minseong, 2022. "How can I Be as attractive as a Fitness YouTuber in the era of COVID-19? The impact of digital attributes on flow experience, satisfaction, and behavioral intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    9. Xiuping Zhang & Jaewon Choi, 2022. "The Importance of Social Influencer-Generated Contents for User Cognition and Emotional Attachment: An Information Relevance Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Sakib, MD Nazmus & Zolfagharian, Mohammadali & Yazdanparast, Atefeh, 2020. "Does parasocial interaction with weight loss vloggers affect compliance? The role of vlogger characteristics, consumer readiness, and health consciousness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Soumya Balakrishnan & Suzanne Elayan & Martin Sykora & Marin Solter & Rob Feick & Christopher Hewitt & Yi Qiao Liu & Ketan Shankardass, 2023. "Sustainable Smart Cities—Social Media Platforms and Their Role in Community Neighborhood Resilience—A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(18), pages 1-22, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sanz-Blas, Silvia & Buzova, Daniela & Pérez-Ruiz, Pilar, 2021. "Building relational worth in an online social community through virtual structural embeddedness and relational embeddedness," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. Aw, Eugene Cheng-Xi & Chuah, Stephanie Hui-Wen, 2021. "“Stop the unattainable ideal for an ordinary me!” fostering parasocial relationships with social media influencers: The role of self-discrepancy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 146-157.
    3. Conde, Rita & Casais, Beatriz, 2023. "Micro, macro and mega-influencers on instagram: The power of persuasion via the parasocial relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Xu, Zhen & Islam, Tahir & Liang, Xiaobei & Akhtar, Naeem & Shahzad, Mohsin, 2021. "‘I'm like you, and I like what you like’ sustainable food purchase influenced by vloggers: A moderated serial-mediation model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    5. Jihye Kim & Minseong Kim, 2022. "Rise of Social Media Influencers as a New Marketing Channel: Focusing on the Roles of Psychological Well-Being and Perceived Social Responsibility among Consumers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Bu, Yi & Parkinson, Joy & Thaichon, Park, 2022. "Influencer marketing: Homophily, customer value co-creation behaviour and purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Warinrampai Rungruangjit & Kitti Charoenpornpanichkul, 2022. "Building Stronger Brand Evangelism for Sustainable Marketing through Micro-Influencer-Generated Content on Instagram in the Fashion Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, November.
    8. Xiao Liu & Xiaoyong Zheng, 2024. "The persuasive power of social media influencers in brand credibility and purchase intention," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Kim, Minseong, 2022. "How can I Be as attractive as a Fitness YouTuber in the era of COVID-19? The impact of digital attributes on flow experience, satisfaction, and behavioral intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Wong, Amy & Wei, Joicey, 2023. "Persuasive cues and reciprocal behaviors in influencer-follower relationships: The mediating role of influencer defense," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Nieves-Pavón, Sergio & López-Mosquera, Natalia & Jiménez-Naranjo, Héctor, 2023. "The factors influencing STD through SOR theory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    12. Masuda, Hisashi & Han, Spring H. & Lee, Jungwoo, 2022. "Impacts of influencer attributes on purchase intentions in social media influencer marketing: Mediating roles of characterizations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    13. Hsieh, Jung-Kuei, 2023. "The impact of influencers' multi-SNS use on followers’ behavioral intentions: An integration of cue consistency theory and social identity theory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Filieri, Raffaele & Acikgoz, Fulya & Du, Hao, 2023. "Electronic word-of-mouth from video bloggers: The role of content quality and source homophily across hedonic and utilitarian products," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    15. Francisco Liébana-Cabanillas & Nidhi Singh & Zoran Kalinic & Elena Carvajal-Trujillo, 2021. "Examining the determinants of continuance intention to use and the moderating effect of the gender and age of users of NFC mobile payments: a multi-analytical approach," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 133-161, June.
    16. Yoon, Junghyun & Lee, Hee Yong & Dinwoodie, John, 2015. "Competitiveness of container terminal operating companies in South Korea and the industry–university–government network," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1-14.
    17. Md. Mominur Rahman & Bilkis Akhter, 2021. "The impact of investment in human capital on bank performance: evidence from Bangladesh," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, December.
    18. Usunier, Jean-Claude, 1998. "Oral pleasure and expatriate satisfaction: an empirical approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 89-110, February.
    19. Abdul Kadar Muhammad Masum & Md Abul Kalam Azad & Loo-See Beh, 2015. "Determinants of Academics' Job Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from Private Universities in Bangladesh," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, February.
    20. Sharma, Vivek & Bhat, Dada Ab Rouf, 2020. "An empirical study exploring the relationship among human capital innovation, service innovation, competitive advantage and employee productivity in hospitality services," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 9(2), pages 1-14..

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:1113-:d:1028937. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.