IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rfa/smcjnl/v11y2023i6p398-411.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Designing and Validating a Method to Measure Young People’s Susceptibility to Social Media Influencers: The SUSIS Questionnaire

Author

Listed:
  • Charles Alves de Castro

Abstract

Social media influencers (SMIs) represent a phenomenon that has increased drastically in previous years, reaching a peak since the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of previous research done involving parasocial relationship theory and consumer trust theory has been done regarding celebrities, leaving a gap in understanding influence and one’s susceptibility to influence in an SMI context. Here, a series of closed-ended questions was applied to a young student cohort (N=91), and its power was evaluated using structural equation modelling, which indicated that a series of 25 questions holds the ability to measure susceptibility to SMI influence. These questions form the SUSIS Questionnaire, thereby representing a confirmed tool to measure susceptibility to SMI influence. These findings respond to a gap in marketing literature involving SMIs, showing the potential power and usefulness they hold in marketing strategies, but also serve as an alert that SMIs influence youth, presumedly both positively and negatively.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Alves de Castro, 2023. "Designing and Validating a Method to Measure Young People’s Susceptibility to Social Media Influencers: The SUSIS Questionnaire," Studies in Media and Communication, Redfame publishing, vol. 11(6), pages 398-411, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:rfa:smcjnl:v:11:y:2023:i:6:p:398-411
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://redfame.com/journal/index.php/smc/article/download/6165/6278
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://redfame.com/journal/index.php/smc/article/view/6165
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yuan, Chun Lin & Kim, Juran & Kim, Sang Jin, 2016. "Parasocial relationship effects on customer equity in the social media context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3795-3803.
    2. Joseph F. Hair & G. Tomas M. Hult & Christian M. Ringle & Marko Sarstedt & Kai Oliver Thiele, 2017. "Mirror, mirror on the wall: a comparative evaluation of composite-based structural equation modeling methods," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 616-632, September.
    3. Wang, Xia & Yu, Chunling & Wei, Yujie, 2012. "Social Media Peer Communication and Impacts on Purchase Intentions: A Consumer Socialization Framework," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 198-208.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Liu, Qian & Shao, Zhen & Fan, Weiguo, 2018. "The impact of users’ sense of belonging on social media habit formation: Empirical evidence from social networking and microblogging websites in China," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 209-223.
    2. Hussain, Hadia & Murtaza, Murtaza & Ajmal, Areeb & Ahmed, Afreen & Khan, Muhammad Ovais Khalid, 2020. "A study on the effects of social media advertisement on consumer’s attitude and customer response," MPRA Paper 104675, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Hota, Monali & Bartsch, Fabian, 2019. "Consumer socialization in childhood and adolescence: Impact of psychological development and family structure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 11-20.
    4. Ting Chi & Olabisi Adesanya & Hang Liu & Rebecca Anderson & Zihui Zhao, 2023. "Renting than Buying Apparel: U.S. Consumer Collaborative Consumption for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    5. Wang, Le & Luo, Xin (Robert) & Li, Han, 2022. "Envy or conformity? An empirical investigation of peer influence on the purchase of non-functional items in mobile free-to-play games," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 308-324.
    6. Ashish Kumar & Muskaan Arora & Monika Saini, 2023. "Influence of mathematics on the academic performance of mechanical engineering students: a PLS-SEM approach," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 14(1), pages 367-376, February.
    7. Mucunska Palevska, Valentina & Novkovska, Blagica, 2018. "The Participation Of Ict In Activities Of Economic Subjects In Small Economy," UTMS Journal of Economics, University of Tourism and Management, Skopje, Macedonia, vol. 9(2), pages 157-168.
    8. Keen, Christian & Lescop, Denis & Sanchez-Famoso, Valeriano, 2022. "Does coopetition support SMEs in turbulent contexts?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    9. Wang, Siqi & Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Lim, Xin-Jean & Leong, Yee Choy & Choo, Wei Chong, 2022. "Thanks COVID-19, I'll reconsider my purchase: Can fear appeal reduce online shopping cart abandonment?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Chen, Xia & Miraz, Mahadi Hasan & Gazi, Md. Abu Issa & Rahaman, Md. Atikur & Habib, Md. Mamun & Hossain, Abu Ishaque, 2022. "Factors affecting cryptocurrency adoption in digital business transactions: The mediating role of customer satisfaction," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    11. Salgado, Stéphane & Hemonnet-Goujot, Aurelie & Henard, David H. & de Barnier, Virginie, 2020. "The dynamics of innovation contest experience: An integrated framework from the customer’s perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 29-43.
    12. Ni Putu Ayu Wangi Diantini & Susanti & Waspodo Tjipto Subroto, 2021. "The effect of peer group, economic literacy, and use of social media on the consumption behavior of students social studies major grade XII SMAN 1 Negara in Jembrana," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 21(1), pages 296-311, July.
    13. José Roberto Frega & Alex Antonio Ferraresi & Carlos Olavo Quandt & Claudimar Pereira da Veiga, 2018. "Relationships Among Knowledge Management, Organisational Innovativeness and Performance: Covariance-Based Versus Partial Least-Squares Structural Equation Modelling," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(01), pages 1-19, March.
    14. Zhang, Chu-Bing & Zhang, Zhuo-Ping & Chang, Ying & Li, Tian-Ge & Hou, Ru-Jing, 2022. "Effect of WeChat interaction on brand evaluation: A moderated mediation model of para-social interaction and affiliative tendency," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Lussier, Bruno & Philp, Matthew & Hartmann, Nathaniel N. & Wieland, Heiko, 2021. "Social anxiety and salesperson performance: The roles of mindful acceptance and perceived sales manager support," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 112-125.
    16. David Giauque & Frédéric Cornu & Karine Renard & Yves Emery, 2023. "Opportunity to Use New Ways of Working: Do Sectors and Organizational Characteristics Shape Employee Perceptions?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-21, July.
    17. repec:cup:judgdm:v:16:y:2021:i:6:p:1413-1438 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Mohammad Nurul Alam & Osarodion Ogiemwonyi & Ibrahim. E. Hago & Noor Azlinna Azizan & Fariza Hashim & Md Sazzad Hossain, 2023. "Understanding Consumer Environmental Ethics and the Willingness to Use Green Products," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440221, January.
    19. Mine Halis & Duygu Yildirim, 2022. "The effect of perceived social support and life orientation on anxiety caused by online education in Covid 19 conditions," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(4), pages 310-322, June.
    20. Jacqueline N. Zadelaar & Joost A. Agelink van Rentergem & Jessica V. Schaaf & Tycho J. Dekkers & Nathalie de Vent & Laura M. S. Dekkers & Maria C. Olthof & Brenda R. J. Jansen & Hilde M. Huizenga, 2021. "Development of decision making based on internal and external information: A hierarchical Bayesian approach," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 16(6), pages 1413-1438, November.
    21. Baabdullah, Abdullah M. & Alalwan, Ali Abdallah & Algharabat, Raed S. & Metri, Bhimaraya & Rana, Nripendra P., 2022. "Virtual agents and flow experience: An empirical examination of AI-powered chatbots," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:rfa:smcjnl:v:11:y:2023:i:6:p:398-411. 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: Redfame publishing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cepflch.html .

    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.