The Role of Credible Social Media Influencers in Brand Attitude, eWOM, and Purchase Intention

" Objective - The Fourth Industrial Revolution has reshaped digital marketing by positioning social media influencers (SMIs) as key drivers of consumer engagement and brand promotion. Although businesses worldwide increasingly rely on SMIs, limited research has examined how their credibility, specifically attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise, influences consumer behaviour in Malaysia. Methodology/Technique - This study addresses this gap by investigating the relationships between SMI credibility, brand attitude, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), and purchase intention among Malaysian social media users. Using purposive sampling, a total of 200 valid responses were collected and analysed using SPSS for descriptive statistics and SmartPLS for structural equation modelling. Findings - The results indicate that trustworthiness and expertise significantly shape brand attitude, which, in turn, mediates the positive effects of these constructs on eWOM and purchase intention. In contrast, attractiveness did not have a significant impact. Although eWOM was positively correlated with purchase intention, its direct effect was not statistically significant, suggesting that other factors may exert a stronger influence. Novelty - Overall, these findings underscore the importance of trust and expertise in influencer marketing and offer insights for developing culturally relevant and effective digital campaigns in Malaysia. Type of Paper - Empirical"