Understanding influencer marketing: The role of congruence between influencers, products and consumers
基于平衡、认知失调和一致性理论，研究Instagram上时尚网红推荐产品时，网红、消费者与品牌三方一致性如何影响消费者的态度和购买推荐意愿。
Influencers increasingly provide sources of information and innovation to followers. Grounded in balance, cognitive dissonance, and congruity theories, the current article highlights how a congruence psychological mechanism, leveraged in influencer marketing campaigns, can contribute to the success of this novel form of persuasive communication. To understand consumers’ behavioral intentions when they encounter product recommendations from fashion influencers on Instagram, this study addresses the congruence among the three inherent contributors to any influencer marketing campaign: the influencer, the consumer (or follower), and the sponsored brand. The study involves 372 followers of a famous fashion influencer. Results confirm that when influencer–consumer congruence is fixed and high, high (low) influencer–product congruence prompts high (low) consumer–product congruence. Strong congruence between the consumer and product then generates more favorable attitudes toward the product, as well as higher purchase and recommendation intentions, ensuring optimal returns on influencer marketing campaigns.