The Influence of Social Responsibility of Internet Celebrities on Brand Loyalty of Chinese Consumers in Jiangsu Province

บทคัดย่อ

          This study aims to explore the impact of Internet celebrities' social responsibility on consumer brand loyalty. The research questions include: (1) Identify the social responsibility issues faced by Internet celebrities; (2) Determine the social responsibilities they should fulfill; (3) Identify the mediating variables and moderating variables in the social responsibility relationship and their influencing mechanisms. To this end, a structured interview was conducted with 30 experts in Jiangsu Province who have conducted in-depth research on the social responsibility of Internet celebrities and consumer brand loyalty. Data saturation was reached after the 14th expert was interviewed. The test-retest method was used to evaluate the reliability of the interview questions, and the member checking method was used to verify the validity of the interview results. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the fulfillment of Internet celebrities' social responsibilities and their impact on brand loyalty.
          The research results show that: (1) Internet celebrities often face problems such as the inability to guarantee product quality and false product introduction, which highlights the necessity of fulfilling their responsibilities such as guaranteeing product quality and providing accurate product information. (2) Brand trust, brand reputation and perceived value are important mediating variables between the social responsibility of Internet celebrities and brand loyalty, among which brand trust is the most critical mediating variable; (3) Internet celebrity popularity, professionalism and interactivity are key moderating variables that affect the relationship between social responsibility and mediating variables, among which popularity is the most critical moderating variable. In short, this study identified and clarified the mediating and moderating variables between Internet celebrities' social responsibility and consumer brand loyalty, providing inspiration for academia and industry to improve brand loyalty through the social responsibility behavior of Internet celebrities.