Influencer Marketing in Fashion: Consumer Behavior Study Assignment Sample

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Influencer Marketing On Consumer Behavior in Fashion Industry Assignment

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1: Introduction

Influencer marketing has become a trending opportunity to seize the same for businesses to foster a connection with target audiences. This study evaluates its effect on consumer behaviour, mainly concerned with attitude, buying intentions and standpoints. Examining present and secondary research aims to uncover the techniques behind influencer marketing and shape marketing by integrating it efficiently. According to Bansal et al. (2014), social media marketing is defined as the utilisation of social media platform for interacting with the target audience in attempt to drive sales and leverage website traffic. Dwivedi et al. (2015) have supported that the social media marketing is described as the new generation marketing platform that aims to enhance consumer engagement through social networks. On the contrary, Jara et al. (2014) has opposed that the social media marketing is defined as an initiative to promote a launch of new product or service. Therefore, it is observed that the social media marketing is explained as the platform for building customer relations and driving sales of new product. In the perception of Haghpour et al. (2022), consumer behaviour is defined as the activities that they adhere to for purchasing goods and services. Furthermore, consumer behaviour is explained as the study to understand the why, how and when elements of a purchase decision (Nassè, 2021). According to Gilaninia et al. (2013), consumer behaviour is described as the consumption, acquistion and disposal of service, product and ideas by decision making units.

New Assignment Help provides high-quality assignment writing help in the UK, ensuring that students receive the support they need to succeed academically. Our team of professional writers is dedicated to delivering well-researched and properly formatted assignments. We offer free assignment samples UK to demonstrate our capabilities and commitment to excellence. Trust New Assignment Help for all your assignment needs and experience the difference we make.

1.2: Background of the study

Influencer marketing is a famous path for businesses to set up meaningful influencer marketing on consumer behavior, emphasizing attitudes, buying intention and opinions in fashion industry. As the digital era is booming, influencer marketing is overgrowing, and companies are getting opportunities to focus on the particular niche segment where the marketing becomes less compared to the earlier marketing strategies in fashion industry.

The use of Honey Comb model is extensive in the fashion industry. Honey Comb model is defined as the model to review the efficiency of social media marketing campaign. In the fashion industry, the efficiency of social media media marketing is decided by the presence of high brand value of the firm. In an attempt to manage such brand value, the continuous monitoring of brand reputation is necessary and such requirement is met by Honey Comb model as the model uses reputation as Social media building block and monitors the strength of sentiment and brand image of users, firms. Therefore, Honey Comb model is related to the fashion industry quite significantly. Honey comb model comprises of seven elements whereas RACE is four step framework. This is one of the major differences. Furthermore, Honey Comb model analyses the strength and weakness of the social media marketing campaign whereas RACE framework is more inclined to illustrarte the customer journey from initial contact to conversion. Therefore, one of the major differences between RACE and Honey Comb model is their purpose as RACE serves to identify customer touchpoints whereas Honey Comb model emphasises solitary assessment of the social media marketing campaign. However, a striking similarity is present between the two model which includes the managing relevancy of the social media content. It is because the reach stage in RACE focuses on promoting relevant content on the blog posts whereas the Presence building block in Honey Comb model signifies the importance of creating relevant content for higher target audience participation.

The three component attitude model comprises affective, cognitive and behvaioural elements. In the fashion industry, most of the customers purchase from firms with CSR programs in procuring wool from small farmers as they feel the firms are contributing to the benefit of the society and their initiatives should be supported. This influence of feeling in the acts of purchase requires the examination of relation between emotion and purchase behaviour and such requirement is met by three component attitude model as the affective component is vested with the efficacy of analysing the relation between actions and emotional influences. Therefore, three component attitude model is associated with the fashion industry.

Most of the customers in fashion industry have been purchasing luxury clothes from premium brands in an attempt to build their status amongst their social peers. This is in alignment with the esteem needs of Maslow hierarchy of needs as it suggest that the customer makes decisions of buying expensive items in an attempt to illustrate their accomplishment to their friends and family. Therefore, it is observed that the Maslow Hierarchy is linked to fashion industry as it satifies the esteem needs of the buyer. One of the major advantages of Maslow Hierarchy is that it helps in easily understanding customer motivation behind the purchase in fashion industry. However, the lack of testing concept of self-actualization empirically is one of the major disadvantages of Maslow Hierarchy Model.

Figure 1: Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

(Source: Xue et al. , 2020)

1.3: Problem Statement

The problem that has come across in this study is the requirement to interpret the advantage of influencer marketing on consumer behavior and its effect on brand selection in fashion industry. This research seeks to analyze the extent to which social media marketing impacts consumer purchasing behaviour, the role of influencer marketing in guiding consumer perspectives, attitudes and the variables that participate in the failure or success of influencer collaborations.

1.4: Aims, Objectives, Research Questions, Hypothesis, Propositions

Aim:

The main aim of this research is to analyze the impact of influencer marketing on consumer behavior in the fashion industry

Objective:

• To examine how influencer marketing impacts consumer attitudes towards brands in fashion industry.
• To examine whether social media marketing influences consumer purchase and behaviors in fashion industry
• Recognize the issue that contribute to influencer marketing campaign success or failure in fashion industry

Research questions

1.what is the effect of influencer marketing on the behabhiour of consumers towards the brands in fashion industry?

1. How much does social media marketing impact consumers' procurement intentions and behaviors in fashion industry?
2. What are the major factors which work for the success or failure of influencer marketing campaigns in fashion industry?

Hypothesis:

• Social media marketing is essential to consumer buying decisions and impacts buying patterns and behavior.
• Different variables, including message credibility, alignment and involvement, impact the achievement and outcome of influencer marketing initiatives.

Propositions:

• The success of social media campaigns is determined by efficient targeting and involvement approaches that connect with the target audience's preferences and requirements.
• The presentation of social media marketing campaigns can impact consumer attitudes connecting brands and products, affecting purchasing decisions.
• The execution of influencer marketing directly impacts consumer purchasing decisions, guiding their perspectives and intention.

1.5: Rationale/Importance of the Research -

The influencer marketing has been adopted significantly by the business entities in the fashion industry. It is evidenced by the fact that more than large-scale companies like Zara and H&M has resorted to the use of influencer marketing. However, similar reflections are not observed for the influencer marketing initiatives of SME 'S in fashion industry, as very few firms have been able to align with the Influencer marketing (Tripathi, 2023). One of the major reasons of such hindered adoption of influencer marketing is due to the lack of easily understandable insights in key success factor and challenge that affect the efficiency of influencer marketing. In the findings of Ananda et al. (2017), more than half of the six SME firms in the fashion industry have cited the absence of information in challenges and key drivers of influencer marketing as a credible factor for showing sceptic attitude to the integration of the influencer marketing campaigns. The research serves the purpose of bridging such knowledge gap in the key success factor of influencer marketing campaign by providing empirical evidences that are easily comprehendible to the small-scale firms in the fashion industry. Therefore, this research is important to the fashion industry as it changes their perception about the efficiency of influencer marketing campaign and drives their interest to adopt influencer marketing. Authenticity is an active construct which mainly impacts the consumer purchase intention towards the specific brands. Further, by social media, authenticity gives core value to the influencer marketing for achieving the company's real goals and effectiveness. Moreover, by the social media marketing, the authenticity given true value to the consumer behaviors for interacting with others.

Social media marketing has significantly impacted on the behavior of the consumer. further, Social media ins and dynamic sources by which consumers take an authentic discussion for pushing their products from the online sources. Moreover, in order to progress consumer purchasing decisions, 51% consumers mainly read the reviews by the implementation of social media marketing. Social media, huge amounts of influencers build their awareness in their particular products and it has also impacted on the behavior of the consumer.

The best practices for influencer advertising which is, increased authenticity of the influencer marketing strategy. Further, by the eco consultancy, it has been examined that 61% of consumers prefer influencers, who mainly create authenticity by engaging content. In addition, the best influencers mainly show the value of the products by applying its uses in real life.

Involvement of the decision-making process, the employees create concrete ideas for developing the brand image in the global world. Moreover, by developing a more intelligent marketing plan, the brand position achieved a successful business in the global market by developing their productivity. Mover, for developing more marketing decisions, the four Ps techniques gave opportunity to the markets for achieving their marketing objectives.

The social media marketing research gave valuable insight to the consumer for developing their purchasing decision. Moreover, by social media marketing, the marketers know the audience purchasing levels and also influences their purchasing decisions for building their future marketing decisions. Further, it has also created a positive attention to the customer to develop their business in the global market.

1.6: Methodology (sources, population, sample, measuring instrument, data collection, data analysis) -

Interpretivism is the research philosophy selected for exploratory research. The constructivist paradigm is appropriate for interpreting social media marketing effects (Ryan, 2018). Thorough analysis and interviews collect valuable information. The qualitative methodology provides clarity on behaviors and motives. A case investigation strategy is utilized where purposive sampling chooses people based on criteria. Data was collected by the empathized group and explanation-building understanding of the data.

1.7: Scope of the Study/Demarcation (International, national, geographic area)-

The scope of this research is focused on assessing the effectiveness of marketing through consumer behavior and social media. The research will analyze the effect of influencer marketing on purchase intentions, the standpoints of the consumers, and their mindsets. The study does not mention geographic areas and can go nationally and internationally.

1.8: Structure of the Dissertation

The iteration is designed into many chapters to give a detailed exploration of the effectiveness of influencer marketing on consumer behavior. It includes an introduction, literature reviews, research methodologies, data analysis, discussion and conclusions, including limitations and recommendations. Every chapter emphasizes particular aspects of the study, participating in the overall topic interpretation.

1.9: Summary of Chapter

The dissertation examines the effectiveness of consumer behavior and social media marketing, emphasizing attitudes, purchasing intention and viewpoints. It aims to interpret the effect of influencer marketing, examine the role of brand ambassadors, and recognize factors participating in campaigning positive or negative outcomes. The research gives significant knowledge for strategic marketing decisions and future studies.

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1: Introduction

A literature review is an essential analysis of present research and articles on a particular topic (Harris, 2019). It is significant for interpreting the present knowledge, recognizing gaps and guiding new research. This study analyzes the efficacy of influencer marketing on consumer behavior. It further discusses the theoretical framework of past research and recognized communication gaps, aiming to participate in interpreting this topic.

2.2: Base theory of the sub-discipline

The base theory of the sub-disciple includes fundamental theories like the Source-Credibility Model, Hierarchy of Effects Model and Technology Acceptance Model (Camilleri and Kozak, 2023). These theories give a conceptual framework for interpreting how influencer marketing affects consumer behavior. In addition, analyzing different background aspects linked to the concepts, like characteristics and classification of influencers, the role of social media platforms, and variables impacting consumers' trust and view of influencers. It will give a detailed interpretation of the impact of influencer marketing. By tackling these aspects, the study can set up a strong base and generate valuable knowledge for the research.

2.3: Theoretical Frameworks/models

The literature review section of research on the endorsements on consumer behavior would examine the theoretical frameworks and models like the Source-Credibility Model, Technology Acceptance Model and Hierarchy of Effects Models (Gabriella and Agus, 2021). In addition, it would investigate related research problems, including attributes of influencers, social media platforms' roles, and variables influencing the perception and credibility of consumers. This explanation gives a theoretical base and valuable knowledge into the efficiency of influencer marketing on the behavior of consumers.

2.4: Previous studies and lessons learnt-

The impact of social media marketing on how customers make buying decisions

According to Vermonter and Klieg, (2019), this research paper systematically investigates the effect of social media on consumer decision-making mechanisms for critical buying. The author emphasizes buying characterized by significant brand differences, deep consumer engagement and risk and is expensive and limited. The paper uses the classical EMB (Information search, alternative evaluation and Purchase decision) model to examine the role of influencer marketing in changing consumer perceptions. The research applies a quantitative survey and particular examiner influence of social media on buyer delight at different steps in the decision-making process mechanism. The research was performed among user friends of internet-based consumers in South-East Asia and only determined actual buying 's, excluding disregarded searches.

As opined by Ansari et al. (2019), this study was to investigate the impact of brand awareness and influencer content marketing on consumer buying decisions. The research gathered data through online interviews and a total of 150 participants, with 40% being males and 60% females. The objective was to analyze the connection between brand awareness, online marketing through social media and consumer buying decisions. Additionally, the outcomes revealed that brand awareness has a limited positive association with consumer buying decisions, while social media advertising has a significant positive association.

According to Mason et al. (2021), The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected consumer behavior, particularly regarding social media utilization. Earlier research has mainly focused on the impact of a pandemic on proactive health habits rather than consumer behavior. Moreover, the distinct situations created by the COVID-19 pandemic allow for analyzing how consumers' digital media behaviors have changed during doubt. In order to interpret the effect, the authors recommend using the S-O-R Theory (Stimulus-Organism-Response) and Consumer Decision-Making Model put forward by Nicosia in 1982. The S-O-R Theory discusses how situational factors, such as the pandemic, can impact consumer attitudes and actions. The Consumer Decision-Making Model recognizes five decision-making stages and can be utilized to analyze specific changes in beliefs and behaviors. Using social media contributes a critical role in guiding consumer activity. The pandemic has caused a rise in social media utilization and rapid expansion in this domain. Integrated marketing messages on social media platforms can influence consumer attitudes and drive consumer actions. The article also emphasizes why people are drawn to social media, including its fulfillments, like attachment, attention-seeking, information sharing, social influence, habit and disclosure. Social media can also provide users with enjoyment, curiosity and satisfaction that lead to cognitive absorption. Moreover, it is significant to identify the possible adverse impacts of social media on mental health, like social media saturation and increased psychological distress. However, social media is rapidly growing as a communication tool between firms and buyers.

In the Consumer Decision-Making Model, social media holds a prominent position. It can trigger product demands by initiating brand discussions and maintaining brand recognition. In the information search and product analysis stages, consumers often use social media for information from peer recommendations and influencer endorsement. Social media platforms also have the potential to support purchase decisions, although direct purchase through these platforms still needs to be higher. Consumers usually seek validation from family, experts, relatives and standpoints leaders to reduce risks linked to product purchases.

The effect of social media marketing on buying patterns and behavior

According to Ioana 's. (2020), this research article influences of social media on buying habits in the current digital era. It focuses on how consumers can now analyze and evaluate products leveraging technology, enabling them to label, critique and share their viewpoints. This trend has prompted several companies to engage in online networks, giving additional product knowledge and actively encouraging customer engagement to cultivate deeper relationships with their consumers. The reviews focus on the social media's function in impacting consumer posters and explain the significance of interpreting this effect through statistical investigation. The study involved 116 respondents and utilized statistical analysis to formulate conclusions about people and interpersonal variables. By examining the research factors, the researchers focused on developing a consumer demographic of active social media users. In order to deeply interpret how social media genuinely impacts consumer behavior, the researcher executed a thorough statistical analysis using SPSS software and a digital survey tool. This examination aimed to uncover the degree of social media impact and its transformation into functional changes in consumer behavior.

As stated by Lakshmana. (2018), there is a Ground Theory for the decision-making procedure that can be interpreted through the "hierarchy of effects" (HOE) model by Lapidge and Steiner (1961), which emphasizes how consumers involve with promotion and advertising to engage with a brand. It engages awareness, feelings, insights and the decision to buy. Davis 's (1989) technological acceptance model examines the user's intention to integrate advanced technology, the belief-attitude-intention-behavior model from the reasoned and planned behavior theory. Social media states to internet-based platforms allowing users to develop and share content. It has been examined in public relations, involvement, promotion, networking, and branding. The platform comprises weblogs, micro-blogs, social media platforms, and visual content-sharing platforms. Social media marketing promotes adaptability in time, media, place and cost. Retail banking uses social media for marketing, involving customers and communicating. Purchase intention represents the probability of consumers purchasing a product or service. Interest, external factors, awareness and desires impact it. The attention, interest, desire, action (AIDA) model discusses the sequential levels of purchase decisions, from attracting interest to taking action. In contrast, the HOE model emphasizes the relationship between consumers and promoting brands, while the technology adoption model analyses users' motivation to utilize technology. They give various perspectives on choice-making. The HOE model focuses focusing brand perception and buying, while the technology acceptance model emphasizes technology integration. Social media marketing promotes organizational adaptability and broad reach but presents difficulties such as reputation management and tackling negative feedback or false information.

The problems that support success or failure of influencer marketing campaigns

As opined by Zak and Hasp ova, (2020), in modern interconnected markets, key influencers and opinion leaders have an essential effect on consumer choice. Influencers' markets possess knowledge, skills, and personal qualities that guide customers' approaches and choices. With the emergence of social media, influencers have obtained a platform to reach and engage with large audiences, enhancing their influence. Influencer marketing, where brands partner with influencers to drive product awareness or services, has established itself as a prominent strategy. Influencers' perspectives, attitudes and standpoints strongly influence consumer behavior and product demand. Consumers trust influencers' suggestions and perceive them as reliable sources of information. Interpreting the typology of influencers is vital for efficient marketing. They can be segregated based on their reach, significance and response to the target audiences. Macro-influencers have an extensive reach but may need more connection, while micro-influencers have a smaller but more involved target audience. The authenticity and credibility of influencers also enhance their influence. Influencers significantly affect consumer attitudes, buying intention and performance. Moreover, the impact of influencer marketing depends on product segmentation. Influencers influence fashion, lifestyle products and other beauty products, while variables like price, effectiveness and quality play a more important role in jeweler, food and electronics.

According to Wiedemann et al. (2020), this study on influencer marketing. It addresses the theoretical background of influencer promotion, considering the needs of influencers and a case study analysis of an entry-level high-end fashion brand called BOSS. The theoretical background is that influencer marketing is a technique for getting your message out there. famous brands and opinion leaders on social media. Expertise, perception and investment are essential in customer connection. Influencers differ entirely from celebrities as they focus on genuine and online fame. Micro-influencers and high-profile influencers are individualized in their reach. The determination needs influencers; past research recognizes needs like the number of followers and expert knowledge. The Source-credibility Model includes desirability, expertise and credibility as primary needs for reliable sources. Brand satisfaction, reputation and perception are essential variables in the fashion industry. In the case study of the brand, which is an entry-level fashion brand, BOSS, influencers play an essential role in the apparel industry and the accessible luxury brands. As the company is entry-level, it emphasizes luxury at a reasonable price. The brand image, credibility and satisfaction for fashion like BOSS. In summary, value for money, introduction to influencer marketing, the need for high-achieving influencers, and a case study of BOSS as an affordable luxury fashion brand.

2.5: Gaps identified to situate own research

The recognized gaps for your investigation incorporate researching the effect of social networking on customer judgement for critical purchases, inspecting the part of influencer advertising in shifting customer perspectives utilizing the classic judgement model and concentrating on consumer fulfilment throughout the judgement operation.

Furthermore, identifying the impact of social networking on customer behavior, assessing the level of effect and realistic transformation, and interpreting the aspects collaborating to the achievement and setbacks of impact on advertising programs are essential. Finding these spaces will collaborate in a better knowledge of digital networks' impact on consumer choice and the productivity of influencer advertising.

2.6: Summary of Chapter

This chapter introduces the significance of literature reviews in examining the effectiveness of influencer advertising on consumer behavior. It explains the base of the theories and various aspects concerned with influencer marking, including conceptual frameworks and past studies on the effect of influencers. The chapter also emphasizes the gaps in the present research to position the current study.

Chapter 3: Research Methods & Methodologies

3.1 Introduction

Research methodology is the way that can symmetrically solve the problems which are related to the research. In the research methodology, the researcher adopted the problems of the research and also find the logic behind the problems. Research methodology provides the legitimacy of the research and also provides sound findings scientifically. In this research topic of how influencer marketing affects the customers will be discussed and research methodology is important for providing the details of the plan that will help to keep the research on track and also will help to make the process of the research smooth.

3.2 Philosophical position of the research

The philosophical position of any research refers to the thoughts of the researcher that helps to identify reliable and new knowledge about the research topic (Bleaker et al. , 2019). There are four kinds of research philosophy and they are interpretivist, positivist, realistic, and pragmatist. In this research paper, the positivism philosophy will be used and the reason behind it is that positivist philosophy emphasizes engaging the research material where the variables can be controlled and manipulated. An excerpt that uses positivist research philosophy the research had been conducted easily and will consume less time.

3.3 Paradigm position of the research

The paradigm position of the research refers to the framework into which the practice and the theories help to create the plan of the research in a discipline method. This position of the research helps to make the plan of the research and it also includes the aim of the research (Rehman and Aarthi, 2016). The kinds of paradigm positions are methodology, pragmatism, positivism, epistemology, and many more. In this research paper, the positivism research paradigm had been used as it can bring clarity to the research and also it can improve the quality of analysis and methods.

3.4 Position of research approach

Research approach mainly sets the direction in which the research is going. Research approach mainly depends on the type of data that is to be collected for research. Research approach are mainly of 3 types which are deductive approach, inductive approach and abductive approach. The research approach that has been used in this research paper is the inductive research approach and the reason behind it is that, inductive research approach allows the researcher to be flexible and also helps to generate new theories (HR and Aithal, 2022). Apart from that, the research has been conducted in the primary research method, so inductive research approach is necessary for that. The research has also utilised secondary data from the different secondary sources such as the books, journals and articles for which deductive research approach has been taken into account.

3.5 Methodological Stance of the Research

Methodology refers to the overarching strategy and also it refers to the rationale of a research paper. It involves researching the methods that are going to be used in the research paper. Methodological stance also refers to the process that develops the approaches that are related to the objectives of the research. The research paper regarding the topic, effect of the influencer marketing on the customer, has been conducted using the quantitative research method and the logic behind that is, this research method helps to get the outcome that are reliable (Sürücü and MASLAKÇI, 2020). The research has been used the primary research method and therefore it is necessary to use the quantitative research method. The researcher has also used secondary data collection method to procure information about the effectiveness of influencer marketing on consumer behavior in fashion industry and conduct thematic analysis. The researcher has also followed mixed method as the research focuses on primary and secondary data collection, which requires proper data triangulation and such requirement is met by mixed method.

3.6 Stance of the Research Strategy and Design

Research design and strategy in research refers to a plan that can answer a question set and it can be considered as a framework that includes the procedure and method in terms of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the data (Clarke et al., 2006). In this research paper, the exploratory research strategy has been used as it helps to investigate those research question that were not studied in depth before and also allow to identify the new data (Camargo et al. ,2019). Also, the research requires the exploration of the data that have been collected during the research. Another benefit of exploratory research strategy is by following this strategy some future researches also can be conducted. The exploratory also helps the researcher to get a clear understanding of the research topic. Moreover, descriptive research design has also been incorporated which helps to analyse the secondary data effectively.

3.7 Research Population and Sample

The population refers to the particular group of people who have a specialized set of characteristics and the sample refers to the subset of the set population. The research papers need to be conducted based on the sample as it is impossible to study the entire population (Stratton, 2021). Therefore, sampling is the fundamental part of the research. Research was conducted and the number of people who are going to participate in this research is 50. Different kinds of question will be asked to the participants and their answer will help the researcher to get a better understanding of the topic on which the research going on. Sample refers to the subset of some random individual of a large population. The target population has been selected during this research and the individuals that have been selected in a way that is unbiased. A number of 40 journals, articles and e-books and their information has also been utilised for fetching appropriate information.

3.8 Data Collection and data analysis

Data collection is one of the major aspects of any research as based on it, what findings can be obtained from research that can be determined. An appropriate collection of data can lead to the appropriate determination of the results of any research. In this research method primary data collection and secondary data collection has been used. Primary data collection provides the outcome that is more reliable and more accurate (Hofman et al., 2019). A survey has been conducted among 50 participants and questions have been asked to them. The questionnaire has been prepared with the use of Likert scale questions, close ended questions and demographic questions. The questionnaire has been attached in the appendix. Four themes have been created for thematic analysis by collecting peer-reviewed journals from the databases such as Google Scholar and Sciencedirect. Data analysis and the data collection refers to a series of charts, maps and graphs that is used to present a huge amount of data during the research. The reason why the primary data collection has been used is that the data that the research paper gets as a outcome is more reliable and unbiased.

3.9 Ethical Consideration of the Research

Ethical consideration of research refers to the set of principles that guides your research practices and designs. The principles of ethical consideration include informed consent, voluntary participation, anonymity, and many more. Ethical consideration should be included in the research as it will help to protect the right, dignity, and welfare of the participants of the research. It also helps to maintain the relationship between the researcher and the participants (Britain et al. , 2020). confidentiality and privacy are included in the quantitative research strategy that had been used in this research method. During the time of the survey, consent has been taken from all the individual as it includes the ethical consideration. According to the data protection act, 2018, personal data of every individual is important and should be secure (Hoofnagle et al. ,2019) . As per the act, no kind of data breaching happened during the time of the of the survey.

3.10 Resource ethics

Resource ethics mainly refers to the moral and ethical principles for protecting the dignity, rights and welfare of the research participants. Moreover, this ethics in research mainly involves the human being for ensuring the appropriate ethical standards which are upheld. Moreover, research ethics are also involving to the application of the fundamental principle for implementing the quality of the research. On the other hand, it has also misconducted the regulation of the research. For example, workplace integrity is the best example of resource ethics. Further, resource ethics minimised the harms and risks and also gave the benefits to the researcher to implement the ethical behavior and integrity in research. According to the data protection act 2018, the resources such as the data and information that has been taken into account has been kept confidential and all the information has been kept under proper security effectively.

3.10 Summary

In conclusion, it can be concluded that the research paper which had been conducted on the effect on the customers of influencer marketing, used the positivism research philosophy and positivism paradigm. The research approach that had been used is the qualitative and post-positivism belief. Simple random sampling had been used to collect the data and the data will be collected with the help of thematic analysis.

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Discussion

4.1 Introduction

The research paper that had been conducted on the topic is related to the effectiveness of influencer marketing on the customers, used the qualitative research strategy, and the themes of the research paper selected by the thematic analysis method. The data, that was collected to conduct the research successfully, were from sources that are reliable and all the data are appropriate.

4.2 Analysis and Discussion of the Findings

Thematic analysis

Theme 1: Attitudes and Perceptions: An assessment of how customers view influencer endorsements, how reliable influencers are, and how skeptical or trusting consumers are of influencer content

Figure 1: Consumer attitudes

(Source: Mdpi.com, 2023)

Social media influencers refer to individuals who work to create a form of celebrity. This study investigates about the trust that if the customers, who are watching social media influencers promoting the brands, have actual trust in the influencers or not. Additionally, the study also investigates the brand liking and the enjoyment of the customer regarding this type of marketing of the brand. With the growing popularity of social media, a new type of customer can be seen in the market and one of them is those who like to share every thought of them on social media even their political view about a brand also. They have taken advantage of this social media to be an entrepreneur and provide their contribution to making new content every day. The findings of the study refer to the fact that consumers love to watch the brand post of the influencer on Instagram and other social media platforms and they consider the products as trustworthy. In this way, the consumers feel that they are more strongly connected with society and they can connect themselves with the influencers more than the celebrities (Jinn et al. , 2019). The basic concept of trust has come to the forefront when the influencers come in the prior research and nowadays the influencers can be considered as the backbone of the businesses that are small and medium in size. The way an individual takes the recommendation of a brand from their friends and family, the same way they receive the recommendation of the influencer also and it refers to how much they have trust in the influencers. This trust is really important in the platform of digital marketing as the platform is very uncertain and can change its nature at any time. The point that also can be mentioned is that the trust of the customers in the traditional advertising system has decreased since the last decade and the influencers have taken advantage of this situation (Degruyter.com, 2023). These are the reason that social media has provided an environment that is relevant and it also produces unique and new concepts of the advertisement that can attract the customers.

Theme 2: Influence on the consumer's decision of purchasing: Investigation of how recommendations and endorsements from influencers affect consumers' purchasing decisions, brand loyalty, and the degree to which influencers increase sales.

Figure 2: Influence on consumer decision

(Source: ScienceDirect.com, 2023)

E-commerce is growing day by day with the increase in the usage of the internet and informativeness plays one of the most vital roles in the decision-making time of online shopping. The customers who are interested in purchasing a product, do their research and compare the products to make the right choice while purchasing. The review of the influencers, as well as the customers, is considered to be a reliable source of information about a product of a brand (Majeed et al. , 2021). The endorsements of the influencers and the review of the costumes are considered to be the electronic mouth-to-mouth promotion of a product nowadays (Erkan and Evans, 2016). The review of the customers has a positive impact on the purchase intention of a customer. Most of the time it can be seen that the influencers have a huge number of followers, therefore they have the ability to reach a huge number of people easily and also in a short period. Marketers nowadays have admitted that influencers have more potential in terms of marketing rather than traditional ones. The endorsement of the influencers can bring a positive influence on the intention of purchasing a product. Customers who buy products online, prefer to gather a lot of information about the product and want to reduce the risk of receiving that kind of product that they do not want. Because there is a risks and uncertainty involved in the transaction system of the online method, trust is the most influential and one of the most crucial parts of purchasing any product online. It can be said that consumers will never make a payment if they do not have trust in the influencer they are following. The intention of the customer in making a transaction depends on the positive attitude to the behavior of the transaction and it depends only on the trustworthiness of the brand and the influencer. These are the reason that social media has been able to draw the attention of all human beings as per the report of Business Insider, the report of annual investment through influencer marketing in the year 2022 is 15 billion dollars and the brands that are already growing want to grab the opportunity to promote their brand with the help of the social media influencers (Masuda et al. , 2022). The customers feel a strong connection with the influencer and in this way, the brands can also get the attention of the consumers which is a crucial factor for them. The way social media influencers can influence customers to purchase a product that is more influential than the advertisement in the traditional way. Another point that is added is that influencer marketing consumes low cost compared to other types of marketing and for that reason, the brand can focus more on the product and improve their quality.

Theme 3: Influencer Credibility and Trustworthiness: A unique approach to Studying the Effectiveness of influencer marketing on consumer behavior

Figure 3: Influencer credibility

(Source: Researchgate.net, 2023)

The marketing trend in recent times refers to the continuous rise of influencers and one of the main reasons behind it is the extension promotion of the product of the brand through mouth-to-mouth promotion. Most people nowadays are addicted to social media and brands or organizations have already understood that there is a huge influence of social media influencers on the purchase behavior of customers and they started planning their next strategy according to that. First of all, the organizations have selected their targeted audience and their priority is the millennials from the cities of Tier I and Tier II. The person who lives in the cities of Tier I and Tier II most of them are educated about the latest technology and all of them also have access to the internet. The main object of this research paper is to get a better understanding of the marketing strategies of nowadays especially the marketing that is done by the influencers of social media. Online behavior refers to the products that are available online and also the services that are provided by the organization or the brand while the transaction of money. The first aspect that is related to the behavior of the consumer depends on the perception of the user of a practical incentive. But in all matters one of the most crucial facts is trust and that is not easy to build in the business of business-to-business and business-to-customer. Social media had made this work comparatively easy than before as the consumer can relate to the social media influencer.

"Micro-endorsers" is the term that can be used to describe celebrities on social media as social media influencers had great credibility to influence customers (Cheng et al. , 2020). One of the present research projects has stated that social media influencers can be considered as personalities who work online and have a huge number of followers on their official pages and they are doing better than traditional marketing (Ziyad in et al. , 2019). Their work of them is complex as they need to create content almost on an everyday basis and they have to focus their journey of being an entrepreneur. The credibility of social media is a communication science that has lost its relevance to being the only media to communicate, but also it is now the platform for brands to promote their products and gain profit from that (Balaban and Must tea, 2019). The word source credibility refers to the perception of the consumers of the information about a product or a brand. People tend to believe in the products, that others are believing.

Theme 4: Social Media Platforms' impact on Consumer Behavior: Recent trends in social media regarding consumer behavior

Figure 4: Social media 's impact

(Source: searchenginewatch.com, 2023)

The first point that can be noticed is that social media can shorten the journey of the customers on social media such as before a customer used to watch an advertisement on TV multiple times and then may decide to buy that product. But nowadays because of the help of social media, this work can be done within a few minutes. Although it can be said that the journey of the customer is not only become shorter but also it has become more complex also. The reason behind it is that whenever a person watches a product, he or she can follow the hashtag and search for the reviews of the products that are commented there by the customers who have already bought the product. Therefore, customers spend more time on social media and they try to read as many reviews as they can. Not all people write positive comments but also some people who had been gone through a bad experience with a product they write that too and that negative comments made a bad impression of the product to the customer forever. The responsibility of the customers is to always keep attention to the social media platform and read carefully the review of the customers and correct the mistakes that are made by them in the past. Also, the point that can be added is that the organization also needs to focus on the engagement of the customers (de Oliveira Santini et al. , 2020).

The two main platform o social media marketing is Instagram and YouTube and there is a huge difference between these two platforms (Chopra et al. , 2020). According to the content creator on social media, it is easier to create content on Instagram rather than creating content on YouTube. The logic behind it is that in YouTube the content creators need to edit the contents that are made by them. Although content creators need to put more hard work into the platform YouTube has become the most ubiquitous video platform all over the world (Wang and Chan-Olmsted, 2020). Marketers prefer the platform YouTube to attract the generation called YouTube generation.

4.3 Summary

Social media has become one of the most vital parts of marketing as it helps to shorten the journey of the customer for the brand and not only that but also it can be done at a low cost with the help of the social media influencer. Some individuals love to share their every thought on the social media platform and they have taken this chance to be a social media influencer and started their journey of entrepreneurship. Trust is one of the most important parts of online marketing and online transaction. The customers also can relate to the influencer more than the celebrities and that is the reason they can trust them easily and the review of the people, who have already used the product helps them to make their decision in terms of purchasing.

Chapter 5: Conclusions, Limitations & Recommendations

5.1: Introduction

The conclusion, limitation and recommendation chapter are essential in a study on the efficacy of influencer marketing on consumer behavior. It shows the finding and knowledge obtained from the study, recognizes the study's restriction, and gives actional suggestions for marketers to improve their endorsement techniques and efficiently impacts consumer behavior.

5.2: Conclusions on each research issue

The research concludes that digital network advertising significantly affects customer purchasing choices and behavior. Aspects like influence-identity alignment, message credibility, and customer engagement collaborate with the achievement or setbacks of influence advertising programs. These identities significantly impact strategic advertising choices and future investigations into influence advertising.

5.3: Conclusions on the research problems

The literature reviews examine present research on the results of influencer marketing on consumer behavior, investigation of the theoretical framework and past studies. It analyses social media's impact on decision-making, purchasing patterns, and variables influencing campaign achievement or lack thereof. This research provides essential knowledge of influencers' influence on consumer behavior.

5.4: Summary of the research findings and outcomes-

Influencer advertising significantly affects customer behavior, making faith and robust brand relationships. Influencers push buying choices, raising brand faithfulness and revenue. Reliable influencers are crucial for customer intentions and trust. Digital networking sites like YouTube and Instagram shape customer behavior through feedback and involvement. Digital networks and influencer advertising are practical and economic policies for identity.

5.5: Original Contribution of the Research

This research analyses the effectiveness of social media influencer marketing on consumer behavior and buying intention, perceptions and attitudes. It investigates approaches, incorporation into marketing strategies, effect on buying behaviors and the role in shaping consumer consumers vides-points. Knowledge is given for marketing decisions and further investigation.

5.6: Limitations of the Research

One limitation of this research is the possible difficulty in correctly measuring consumer choice procedures and the impact of influencer marketing. In addition, the fast-changing nature of social media platforms and consumer trends and patterns in digital time may hinder making inferences about future contexts.

5.7: Recommendations/Areas for further/future research

Further research areas for assessing the social media's effect on consumer behavior, exploring social media marketing's impact on high-engagement buying 's, analyzing the connection between perception, influencers marketing and consumer purchasing decision, and examining changes in consumer choice and preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Examining the social media's part in impacting consumer viewpoints and behaviors, researching variables participating in the success or failure of social media influencers' campaigns and examining the requirements and qualities of influencers in various industries.

5.8: Summary of Chapter 5

The conclusion of the chapter summarizes the research's findings, limitations and suggestions for markets. It means that digital network marketing impacts consumer buying behavior, with variables like influencer-identity integration and message reliability influencing influencer advertising achievement. Valuable knowledge of influencer-driven impacts on consumer choice is provided.

References

Journals

Ananda, A.S., Hernández-García, Á. and Lamberti, L., 2017. SME fashion brands and social media marketing: From strategies to actions. International Journal of Web Based Communities, 13(4), pp.468-498.

Ansari, S., Ansari, G., Ghori, M.U. and Kazi, A.G., 2019. Brand awareness and social media content marketing impact consumer purchase decisions. Journal of Public Value and Administrative Insight, 2(2), pp.5-10.

Balaban, D. and Must tea, M., 2019. Users ' perspective on the credibility of social media influencers in Romania and Germany. Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations, 21(1), pp.31-46.

Bansal, R., Masood, R. and Dadhich, V., 2014. Social media marketing-a tool of innovative marketing. Journal of Organizational Management, 3(1), pp.1-7.

Bleaker, J., Morgan-Trimmer, S., Knapp, K. and Hopkins, S., 2019. Navigating the maze: Qualitative research methodologies and their philosophical foundations. Radiography, 25, pp.S4-S8.

Brittain, S., Ibbett, H., de Lange, E., Dorward, L., Hoyte, S., Marino, A., Milner?Gulland, E.J., Newth, J., Rakotonarivo, S., Veríssimo, D. and Lewis, J., 2020. Ethical considerations when conservation research involves people. Conservation Biology, 34(4), pp.925-933.

Camargo, L.R., Pereira, S.C.F. and Scarpin, M.R.S., 2020. Fast and ultra-fast fashion supply chain management: an exploratory research. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 48(6), pp.537-553.

Camilleri, M.A. and Kozak, M., 2023. Utilitarian motivations to engage with travel websites: an interactive technology adoption model. Journal of Services Marketing, 37(1), pp.96-109.

Cheng, Y., Wei, W. and Zhang, L., 2020. Seeing destinations through vlogs: implications for leveraging customer engagement behavior to increase travel intention. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(10), pp.3227-3248.

Chopra, C., Gupta, S. and Manek, R., 2020. Impact of social media on consumer behavior. International Journal of creative research thoughts, 8(6), pp.1943-1961.

Clarke, J., Dede, C., Ketelhut, D.J. and Nelson, B., 2006. A design-based research strategy to promote scalability for educational innovations. Educational Technology, 46(3), pp.27-36.

de Oliveira Santini, F., Ladeira, W.J., Pinto, D.C., Herter, M.M., Sampaio, C.H. and Babin, B.J., 2020. Customer engagement in social media: a framework and meta-analysis. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48, pp.1211-1228.

Dwivedi, Y.K., Kapoor, K.K. and Chen, H., 2015. Social media marketing and advertising. The Marketing Review, 15(3), pp.289-309.

Erkan, I. and Evans, C., 2016. The influence of eWOM in social media on consumers ' purchase intentions: An extended approach to information adoption. Computers in human behavior, 61, pp.47-55.

Gabriella, D.R. and Agus, A.A., 2021. INTERVARIABLE INFLUENCE ANALYSIS OF HIERARCHY OF EFFECT (HOE) MODEL IN CROSS-BORDER E-COMMERCE (STUDY CASE: SHOPEE AND LAZADA). ASEAN Marketing Journal, 12(2), p.5.

Gilaninia, S., Taleghani, M. and Aziz, N., 2013. Marketing mix and consumer behavior. Kuwait Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 2(12), pp.1-6.
Tripathi, M. 2023. Influencer Marketing And Its Impact On H&M, IJCRT, 11(4), pp. 544-567.

Haghpour, B., Sahabeh, E. and Halvari, H., 2022. Opportunity cost in consumer behavior: Definitions, operationalizations, and ambiguities. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 46(5), pp.1942-1959.

Harris, D., 2019. Literature review and research design: A guide to effective research practice.

Hofman, M.S., Lawrentschuk, N., Francis, R.J., Tang, C., Vela, I., Thomas, P., Rutherford, N., Martin, J.M., Frydenberg, M., Shakher, R. and Wong, L.M., 2020. Prostate-specific membrane antigen PET-CT in patients with high-risk prostate cancer before curative-intent surgery or radiotherapy (proPSMA): a prospective, randomised, multicentre study. The Lancet, 395(10231), pp.1208-1216.

Hoofnagle, C.J., Van Der Sloot, B. and Borgesius, F.Z., 2019. The European Union general data protection regulation: what it is and what it means. Information & Communications Technology Law, 28(1), pp.65-98.

HR, G. and Aithal, P.S., 2022. Approaching Research in Different Ways-How to Choose an Appropriate Research Approach/Reasoning During Ph. D. Program in India?. International Journal of Philosophy and Languages (IJPL), 1(1), pp.59-74.

Ioanas, E., 2020. Social media and its impact on consumers' behaviour. Jurnal Analisa Kesehatan, 1(1), pp.1-1.

Jara, A. J., Parra, M. C., & Skarmeta, A. F. (2014). Participative marketing: Extending social media marketing through the identification and interaction capabilities from the internet of things. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 18(4), 997-1011.

Jin, S.V., Muqaddam, A. and Ryu, E., 2019. Instafamous and social media influencer marketing. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 37(5), pp.567-579.

Laksamana, P., 2018. Impact of social media marketing on purchase intention and brand loyalty: Evidence from Indonesia 's banking industry. International Review of Management and Marketing, 8(1), pp.13-18.

Majeed, M., Owusu-Ansah, M. and Ashmond, A.A., 2021. The influence of social media on purchase intention: The mediating role of brand equity. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), p.1944008.

Mason, A.N., Narcum, J. and Mason, K., 2021. Social media marketing gained importance after Covid-19—Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), p.1870797.

Masuda, H., Han, S.H. and Lee, J., 2022. Impacts of influencer attributes on purchase intentions in social media influencer marketing: Mediating roles of characterizations. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 174, p.121246.

Nassè, T.B., 2021. The concept of consumer behavior: Definitions in a contemporary marketing perspective. International Journal of Management & Entrepreneurship Research, 3(8), pp.303-307.

Rehman, A.A. and Alharthi, K., 2016. An introduction to research paradigms. International Journal of Educational Investigations, 3(8), pp.51-59.

Ryan, G., 2018. Introduction to positivism, interpretivism and critical theory. Nurse researcher, 25(4), pp.41-49.

Stratton, S.J., 2021. Population research: convenience sampling strategies. Prehospital and disaster Medicine, 36(4), pp.373-374.

Sundler, A.J., Lindberg, E., Nilsson, C. and Palmér, L., 2019. Qualitative thematic analysis based on descriptive phenomenology. Nursing Open, 6(3), pp.733-739.

Sürücü, L. and MASLAKÇI, A., 2020. Validity and reliability in quantitative research. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(3), pp.2694-2726.

Voramontri, D. and Klieb, L., 2019. Impact of social media on consumer behaviour. International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, 11(3), pp.209-233.

Wang, R. and Chan-Olmsted, S., 2020. Content marketing strategy of branded YouTube channels. Journal of Media Business Studies, 17(3-4), pp.294-316.

Wiedmann, K.P. and Von Mettenheim, W., 2020. Attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise–social influencers' winning formula? Journal of Product & Brand Management, 30(5), pp.707-725.

Xue, Y., Wang, J. and Zhang, X., 2020. Research on user experience of smart home under the development of Internet. In E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 179, p. 02060). E3S Web of Conferences.

Zak, S. and Hasprova, M., 2020. The role of influencers in the consumer decision-making process. In SHS web of conferences (Vol. 74, p. 03014). EDP Sciences.

Ziyadin, S., Doszhan, R., Borodin, A., Omarova, A. and Ilyas, A., 2019. The role of social media marketing in consumer behavior. In E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 135, p. 04022). EDP Sciences.

Website

Degruyter.com, 2023. About us, Available at https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/commun-2020-0053/html?lang=en [Accessed on 15th June 2023]