Becoming the Brand: The Influence of Social Media-Driven Personal Brand Equity on Digital Entrepreneurial Intention of China’s Generation Z
Abstract
Brand building is key to both business organizations and individual entrepreneurs. In the digital age, a person can leverage social media platforms to establish a distinctive brand identity for income generation. This study aims to examine the influence of Douyin content creators’ personal brand equity, comprising brand appeal, brand differentiation, and brand recognition, on their digital entrepreneurial intention among China’s Generation Z (Gen Z). This study adopted a quantitative approach. Using a simple random sampling technique, a total of 384 responses were collected via the Wenjuanxing survey agency. These Gen Z respondents who are Douyin content creators were drawn from various provinces across China, with ages ranging from 16 to 26 years old. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was utilised to analyse and interpret the research findings. First, the validity and reliability of measures were tested through the measurement model. The constructs of brand appeal, brand differentiation, and brand recognition are conceptualized as reflective sub-dimensions of personal brand equity. The significant factor loadings of these dimensions onto the second-order construct suggest that personal brand equity is well-represented through this multi-dimensional framework, reinforcing its theoretical coherence and empirical validity. Next, the path coefficient result was used to test the hypothesis. The results revealed that when Gen Z Douyin content creators perceived themselves to have a high level of personal brand equity, they were more likely to be digital entrepreneurs. In this study, it means to use the Douyin platform as a means to generate income.
Keywords: Digital entrepreneurship, Douyin, personal branding, personal brand equity, Gen-Z.
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