The Influence of Celebrity Reputation Attributes and Promotional Communication on Consumer Purchase Behaviour in Fashion Industry
Abstract
In the dynamic and competitive landscape, the use of celebrity endorsements has been a prominent strategy among the fashion retailers. Celebrity endorsements are seen as symbolic cues and play a significant role in influencing consumers buying decisions on fashion products. This research seeks to study the impact of celebrity reputation attributes (communication skills, influence, authenticity, expertise) and promotional communication on the consumer purchase behaviour of fashion products. The stimulus-response (S-R) model was used to guide the study. An online survey was conducted via Google Forms, and 250 valid responses from respondents who met the criteria were collected. The study employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses and the findings indicated the authenticity of the celebrity reputation attribute is the most significant predictor that influences consumer purchase behaviour, followed by expertise. However, communication skills and celebrity influence were found to have no significant impact on purchase behavior. In addition, promotional communication was found to positively influence the purchase behaviour of fashion consumers. This study contributes to marketing communication scholarship by examining celebrity reputation elements, offering a unique perspective compared to the commonly studied attributes derived from the source credibility framework. The study urges fashion retailers to carefully select celebrities based on their reputation to avoid negative publicity or word-of-mouth that could harm the brand and threaten business sustainability.
Keywords: Celebrity reputation, promotional communication, purchase behaviour, fashion retailers, strategic marketing communication.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abdulkadiri, F. J. (2023). Influence of celebrity endorsement on the purchase intention of the undergraduates. University of Benin. https://www.iwemi.com/influence-of-celebrity-endorsement-on-the-purchase-intention-of-the-undergraduates
Abidin, M. I., Atan, M. A., Abidin, F. Z., Mohayyaddin, F. A., Santhi, N., & Kantamas, K. (2021). Celebrity endorsement on millennial customers’ purchasing behaviour. International Journal of Accounting, Finance and Business (IJAFB), 6(33), 8-19.
Abd Aziz, Z. D., Omar, M. K., & Ariffin, S. (2020). The impact of celebrity endorsement on millennials’ purchase intention towards local health and beauty product. Advances in Business Research International Journal, 6(5), 92-102.
Addo, J. O., & Keelson, S. A. (2023). Moderating role of the media in celebrity endorsement and product adoption. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 11(2), 109-126. https://doi.org/10.37335/ijek.v11i2.206
Adiba, S. T., Suroso, A., & Afif, N. C. (2020). The effect of celebrity endorsement on brand image in determining purchase intention. Journal of Accounting, Business and Management, 27(2), 60-73. https://doi.org/10.31966/jabminternational.v27i2.700
Afifah, I. F. (2022). Expertise, trustworthiness, similarity, familiarity, likeability, product-match up of celebrity endorsement to purchase intention. Journal of Communication & Public Relations, 1(2), 21-30. https://doi.org/10.37535/105001220223
Agarwal, P., & Garg, K. (2021). Celebrity endorsement as a tool of maximizing advertising effectiveness through enhancing brand awareness, brand recall, and building brand image - a conceptual review. Wesleyan Journal of Research, 14(12), 252-271.
Alexandrescu, M.-B., & Milandru, M. (2018). Promotion as a form of communication of the marketing strategy. Land Forces Academy Review, 23(4), 268-274.
Azkiah, M. R., & Hartono, A. (2023). The influence of social media influencers on consumers' buying attitudes and intentions. Business and Investment Review, 1(3), 147-167. https://doi.org/10.61292/birev.v1i3.26
Al-Awadhi, R. (2022). Impact of celebrity endorsement on Yemeni consumer's purchase intention in term of brand image - Thesis. SSRN. https://doi.org/pts3
Al Mamun, A., Naznen, F., Yang, Q., Ali, M. H., & Nik Hashim, N. H. (2023). Modelling the significance of celebrity endorsement and consumer interest on attitude, purchase intention, and willingness to pay a premium price for green skincare products. Heliyon, 9(6), e16765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16765
Ameen, N., Cheah, J.-H., & Kumar, S. (2022). It's all part of the customer journey: The impact of augmented reality, chatbots, and social media on the body image and self‐esteem of Generation Z female consumers. Psychology and Marketing, 39(11), 2110-2129. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21715
Anumol, M. V., & George, J. (2023). Impact of celebrity endorsement on customer loyalty in cosmetic product. Journal of Research in Business and Management, 11(3), 256-260.
Anwar, M., Wibowo, S., & Setiyani, I. N. (2023). The influence of celebrity endorsers and online promotion on purchasing decision through brand image. East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(10), 3989-4012. https://doi.org/pts5
Bashir, S., Aslam, M., Ibrahim, F., & Kaur, K. (2017). Consumer’s perceived communicational risks in predicting Internet-based shopping intention. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 33(1), 17-31.
Bogollu, V. V. R., & Saravanan, S. A. (2023). From endorsers to endorsed: Examining the role of celebrity endorsements on attitudes and purchase intention. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(6), e02513. https://doi.org/pts6
Brendl, C. M., & Sweldens, S. (2024). Defining the stimulus in stimulus–response interventions: On the need to embrace theory and organism in stimulus–organism–response. Consumer Psychology Review, 7(1), 116–120. https://doi.org/pts7
Brooks, S. K. (2021). FANatics: Systematic literature review of factors associated with celebrity worship, and suggested directions for future research. Current Psychology, 40, 864–886. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9978-4
Calvo-Porral, C., & Lévy-Mangin, J.-P. (2024). The influence of celebrity endorsement on the purchase behavior of brands and product categories. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 33(8), 1027-1040. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2023-4745
Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez-Sanchez, S. (2020). Influencers on Instagram: Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership. Journal of Business Research, 117, 510-519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.005
Chan, T. J., Selvakumaran, D., Idris, I., & Adzharuddin, N. A. (2021). The influence of celebrity endorser characteristics on brand image: A case study of Vivo. SEARCH Journal of Media and Communication Research, 13(3), 19-34.
Chan, T. J., Li, Y., Hashim, N. H., Ibrahim, A. N. I. (2022). Online promotional communication attributes and company competitiveness of a Malaysian fast fashion clothing company. International Journal of Technology, 13(6), 1344-1353. https://doi.org/pts8
Chan, T. J., Mahadi, N. A., Adamu, A. A., Ng. M. L., & Haris Fadzilah, A. H. (2025). Integrated marketing communication practices as the predictors on university reputation of Malaysian private higher education institutions. Studies in Media and Communication, 13(2), 269-280. https://doi.org/10.11114/smc.v13i2.7491
Chandra, W. (2023). The effect of social media influencer characteristics on purchase intention on beauty products in Indonesia. Iqtishoduna, 19(2), 133-157.
Cheung, G. W., Cooper-Thomas, H. D., Lau, R. S., & Wang, L. C. (2024). Reporting reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with structural equation modeling: A review and best-practice recommendations. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 41, 745–783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09871-y
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences (2nd ed.). Academic Press.
Djafarova, E., & Thompson, M. (2023). Exploring the credibility of fitness Instagram micro-celebrities on young British males. Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications, 6(3), 131-146. https://doi.org/10.30958/ajmmc.6-2-4
Fan, F., Chan, K., & Wang, Y. (2022). Older consumers’ perceptions of advertising with celebrity endorsement. Asian Journal of Business Research, 12(1), 1-20.
Fauzee, Z. O., & Dada, M. (2021). The effect of celebrity endorsement on consumer behaviour in Klang Valley Malaysia. Electronic Journal of Business and Management, 6(4), 1-17.
Fischer, D. G., & Fick, C. (1993). Measuring social desirability: Short forms of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53(2), 417-424. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164493053002011
Franke, G. R., & Sarstedt, M. (2019). Heuristics versus statistics in discriminant validity testing: A comparison of four procedures. Internet Research, 29(3), 430-447. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-12-2017-0515
Freire, O., Silva, F. Q., Senise, D., & Scrivano, P. (2018). The effectiveness of celebrity endorsement in aspiring new celebrity. RAUSP Management Journal, 53(3), 289-303. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-04-2018-011
Guesh, E. B. (2019). The effect of celebrity endorsement on consumer buying behavior: The case of fast-moving consumer goods in Adiss Ababa [Master thesis, St. Mary's University, Ethiopia]. http://www.repository.smuc.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/4803/1/Emnet%20Guesh%20.pdf
Hair, J., Hollingsworth, C. L., Randolph, A. B., & Chong, A. Y. L. (2017). An updated and expanded assessment of PLS-SEM in information systems research. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 117(3), 442-458. https://doi.org/ghzdpc
Hair, J. F. (2021). Next-generation prediction metrics for composite-based PLS-SEM. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 121(1), 5-11. https://doi.org/gh77tc
Hair, J. F., & Alamer, A. (2022). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in second language and education research: Guidelines using an applied example. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 1, 100027. https://doi.org/gq3zpz
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Thousand Oakes, CA: Sage.
Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., Sharma, P. N., & Liengaard, B. D. (2024). Going beyond the untold facts in PLS-SEM and moving forward. European Journal of Marketing, 58(13), 81-106. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-08-2023-0645
Jiménez-Castillo, D., & Sánchez-Fernández, R. (2019). The role of digital influencers in brand recommendation: Examining their impact on engagement, expected value and purchase intention. International Journal of Information Management, 49, 366-376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.07.009
Kapitan, S., Esch, P. v., Soma, V., & Kietzmann, J. (2021). Influencer marketing and authenticity in content creation. Australasian Marketing Journal, 30(4), 342–351. https://doi.org/10.1177/18393349211011171
Khanh, C. T., Nguyen, H. A., Hoai, P. T. T., Dung, N. T. (2021). Impact of marketing communication on purchase behaviour in retailing context: An empirical data of supermarkets in Vietnam. Palarch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 18(18), 338-352.
Koay, K. Y., & Lim, W. M. (2025). Congruence effects in social media influencer marketing: The moderating role of wishful identification in online impulse buying intentions. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 34(3), 265-278. https://doi.org/pttb
Kock, N., & Hadaya, P. (2018). Minimum sample size estimation in PLS‐SEM: The inverse square root and gamma‐exponential methods. Information Systems Journal, 28(1), 227–261.
Lim, W. M. (2024). A typology of validity: content, face, convergent, discriminant, nomological and predictive validity. Journal of Trade Science, 12(3), 155-179. https://doi.org/pcm8
Lim, Y. S., Ng, T. H., Lam, M. S., & Tan S. Y. (2023). Communication in the 21st century: The effect of Internet celebrity as the communication source in influencing Generation Z purchase intention. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 39(4) 507-522. https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2023-3904-27
Liu, M. (2022). Determining the role of influencers’ marketing initiatives on fast fashion industry sustainability: The mediating role of purchase intention. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 940649. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.940649
Macheka, T., Quaye, E. S., & Ligaraba, N. (2024). The effect of online customer reviews and celebrity endorsement on young female consumers’ purchase intentions. Young Consumers, 25(4), 462-482. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-05-2023-1749
Magno, F., Cassia, F., & Ringle, C. M. (2024). A brief review of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) use in quality management studies. The TQM Journal, 36(5), 1242-1251. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-06-2022-0197
Majaliwa, A., Rurema, R. G., Kwizera, N. & Urwibutso, N. (2024). Effect of marketing communication strategies on consumer preferences and purchasing decisions: A case of Huye Complex Market in Huye District, Rwanda. Journal of Research Innovation and Implications in Education, 8(2), 252 – 262. https://doi.org/10.59765/reviw6392
Marklen, D. R., Tan, P. L., & Hassim, N. (2025). Instagram Influencers’ source credibility on gadget product purchase intention among Indonesian Generation Z: The mediating role of parasocial interaction. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 41(1), 125-145. https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2025-4101-08
Memon, M. A., Ting, H., Cheah, J.-H., Ramayah, T., Chuah, F., & Cham, T. H. (2020). Sample size for survey research: Review and recommendations. Journal of Applied Structural Equation Modeling, 4(2), i-xx. https://doi.org/10.47263/JASEM.4(2)01
Min, J. H. J., Chang, H. J. J., Jai, T. M. C., & Ziegler, M. (2019). The effects of celebrity-brand congruence and publicity on consumer attitudes and buying behavior. Fashion and Textiles, 6, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-018-0159-8
Mishra, M., Kushwaha, R., & Gupta, N. (2024). Impact of sales promotion on consumer buying behavior in the apparel industry. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2310552
Mittal, M. (2020). The power of celebrity attributes in purchase decision and brand loyalty among Indian consumers. The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, 20(2), 34-57.
Moulard, J. G., Garrity, C. P., & Rice, D. H. (2015). What makes a human brand authentic? Identifying the antecedents of celebrity authenticity. Psychology & Marketing, 32(2), 173-186. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20771
Muhammad, T., & Hartini, S. (2023). Impulse buying in social commerce: The role of interaction communication, expertise, self-congruity and parasocial relationships. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Educational Research (IJMCER), 5(6), 154-161.
Mohan, R. (2025). Influence of celebrity endorsements in advertisements on the purchasing intentions among higher education students. IIMT Journal of Management, 2(1), 100-113. https://doi.org/10.1108/IIMTJM-04-2024-0044
Molelekeng, B. V., & Dondolo, H. B. (2021). Effect of celebrity endorsers’ attributes on purchase intentions in South Africa. Innovative Marketing, 17(4), 111-119. http://doi.org/10.21511/im.17(4).2021.10
Moreira, F., Pereira, I. V., Santos, J. D., & Pires, P. B. (2023). Sports celebrity endorsement impact on purchase intention. Revista Galega de Economía, 32(3), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.15304/rge.32.3.8710
Nabil, M., Khaled, H., Taher, H., Aynman, M., & Ashoush, N. (2022). Celebrity endorsement and its impact on purchase intention of luxurious brands. The Business and Management Review, 13(2), 285-296.
Nichols, E., & Shapiro, S. (2023). The impact of authenticity on celebrity athlete social media endorsement messaging. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 32(3), 175-188. https://dx.doi.org/10.32731/smq.323.092023.01
Obeidat, Z. M., Alalwan, A. A., Baabdullah, A. M., Obeidat, A. M., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2022). The other customer online revenge: A moderated mediation model of avenger expertise and message trustworthiness. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7(4), 100230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2022.100230
Onu, C. A., Nwaulune, J. C., Agu, E., Bamidele, A., Adetunji, O. L., Nwankwere, I. A., Ayeni, D., & Ismail, R. (2023). Celebrity expertise and congruence on consumer purchase intentions: Evidence by Nigerian mobile telecommunication companies. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(12), e3780. https://doi.org/pttc
Onu, C., Nwaulune, J., Adegbola, E., & Nnorom, G. (2019). The effect of celebrity physical attractiveness and trustworthiness on consumer purchase intentions: A study on Nigerian consumers. Management Science Letters, 9, 1965-1976. https://doi.org/pttd
Osei, F., Abakah, A. H., & Kankam-Kwarteng, C. (2024). Impact of celebrity endorsements on sales performance: A study of the beverage industry in Ghana. Journal of Business Management and Accounting, 14(2), 277-305. https://doi.org/pttf
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539-69. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100452
Calvo-Porral, C., Cristina, Sergio, R., Orosa-Gonzalez, & Javier. (2023). The influence of social media celebrity endorsement on beer and wine purchase behaviour. International Journal of Wine Business Research, 35(3), 390-412. https://doi.org/pttg
Putri, F., & Hendratmi, A. (2022). Influence of celebrity endorser and content marketing towards purchase intention of Muslim fashion. Jurnal Ekonomi Syariah Teori dan Terapan, 9(5), 672-680. https://doi.org/10.20473/vol9iss20225pp672-680
Raza, M., Isa, N. M., & Abd Rani, S. H. (2019). Effect of celebrity-endorsed advertisement and entrepreneurial marketing on purchase behavior of smartphone consumers in Pakistan. Journal of Management Science, 6(1), 15-29.
Rehman, S. ul, Gulzar, R., & Aslam, W. (2022). Developing the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) through Social Media (SM): The modern marketing communicationapproach. SAGEOpen, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221099936
Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Sinkovics, N., & Sinkovics, R. R. (2023). A perspective on using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling in data articles, Data in Brief, 48, 109074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109074
Roy, P., & Datta, D. (2022). Theory and models of consumer buying behaviour: A descriptive study. SSRN Electronic Journal, 11(8), 206-217.
Ryu, E. A., & Han, E. (2021). Social media influencer’s reputation: Developing and validating a multidimensional scale. Sustainability, 13(2), 631. https://doi.org/j9qk
Rocha, P., Oliveira, J. C., & Giraldi, J. M. (2020). Marketing communications via celebrity endorsement: An integrative review. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(7), 2233-2259. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-05-2018-0133
Sadeh, F., Birjandi, R. H., & Miremadi, A. (2012). Survey on the effectiveness of promotional and communication strategies adopted by financial services. African Journal of Business Management, 6(44), 10925-10937. http://doi.org/10.5897/AJBM11.2554
Santoki, A. A. (2022). Influence of celebrity endorsement towards beauty care products. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government, 28(4), 1357–1367.
Schimmelpfennig, C., & Hunt, J. B. (2020). Fifty years of celebrity endorser research: Support for a comprehensive celebrity endorsement strategy framework. Psychology and Marketing, 37(3), 488–505. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21315
Sharma, S., Singh, S., Kujur, F., & Das, G. (2021). Social media activities and its influence on customer-brand relationship: An empirical study of apparel retailers’ activity in India. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(4), 602-617. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16040036
Shmueli, G., Ray, S., Estrada, J. M. V., & Chatla, S. B. (2016). The elephant in the room: Predictive performance of PLS models. Journal of Business Research, 69(10), 4552-4564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.03.049
Shmueli, G., Sarstedt, M., Hair, J. F., Cheah, J. W., Ting, H., Vaithilingam, S., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). Predictive model assessment in PLS-SEM: Guidelines for using PLSpredict. European Journal of Marketing, 53(11), 2322-2347. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0189
Shoenberger, H., Kim, E. A., & Johnson, E. (2020). #BeingReal about Instagram Ad models: The effects of perceived authenticity: How image modification of female body size alters advertising attitude and buying intention. Journal of Advertising Research, 60(2), 197-207. https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-2019-035
Šostar, M., & Ristanović, V. (2023). Assessment of influencing factors on consumer behavior using the AHP model. Sustainability, 15(13), 10341. https://doi.org/ptth
Taher, S. S., Chan, T. J., Zolkepli, I. A., & Sharipudin, M. N. S. (2022). Mediating role of parasocial relationships on social media influencers’ reputation signals and purchase intention of beauty products. Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations, 24(3), 45–66. https://doi.org/10.21018/rjcpr.2022.3.348
Taherdoost, H. (2022). Data collection methods and tools for research: A step-by-step guide to choose data collection technique for academic and business research projects. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 10(1), 10-38.
Thomas, C. (2022). Strategies to mitigate negative events: A qualitative study on celebrity-endorsed marketing [Unpublished Thesis, Capella University].
Tarigan, R. S., Tandung, J. C., Sutrisno, A. K., & Viriyani, V. (2023). The effect of celebrity endorsement on purchase intention. International Journal of Financial and Investment Studies (IJFIS), 4(1), 50-62. https://doi.org/10.9744/ijfis.4.1.50-62
Upadhyay, J. P., & Niroula, B. (2022). Influence of celebrity endorsement on the buying behavior of Nepal. NCC Journal, 7(1), 41-46. https://doi.org/10.3126/nccj.v7i1.58618
Utami, S. P., Setyowati, N., & Mandasari, P. (2019). Celebrity brand ambassador and e-WOM as determinants of purchase intention: A survey of Indonesian celebrity cake. AGRISTA, 7(3), 31-39. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202014205001
Wachuyuni, S. S., & Priyambodo, T. J. (2020). The influence of celebrity endorsement in restaurant product purchase decisions making. International Journal of Management Innovation & Entrepreneurial Research, 6(5), 45-54. https://doi.org/pttj
Wang, Z., Abdullah, N. A., & Che Ab Adziz, A. (2025). The influence of Internet celebrities on electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and purchase intentions in China: A study of social media and consumer behavior. PaperASIA, 41(2b), 126–141. https://doi.org/pttk
Wen, L., Ma, S., & Lyu, S. (2024). The influence of Internet celebrity anchors’ reputation on consumers’ purchase intention in the context of digital economy: From the perspective of consumers’ initial trust. Applied Economics, 56(60), 9189–9210. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2023.2299266
Xiong, X. (2022). Critical review of quantitative and qualitative research. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 956-959. https://doi.org/pttm
Zhang, L., Wang, X., Majeed, S., & Zhou, Z. (2025). How do sales promotions, communication agents, and psychological contracts determine purchase hesitation? Evidence from live stream influencers’ fan groups. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 84, 104193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104193
Zulkifli, F. A. Z., Ismail, S., & Syed Mohamad, S. F. (2024). The impact of social media advertising on online shopping preferences in Nilai City, Malaysia. International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting, 5(2), 75–109. https://doi.org/pttn
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
e-ISSN: 2289-1528