Parasocial Interaction in Social Media Influencer-Based Marketing: An SEM Approach

Social media influencer-based marketing has caught the attention of brands as a new communication channel to influence target customers. During the interaction between influencer and followers, the latter display parasocial interaction (PSI)-a one-sided emotional attachment style of the followers to the influencer which may influence profitable marketing outcomes. In this context, this study aims to hypothesize and empirically test a conceptual model of PSI with antecedents, outcomes, and the moderating role of gender using a structural modeling approach. Findings of the study, in general, support the extant literature; however, the role of gender produces a contrary result. The research contributes to knowledge creation in PSI in the social media domain. Research implications for both academicians and managers along with limitations and future directions are discussed.