sajm





SAJM Vol. 30.3 (2)

Influencer Marketing: An Integrative Model

P Sanjaya Sarathy and Sanjay Patro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62206/sajm.30.3.2023.33-54

PUBLISHED : 07 NOV 2023

Abstract

During the pandemic’s rapid spread, the use of influencer marketing has expanded several folds. As a result, it has evolved into an essential component of digital marketing strategy for both marketing and revenue generation. Marketers have recently leveraged either Key Opinion Leaders or Artificial Intelligence influencers, or both, to influence purchase intention for certain products and services in order to improve sales success. As a first step in the process of building an integrative model of Influencer Marketing (IM), the present study has explored the various issues associated with IM, such as: Influencers and their classification, Social Media Influencers (SMI), Key Opinion Leader Influencers (KOL), Artificial Intelligence Influencers (AI), Para Social Relationship (PSR)and Consumer Decision Making Process (CDMC), based on the review of extant literature. The second step was to clearly define the process of measurement, which was done with a special focus on the research on Key Opinion Leaders and AI influencers, leading to proposition of parasocial interaction as a moderating factor. The third and the final step was to establish and integrate the multiple comparison standards into a single framework, which attempts to bring together the different perspectives of influencer marketing. Contributions of this paper to the literature on influencer marketing in the context of parasocial interactions are two-fold: firstly, it identifies and assesses the contribution of variables that influence the purchase intention under the IM strategy; and secondly, it integrates the multiple standards of comparison into a single framework ‘IM2 model’, which is an Integrative Model of Influencer Marketing and so can stimulate further discussion and research on IM.

Key Words

Influencer marketing, Key opinion leaders, Artificial intelligence, Consumer behavior, Purchase intention, Parasocial interaction

Author Biography

P Sanjaya Sarathy
Doctoral Scholar of Marketing, XLRI, Xavier School of Management, C. H. Area, Jamshedpur, India. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sanjay Patro
Dean-Academics and Professor of Marketing, XLRI, Xavier School of Management, C. H. Area, Jamshedpur, India. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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