Big two theory and the impact of digital influencers on consumer’s perceptions

Abstract

Brands and marketing managers are constantly trying to understand what are the consumers’ needs and what they like. The Digital World has been developing a massive vehicle for the consumer and generated a lot of communication between customers and brands. In these contexts, it is urgent to define and make adjustments to the type of communication brands establish with their target audiences. The purpose of this research is to understand the impact of influencers on their followers decisions such as the perception, purchase intention, liking/disliking of the product and others, introducing the theory of the Big Two that describes social perceptions as being driven by two major dimensions – Agentic and Communal, as formulated by (Bakan, 1966). The present study is a confirmatory research based on quantitative data collected by means of an online survey with 266 active Instagram users who follow at least one influencer on the platform. The main hypotheses tested in this research are: H1a: Micro-Influencers have a more positive impact on purchase intention and liking than macro-influencers. H1b: A product sponsored by micro-Influencers is perceived as having a better fit with the followers than by macro-influencers. H1c: Micro-Influencers have more communal traits and less agentic traits when compared to macro-influencers. H2: Influencers from the communal category (that is, Lifestyle and Volunteering) are evaluated more positively for communal than agentic traits, whereas agentic influencers (category CEO and Fitness&Gym influencers) are evaluated more positively for agentic than communal traits. H3: Communal micro-influencers are evaluated more positively than communal macro-influencers, whereas agentic micro-influencers are evaluated worse than agentic macro-influencers. At the end of the research, the results show a higher involvement of Communal influencers and a significant impact on the followers when compared to Agentic influencers. Also, micro-influencers have a more positive impact on purchase intentions when sponsoring products or services than macro-influencers. The products sponsored by micro-influencers are perceived by their followers as having a better fit with them and the target audience likes the micro-influencers more than macro-influencers. This dissertation aims to support brands and Marketers on their choice of an influencer that better fits their mission as Brands and that generates more awareness with their target audience and their customers.