The Mediating Effect of Authenticity on the Effectiveness of Influencer Marketing on Purchase Intentions for Skin Care Products, with Special Reference to Generation Z

Abstract

Influencer Marketing has grown in popularity as a technique to promote goods and services by using different digital platforms. Further, there are a dearth of studies that were conducted in this context testing the mediating effect of authenticity on the influencer marketing effectiveness and purchase intentions. This study investigated how the authenticity of the influencer impacts their credibility and consumers’ purchase decisions in the Sri Lankan context of skincare consumers, with special reference to Generation Z, A quantitative study was conducted, and the data were analyzed using SPSS. furthermore, Regression analysis and Correlation analysis were conducted in order to statistically examine the direct relationships and mediated relationships from Authenticity, and they had positive results which showed significant positive impact from Authenticity towards the relationship between influencer marketing effectiveness and consumers purchase intentions. Moreover, a sample of 247 Generation Z respondents were taken as the sample. Adding value to the Influencer marketing context is essential nowadays to satisfy consumers and build strong relationships with customers. This Research paper aims to validate the impact of Authenticity on the relationship between the dimensions of Expertise, Attractiveness, and Trustworthiness (Source credibility model) towards purchase decisions of skincare consumers and this study comes up with a novel finding of Authenticity which is significant to all the skincare influencer marketers and skincare manufacturers.