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Meaning Transfer in

Influencer Marketing

Can the image and the credibility

of social media influencers be transferred

to the corporate image and the corporate

credibility of sustainable fashion brands?

Does the brand-influencer fit affect the

meaning transfer

?

Master’s Thesis

Lynn Sophie Anders Student ID: 11599766

Graduate School of Communication Communication Science:

Corporate Communication Supervisor:

Dr Suzanne de Bakker

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Abstract

The corporate image and the corporate credibility are key determining factors for sustainable fashion brands to overcome consumers’ mistrust and ambivalent attitudes towards eco-fashion. In a highly mediated world with limited consumer attention spans, it is difficult to reach out to consumers. Based on the meaning transfer model, this study supposed that social media influencers (SMIs) could help conveying the values of sustainable fashion brands and credibility if the SMI’s image matched the brands identity, namely being sustainable – thus creating a favourable corporate image and corporate credibility. In an online-embedded ex-periment with 208 responses, a sustainable SMI was compared to a regular SMI collaborating with either a sustainable or a regular fashion brand leading to “match” and “no match” condi-tions in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Findings partially support these assumpcondi-tions. SMI image did not predict the corporate image, but the sustainable brand description significantly did. The SMI’s credibility did significantly predict the corporate credibility, though it did not play a role if the SMI was sustainable or not. The brand-influencer fit did not affect any of these relations. Those findings have important practical implications for sustainable fashion brands handling their public relations.

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Introduction

It had not been the first crisis in the fashion industry, however, when the Bangladeshi fac-tory Rana Plaza collapsed in 2013, the whole industry was rigorously debated and criticised (cleanclothes.org, 2018). Those critical voices paved the way for sustainable1 fashion brands. It is characterised by a production cycle that values all stages included, such as integrating renewable and organic materials, up- and recycling, and fair working conditions (Johnston, 2012). Moreover, it addresses the core values in environmentalism, namely protecting biodi-versity and ecological systems, avoidance of health-damaging procedures, and the sustainable use of resources (Paehlke, 2000).

Sustainable fashion once was a niche in the apparel industry but has become a stand-alone industry (Cervellon & Wernerfelt, 2012). Still, sustainable fashion brands face some challenges when it comes to potential consumers. Some have ambivalent attitudes toward sustainable fashion because of the higher prices and prevailing notion of unattractive and unfashionable designs (Moon, Lai, Lam, & Chang, 2015), or are confronted with barriers such as inexperience, scepticism and mistrust concerning the promises sustainable fashion brands make about their manufacturing, and perceive sustainable fashion to be unavailable in the marketplace (Henninger, Alevizou, & Oates, 2016).

Those challenges illustrate how urgently sustainable fashion brands must respond to consumers’ attitudes and barriers to emphasise their unique characteristics and gain aware-ness – and finally trust. However, since the emergence of the Internet, transmitting crucial information became challenging for brands in a twofold way: for one thing, communicating a brand’s message has shifted from the media to consumers who now create, broadcast, and tell a brand’s story (Booth & Matic, 2010). For another thing, consumers are exposed to more

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Sustainability is defined as a human capability to maintain the well-being of all lives in the long run, including those of future generations. The meaning of ‘all lives’ refers to resources, ecology, and welfare mirrored by societal awareness of and interest in Corporate Social Responsibility, sustainable economic growth, and long-term wellbeing of humans (Meng, 2015).

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2 messages than ever before, particularly on social media, leading to reduced attention spans (Walter & Gioglio, 2014).

Is there a chance brands could regain attention and the “control” over user-generated content? Hence, the important (consumer) storytellers, need to be identified and engaged to “guide” the content to protect the brand’s reputation (Booth & Matic, 2010). Using visuals is an effective way to gain consumers’ attention more easily than using text (Walter & Gioglio, 2014) – which is a crucial element in the work of social media influencers (SMIs). SMIs might be a “tool” to defeat and overcome the challenges sustainable fashion brands face, to popularise them, and finally gain trust. Nevertheless, when collaborating with a SMI, compa-nies need to decide for the right influencer, so the images of SMI and company match to transfer the SMI’s image to the sustainable fashion brand. Thus, SMIs could be helpful to convey the corporate image and enhance the corporate credibility through their social media posts, especially when their image is congruent to the corporate image of the fashion brand.

SMIs have been widely researched from a marketing perspective (Hsu, Lin, &

Chiang, 2013; Kotler & Armstrong, 2012; Song & Yoo, 2016; Uzunoǧlu & Kip, 2014) and a psychological perspective (Fardouly, Willburger, & Vartanian, 2017; Feltman & Szymanski, 2018; Kleemans, Daalmans, Carbaat, & Anschütz, 2018) yet rarely through a public relations (PR) lens, especially not with regard to the corporate image. Booth and Matic (2010), for instance, identified practical steps for engaging SMIs to strengthen the corporate brand. However, their practical guideline was not based on empirical research. De Veirman, Cau-berghe, and Hudders (2017) recently examined brand effects of Instagram influencers regard-ing the brand attitude moderated by the number of followers and product type. To the best of my knowledge, the brand-influencer fit has not been researched yet with regard to the corpo-rate image. Whereas the concepts of fit or congruence have been focussed on before. Du, Bhattacharya, & Sen (2010) found that the fit is an important determinant in Corporate Social

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3 Responsibility (CSR) to positively affect the credibility of the cause, for instance. In celebrity endorsement, the fit between celebrity and brand was found impacting several outcomes such as the purchase intentions (Thomas & Johnson, 2017) and positive brand attitude (Till & Busler, 1998).

The aim of this study is to assess if SMIs can influence consumers’ perception of the image and credibility of sustainable fashion brands, and how much congruence is necessary to contribute to the desired perception of the corporate image and corporate credibility. Refer-ring to the meaning transfer model, it is assumed that an adequate fit of SMI image with the corporate image can enhance the desired recognition of the brand’s identity and corporate credibility of sustainable fashion brands, leading to the following questions:

RQ1: How does the SMI image predict the corporate image, and does the brand-influencer fit

affect this relation?

RQ2: How does the credibility of the SMI predict the corporate credibility, and does the

brand-influencer fit affect this relation?

Theoretical Framework Social Media Influencers: Image and Credibility

Social media influencers (SMIs) are opinion leaders on social media with a large fol-lowing and reach (Keller & Berry, 2003). Through their contents (photos, videos, narration, etc.), such as recommendations, and participation on social media, SMIs gain popularity and achieve fame (Forbes, 2016). “The SMI works to generate a form of ‘celebrity’ capital by cultivating as much attention as possible and crafting an authentic ‘personal brand’ via social networks” (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2016, p. 194). This personal brand can be considered as the image of the SMI, which will be described hereafter.

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4 SMIs are expert in a particular industry such as fashion, sports, or diet (Uzunoǧlu & Kip, 2014). Some of them have expertise of a particular product category within this industry. In terms of the fashion industry, product categories could be designer fashion, or sustainable fashion for instance. It can be assumed that the expertise SMIs have of a product category may contribute to their image. Through the contents they generate daily, SMIs develop their image over time when they post about one particular theme (or industry). For instance, when a SMI lives a sustainable lifestyle and posts pictures of sustainable fashion styles and prod-ucts, his or her image derives from the contents instead of acting roles.

So, firstly, their posts express who they are or want to be (fashionable, high society, eco-friendly, sustainable, etc.) and followers learn about the SMI’s (desired) image while watching and reading their posts. In terms of a fashion influencer, fashion could express so-cial status, a unique style, or an attitude (for example ethical fashion) (Kamakura & Wedel, 1995). When a fashion influencer endorses designer brands, the influencer probably will be perceived differently than one endorsing sustainable fashion brands. Secondly, the product category itself conveys values which would be luxury vs. environmentalism for the prior ex-ample. Thirdly, SMIs post a lot about their daily lives (Abidin, 2016). Those posts can be related to their expertise (e.g. fashion or beauty) but may also be contents about their personal life unrelated to their expertise such as celebrations they are invited to, or holidays they make. For instance, one sustainable Instagram influencer, named dariadaria, sometimes zooms in on her pimples and names them in her Instagram stories, and another

eco-influencer, jenniferbnini, reports about her home-grown vegetables and fruits. That way, fol-lowers learn about the SMI’s individual characteristics and interests by viewing the contents about their daily lives.

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5 Through their recommendation, SMIs can shape their followers’ purchase decisions, opinions, actions, and attitudes (Forbes, 2016; Uzunoǧlu & Kip, 2014). Moreover, the celeb-rity-like status is beneficial for consumer outreach (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2016). For those reasons, companies and advertisers increasingly collaborate with SMIs to help promote a product or service on social media which is called influencer marketing (IM) (Bendoni, 2017; Brouwer, 2017; Kotler, Keller, & Manceau, 2012). IM, furthermore, is adopted for PR be-cause it can be used to influence a brand’s perception on social media (Booth & Matic, 2010).

Besides their image, credibility is an important attribute of SMIs. Often, SMIs are re-garded as more authentic than celebrities because they live a normal life which makes them more relatable to their followers (Forbes, 2016). Moreover, SMIs are considered more relia-ble than companies and have therefore become an important source of information (Forbes, 2016). Source credibility (Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953) could explain this: famous people are seen as opinion leaders, and as credible and trustworthy spokespersons. Even when the posted content is paid for, SMIs’ recommendations are effective, because they provide con-tinuous insights in their personal lives which creates a para-social relationship of the follow-ers with the influencer (Hsu et al., 2013). As a result, consumfollow-ers trust in the advertising mes-sage when famous people collaborate with a brand.

Corporate Image

The immediate reflection stakeholders have towards an organisation is described as the corporate image (Bick, Jacobson, & Abratt, 2003) and embodies their opinions of the organisation at a point in time (Balmer, 1998; Gray & Balmer, 1998). It expresses “how cus-tomers perceive an organization based on experience or impressions and how these percep-tions create a set of associapercep-tions that contribute to a total picture of the organization” (Andre-assen, 2001, p. 41). The external perceptions of an organisation are said to be crucial because

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6 they are considered as a reflection or consequence of the total corporate communications (Balmer, 2017): within the total corporate communications, the corporate image and corpo-rate reputation – as stakeholder perceptions – are building blocks of corpocorpo-rate identity. Thus, corporate image is an important determinant for more durable assets of an organisation and should be of central importance to an organisation.

The corporate image, furthermore, involves physical and behavioural attributes of an organisation such as the business name, the variety of products, traditions, and the ideology (Nguyen & Leblanc, 2001) – in this study sustainable manufacturing in the fashion industry. According to Kennedy (1977), a positive corporate image adds value to the organisation by encouraging favourable associations and subsequent behaviours toward it. Hence, corporate image becomes an asset, organisations need to shape with regard to their overall evaluations (Mostafa, Lages, Shabbir, & Thwaites, 2015). Accordingly, SMIs might be a helpful means to guide or manage the corporate image of a brand.

Relation of SMI Image and Corporate Image

According to Uzunoǧlu and Kip (2014), the influencer “is the key in transmitting the brand information to a certain audience” (p. 598). Usually applied to demonstrate the effects of celebrity endorsement, the meaning transfer model will be used to explain how the SMI image is transferred to the brand perception, respectively the corporate image. A celebrity endorser is defined as “any individual who enjoys public recognition and who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement” (McCracken, 1989, p. 310). Based on this definition, SMIs can be considered celebrity en-dorsers, too, since they enjoy public recognition as well, and the sponsored posts are compa-rable to advertisement. Given this notion, the meaning transfer model should be applicable to IM, too.

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7 The meaning transfer model (McCracken, 1989) describes how meaning is transferred in cultures. Meaning as cultural asset, is constituted in categories and principles in the social and physical world of these cultures. The cultural meaning is transferred to consumer goods, which then transfer their meaning to the consumer when using them. Advertising plays an important role in transferring meanings from the product or brand to the consumer. In relation to celebrity endorsement – and presumably SMIs as well – the meaning transfer occurs on three stages (McCracken, 1989):

In the first stage, the advertisement can encounter a special category of person from the culturally constituted world (celebrity or SMI) through the celebrity endorsement. The endorsement thus becomes the advertisement’s “platform” on which meaning is transferred later. The celebrity comprises individual meanings particularly deep and powerful compared to non-famous individuals because celebrities carry not only demographic meanings but also meanings about their personality. Hereby, the celebrity’s personality, lifestyle, and values empower the message of the product or brand. Individual meanings of celebrities are particu-larly reliable because they were generated publicly through repeated performances, political campaigns, or athletic achievements for example.

In the second stage, celebrity and product are connected through the endorsement. Important for the endorsement is a matching celebrity, able to represent the desired ‘symbolic properties’ of the product. The consumer then sees how the product adopts the meanings car-ried by the celebrity.

In the last stage, the meaning is transferred from the product to the consumer when us-ing it. Consumers constantly take ‘symbolic properties’ from products, and for an endorsed product, consumers take the celebrity’s properties transferred with the product (McCracken, 1989).

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8 An additional explanation to the meaning transfer model are associations (Halonen‐ Knight & Hurmerinta, 2010). A brand’s spokesperson – just like SMIs – are regarded to help triggering former associations with the company or brand and thus stimulate the memory of previous messages (Kamen, Azhari, & Kragh, 1975). New messages by the spokesperson would then be associated with previous experiences and knowledge and create a consistent image of the brand (Kamen et al., 1975).

For this study, it is assumed that the meaning transfer occurs not alone via the fashion item endorsed by the SMI to the consumer, but also that meaning will be transferred from the SMI itself to the corporate image of a sustainable fashion brand. That way, SMIs could be an effective “tool” for enhancing the perception of sustainable fashion brands among the public and conquer the challenges sustainable fashion brands are still facing. Based on the meaning transfer the first hypothesis predicts:

H1: Exposure to the sustainable SMI image will lead to a more sustainable corporate image

than exposure to the regular SMI image.

Corporate Credibility

Corporate credibility is one of the most important issues to consumers for building trust (Hur, Kim, & Woo, 2014) and therefore particularly important for sustainable fashion brands to defeat consumers’ mistrust. Credibility was found an effective factor to enhance companies’ brand equity (Erdem, Swait, & Louviere, 2002; Hur et al., 2014) and moreover, affect consumers’ attitude towards the brand (Goldsmith, Lafferty, & Newell, 2000).

Erdem et al. (2002) define brand credibility from a twofold angle. Firstly, as the be-lievability of the brand’s communications at a time, and secondly, as a signal of the trustwor-thiness of the product position information contained in a brand depending on the brand’s willingness and ability to perform its promises. However, the corporate credibility also

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de-9 pends on an external view, namely the way consumers perceive of a company’s trustworthi-ness and expertise (Goldsmith et al., 2000). As SMIs are considered more reliable than com-panies (Forbes, 2016), they might be helpful for comcom-panies to gain trust.

Credibility Effects

The perceived credibility of an influencer was found to have impact on the credibility of the brand and the influencer itself: their trustworthiness can bring prestige to the brand, interplays with the credibility of the blogger, and affects the blogger’s influential power in turn (Uzunoǧlu & Kip, 2014).

Moreover, a direct relation between endorser credibility and credibility ratings of the brand was found and proved that the more credible the endorser was perceived, the more credible the brand was rated (Wang, Kao, & Ngamsiriudom, 2017). The authors also referred to the meaning transfer model introduced by McCracken (1989) and assumed the credibility of an endorser would be transferred to the credibility of a brand via the endorsement. In ce-lebrity endorsement, source credibility is a central element. Source credibility describes the expertise and trustworthiness of the message sender (Hovland & Weiss, 1951), in this case the SMI, and will be comparably relevant in this study. Based on previous findings, the sec-ond hypothesis arising thereby expects:

H2: The more credible the sustainable SMI is perceived, the higher will be the corporate

credibility of the brand than when the regular SMI is perceived as credible.

Congruence: Brand-Influencer Fit

Fit or congruence are common concept in brand and organisational research. A prom-inent theory of congruence in advertising is the match-up theory (Forkan, 1980; Kahle & Homer, 1985) proposing that successful advertising effects using celebrity endorsement can

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10 be achieved when the image of the celebrity and the message of the product are congruent. Misra and Beatty (1990) define congruence when “the highly relevant characteristics of the spokesperson are consistent with the highly relevant attributes of the brand” (p. 161).

It is specifically relevant in celebrity endorsement since congruence between a celeb-rity and a product (or brand) can arouse viewer’s attention, increase the product awareness, and lead to the purchase of the endorsed product (Li, Lee, & Lien, 2012). Celebrities may generate attention easily, though, to build a connection to the product (or brand) they should share common characteristics or personality traits with the product (or brand) (Li et al., 2012). Therefore, the social content generated by a SMI should provide support to a compa-ny’s identity – forming an extension of who they are, embodied by the SMI (Bendoni, 2017).

Determinants of image in the match-up theory were attractiveness and credibility of the celebrity (Kamins, 1990). However, the match-up theory cannot explain all underlying processes only by attractiveness and credibility and may therefore take the fit of the entire celebrity image with the product into account (Erdogan, 1999) – which is the case in this study. Halonen-Knight and Hurmerinta (2010) support this, concluding that selecting the right celebrity endorser requires deeper consideration than just credibility and attractiveness, because transferring meanings is more complex than just relying on those two characteristics.

It is essential for companies to choose a congruent SMI (Uzunoǧlu & Kip, 2014). Companies select social media influencers according to specific characteristics; for instance, the number of followers, and field of expertise (e.g. sports, beauty, fashion) to match their brands. However, in order to find a congruent SMI, the company should determine its own identity by asking the following questions about itself before collaborating (Bendoni, 2017):

Who are you? What do you stand for? So, basically, companies should recall their corporate

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11 The characteristics, lifestyle, and image of a SMI are relevant information for identi-fying a congruent SMI. In their interviews, Jain and Roy (2016) detected that the personality of celebrity endorsers tends to be an important theme for practitioners. Examples for person-ality traits are adventurous, stylish, outspoken, patient, optimist, humble, sympathetic, honest, and charismatic. The authors further identified values celebrities can stand for: ethics, integri-ty, family values, and respect for traditions. The personal attributes of celebrities are believed to determine the success of the endorsement (Li et al., 2012). Due to the similarity of celebri-ty endorsement and influencers, it can be assumed that personal attributes of SMIs predict the effectiveness of their collaborations, too.

Brand-Influencer Fit and SMI Image Effects

In this study, it is assumed that the brand-influencer fit moderates the relation between the SMI’s image and the corporate image. To my knowledge, the brand-influencer fit has not been examined yet, whereas several studies examined the impact of brand-fit in various fields: when brand and consumers’ self-concept match, the fit positively affects the overall brand value (Miller, 2007). Moreover, congruence is important for CSR communication: the fit between social issue and business should be congruent to enhance stakeholder attributions, business returns, and the credibility of the cause (Du et al. 2010). In celebrity endorsement research, celebrity-brand fit was detected affecting purchase intentions as a mediator (Thom-as & Johnson, 2017), and celebrity-product fit moderated various relationships between en-dorser and brand: the fit positively affected the favourable perception of the endorsement (Kim, Lee, & Prideaux, 2014), and was found leading to more positive brand attitudes (Kahle & Homer, 1985; Till & Busler, 1998), and to better brand recall (Misra & Beatty, 1990).

Thus, it can be expected that a congruent SMI image with the corporate image can make for a good fit, specifically when the SMI has an eco-friendly lifestyle and collaborates

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12 with sustainable fashion brands which probably leads consumers to perceive it as a natural, sincere fit between SMI and company. Thus, the brand-influencer fit can be considered an important driver for this study leading to the following hypothesis:

H3: Exposure to the sustainable SMI image will lead to a more sustainable corporate image

than exposure to the regular SMI image, but only if there is a brand-influencer fit but not if there is no fit.

Brand-Influencer Fit and SMI Credibility Effects

Credibility has been proven to be a relevant factor for celebrity endorsement: the cred-ibility of the source, in this case the celebrity, is crucial for the effectiveness of the endorse-ment (Hovland & Weiss, 1951). Wang et al. (2017) found that celebrity-brand fit affects con-sumers’ purchase intentions, brand attitude, and brand credibility. Aligning with McCrack-en’s meaning transfer model, the authors assumed that the corporate credibility would be rat-ed higher when the celebrity and the brand match.

Moreover, Kamins and Gupta (1994) found that celebrity-brand congruence impacted the credibility of the brand and the celebrity. They explain their findings with the theory of McCracken’s (1989) meaning transfer model on the one hand. On the other, the internalisa-tion process of social influence (Kelman, 1961) serves as evidence of their findings. Internal-isation describes when individuals’ behaviour or opinions are influenced by others because the persuasion is in line with the individual’s value system. However, the persuasion only occurs when the influencing person is credible. The influencer’s credibility depends on his or her relation to the persuasive message he or she communicates. Thus, the persuasive message needs to match the influencer’s personal values. To emphasise this by way of example, if the vegan actress Natalie Portman endorses a vegan restaurant, she would be considered a credi-ble spokesperson. Yet, if she endorsed a steakhouse, she would not be considered credicredi-ble

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13 because her personal values do not match up with her message and the product she is endors-ing. To put it in a nutshell, when individuals are exposed to persuasion, they internalise the message, but only when the communicator and the message fit. Thus, if congruence is pre-sent, the impact of the SMI on the corporate credibility should be given.

Due to the similarity of celebrity endorsement and IM, the relationship of celebrity credibility and brand credibility can be adopted to a SMI in a paid partnership. Accordingly, it is supposed that when a SMI matches a brand, the brand will be rated more credible when the SMI seems more credible. Built on this argumentation, hypothesis four proposes:

H4: The more credible the sustainable SMI is perceived, the higher will be the corporate

credibility of the brand than when the regular SMI is perceived as credible, but only if there is a brand-influencer fit but not if there is no fit.

Methodology

The moderating role of brand-influencer fit on the corporate image and perceived credibility of sustainable fashion brands was examined in an online survey-embedded exper-iment using a 2 (regular vs. sustainable SMI image) x 2 (regular vs. sustainable fashion brand) between-subject factorial design. Respondents were randomly assigned2 to one of the

2

The randomisation check was successful: A Chi-square test of independence was calculated examining the contribution of sex, age, and educational level among the four experimental conditions. No significant

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interac-14 four conditions. The first independent variable, SMI image, was coded as a binary variable (regular and sustainable SMI) and the second independent variable, SMI credibility, was measured on a continuous level. Accordingly, the dependent variables were corporate image and corporate credibility, measured on continuous levels.

Experimental Design and Stimuli

Four stimuli were utilised in the experiment. To eliminate the possibility of confound-ing effects due to variation in contextual cues, each stimulus was identically in sentence structure and photo composition, except for the degree of sustainability. The first two factors, regular vs. sustainable SMI image, composing the independent variable, were manipulated by a written description of the SMI and screenshots of her Instagram profile. The descriptions and screenshots introduced the SMI in an either sustainable or common manner. A short de-scription depicted who the SMI was, and what she was interested in (e.g. collaborating with

sustainable fashion brands and liking natural cosmetics vs. collaborating with fashion brands

and liking cosmetics). The screenshots of the Instagram profiles differed in the profile de-scription indicating a common or sustainable lifestyle. In the dede-scriptions, sustainability was indicated by key terms such as ethical, eco, green, fairtrade, organic, and bio-based, whereas the regular profile lacked those terms (instead of ethical fashion lover, just fashion lover). Additionally, the Instagram profile showed three photos. The visual cues depicted elements related to an eco-friendly or a normal lifestyle (e.g. bamboo cup vs. disposable coffee-to-go cup, or vegan dinner vs. cheeseburger).

Factors 3 and 4 were the fashion brand descriptions manipulated through a short text. The brand description differed in terms indicating a sustainable and fair-trade business model

tions were found for sex (χ2 (3) = 1.92, p > 0.05), age (χ2 87) = 92.27, p > 0.05), and education (χ2 (15) = 15.362, p > 0.05). Thus, participants were distributed evenly among the four experimental conditions.

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15 vs. a conventional business model. Phrasings were chosen such as “using unique, exclusive fabrics” vs. “using natural, organic-grown fabrics.” The stimuli are presented in Appendix A.

All material used, such as texts, photos, the SMI name, and the brand name were arti-ficially created for the experiment. The Instagram account was created for the purpose of this study. The Instagram profile and sponsored posts, furthermore, were edited to depict a decent number of followers, posts, likes, adjusted locations, and indications about paid partnerships.

As the moderator, the brand-influencer fit was utilised. When respondents were ex-posed to the sustainable SMI and the sustainable fashion brand or to the regular SMI and the

regular brand, this equalled a match, and all the others equalled no match.

Data Collection and Procedure

When the participants accessed the survey, they were briefly informed about the topic and procedure of the study and had to sign a consent form. Subsequently, respondents were exposed to a written description introducing the SMI and a screenshot of her Instagram pro-file. Next, they read a description about the fashion brand, followed by two sponsored posts (equal among each experimental condition) by the SMI collaborating with the delineated fashion brand. Thereafter, respondents had to answer two manipulation checks – about the SMI’s lifestyle and about the fashion brand’s characteristics. Then, respondents had to indi-cate the credibility of the SMI, followed by the items about the dependent variables corporate image and corporate credibility. Lastly, demographic characteristics of sex, age, home coun-try, education, and employment status were asked. The complete survey can be seen in Ap-pendix B.

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16 The manipulation checks were measured asking what described the influencer and fashion brand respondents were previously exposed to most likely. The answers were about the topics the SMI posted about (ethical fashion, sustainable style, & eco-friendly lifestyle vs. fashion, style, & lifestyle), or about the fashion brand’s characteristics (natural, organic, re-cycled fabrics, & fair trade vs. exclusive, unique, & high-quality fabrics).

Chi square analyses in crosstabs were used to check if the manipulations were per-ceived correctly in each condition. The manipulation check was successful for SMI image, Fisher’s exact test was significant (p < .001) proofing that those respondents exposed to the sustainable Instagram profile perceived the SMI significantly more sustainable than those exposed to the regular Instagram profile, and vice versa for the exposure to the regular SMI image. Most respondents also answered the manipulation check about the brand’s characteris-tics correctly, meaning that those exposed to the sustainable brand description indicated sig-nificantly more often that the fashion brand was sustainable compared to those exposed to the regular brand description (Fisher’s exact test = p < .001), and vice versa for the exposure to the regular brand description.

Sample

Responses were collected as a self-selected convenience sample by posting the link to the survey on social media. In total, 336 respondents participated of which 128 cases had to be excluded due to uncompleted surveys, unsuccessful manipulation check, and age (younger than 17 years). Of the remaining 208 cases, 77.9% were female, and 22.1% male. Therefore, gender effects cannot be prevented. The mean age was 26.72 years (SD = 9.016) with the youngest respondent being 17 years old, and the oldest 67 years. Respondents lived in 37 countries in total. Most of them came from Germany (48.6%; 13.0 % from the United King-dom, and 5.8% from the Netherlands and USA each). The majority had a bachelor’s degree

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17 (40.9%), followed by a high school degree (31.3%) and a master’s degree (19.2%). Most of the respondents were students (56.7%) or employed (33.7%). Participants were distributed slightly uneven among the experimental conditions (nsusSMI_susBrand cond. = 47, nsusSMI_regB cond.= 56, nregSMI_susB cond. = 61, nregSMI_regB cond.= 44), though the sample was evenly dis-tributed among the “no match” (n = 105) and “match” (n = 103) conditions.

Measurement Pre-test.

In a pre-test, a scale for the corporate image regarding the sustainability of an organi-sation was assessed. As there has not been a scale developed yet to measure the “sustainable corporate image,” several related scales were adapted, adjusted, or invented (Berens, van Ri-el, & van Bruggen, 2005; Fombrun, Gardberg, & Sever, 2000; Kim et al., 2014; Mäder, 2005), and examined in a ptest to detect items forming one concept. In the ptest, re-spondents were exposed to a brief description of the fashion brand as being sustainable and three fashion photos. Subsequently, they were asked to rate their perception of the brand, namely the sustainable corporate image (see Appendix C for all 22 initial variables used in the pre-test).

A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to identify scales for the factors underlying the initial list of 22 items. Due to the small sample size (N = 24), the sampling adequacy for the analysis could not be verified according to the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of .48, though Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ2 (231) = 582.79, p < .001). Ac-cording to Kaiser and Rice (1974), this factor analysis would not be acceptable due to the

KMO value below .5, nevertheless, to examine the factorability of a “new” scale, this

statisti-cal weakness was accepted for gaining a first idea of factors forming the “sustainable corpo-rate image.” In total, two distinct factors were genecorpo-rated which consisted of 12 items. Ten

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18 items were removed from the initial list. Table 1 displays the results for both factors explain-ing 63.18% of the variance, usexplain-ing oblimin rotations. After the PCA, the first factor was com-posed of nine items and labelled “sustainable image” (eigenvalue = 11.39, total variance ex-plained = 51.78%) and found internally reliable (Cronbach’s α = .95). The second factor con-sisted of three items and was labelled “brand design” (eigenvalue = 2.51, total variance ex-plained 11.39%) with satisfactory reliability (α = .79).

SMI image and brand-influencer fit.

The independent variable SMI image was operationalised through the experimental factors, being exposed to either the sustainable or to the regular SMI. For the analyses, the variable was coded binary and consisted of the two image categories, the sustainable SMI image and the regular SMI image (0 = regular SMI, 1 = sustainable SMI).

Brand-influencer fit, the moderator in this study, was present when respondents were exposed to the sustainable SMI image and the sustainable fashion brand or exposed to the

regular SMI image and the regular fashion brand. All other cases were no fit. The categorical

variable was coded with three categories (no match = 0, regular match = 1, and sustainable match = 2).

SMI credibility.

The independent variable SMI credibility was tested on a seven-point Likert-scale (1 –

strongly disagree; 7 – strongly agree) taken from items by Kim et al. (2014). The original

concept consists of three components: trustworthiness, attractiveness, and expertise. The trustworthiness items were adapted as independent variable to assess the credibility of the SMI. Factor analysis using principal axis factoring with oblique rotation (direct oblimin) un-covered one factor. The sample size adequacy was highly above the recommended value of .6

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19 Table 1.

Factor Loadings and Variances, Mean Scores, Standard Deviations, and Scale Reliability for Principal Components Analysis with Oblimin Rotation of “Sustainable Corporate Image”

Factors

Items Mean SD sustainable

image

brand design

SI-1 The brand supports good causes. 4.29 1.37 .765

SI-2 The brand behaves responsibly

re-garding the environment. 4.50 1.32 .836

SI-3 The brand’s policies are

environ-ment-aware. 4.38 1.21 .916

SI-4 The brand is ethical. 4.29 1.37 .789

SI-5 The brand is sustainable. 4.42 1.32 .706

SI-6 The brand behaves ethically and

responsibly. 4.71 1.23 .887

SI-7 The brand maintains high standards

in the way it treats people. 4.63 1.21 .906

SI-8 The brand’s production impacts the

environment less. 4.25 1.45 .648

SI-9 The brand commits good labour

conditions. 4.25 1.36 .585

BD-1 The brand is creative. 4.08 1.53 .635

BD-2 The brand is modern. 5.42 0.97 .875

BD-3 The brand is trendy. 5.08 1.25 .952

Total variance explained (%): 51.78 11.39

Accumulated variance explained (%) 63.18

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20 (Kaiser & Rice, 1974) and was assessed adequate for factor analysis (KMO = .88). Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ2 (10) = 679.606, p < .001). The five-items SMI credibility scale had an eigenvalue of 3.68 and explained a total variance of 73.59%. Factor loadings for SMI credibility ranged from .717 to .894. Reliability of the scale was very good, Cronbach’s α = .91.

Corporate image.

The dependent variable corporate image was measured on a seven-point Likert-scale (1 – strongly disagree, 7 – strongly agree) using the 12 items detected in the pre-test. The principal axis factoring analysis using oblimin rotation revealed two factors, consistent with the pre-test. The measure of sampling adequacy could be approved (KMO = .91) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity significant (χ2

(66) = 1972.310, p < .001). The first factor (sus-tainable image) consisting of nine items had an eigenvalue of 6.72, explaining 55.99% of the variance. Factor loadings ranged from .673 to .834. Factor 2 (brand design) consisted of three items and had an eigenvalue of 1.95, explaining 16.29% of the variance, and loadings ranged from .673 to .834. Together, the factors explained a total variance of 72.28%. Though, the second factor, brand design, was neglected for further analyses because it did not relate to the concept of the sustainable image of the fashion brand. The nine items finally used to measure the “sustainable corporate image” were found internally reliable (Cronbach’s α = .95).

Corporate credibility.

The dependent variable corporate credibility was measured with seven items on a sev-en-point Likert-scale (1 – strongly disagree; 7 – strongly agree), adopted by several authors (Hur et al., 2014; Fombrun et al., 2000; Kim et al., 2014) and adjusted in terms of wording. The wording was adjusted to more hypothetical statements. Many scales examine the credi-bility of well established companies. Since the brand used in this study was invented, the statements used hypothetical wording such as “seems believable” instead of “is believable.”

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21 The principal axis factoring analysis using oblimin rotation revealed one factor. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure adequacy was .927 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity significant (χ2 (21) = 1086.494, p < .001). The factor explained 71.55% of the total variance and had an eigen-value of 5.01. Factor loadings ranged from .748 and .868. Cronbach’s reliability was deemed satisfactory (α = .93). Thus, internal reliability could be assumed.

Results

Before analysing, data were filtered to only include the responses of respondents who answered both manipulation checks correctly, yielding in 208 valid cases for the analyses. The results will be presented in two parts: firstly, the relation of SMI image and the corporate image are displayed, including the interaction effect with the moderator brand-influencer fit. Secondly, results concerning the relation between SMI credibility and the corporate credibil-ity are presented, including the moderation effect of brand-influencer fit.

Predictions of SMI Image and Brand-Influencer Fit on the Corporate Image

A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to assess the impact of the SMI image on the corporate image in conjunction with the effect of brand-influencer fit to answer hypotheses one and three. For this, the binary variable SMI image was used as predic-tor variable for the continuous dependent variable corporate image. The categorical variable brand-influencer fit was utilised as moderator in the analysis.

The precondition for ANOVA was met, the assumptions of equal variances in the population have not been violated, Levene’s F (3, 204) = 0.741, p > .05. Results of the two-way ANOVA revealed that respondents exposed to the “no match condition” of the regular SMI image and the sustainable brand rated the corporate image of the fashion brand as more sustainable (M = 4.83, SD = 0.79) than those in the “regular match” condition (M = 4.14, SD

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22 = 1.04), whereas those exposed to the “no match condition” of the sustainable SMI and the

regular brand description rated the corporate image slightly less sustainable (M = 4.47, SD =

1.05) than those in the “sustainable match” condition (M = 4.79, SD = 1.06).

Yet, neither the SMI image F (1, 204) = 1.23, p > .05 nor the brand-influencer fit F (1, 204) = 1.69, p > .05 showed significant results, rejecting hypothesis one. However, a weak significant interaction effect could be examined for the brand-influencer fit, F (1, 204) = 13.49, p < .001. Nevertheless, the interaction plot (see Figure 2) and the mean values of the corporate image ratings presented above indicate that even if a match is present (sustainable SMI image and sustainable brand description or regular SMI image and regular brand de-scription), the corporate image ratings are higher (more sustainable) for each of the experi-mental condition including the sustainable brand description.

Therefore, it should be assumed that the interaction effect is not caused by the brand-influencer fit but by the brand description, since the variable brand-brand-influencer fit is composed of the SMI image aligning with the brand description. Thus, independent-samples t-tests were conducted for the SMI image, the brand-influencer fit, and the brand description, to check this assumption. No significant effects were found for the SMI image t(206) = -.059, p > .05 and the brand-influencer fit t(206) = 1.24, p > .05, supporting the preceding findings.

Though, a significant result was revealed for the brand description, t(206) = -3.56, p < .001. Thus, the brand description significantly predicts the corporate image ratings. Among the two brand conditions (regular vs. sustainable brand description), respondents exposed to the sus-tainable brand description rated the corporate image significantly higher (M = 4.81, SD = 0.91) – respectively the fashion brand as more sustainable – than those exposed to the regular brand description (M = 4.33, SD = 1.05), no matter to which SMI image respondents were exposed. This was further confirmed by an additional two-way ANOVA examining the SMI

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23 image and the brand description as predictor variables. The brand description significantly predicts the corporate image, F (1, 204) = 13.49, p < .001. Therefore, hypothesis three had to be rejected.

Predictions of SMI Credibility and Brand-Influencer Fit on Corporate Credibility

Hypothesis two and four, expecting the SMI’s credibility being transferred to the brand’s credibility influenced by the brand-influencer fit, were tested with linear regression using Model 1 of the SPSS macro PROCESS v3.0. For the analysis, the continuous variable SMI credibility was utilised as predictor variable for the independent variable corporate cred-ibility. The categorical variable brand-influencer fit was deployed as the moderator.

The regression model with the corporate credibility of the fashion brand as dependent variable and the credibility of the SMI as independent variable, and SMI credibility * brand-influencer fit as interaction variable is significant, F (3, 204) = 32.99, p < .001. Therefore, the regression model can be used to predict the corporate credibility. However, the strength of moderation is moderate: 32.7% of the variation of the fashion brand’s credibility can be

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pre-24 dicted based on the SMI credibility and SMI credibility * brand-influencer fit (R2 = .32). Hy-pothesis two assumed the more credible the sustainable SMI would be perceived, the higher would be the corporate credibility ratings. Indeed, SMI credibility b* = 0.61, t(204) = 7.71, p < .001, 95% CI [0.45, 0.76] had a statistical significant association with the corporate credi-bility. Thus, a main effect was found of the SMI credibility predicting the perception of the corporate credibility. Though no differences for the SMI credibility predicting the corporate credibility were found among the sustainable SMI b* = -0.86, t(202) = -1.11, p > .05, 95% CI [-2.38, 0.67], and the regular SMI b* = -0.58, t(202) = -0.98, p > .05, 95% CI [-1.74, 0.59]. Thus, hypothesis two had to be rejected.

Hypothesis four proposed the relation of the SMI credibility predicting the corporate credibility would be moderated if there was a fit between the SMI and the brand. The linear regression did not find a statistical significant interaction effect of SMI credibility * brand-influencer fit on the corporate credibility, b* = -0.08, t(204) = -0.69, p > .05, 95% CI [-0.31, 0.15] and did not vary among the credibility of the sustainable SMI b* = 0.18, t(202) = 1.01,

p > .05, 95% CI 0.17, 0.52] and regular SMI b* = 0.15, t(202) = 1.05, p > .05, 95% CI

[-0.13, 0.42]. Thus, the congruence of SMI and brand did not predict the corporate credibility, rejecting hypothesis four.

Discussion and Conclusion

The objective of this study was to find out if the image and the credibility of an influ-encer predict or can be transferred to the corporate image and corporate credibility of sustain-able fashion brands under the influence of the brand-influencer fit. The answers were as-sessed in theory first and then examined in an online-embedded experiment comparing a sus-tainable and a regular fashion influencer collaborating with a sussus-tainable and regular fashion brand.

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25

SMI Image and Corporate Image

The first research question was about the relation between SMI image and corporate image and the impact of the brand-influencer fit on this relation. Based on the conducted analyses, the first hypothesis had to be rejected supposing the sustainable SMI image would be predict the sustainable corporate image. Contradicting to previous findings, the SMI image did not predict the corporate image. The meaning transfer model, therefore, could not be ap-plied to this relation.

Explanations for these results could be the sample. In general, convenience samples inhere some weaknesses: the representativeness of the results must be questioned, and the self-selection biases may affect the results (Lavrakas, 2008). Moreover, the cultural composi-tion of the sample by Kim et al. (2014) differed to this sample. The authors found an associa-tion between endorser characteristics and the corporate image in a Japanese sample. There-fore, cultural differences might explain the direct effect of endorser characteristics predicting the corporate image, specifically, since culture plays a central role for the meaning transfer since meanings are cultural assets (McCracken, 1989). In the sample of this study, several nations were represented, probably leading to various cultural effects.

Moreover, one should differentiate this study’s stimuli and celebrity endorser studies: endorser studies engage celebrities people are familiar with, and therefore associate charac-teristics, values, and personalities with those celebrities. In this study, the presented SMI was invented – on the one hand, reducing the variation in respondents’ knowledge about the SMI and thereby strengthening the statistical power of the analysis (Till & Busler, 1998) – on the other, inhibiting associations with the SMI which might have generated the hypothesised ef-fects. Additionally, the only characteristics respondents learned about the SMI in this study were conveyed by short description and a screenshot of the Instagram profile. However,

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26 providing information the way it was done in this study seems rather superficial, compared to what followers learn about real influencers and the para-social relationships they build (Hsu et al., 2013). Hence, a limitation of the experiment is the extent of information about the SMI provided.

Moreover, the study by Kim et al. (2014) examined the image transfer in the context of tourism and hotel advertising. The direct effect might also have failed because of the con-text of this study: (sustainable) fashion differs a lot from tourism. Fashion is considered a major issue to people because it makes a huge part of their lives; fashion is not only uniquely related to their bodies and life experiences (Woodward, 2007) but also expresses social status and a personal identity (Bly, Gwozdz, & Reisch, 2015). Therefore, it can be expected that fashion is perceived differently to tourism. Hence, contextual effects cannot be precluded.

Furthermore, the authors operationalised the endorsers’ characteristics by the concepts of trustworthiness, attractiveness, and expertise, which are far too limited to express a per-son’s characteristics. Respondents might have further associations with the celebrity which are neglected using those scales. Moreover, when employing these scales, respondents’ per-ception of the celebrity determines the corporate image but not what the celebrity stands for. Nevertheless, individual perception of a celebrity or SMI might anyway be stronger than the actual personality since perception is highly subjective and determined by our knowledge, and experiences (Cohen, 1989).

Additionally, the brand-influencer fit had no impact on the relation between the SMI image and the corporate image, rejecting hypothesis three. This result is not in line with pre-vious research, and the match-up hypothesis did work out for this study. Reasons for not find-ing any effects could be based on the dependent variables previous studies examined com-pared to this study: the corporate image differs from purchase intentions, attitudes toward the endorsement, and brand recall (Kahle & Homer, 1985; Misra & Beatty, 1990; Till & Busler,

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27 1998; Thomas & Johnson, 2017) because it asks for the immediate perception of the corpora-tion at a time. Given that respondents did only learn little about the brand during the experi-ment, the brand-influencer fit might not have any impact because the respondents lacked as-sociations with the brand. Though, immediate asas-sociations or impressions required to form the corporate image, are not required for memorising a brand or having the intention to buy a product. Further information such as the brand’s logo or corporate colours might have been helpful to convey information what the brand stands for.

Moreover, different findings could be due to using two different products (pen vs. running shoes) to manipulate a celebrity-product match (Till & Busler, 1998) instead of ma-nipulating the match between SMI and brand. The visual cue of different products (pen vs. shoes) might be grasped more easily by respondents than two paragraphs describing the SMI and the brand and creating a match that way, specifically regarding attention spans of re-spondents. Possibly, respondents perceived the SMI and the brand as congruent anyway be-cause a fashion brand was engaging a fashion influencer, regardless of sustainable or conven-tional business practices.

Though, the results revealed another predictor of the corporate image, namely the brand description. Respondents exposed to the sustainable brand description rated the corpo-rate image of the fashion brand significantly more sustainable than those exposed to the sus-tainable SMI, even when respondents were exposed to the regular SMI. These findings imply that the information about the brand weigh more for the brand perception than the SMI pre-senting the clothes. This finding could be caused by the fact that the only information partici-pants received about the brand was the description since the brand was invented, meaning, respondents could not have any associations with the brand, and had to rely on the given in-formation. Nevertheless, providing information about the sustainable business practices

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obvi-28 ously leads participants to perceiving the brand as more sustainable and ethical, which is an important discovery.

Based on those findings, answering the first research question is that neither the image of the influencer, nor the brand-influencer fit play a crucial role predicting the corporate im-age, but the brand description does predicting the corporate image.

SMI Credibility and Corporate Credibility

Research question two asked how the credibility of the SMI would predict the corpo-rate credibility and which role the brand-influencer fit played for this relation. In line previ-ous research (Wang et al., 2017), the meaning transfer model could be applied to the direct relation between SMI credibility and corporate credibility tested by hypothesis two. As pro-posed, the SMI credibility significantly predicted the corporate credibility, however, no dif-ferences were observed between the sustainable and regular SMI image. Therefore, the sec-ond hypothesis had to be rejected. Still, this is an important implication for practitioners, spe-cifically for sustainable fashion brands to overcome the mistrust consumers have and ap-proves the importance of source credibility in meaning transfer (Hovland & Weiss, 1951). Though, it might be difficult to identify trustworthy influencers. Indicators such as the num-ber of followers does not say anything about the SMI’s credibility. Followers might solely enjoy being entertained by the posts, but do not necessarily trust the SMI. Therefore, the company should carefully analyse what kind of messages the SMI sends and then decide if he or she can be considered as credible. Moreover, in this study, influencer credibility was not manipulated but determined by respondents’ perception of how credible the influencer seemed emphasising the relevance of individual perception.

Furthermore, contradicting to prior research, the brand-influencer fit had no impact on the relation between SMI credibility and corporate credibility in this study, rejecting

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hypothe-29 sis four. According to the findings of this study, the congruence does not play a role predict-ing the credibility transfer from the influencer to the corporation. An explanation could be that the SMI was invented (thus not famous), comparable to findings of an earlier research: Kamins and Gupta (1994) compared non-celebrities and celebrities in their celebrity en-dorsement study and found the match-up hypothesis approved only for the celebrity condi-tion. They explained such results by familiarity interacting with the congruence: familiarity seems to trigger the internalisation process of social influence, and, as participants cannot be familiar with non-celebrities (or invented SMIs), familiarity and congruence could not inter-act. Their assumption was furthermore supported by McCracken’s (1989) explanation: celeb-rities evoke the intrinsic meanings more vividly than non-celebceleb-rities. These reasons may ex-plain why the brand-influencer fit did not affect the credibility transfer to the brand in this study. This once again emphasises that real SMIs should be used in studies hereafter.

Further reasons for these contradicting findings could be the sample; Kamins and Gupta (1994) conducted their study among 96 undergraduate students, whereas this sample consisted of respondents with various educational backgrounds, ages and was more than twice as big (N = 208) which might have affected their perception of congruence.

Moreover, the different findings could be explained by the products endorsed: (sus-tainable) fashion evokes other emotions and associations than computers and running shoes (Kamins & Gupta, 1994), or the airline sector (Wang et al., 2017) because the products are used for different reasons by consumers, and probably associations with these products affect the perception of the brand-influencer fit. Kamins and Gupta (1994) and Wang et al. (2017) utilised celebrities respondents were familiar with, whereas the SMI was invented and there-fore could not be familiar. As outlined above, associations could not be made based on the fame, which might have affected the respondents, too.

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30 Grounded on the results of this study, answer to research question two is that brand-influencer fit does not play a role for transferring the credibility from the brand-influencer to the corporation, though, the SMI credibility did.

Future Research

Future research using invented influencers might include more information about the SMI to convey more information about the image (i.e. create Instagram stories) to come clos-er to the knowledge followclos-ers have about the influencclos-er. Altclos-ernatively, real influencclos-ers could be deployed in experiments to benefit from the SMI’s fame, just like celebrity endorsement studies benefit from celebrities. However, if it is a real influencer, and some people do not know this person, it can be assumed that the image of the SMI probably will not be trans-ferred to the corporate image similar to the present findings. Another idea for future studies could be to compare an invented SMI, a real SMI, and a celebrity to see if the associations carried by the celebrity and the real SMI affect the perception as assumed.

However, not only the predicting factor – the SMI – might be altered in future exper-iments, but also the outcome factor (the brand), specifically as the results revealed that the brand description significantly predicted the corporate image. Moreover, it was found not only the celebrity endorser’s associations are transferred to the brand, but also the brand’s associations are transferred to the SMI (Halonen‐Knight & Hurmerinta, 2010). Since estab-lished brands (such as H&M or Chanel) evoke associations, those associations probably im-pact the corporate image and the corporate credibility. Though, the existing associations with the brand might superimpose the effects a SMI might cause. Therefore, future experiments might want to compare established with unknown brands in relation to celebrities, real, and invented SMIs.

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31

Practical Implications

Even though the hypotheses were predominantly rejected, the results may have practi-cal importance for sustainable fashion brands’ PR through IM. The corporate image as build-ing block of the corporate identity should not be neglected by marketers and can be guided by using SMIs on Instagram. Moreover, green consumption is becoming increasingly main-stream. Thus, this is the time for sustainable brands to reach out to their (potential) consumers (Ottman, 2011), further supported by consumer demands nowadays: many people no longer buy the best priced products, but they want to purchase values when they buy (Ottman, 2011). Moreover, the reputation and identity of companies count more than ever, because consumers request information about the product’s origin and production – mirrored in the findings of this study that the brand description is determining the corporate image.

Particularly, the impact of the brand description on the corporate image emphasises that sustainable fashion brands should urgently communicate their business concept to be recognised as sustainable, environmentally friendly, fair, and available in the market place. Especially companies less established can benefit from this discovery and should provide appropriate information about their sustainable business model. That way, potential custom-ers can learn about the brands’ sustainable identity. Even though SMIs do not help predicting the desired corporate image, they might help providing business information through collabo-rations.

Hence, IM might be an effective tool to reach out to consumers with limited attention spans: it might be useful to deploy SMIs for transmitting explicit information about the fash-ion brand, particularly since green consumers are highly influenced by trusted third-parties (Ottman, 2011). Credibility demonstrates an important goal for sustainable fashion brands and can be reached through IM, as demonstrated by this study. Based on these findings, PR

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32 goals and credibility can be achieved at the same time by collaborating with an influencer perceived as credible.

Another argument for sustainable fashion brands to deploy IM on Instagram are the users and consumers themselves (Ottman, 2011): the greenest generations, generations Y and Z, are also those generations mainly represented on Instagram (Statista, 2018). Most of them are in contact with influencers daily, and thus can learn about the brands, and in addition, represent the future consumers of the next decades to come.

Proceeding from the findings of this study, IM can be an effective tool controlling the corporate image when providing sufficient information on the brand and increasing the cor-porate credibility. Therefore, presumed a sophisticated strategy, IM can be very helpful to popularise not only sustainable fashion brands, but also the values of environmentalism and fairness underlying their business concept.

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