Impact of social media influencers’ endorsement on application adoption: A trust transfer perspective

Abstract

Social media influencers have become an important marketing tool for providers of computer applications (apps). We investigated from a trust transfer perspective how the endorsement of a social media influencer (SMI) can improve consumers’ app adoption intention, within the framework of the technology acceptance model. Using structural equation modeling, we demonstrated that consumers’ trust in an SMI had a direct influence on their trust in an app. Moreover, the endorsement of an SMI increased consumers’ trust in the app through the perceived usefulness (but not the ease of use) of the app. Our results also showed that structural assurance, download volume, and online ratings were positively correlated with consumers’ trust in the app. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.