The effect of social experience and content quality on the use of celebrity endorsement strategy in the social commerce context: a case study of Indonesia

Purpose This study aims to provide a comprehensive theoretical model based on stimulus-organismresponse, social impact, and signaling theory to examine the factors influencing the successful application of the celebrity endorsement strategy in social commerce (SC). Three aspects involved in the model include social experience, content quality and endorser credibility, which have yet to be comprehensively compared in previous studies. The process, therefore, involved thoroughly examining the social and quality factors associated with endorser quality, leading to brand image. Design/methodology/approach In total, 340 pieces of valid feedback from Indonesian respondents were used to validate the proposed model using structural equation modeling analysis. The model includes endorser expertise, attractiveness, brand credibility, content quality, parasocial interaction and herd behavior. Findings The study showed how parasocial interaction, herd behavior and content quality in SC platforms affect the credibility of endorsers, affecting brand credibility and leading to customer purchase intention. Originality/value This study explains how social experience and content quality affect endorsers’ credibility, leading to the brand’s credibility, which affects consumer purchase decisions in the SC context. It was discovered that most of the prior related studies focused on celebrity and brand credibility without adequate attention to other constructs existing in SC, such as social interaction and content quality. It also contributes to the practical aspect by proposing managerial action based on direct and indirect effect analysis, which is not comprehensively indicated in previous related studies.