Beyond likes and follows: how social media influencers’ community orchestrate customer engagement behavior through perceived interactivity and digital rituals

Purpose Drawing upon social exchange theory, this study aims to examine how social media influencers’ community drives customer engagement behavior through perceived interactivity in the presence of digital rituals in an emerging market. Design/methodology/approach A field survey questionnaire was used to gather data from 320 automobile customers, employing purposive non-probability sampling technique. The data was analyzed using SPSS PROCESS macro and Smart PLS 4.1.1.6. Findings Results show that influencers’ community boosts engagement, with perceived interactivity playing a key role. Digital rituals moderate the link between interactivity and engagement. Notably, the mediating effect of interactivity is stronger when digital rituals are low, suggesting that high digital ritual presence diminishes the indirect impact of influencers’ community on customer engagement behavior. Originality/value The study has contributed contextually by collecting a unique dataset from automotive customers in an emerging market. Theoretically, the model has been conceptualized through the social exchange theory by recommending perceived interactivity as a mediator and digital rituals as a moderator.