The Effect of Celebrity Firms on Customer Commitment in E-Commerce Setting: the Mediating Roles of Trust and Identification.

Abstract

This study intends to investigate the mediating effects of trust and identification on the impact of celebrity firm on customer commitment in an e-commerce context. Two hundred and forty three (243) useable questionnaires out of 450 were used to collect data for the study from respondents who shop on any of the platforms on Alibaba.com in China. SEM was used to analyse the data with support of SmartPls3 software. The finding shows that the relationship between celebrity firm and commitment is significant. Again, the relationships between celebrity firm and the two mediators (trust and identification) are significant, whereas the relationships between the two mediators (trust and identification) with commitment are also significant. The highlight of the research is the direct and significant relationship celebrity firm as a “social approval asset” have on customer commitment. This, therefore, shows that apart from the individual celebrities influence on customers of firms in making choices, celebrity firms also influence customers’ commitment towards their products or services.

Keywords: Celebrity firm, Trust, Identification, Commitment, Structural equation modelling

Paper type: Research paper

DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-8-12

Publication date: April 30^th 2020