Investigating the Role of Instagram Bloggers on the Intention to Buy Sports Products with the Mediation of a Brand Attitude

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Master of Sports Management, Shomal University, Amol, Iran.

2 Assistant professor, University of Art, Tehran, Iran.

3 Ph.D. student in Sports Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the role of Instagram bloggers in influencing the intention to purchase sports products, with the mediating effect of attitude towards the brand. This research is of a descriptive-correlational nature in terms of both its practical objective and method. The statistical population of the study consisted of all Instagram users who had purchased sports products through this platform. Due to the limited statistical population, the sample was selected through convenience sampling, comprising 221 individuals. The research tools used in this study included a researcher-made questionnaire on the role of Instagram bloggers, the standard intention to purchase questionnaire by Naito and Kim (2006), and the standard attitude towards the brand questionnaire by Crystalis and Cherischo (2013). The face and content validity of the questionnaires were confirmed by 10 marketing and sports management experts, and the reliability of the three questionnaires was reported as 0.85, 0.86, and 0.88 respectively, based on Cronbach's alpha. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as Smirnov-Kolmogorov test, Spearman's correlation coefficient, stepwise regression analysis, and Sobel test were used for data analysis in the SPSS software version 25. The findings of the study indicated that the role of Instagram bloggers significantly influences the intention to purchase sports products. Specifically, there was a positive and significant relationship between the bloggers' expertise and purchase intention by 17%, the bloggers' likable personality and purchase intention by 22%, the trustworthiness of the blogger and purchase intention by 40%, the social attractiveness of the blogger and purchase intention by 57%, and finally, the blogger's personality style and purchase intention by 51%. Therefore, the attention to these factors by sports bloggers can have a positive impact on the minds of sports consumers who follow them. Furthermore, the results showed that the role of Instagram bloggers, with the mediating effect of attitude towards the brand, can significantly affect the intention to purchase sports products. As a result, organizations, companies, and sports producers can utilize popular domestic and international Instagram bloggers, considering the bloggers' characteristics and the public's mindset about them, to promote and sell their sports products for the advancement of their organizational goals.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 07 November 2021
  • Revise Date: 22 January 2022
  • Accept Date: 07 May 2022

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