How KOLs influence consumer purchase intention in short video platforms: Mediating effects of emotional response and virtual touch

In recent years, Key Opinion Leader (KOL) marketing opens up a new mode of social commerce by effectively integrating social networking and marketing since it has been successfully taking advantage of KOL’s high popularity to promote products. This study expands the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model by combining the communication persuasion theory with the flow experience theory. Our model considers the characteristics of KOLs and published content features as independent variables, consumer perception as the mediating variable and consumer purchase intention as the dependent variable. This study also refines the measurement dimensions of each variable and analyzes KOL impacts on consumer purchase intention on short video platforms. After analyzing 357 valid questionnaires, we find that the variables –reputation, perceived fit, aesthetic quality and content richness have significant impacts on consumer purchase intention where virtual touch and emotional response play intermediary roles. This study provides insights into KOL marketing.