How Can the Celebrity Endorsement Effect Help Consumer Engagement? A Case of Promoting Tourism Products through Live Streaming

TLDR

Although much research has examined celebrity endorsements in advertising, few studies have applied the concept to tourism, leaving a gap in understanding consumer behavior in that field. The study aimed to test whether celebrities’ expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness serve as antecedents of consumer trust and engagement within the tourism and hospitality context. Using an online questionnaire, 406 valid responses were analyzed to assess these relationships. Results showed that celebrity expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness positively influence consumer trust dimensions (ability, benevolence, integrity), which in turn predict engagement dimensions (cognitive processing, affection, activation), with trust mediating the link and yielding a positive indirect effect of celebrity endorsement on consumer engagement in the OTA platform.

Abstract

Although much research has been devoted to the study of the impact of celebrity endorsements on the effectiveness of advertising in the literature on consumer behavior, few scholars pay attention to applying this concept to explain consumer behavior in the tourism field. This research tested celebrities’ expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness as the antecedents of consumer trust and engagement in the tourism and hospitality context. Specifically, through the analysis of 406 valid responses collected by online questionnaire, this study makes the following conclusions. First, it provides a new perspective on the influence of celebrity effects by focusing on the live-streaming behavior of CEOs on China’s largest online travel agency (OTA) platform. Secondly, it confirms that the three dimensions of the celebrity effect (expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness) positively affect the three dimensions of consumer trust (ability, benevolence, and integrity). At the same time, consumer trust can also predict the three dimensions of consumer engagement (cognitive processing, affection, and activation). In addition, the three dimensions of consumer trust also play a positive mediating role between the relationship of celebrity effects and consumer engagement. That is, the celebrity effects have a positive and indirect influence on consumer engagement. Therefore, by suggesting that celebrity endorsements can create consumer trust and engagement in the OTA platform, this research expands the research framework of celebrity endorsement credibility theory.