Literature Review

According to Ravhuhali et al. (2020), entertainers significantly influence consumer
socialization, a practice by which youths acquire abilities and attitudes that help them make
better decisions as consumers. Consumer socialization primarily stresses the bases of influence
that help transmit standards, inspirations, and behaviors to an individual. Notably, socialization
agents, such as mass media and television viewing, significantly affect the consumption
decisions of athletes and employees. A current study investigating the impact of role models on
the self-perceptions of youths revealed that entertainers often act as role models to young
athletes, who are motivated to adopt their lifestyle patterns (Kaser & Oelkers, 2021). Numerous
behavioral intentions that athletes may exhibit, primarily because of the ideas they obtain from
entertainers, exist today. It is worth noting that entertainers may influence the view of athletes on
certain brands by explaining their benefits, which may make customers switch from one brand to
another. Additionally, athletes tend to listen to credible entertainers because they believe they are
always right (Malik et al., 2018). According to the source credibility model, consumers are often
influenced when they trust the entertainer who relays the information about a particular brand,
resulting in positive attitudes and more behavioral compliance.
According to Johansson and Bozan (2017), entertainers often affect how consumers view
products because of their significant influence on their purchase intention. Notably, trustworthy
entertainers positively impact young athletes’ brand selection, especially as the athletes view
them as role models. Young athletes often develop a positive attitude toward trustworthy
entertainers because they trust the information relayed to them. Remarkably, the perceived
entertainer motive significantly affects celebrity endorsement (Johansson & Bozan, 2017). When
consumers think that the motives of the entertainer are negative, they will refrain from the brand

they are advertising. It is vital to acknowledge that negative brand evaluations by entertainers
may occur when the entertainer is only doing the endorsement for money and not because he
likes the product.
Additionally, consumers, especially young athletes and employees tend to purchase
products endorsed by attractive entertainers (Liu et al., 2020). It is worth noting that the
attractiveness of an entertainer is integral in the endorsement process of a product, especially for
young athletes. Most young athletes view attractive entertainers as role models, and they
embrace the information such entertainers share with them, including the benefits of using
specific products. Research has shown that celebrity expertise is integral to consumer purchase
intentions. According to Priyankara et al. (2017), the entertainer’s expertise in advertising is
crucial to consumer purchasing behavior. The entertainer is an expert in the area, but the fact that
the consumers think and believe that he has expertise makes them want to follow their ideas
(Priyankara et al., 2017). Young athletes and employees who believe in the expertise of an
entertainer are likely to purchase products that the individual often advertises because they think
they are of the best quality.

Research Question

1. What is the effect of entertainers on the behaviors of athletes and employees regarding
   brand selection?

Theoretical Framework

Numerous variables can help understand the topic. One of the categories of the variables
used in research is dependent variables. Categorically, complaining behavior is one of the
dependent variables. In the case where the entertainer complains about particular products,
athletes and employees can be influenced to switch to other products and complain to external

agencies about the problems they experience with the services of a company (Ravhuhali et al.,
2020). Additionally, brand loyalty is the other dependent variable, significantly influenced by
entertainers. It is vital to acknowledge that entertainment can affect consumer socialization,
making employees and athletes develop positive attitudes toward specific products even if the
prices increase. The other category of variables is independent variables, which mainly address
the credibility of the entertainer. Notably, the independent variables included expertise,
attractiveness, and trustworthiness.
Operationalization of variables in research is crucial because it helps define variables into
measurable factors. It is vital to acknowledge that the operationalization of variables helps set
down exact definitions of each variable, thus increasing the quality of the results and improving
the robustness of the design (Mochon & Schwartz, 2020). Notably, the variables in the research
question can be operationalized using numerous techniques. Regarding dependent variables,
entertainer influence was operationalized using the Rich role model scale. It is worth noting that
the scale asks how the favorite model of an athlete influences his behavior in general.
Specifically, the Rich role model scale determines the level of agreement of the athlete to the
statements made by the entertainer. Also, the intentions and behaviors of athletes were measured
with a purchase intention scale, which is a 12-item scale (Singh & Banerjee, 2018). Notably, the
scale is anchored on a 7-point strongly disagree to agree on continuum strongly. The independent
variables were operationalized with the use of a source credibility scale.

Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1: The greater the credibility of the entertainer, the greater the influence in endorsing
brands for athletes and employees.
Hypothesis 2: The entertainer’s influence is positively related to brand loyalty.

References

Johansson, M., & Bozan, Ö. (2017). How does celebrity endorsement affect consumers’ perception on
brand image and purchase intention?.
Kaser, K., & Oelkers, D. B. (2021). Sports and entertainment marketing. Cengage Learning.
Liu, C., Zhang, Y., & Zhang, J. (2020). The impact of self-congruity and virtual interactivity on online
celebrity brand equity and fans’ purchase intention. Journal of Product & Brand Management.
Malik, A., Sudhakar, B. D., & Dutta, D. S. (2018). Management-based factors of sports celebrity
endorsement and effect on brand image. IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, 7(1),
75-87.
Mochon, D., & Schwartz, J. (2020). The importance of construct validity in consumer research. Journal
of Consumer Psychology, 30(1), 208-214.
Priyankara, R., Weerasiri, S., Dissanayaka, R., & Jinadasa, M. (2017). Celebrity endorsement and
consumer buying intention with relation to the television advertisement for perfumes.
Management Studies, 5(2), 128-148.
Ravhuhali, F., Netshirembe, I., Nendauni, L., Lavhelani, P. N., & Mboweni, H. F. (2020). The
pervasiveness of materialism sensation and its effects on youth behaviour in a small
comprehensive South African University. Gender & Behaviour, 18(2), 15282-15292.
Singh, R. P., & Banerjee, N. (2018). Exploring the influence of celebrity credibility on brand attitude,
advertisement attitude and purchase intention. Global Business Review, 19(6), 1622-1639.