INVESTIGATING THE SOURCE ATTRIBUTES INFLUENCING CONSUMERS’ CREDIBILITY EVALUATIONS OF AN ATHLETE-CELEBRITY ENDORSED PRODUCT

Year 2017, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 1 - 16, 01.06.2017

Bafokeng Bafokeng Mahao Nobukhosi Dlodlo

Abstract

The use of celebrity endorsement as an advertising strategy has been widely
embraced by numerous organisations. Nonetheless, scholarly wisdom suggests the
need for cumulative research that seeks to identify the unique set of source factors
that enhance the credibility of advertising communication messages delivered by
celebrities across countries. In this vein, the primary purpose of this research was
to apply the dimensions of the source attributes theory (Ohanian, 1990) to
understand the underlying factors that influence South African consumers to have
positive perceptions towards purchasing a product that has been endorsed by a
local athlete celebrity-endorser. A quantitative research approach was applied,
wherein a self-administered survey questionnaire comprising 20 scale items was
adapted for this research. Data were collected from a consumer sample of 456
consumers based in Gauteng, South Africa. Upon applying exploratory factor
analysis and mean score rankings, source likeability, source trust, source authority
and source credibility were established as the underlying factors influencing
consumers’ credibility evaluations, in descending order of importance. Moreover,
the inter-factor correlation matrix revealed positive relationships among the
identified factors. Insights gained from this study could assist practitioners to
design effective advertisement strategies that foster positive credibility evaluations
through known product endorsers.

Keywords

likeability, trust, authority, credibility, athlete celebrityendorser