Source credibility of beauty vloggers and consumer purchases of vegan cosmetics: The mediating role of cognitive and affective attitude

Abstract

Vegan cosmetics have become more popular among consumers due to increased environmental awareness and health consciousness after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate the influence of beauty vloggers’ credibility on consumers’ purchase intention toward vegan cosmetics. An integrated research model was built based on the source credibility and stimulus-organism-response theory. Data were collected from a questionnaire survey with 382 Vietnamese consumers at the minimum age of 18 who had experience watching beauty vloggers reviewing vegan cosmetics on YouTube. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the collected data. The results show that the beauty vloggers’ expertise, trustworthiness, and physical attractiveness all positively impact cognitive and affective attitudes, influencing consumers’ purchase intention. Furthermore, these factors positively impact consumers’ intention to purchase vegan cosmetics. Therefore, cognitive and affective attitudes partially mediate the relationship between the beauty vloggers’ credibility and consumers’ purchase intentions. Given that the direct and indirect effects point in the same direction, these mediators are classified as complementary. This study contributes to deeper understanding of consumers’ intention to purchase vegan cosmetics recommended by beauty vloggers. Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) and the International School, Vietnam National University (VNU), Hanoi, Vietnam, for providing research assistance.