Literature review BMAN70172 - University of Manchester

This literature review discusses the impact of celebrity endorsements on brand loyalty, especially in the luxury fashion sector. The review highlights that celebrity endorsements are expensive but can have a positive impact on the financial returns of businesses. It explains the meaning of celebrity endorsement and brand loyalty and analyzes previous works to develop hypotheses and conceptual frameworks. The review also points out the risks associated with celebrity endorsements, such as negative information about endorsers affecting the image of the celebrities and damaging consumers' perceptions of the brands they endorse. Overall, the review emphasizes the importance of an appropriate match between celebrities and brands for effective celebrity endorsements.

Chapter 2 Literature review
2.1 Introduction
Celebrity endorsement is an expensive form of marketing, and success is critical for
businesses to get from this type of marketing (Baniya, 2017). Celebrities are highly
valuable to brands, especially in the luxury fashion sector (Okonkwo, 2007). Studies
have found that celebrity endorsements have a positive impact on the financial returns
of businesses (Chung et al., 2013; Elberse and Verleun, 2012). Several scholars
regarded popular endorsements to be persuader because they employ their unique and
trustworthy reputation to convince customers to purchase the product that has been
endorsed by the celebrity (Gouranga and Brajesh, 2011 cited in Khan et al., 2019). In
addition, some researchers have found that consumers pay more attention to such
advertisements because of the attractiveness and credibility of celebrities, which results
in positive attitudes and purchase intentions towards the brand (Hung, 2014; Farrell et.
al., 2000). This study aims to investigate female fans’ loyalty toward the luxury brand in
Asia in the context of celebrity endorsements and how celebrity endorsement elements
impact fans’ loyalty. By analysing the pervious works, this study identifies there is a
sample gap between this research and pervious works.
The purpose of this chapter is to understand the meaning of celebrity endorsement and
brand loyalty. Celebrity endorsement’s Impacts on brand loyalty and how different
author interpret different celebrity endorsements attributes. The beginning of literature
review provides a background for celebrity endorsement. Then this research will
analyse previous works to develop hypotheses and conceptual frameworks, last to
explain a theory for this study as a theorical base.
2.2 Celebrity endorsement
According to Speck et. al. (1988), a celebrity is defined as a person who has gained
widespread social recognition as a result of their achievements in specific fields. The
term is often denoted as a person with fame and fortune implied with great popular

appeal, prominence in a particular field, and is easily recognized by the general public
(Zipporach and Mberia, 2014). In other words, the term celebrity is associated with the
people who are often in the public sight and who usually have high visibility in industries
such as sports and entertainment (Canning and West, 2006; Zipporach and Mberia,
2014). They are used to support services, products, ideas, or organizations (Canning
and West, 2006).
A celebrity endorsement is when a person is popular in the society and then uses that
popularity to benefit a brand by appearing in advertising programmes with the brand
(Parwati et al., 2021). Endorsement is a communication channel in which celebrities act
as spokespeople of a brand and they justify the brand's proposition and position by
expanding their popularity and personality (Kotler, 2008). Brands through celebrity
endorsement not only communicate with customers but also build brand image to
customers because brands communicate ideas and propositions to customers through
endorsers. Marketers invest heavily in associating products with famous celebrities
because they want to draw customers’ attention to the brands and want to influence
consumers in a positive way (Mittal, 2021). In addition, celebrity endorsements affect
advertising effectiveness, brand recognition, brand recall, purchase intent, and even
consumer purchase behaviour (Hollensen and Schimmelpfennig, 2013; Spry et al.,
2011). Therefore, companies spend a lot of money every year to hire celebrities to
promote their brands (Lee and Thorson, 2008), in order to influence consumers'
perceptions, attitudes and purchase intentions.
Celebrity endorsement can be beneficial for brands, but it also carries some risks
because it is expensive. In non-celebrity endorsed advertisements, consumers pay
more attention to the brand and product features, while in celebrity endorsed
advertisements, consumers pay more attention to the celebrity and their public image
(Mittal, 2021). The image of celebrities is an important consideration for marketers.
Negative information about endorsers not only affects the image of the celebrities but
also damages consumers' perceptions of the brands they endorse (Till and Shimp,
1998). Ccarrillat et al. (2013) also pointed out that there must be an appropriate match

between the personality of the brand and the endorser, otherwise using celebrities as a
marketing strategy may be counterproductive.
Overall, Considering the advantages and potential risks of celebrity endorsement, the
selection of celebrity endorsers appears to be important. Researchers concluded that
attractiveness, credibility, and celebrity brand match up are the three components of a
successful celebrity endorsement (Baniya, 2017; Parwati et al., 2021). To maximize the
benefits of celebrity endorsement, these three attributes need to be considered by
marketers when choosing a celebrity endorser. Those three attributes are developed
from source credibility model, source attractiveness model and the match-up
hypothesis.
2.2.1 Source attractiveness model
The source attractiveness model refers to the three celebrity characteristics that
promote celebrities to attract audience attention: similarity, likeability and familiarity of
the endorser (McGuire, 1985 cited in Chan and Fan, 2022). Similarity represents the
perceived similarity between the endorser and the consumer (Myers, 2021). Familiarity
is the knowledge that consumers gain about the source through repeated coverage of
the celebrity, and high media exposure familiarises consumers with the celebrity (Roy et
al., 2013; Chan and Fan, 2022). Likeability refers to consumers' repeatedly instilled
liking for the endorser due to the endorser's credentials, appearance, and behaviour
(McGuire, 1985 cited in Myers, 2021).
Solomon (2014) added that attractiveness also refers to the spokesperson's
appearance, personality, popularity, and similarity to the recipients. The attractiveness
of a celebrity spokesperson's physical appearance is associated with greater cultural
and societal reliability (DeShields Jr et al., 1996 cited in Khan et. al., 2019). Some
studies considered attractiveness as a dimension of source credibility (for example,
Choi and Rifon, 2007), but most studies considered it as an independent influence (for
example, Ohanian, 1991; Pornpitakpan, 2008). Erdogan (1999 cited in Myers, 2021)

suggests that attractive celebrity endorsers enhance attitudes toward advertising and
brands. Thus, when selecting a spokesperson, many brands look for the appearance of
the spokesperson's attractiveness in order to change consumers' attitudes towards the
brand.
2.2.2 Source credibility model
The source credibility model states that the effectiveness of the message conveyed by
an endorser depends on the expertise and trustworthiness of the endorser (Hovland
and Wiess, 1951). Credibility is the attribute of dignity, trustworthiness, and honesty that
endorsers possess and are respected by consumers (Ray et al., 2013). Ketchen et al.
(2008) also argued that credibility refers to the extent to which consumers believe that
celebrities communicate messages of integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness through
advertising. When consumers perceive the source to be trustworthy, they also perceive
the message conveyed to be highly credible (Hovland and Wiess, 1951). Trustworthy
endorsers can help increase the credibility of a brand, reduce doubt, and promote
financial gain (Gilchrist, 2004).
Source expertise is the qualification of the source and directly influences the level of
belief to persuade consumers to buy the product. It depicts the degree of perceived
understanding, skills and knowledge possessed by the endorser (Hovland et al., 1953
cited in Ray et al., 2013). Kim et al. (2018) explained that the skills, experience and
knowledge of individuals in decision-making are defined as the sum of their perceived
expertise. Expertise is associated with other terms such as competence, qualification,
expert ability, proficiency, and authority (Han and Ki, 2010; Magnini et al., 2010). The
higher the perceived expertise of the celebrity endorser, the more compelling or
effective the advertisement (Kim et al., 2018). And when consumers perceive that
celebrities possess a high level of expertise, they are persuaded by the message
conveyed in the advertisement and form a positive purchase intention (Ohanian, 1991).
Thus, competent celebrities with high levels of expertise are perceived to be more
persuasive than celebrities with low levels of perceived expertise (Ohanian, 1991).

Perceived credibility and expertise of individuals and organizations are central to
successful communication in the commercial marketplace (Ray et al., 2013). Therefore,
for brands, the credibility of celebrities is an important consideration.
2.2.3 The match-up hypothesis
Several studies have investigated the consistency between celebrity endorsers and
brands. These investigations have been used to explain the effectiveness of using
celebrities to promote brands (Khatri, 2006), and Till and Busler (1998) suggested that
this effectiveness depends on the degree of fit between the celebrity endorser and the
endorsed brand. The model also emphasizes that the attractiveness of the celebrity
endorser's appearance enhances product evaluation only if the product matches the
image conveyed by the celebrity (Khatri, 2006). The presence of a celebrity image in the
endorsement ensures effective communication and credibility if it matches the brand or
product (Kamins and Gupta, 1994 cited in Seiler and Kucza, 2017)
Therefore, in addition to attractiveness and credibility, the degree of celebrity-brand fit
needs to be considered when creating endorsements.
In summary, the main purpose of using celebrities as product and service endorsers are
to increase customers attention to the brand and to persuade consumers to have
positive attitudes toward the brand (Spry et al., 2011). Thus, the source model and the
match up hypothesis can play an important role in convincing consumers about the
attractiveness or credibility of a brand. It can also be inferred that in order to be able to
organise persuasive campaigns, companies should consider choosing celebrities who
are perceived as credible and attractive by the target market.
2.3 Luxury Brand
De Barnier et al. (2012) concluded that luxury brands meet the symbolic demand, and
Sharma (2015) concluded that luxury goods are either consumed for social recognition,
status and positive impression management or for pleasurable purposes. In addition,
luxury brands generally have high pricing and high customer involvement (Lin, 2013),
and they take higher risks. It is beneficial for brands to study how to improve customers'

purchase desire. Therefore, luxury brands invite celebrities who are in line with its brand
image to be its spokespersons to improve its brand awareness and purchasing desire
(Khan et al., 2019). With the development of the entertainment industry, brands not only
invite famous athletes and actors to be their endorsements, but also start to invite idols
to be their endorsements. For example, Louis Vuitton asked BTS to endorse. Luxury
brands have several celebrity endorsers who have strong fan bases, such as BTS, and
it is important for brands to consider how to leverage endorsements to increase their
fans' desire to buy and brand loyalty. Therefore, this study will examine fan loyalty to
luxury brands when their idols are endorsing luxury brands.
2.4 Asia Market
According to the report of Statista (2022), the Revenue in the Luxury Goods market
amounts to US$124.20bn in 2022 will continue to grow in the next year. Asia as one of
the major consumer markets for luxury brands, luxury brands have also made great
efforts to increase purchasing desire and awareness among the younger generation.
The Bain and Company report on "Global Personal Luxury Market 2018 and Beyond"
estimates that personal luxury goods sales grew by 20-22% in China and 6-8% in the
rest of Asia (Bain and Company, 2018). In 2019, East Asia is the largest market for
Western luxury brands, accounting for the largest share of global purchases (31%)
(Athwal et al., 2019). And young consumers are the main reason for the growth of the
luxury market (Jain, 2020). The vibrant development of Asia entertainment industry has
given brands a wide choice of endorsers. Driven by the explosive growth of Chinese
and Korean superstars in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, as well as the licensing of
popular reality shows in the global market, celebrity fan culture is becoming a unique
global phenomenon (Leung et, al.,2017). The influence of these stars is also growing.
They have fans around the world, and they are not small. BTS is a typical example.
According to the questionnaire survey from The Korea Times (2021), BTS fans come
from China, Mexico, America, peru and so on. According to the data obtained, 42.59%
of the fans are aged 18-29, and 50.31% are under 18 (TheKoreaTimes, 2021), the fans
group of idols are young generation. Among them, 86.34% are female fans

(TheKoreaTimes, 2021). This showed that the fan market is dominated by young
women. Thus, it is beneficial for the brands to study the Asian market, to know more
about the Asian market.
2.5 Brand loyalty
Brand loyalty means not only consumers follow the brand, but they are also more likely
to purchase and spend more on the brand. Businesses frequently anticipate high levels
of brand loyalty from consumers. Gupta et al. (2020) considered brand loyalty as a
positive feeling or committed action of a customer towards a particular brand, for
instance, customers will repeatedly buy products of the same brand rather than buying
alternative products from other companies. Similarly, Quester and Lin Lim (2003)
considered brand loyalty as customer involvement and commitment. Companies often
expect a high degree of brand loyalty from consumers. This is because brand loyalty not
only helps to retain customers, but it requires fewer marketing resources than a new
brand or a new product of the same brand (Gupta et al., 2020). Brand loyalty is a
multidimensional structure that is best quantified and test by combining two dimensions:
attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty (Baniya, 2017).
2.5.1 The Attitudinal Loyalty
Attitudinal loyalty is the positive emotions and beliefs about a brand (Dick and Basu,
1994). Attitudinal loyalty is also a consumer's response at the psychological level that
customers are willing to buy and recommend the brand's products and services to
relatives, friends, or others even if the price is higher than other brands (Zhang et al.,
2020). Attitudinal loyalty depends primarily on consumers' brand preferences, but also
on how much consumers like a particular product or service (Baniya, 2017). Attitudinal
loyal consumers may continue to recommend the brand to others through word of
mouth, which contributes to the success of the brand. However, this measure of
attitudinal loyalty is an unreliable method for predicting effective repurchase behaviour
because it focuses only on the strength of attitudes as a marker of loyalty (Touzani and
Temessek, 2009).

2.5.2 The Behavioural Loyalty
Behavioural loyalty is the degree to which customers prefer a brand's product or
service, for instance, they are willing to purchase the brand's product or service in the
future (Zhang et al., 2020). Behavioural loyalty also represents the behaviour and
connotation of consumers who repeatedly purchase a specific brand from the available
options (Baniya, 2017). Behavioural loyalty also ensures that consumers translate their
loyalty into actual purchase actions (Baniya, 2017), which directly benefits the brand.
However, the limitation of this method of measuring behavioural loyalty is that it only
identifies consumer behaviour and does not reveal consumers' motivation to continue
purchasing the same brand product (Uncles et al., 2003). Behavioural measures may
not be sufficient to understand true loyalty (Ishak et al., 2013).
2.5.3 The Composite approach
The third measurement method is known as the composite approach, which is a
combination of behavioural and attitudinal approaches (Touzani and Temessek, 2009).
Brand loyalty is most strongly conceptualised as a multidimensional construct and it is
important to adopt a multidimensional approach to measuring true brand loyalty among
customers (Ong et al., 2018; Dick and Basu, 1994). This approach is well illustrated by
the integrated model developed by Dick and Basu (1994), which takes into account
relative consumer attitudes and repeat purchase behaviour. This approach has the
advantage of considering the complexity of the loyalty concept and integrating the
conceptual and operational subjects of the brand loyalty literature. In this study, an
composite approach is used in order to avoid the limitations of the first two approaches.
Thus, attitudinal loyalty or behavioural loyalty is not measured separately. Loyalty is
then defined as the extent to which consumers are loyal to a brand and exhibit repeat
purchase behaviour towards the same brand (Touzani and Temessek, 2009).
2.6 Celebrity endorsement and Brand loyalty
Previous studies have confirmed that celebrity endorsements have a beneficial impact
on brand loyalty (Khan et al., 2019; Subbiah et al., 2019). Audi et al. (2015) found that

celebrity attractiveness and credibility positively impact cosmetic brand loyalty. Baniya
(2017) found that celebrity brand match up has a significant impact on brand loyalty.
And previous studies have also indicated that celebrity involvement has an impact on
customer brand loyalty (Nataraajan, 2012). Nataraajan (2012) indicated that celebrity
involvement at different stages (for example, endorsement, design, production) has
different effects on brand loyalty. Moreover, Mittal (2021) researched out that expertise
has significant impact on brand loyalty and trustworthiness and physical attractiveness
for brand loyalty is insignificant.
In previous research, Ogunsiji (2012) focuses on the influence that a brand may have
multiple spokespersons or only one spokesperson on the brand in a period of time.
Previous studies on celebrity endorsements and brand loyalty have focused on Indian
consumers (Sharma, 2015) or young South African consumers (Ndlela and Chuchu,
2016). There are some studies on the influence of celebrity endorsement on brand
loyalty (Busacca and Bertoli, 2012; Jin et al., 2020; Gupta et al., 2020). Most of the
studies were conducted based on male and female consumers. On the other hand,
previous studies focused on a wide customer base. This study will narrow down the
scope. Moreover, this study will focus on fans’ brand loyalty when their idols are
endorsing the luxury brand and compare the fans’ brand loyalty when their idols are
endorsing brand and the fans’ brand loyalty when their idols stopped endorsing brand.
As stated above, this research posited the hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: Attractiveness is positively related to female fans’ brand loyalty towards
the luxury brand.
Hypothesis 2: Credibility is positively related to female fans’ brand loyalty towards the
luxury brand.
Hypothesis 3: Celebrity brand match-up is positively related to female fans’ brand
loyalty towards the luxury brand.

Hypothesis 2a: Credibility has stronger impact on Brand Loyalty than Attractiveness and
Celebrity Brand match up
Hypothesis 4: Idols' participation positively affects the fans’ brand loyalty
Hypothesis 5: Without the idols' participation negatively affect fans’ brand loyalty
2.7 Conceptual Framework
Pervious works have suggested the attributes of celebrity endorsement and impacts on
brand loyalty. Celebrity endorsement contains three elements which are attractiveness,
credibility and celebrity brand match up (Hani et al., 2018; Seiler and Kucza, 2017).
The term of idols here means the celebrities that fans are following instead of
celebrity type. The idols participation means fans’ idols are endorsing the brand. This
study will test how celebrity endorsement attributes impact fans’ brand loyalty when
their idols are endorsing the luxury brand.
Based on pervious work, this study developed a conceptual framework
Also based on brand loyalty and celebrity endorsement，this study developed a
framework for hypothesis 4 and hypothesis 5.
Attractiveness
Credibility
- Expertise
- Trustworthiness
Celebrity Brand
match up
Fans’ brand loyalty
with idols’ participation
H1
H2
H2a
H3
Figure 1: The framework 1 of research
Fans’ brand loyalty
without idols’
participation
H4
H5
Fans’ brand loyalty
with idols’ participation

2.8 Self-concept Theory
Self-concept is a general idea of who you are - physically, emotionally, socially,
spiritually, and any other aspects that make up who you are (Neill, 2005). Consumers
become more attached to a brand when it matches their "actual self" rather than their
ideal self (Malar et al., 2011). Once companies understand this, they try to understand
their target consumers and create a brand identity that matches their self-concept. The
more they can get consumers to identify with their brand, the more they will buy it (Rani,
2014). Celebrity endorsement is the channel through which the brand communicates its
identity to consumers. For many people, celebrities represent important social or
cultural significance and are associated with the ideas or products they support. People
in turn consume endorsed goods in the hope of acquiring these characteristics
(Hoffman and Tan, 2013).
2.9 Conclusion
The use of celebrity endorsement as a marketing method has become common among
luxury brands. Asia is one of the major consumer markets for luxury brands, and it is still
growing. It's good for brands to understand the fan market in Asia. The main object of
this study is female fans in the Asia fan market. This research may fill a gap in a
different direction. This study will focus on fans’ brand loyalty when their idols are
endorsing the luxury brand and compare the fans’ brand loyalty with their idols are
endorsing brand and the fans’ brand loyalty without it. Also, this study will investigate
how the elements of celebrity endorsement impact on fans’ loyalty.