Social Media Influences And Customer Buying Behavior

Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
HOW DO SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS IN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY IMPACT
CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND THEIR BUYING INTENTION?
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
ABSTRACT
This study undertakes an analysis of the impact of the social media influencers on the customer
attitude and their buying behavior within the beauty industry. Furthermore, for the conduct of
this study the researcher had taken the help of the pragmatic research philosophy, deductive
research approach, descriptive research design, primary data collection method and quantitative
analysis method. More importantly, primary data was collected from 147 customers related to
the beauty industry through the tool of survey.
The results of the study indicate that a positive relationship exists between customer attitude and
the social media influencers. This can be explained on the basis of the fact that the different
characteristic features of the social media influencers like trustworthiness, credibility, product
match-up, reliability and others influence the customers to trust the product recommendations or
the suggestions offered by them which in turn significantly influences the attitude of the
customers towards the concerned products. These as a matter of fact are the major factors which
influence the different beauty brands to take the help of the social media influencers for
promoting the products offered by them. However, the results obtained from the study also
reveal that a negative relationship exists between customer buying behavior and the social media
influencers. This finds explanation from the fact that the customers rather than acting on the
product recommendations made by the social media influencers take into account the subjective
norms, perceived behavior control and other factors before undertaking the purchase of the
beauty products. Thus, the study concludes by recommending the beauty brands to take into
account these factors into consideration within their marketing activities or campaigns along with
the usage of the social media for influencing the attitude and also the buying behavior of their
customers.

2SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to thank my Professor, Mr……, for offering me the opportunity
to complete my study on the topic “How do Social Media Influencers in the Beauty Industry
impact Consumer Attitudes and their Buying Intention?”. Next, I would also thank my
Supervisor for the being patient with me and helping me during each of the stages of this study.
Lastly, I would also like to extent my thanks to my friends and family members for the constant
support that they have offered me and without which I would not have been able to complete this
study.
Thank You
--------------------------------------------------
(Name of the Researcher)

3SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................6
1.1 Chapter Introduction..............................................................................................................6
1.2 Background of the Study.......................................................................................................6
1.3 Rationale of the Study...........................................................................................................7
1.4 Research Aim.........................................................................................................................7
1.5 Research Objectives...............................................................................................................7
1.6 Project Overview...................................................................................................................8
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................................................9
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................9
2.2 Customer Buying Behavior...................................................................................................9
2.3 Factors Affecting Customer Buying Behavior....................................................................10
2.4 Social Media and Marketing................................................................................................10
2.5 Social Media Influencers.....................................................................................................11
2.6 Factors affecting the usage of Social Media Influencers.....................................................12
2.7 Match-Up Hypotheses.........................................................................................................12
2.8 Theory of Planned Behavior................................................................................................13
2.8.1 Attitude.........................................................................................................................14
2.8.2 Subjective Norms..........................................................................................................15
2.8.3 Perceived Behavior Control..........................................................................................15
2.9 Theoretical Framework........................................................................................................16
2.10 Hypotheses.........................................................................................................................17
2.11 Summary............................................................................................................................17
Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................................................................18
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................18

4SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
3.2 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................18
3.2.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Pragmatic Research Philosophy.............................18
3.3 Research Approach..............................................................................................................19
3.3.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Deductive Research Approach...............................19
3.4 Research Design..................................................................................................................19
3.4.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Descriptive Research Design..................................20
3.5 Data Collection Method.......................................................................................................20
3.5.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Primary Data Collection Method............................21
3.5.2 Participants...................................................................................................................21
3.6 Data Analysis Method.........................................................................................................22
3.6.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Qualitative Data Analysis Method..........................23
3.7 Ethical Considerations.........................................................................................................23
3.8 Limitations of the Study......................................................................................................24
3.9 Summary..............................................................................................................................24
Chapter 4: FINDINGS...................................................................................................................25
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................25
4.2 Presentation of the Findings................................................................................................25
4.2.1 Social Media Usage and Social Media Influencers......................................................25
4.2.2 Social Media Influencers and their important attributes...............................................26
4.2.3 Correlation Analysis.....................................................................................................28
4.2.4 Regression Analysis......................................................................................................30
4.3 Summary..............................................................................................................................32
Chapter 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION..........................................................................33
5.1 Research Overview..............................................................................................................33
5.2 Discussion............................................................................................................................33

5SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
5.3 Future Scope........................................................................................................................34
5.4 Recommendations................................................................................................................34
5.5 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................35
References......................................................................................................................................36

6SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Chapter Introduction
This chapter of the study sheds light on the research aim and also the research objectives
on the basis of which the entire study would be conducted. More importantly, this chapter also
elucidates the research problem which it will try to address and also the research gap which it
will try to cover up.
1.2 Background of the Study
The total revenue contributed by the beauty industry towards the national GDP of UK for
the year 2018 was more than £28.4 billion which accounted for around 1.9% of the national GDP
of the same (Ibisworld.com, 2020). Patrick and Betts (2020) have noted that the personal care
and the maintenance products account for the major products offered by the beauty industry and
the desire of the individuals to beautify themselves or for that matter to look good had largely
accounted for the growth of the beauty industry. However, as stated by Patel (2018), presently
numerous beauty product options are available to the customers on the score of the large number
of beauty product brands that are operational within the concerned industry and this in turn had
greatly enhanced the brand switch propensity on the part of the customers. Thus, it had been seen
that the brands related to the beauty industry are presently struggling to acquire competitive
advantage in the face of the intense competition which they face within the concerned industry.
In the light of this, some of the corporations are even taking the help of the social media
influencers to influence the customer attitudes or their buying behavior.
Shan, Chen and Lin (2019) have found that the majority of the brands related to the
beauty industry are presently using the social media influencers for the purpose of positively
influencing the buying behavior of their customers. However, as stated by Cooley and Parks-
Yancy (2019), the social media influencers both positively and negatively affect the attitude of
the customers and their buying behavior by outlining the positive as well as the negative
attributes of the beauty products offered by the corporations. Thus, it becomes important for the
beauty brands to use the social media influencers in such a manner that rather than negatively

7SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
affecting the attitude or the buying behavior of the customers it will positively influence or affect
them to purchase the beauty products offered by them.
1.3 Rationale of the Study
The specific research problem that had been selected for analysis in this study is the
impact of the social media influencers on the customer attitude and their buying behavior within
the beauty industry. This is an important research problem since it had been seen that the beauty
brands in the present times have struggled to influence customer attitude and also their buying
behavior through the usage of traditional marketing strategies and the digital marketing strategies
(Patel, 2018). More importantly, it had been seen that although the overall revenue earned by the
beauty industry had increased exponentially in the present times yet because of the brand switch
tendencies of the customers the individual profitability registered by the different brands related
to the beauty industry had declined (Patrick and Betts, 2020). The net result of this is that the
different beauty brands are taking the help of social media influencers for influencing the buying
behavior or the attitude of the customers. However, the major problem arises since it had been
seen that the beauty product related recommendations or the suggestions offered by the social
media influencers both positively and negatively influence the buying behavior and also the
attitude of the customers (Cooley and Parks-Yancy, 2019). Thus, this research by examining the
manner in which the beauty brands need to use the social media influencers for influencing the
customer attitude and their buying behavior will also elucidate the impact of the social media
influencers on the customer attitude and their buying behavior within the beauty industry.
1.4 Research Aim
The aim of this particular study is to undertake an analysis of the impact of the social
media influencers on the customer attitude and the buying behavior displayed by them within the
beauty industry.
1.5 Research Objectives
1. To understand the factors which influence the buying behavior of the customers and their
attitude within the beauty industry
2. To understand the factors which influence the brands related to the beauty industry to
take the help of the social media influencers

8SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
3. To examine the relationship between the social media influencers and the customer
attitudes or the buying behavior displayed by them within the beauty industry
4. To recommend ways through which the brands related to the industry can use the social
media influencers to positively affect customer attitudes or customer buying behavior
1.6 Project Overview
Chapter 1: Introduction Introduces the research aim, research problem, research objectives,
research gap and other important aspects on which the entire study
would be modeled on
Chapter 2: Literature
Review
Presents a critical analysis of the past secondary literature related to
the impact of the social media influencers on the customer attitudes
and their buying behavior within the beauty industry
Chapter 3: Research
Methodology
Offers an outline the different research methodological tools that had
been used for the completion of the study like research philosophy,
research approach, research design, data collection and data analysis
methods and others
Chapter 4: Results An analysis of the primary data collected from the customers related
to the beauty industry regarding the impact of social media
influencers on their attitude and also their buying behavior had been
undertaken.
Chapter 5: Discussion
and Conclusion
A critical discussion of the results or the findings obtained from the
primary data collected for the study had been undertaken and also
conclusions are drawn from the same

9SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter undertakes a theoretical discussion of the impact of social media influencers
on customer attitudes and their buying behavior. This theoretical discussion had been undertaken
in the light of the arguments presented by the past scholars related to the concerned topic. Along
with the theoretical discussion, the researcher had also stated the hypotheses which had been
used in this study for its completion.
2.2 Customer Buying Behavior
As stated by Jones (2010), customer buying behavior is associated with the motivations
or the activities which are undertaken by the groups, individuals or the organizations for the
purchase, use and the ultimate disposal of the different services or products offered by the
corporations. Adding to this, Jiménez-Castillo and Sánchez-Fernández (2019) have noted that
this is an inter-disciplinary approach which tries to analyze the social, emotional, psychological,
economic and other factors that influence the individuals to purchase a particular service or
product. This particular process becomes especially important from the context of the different
business corporations since their profitability is significantly influenced by the buying behavior
or the purchase behavior displayed by the consumers.
Customer buying behavior model is an important framework which offers an insight into
the behavior displayed by the customers related to the purchase of the services or the products
(Pöyry et al., 2019). As per this model, the first step is the need recognition stage wherein the
customers because of their internal awareness or by getting influenced by the marketing
advertisements of the corporations feel the need to purchase a particular product or service
(Freberg et al., 2011). This is followed by the information search process and the evaluation of
alternatives wherein the customers not only search for adequate information related to the
product or service that they feel the need to purchase but also compare it with similar products or
services (Glucksman, 2017). Furthermore, it is on the basis of this evaluation that the purchase is
being done by the customers which is followed by the post-purchase evaluation and this
determines whether the customers will undertake repeat purchase or not (Black, 2004).

10SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
2.3 Factors Affecting Customer Buying Behavior
Whiting and Williams (2013) have observed that the contemporary customers have
plethora of product or service options on the score of the globalization of business and this in
turn had substantially influenced their buying behavior. As discussed by Donald, Cooper and
Conchie (2014), the value proposition or for that matter the benefits offered by a particular
product or service is an important factor which influences the customer buying behavior. For
example, if the attributes of a particular product or services are not benefit for the customers or
for that matter not in synchronicity with their needs or their demands then they are more likely to
not purchase the same. Adding to this, Glanz, Rimer and Viswanath (2015) have noted that the
contemporary customers are not only taking into account the value proposition of the products or
the services for their purchase but also the brand image, price, the effectiveness of the marketing
campaigns used by them, the suggestions of the social media influencers, bloggers and others as
well. In addition to these, it had been seen that the social, cultural, psychological and others
factors also influence the buying behavior displayed by the customers. Thus, it becomes
important for the business corporations to take into account these factors for the purchase of
adequately influencing the buying behavior of their customers and thereby enhance their
profitability.
2.4 Social Media and Marketing
According to Khamis, Ang and Welling (2017), the success or the failure of the business
corporations substantially depends on the marketing strategies or the marketing campaigns which
are being used by them for the promotion or the advertisements of the products or the services
that they offer. Adding to this, Till and Busler (2000) have noted that the corporations over the
years have relied heavily on the traditional marketing strategies for the promotion as well as the
advertisement of the products or the services offered by them. Furthermore, the usage of this
particular marketing approach required the corporations to place their promotional
advertisements over the traditional media platforms like newspapers, magazines, radio, television
and others (Ohanian, 1990). An important limitation of this particular marketing approach was
that because of the narrow scope of the traditional media platforms, the target market of the
corporations used to get significantly reduced (Corina, 2006). This adversely affected the
profitability of the brands and thereby hindered the achievement of their business goals or

11SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
objectives. Thus, the corporations in order to overcome the limitations of the traditional
marketing strategies are presently using the disruptive technology of internet or more precisely
the social media platforms for advertising the products or the services offered by them.
Furthermore, the extensive usage of social media by individuals from all demographics helps the
corporations to advertise their products or services to a large number of people (Khamis, Ang
and Welling, 2017). More importantly, the usage of the different social media platforms for
marketing is cheaper in comparison to the traditional marketing strategies and ensures that the
corporations are being able to attain the desired results (Sundermann and Raabe, 2019). This had
greatly contributed towards the extensive usage of the different social media platforms or for that
matter the process of social media marketing by the business corporations in the present times.
2.5 Social Media Influencers
An important trend seen within the contemporary business landscape is that the
customers for the purchase of new products take into account the reviews given by the existing
customers and also the opinions of the bloggers or the social media influencers as well (Chu,
Kamal and Kim, 2019). Jalali and Khalid (2019) have noted that the social media influencers are
the individuals on the social networking websites who have not only adequate knowledge about
an industry but also the information offered by them related to the concerned industry are
credible. Furthermore, it is seen that because of the authenticity as well as the credibility of the
news or the opinions shared by the social influencers they are being able to influence a large
number of individuals over the social networking websites (Trivedi and Sama, 2019). Thus, it is
seen that the business corporations often take the help of the different social media influencers
for the purpose of promoting or advertising the products or the services offered by them and also
for the purpose of influencing the buying behavior of customers related to the industry in which
they operate in the best possible manner. In this relation, it needs to be said that there are various
essential features that the social media influencers are required to have like credibility,
reliability, trustworthiness, ability to write attractive opinion pieces or social media posts and
others (Silva and de Brito, 2020). For instance, if the posts or the opinions shared by the social
media influencers are not credibility, reliable, attractive or trustworthy then it is more likely that
they would not be able to influence the buying behavior of the customers.

12SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
2.6 Factors affecting the usage of Social Media Influencers
Jiménez-Castillo and Sánchez-Fernández (2019) have suggested that because of the wide
reach as well as the influence of the social media influencers it had been seen that the different
business corporations are actively using them for the promotion or the advertisement of the
products or the services offered by them. Adding to this, Whiting and Williams (2013) have
noted that there are various factors which influence the business corporations to take the help of
the different social media influencers like their wide reach or influence, their trustworthiness,
reliability, their ability to influence the customers and others. For instance, it had been seen that
the authentic or the credible information which is being offered by the social media influencers is
being highly appreciated as well as trusted by the individuals and it is because of this particular
aspect that they take into account the suggestions or the opinions offered by the social media
influencers during the purchase of the products or services.
More importantly, it had been seen that the different social media influencers often take
the help of an attractive style for highlighting the positive and the negative aspects of a particular
product or service which in turn enables the individuals to make important purchase related
decisions (Freberg et al., 2011). In addition to these, it had also been seen that there are many
customers who had positively benefitted from the suggestions offered by the social media
influencers related to different products or services which in turn had created an aura of
reliability regarding the suggestions offered by them (Jones, 2010). Furthermore, product match-
up is another important attribute of the social media influencers which influence the attitude and
thereby the buying behavior of the customers (Glucksman, 2017). For instance, it had been seen
that recommendations or the description of the products or the services match the experience of
the customers related to the concerned product or service recommended by them and this in turn
enables them to earn the trust of the customers and thereby influence their attitude or buying
behavior. These attributes of the different social media influencers often influences the business
corporations to approach them for recommending the products or services offered by them to the
social media users.
2.7 Match-Up Hypotheses
The secondary literature offers diverging viewpoints regarding the influence wielded by
the social media influencers over the customer attitudes or their buying behavior. Khamis, Ang

13SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
and Welling (2017) have suggested that the brand promotions undertaken by the social media
influencers or the brand reviews written by them not only influence the customers to feel to need
to purchase the products or the services but also to think positive or confident regarding the same
as well. For example, it had been seen that the customers often trust the suggestions or the
opinions of the social media influencers and thereby undertake the purchase of the products or
the services recommended or reviewed by them. However, as stated by Pöyry et al. (2019), it had
also been seen that there are many customers who do not like to take into account the
suggestions or the recommendations offered by the social media influencers and make their
purchasing decisions solely on the basis of the value proposition of the products or the services.
In addition to these, it had also seen that there are other customers who while purchasing the
products or the services take into consideration the brand image of the corporations, the price of
the products or services and other attributes. These in turn raise questions regarding the very
credibility as well as the effectiveness of the social media influencers and also regarding their
ability to influence the customers’ attitude and their buying behavior as well. An analysis of this
through the usage of the “Theory of Planned Behavior” is likely to yield insightful details
regarding the same.
2.8 Theory of Planned Behavior
The “Theory of Planned Behavior” postulated by Icek Ajzen is a theoretical framework
which tries to link the beliefs held by the individuals with the behavior displayed by them
(Ajzen, 1985). Whiting and Williams (2013) have noted that an important precept of the theory
is that the intention of the individuals towards subjective norms, behavior and perceived behavior
control together formulate or for that matter shape the behavioral intentions or the purchase
behavior displayed by the individuals. In this relation, it needs to be said that the subjective
norms are the individual’s perceptions related to the behavior that they indulge in and this is
often influenced by judgment of their teachers, family members, friends and others (Glanz,
Rimer and Viswanath, 2015). On the other hand, the perceived behavior control is the difficulty
or the ease of performing a particular action undertaken by the individuals and it is often
determined by the total set of accessible control beliefs (Khamis, Ang and Welling, 2017). In
addition to these, it had been seen that the attitude of the individuals is also an important
determinant of the kind of behavior that would be undertaken by them. In the light of these

14SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
aspects, it can be said that the buying behavior displayed by the customers is to sum total of the
subjective norms, attitude and also the perceived behavior control of the individuals and as per
this particular theory it becomes clear that the influence wielded by the social media influencers
on the buying behavior displayed by the customers is nominal.
Figure 1: Hypothesized extended theory of planned behaviour model
Source: Glanz, Rimer and Viswanath (2015)
2.8.1 Attitude
As stated by Freberg et al. (2011), attitude is indicative of the settled way of feeling or
thinking of an individual related an action or something which is of significance to them. Adding
to this, Donald, Cooper and Conchie (2014) have noted that the attitude of an individual is
molded by their past experiences, their learning, the influence of their family members, family,
society and other attributes. As a matter of fact, it had been seen that the attitude of the
individuals does not change significantly over time and this is perhaps of the most important
reasons why many individuals do not get influenced by the social media influencers for the
purchase of the products or the services recommended or suggested by them (Glucksman, 2017).

15SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
However, at the same time it needs to be said that there are various individuals whose attitudes
related to particular product or service had been significantly influenced by the posts or the news
shared by the social media influencers.
2.8.2 Subjective Norms
Trivedi and Sama (2019) are of the viewpoint that the subjective norms are an important
factor which significantly influence not only the behavior displayed by the customers but also
their purchase decisions as well. However, as suggested by Jalali and Khalid (2019), the
subjective norms of the individuals are influenced by the judgment or the perceptions of the
family members, teachers, friends and others of the individuals rather than the social media
influencers. This perhaps is one of the most important reasons why many customers rather than
relying on the recommendations or the suggestions of the social media influencers rely on their
own judgment or the recommendations of their friends or family members related to the products
or services that they intend to purchase.
2.8.3 Perceived Behavior Control
Silva and de Brito (2020) have noted that the perceived behavior control is the difficultly
or the ease that the customers experience while selecting the products or the services that they
intend to purchase from the plethora of the product or service options that are available to them.
This particular factor is not only influenced by the attitude or the subjective norms of the
customers but also the recommendations or the suggestions which are being made by the social
media influencers as well.

16SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Source Reliability
Source Credibility
Source
Attractiveness
Product Match-Up
Customer Attitude Customer Buying
Behavior
2.9 Theoretical Framework
Figure 2: Theoretical Framework
Step 1: In this step, the researcher indentified the most important characteristic features of the
social media influencers because of which the customers get influenced by the recommendations
or the suggestions offered by them related to different products or services. The researcher on the
basis of the past literature was being able to identify reliability, credibility, source attractiveness
and product match-up as the four important attributes of the social media influencers which in
turn influence the customers to trust the product related suggestions or recommendations made
by them.
Step 2: In this step, the researcher on the basis of the past literature had identified the manner in
which the social media influencer and their key attributes influence the attitude of the customers.
Silva and de Brito (2020) are of the viewpoint that this is important since the behavior displayed
by the individuals is greatly reliant on their attitude and thus if the social media influencers are
being able to influence the attitude of the customers then they would not be able to influence
their buying behavior.

17SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Step 3: In this step, the researcher had outlined the manner in which the social media influencers
and they key attributes by influencing the attitude of the customers are being able to effectively
influence their buying behavior.
2.10 Hypotheses
On the basis of the above discussion, the research hypotheses that had been formulated
by the research are outlined below-
H1- The social media influencers positively affect the attitude of the customers towards beauty
products
H0-The social media influencers do not positively affect the attitude of the customers towards
beauty products
H2- The social media influencers positively affect the buying intension of the customers towards
beauty products
H0-The social media influencers do not positively affect the buying intension of the customers
towards beauty products
2.11 Summary
To sum up, in the above discussion the researcher had undertaken a theoretical discussion
of the impact of social media influencers on customer attitude and their buying behavior. In
addition to these, the researcher had also identified the key attributes of the social media
influencers like credibility, reliability, product match-up and others because of which the
customers trust them and also they are being able to influence their attitude and buying behavior.
Lastly, on the basis of the above discussion the researcher had also formulated the hypotheses for
this study as well.

18SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter sheds light on the research methodological approach along with its different
elements or components that had been used for the completion of the study. It will also attempt
to provide a clear understanding on the appropriateness of the research methodology and provide
an in depth analysis of the methodology and why it was chosen. More importantly, the researcher
had tried to use of the layers of Research Onion proposed by Suanders in this study.
3.2 Research Philosophy
As stated by Teagarden, Von Glinow and Mellahi (2018), research philosophy denotes
the sum total of the values, beliefs, traditions and other important attributes which guides the
research work or for that matter the attributes that dictates the manner in which data is being
collected as well as analyzed by the researchers. The researchers have the option to use either the
positivism research philosophy, interpretivism research philosophy or the pragmatic research
philosophy for the completion of their research work (Walliman, 2017). The most important
presumption of the pragmatic research philosophy is the fact that a research topic can be treated
through multiple perspectives and thus to broaden the scope of the study the research topic needs
to be analyzed through all the perspectives which are available (Kumar, 2019). In complete
contrast to this, the positivism research philosophy articulates the fact that the researchers need
to analyze the research topic through the usage of different observations, opinions, theoretical
models, frameworks and others (Fletcher, 2017). Lastly, the interpretivism research philosophy
normally is applicable to the management or the business research works and thus this particular
research philosophy is used by the researchers who conduct studies in this domain (Silverman,
2016).
3.2.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Pragmatic Research Philosophy
The pragmatic research philosophy had been selected since it will offer the opportunity to
analyze the impact of social media influencers on the attitude and the buying behavior displayed
by the customers within the beauty industry from multiple perspectives or viewpoints. More
importantly, through the analysis of this research topic from multiple viewpoints or perspectives

19SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
the researcher had been able to substantially enhance the scope of the study and also present
contrasting opinions related to the concerned topic. It is because of these aspects that the
pragmatic research philosophy had been selected for this study.
3.3 Research Approach
Fletcher, De Massis and Nordqvist (2016) have observed that the research approach
denotes the different assumptions which are being made within a study or the processes that are
being used for the conduct of the same on the basis of the nature or the kind of the study that is
being conducted. More importantly, the deductive research approach and the inductive research
approach are the two most important research approaches normally used by the researchers
(Sekaran and Bougie, 2016). The deductive research approach is the one wherein the researchers
need to undertake an analysis of their research topic through the usage of different theoretical
models, frameworks, observations and others (Hair Jr., Page and Brunsveld, 2019). This enables
the researchers to present diverging perspectives or viewpoints related to the research topic that
they have selected and thereby enhance the scope as well as the quality of the research that they
are conducting. On the other hand, the inductive research approach is the one wherein the
researchers need to develop a completely new analytical framework for the analysis of the
research topic that they have selected for analysis and is suitable for the researches involving
statistical or numerical data (Bell, Bryman and Harley, 2018).
3.3.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Deductive Research Approach
The deductive research approach had been selected since it will offer the option to the
researcher to undertake an analysis of the impact of the social media influencers on the attitude
and the buying behavior of the customers within the beauty industry through the usage of
different theoretical models, frameworks, observations and others. This will also enable the
researcher to present diverging perspectives for the analysis of the research topic and thereby
help in the analysis of the social media influencers on the attitude and the buying behavior of the
customers within the beauty industry in a better manner.
3.4 Research Design
Descriptive research design, exploratory research design and explanatory research design
are the three research designs most commonly used by the researchers (Tobi and Kampen, 2018).

20SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
As discussed by Alavi et al. (2018), the descriptive research design is the one wherein the
findings obtained from the analysis of the primary or the secondary data are being correlated
with the objectives of the study. Thus, the use of this particular research design enables the
researchers to acquire the required coherence within the study and thereby enhance the quality of
the same. The explanatory research design is the one wherein the researchers need to undertake
an objective analysis of the research problem that they have selected (Alvesson and Sköldberg,
2017). Lastly, the researchers using the exploratory research design need to focus on the root
causes which have given rise to the research problem selected by them or the background
information of the research topic (Quinlan et al., 2019).
3.4.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Descriptive Research Design
The descriptive research design had been selected for analyzing the impact of social
media influencers on the attitude and the buying behavior displayed by the customers within the
beauty industry. This particular research design had been selected since it will offer the
opportunity to correlate the findings obtained from the analysis of the primary with the
objectives of this study. This is likely to substantially enhance the quality of the study by
enhancing the coherence of the same.
3.5 Data Collection Method
According to Cuervo‐Cazurra et al. (2017), primary data collection method and
secondary data collection method are the two most important data collection methods normally
used by the researchers for the collection of data or information needed for the completion of the
studies. Primary data collection method is the one wherein the researchers through the usage of
the tools of surveys, interviews, observations and others obtain the data or information needed
for the study (Wiek and Lang, 2016). This data or information is generally is collected directly
on the stakeholders or the individuals on whom the research is modeled upon and generally
involves a significant amount of bias (Saunders et al., 2009). In complete contrast to this, the
researchers using the secondary data collection method need to collect data or information from
secondary sources of information like peer-reviewed articles, credible online articles, industry
reports, annual reports of the organization and others (Kumar, 2019).

21SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
3.5.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Primary Data Collection Method
The primary data collection method had been used for analyzing the impact of social
media influencers on the attitude and the buying behavior displayed by the customers within the
beauty industry. The researcher used the tool of survey to collect responses from 147 customers
related to the beauty industry of United Kingdom. The customers related to the beauty industry
of UK are the main stakeholders of this study and the researcher had tried to analyze the impact
of the social media influencers on their attitude as well as buying behavior. In this relation, it
needs to be said that the tool of survey had been selected over interviews, observations and other
methods of collecting primary data since it had enabled the researcher to collect concrete data
directly from the customers. More importantly, through the usage of the Likert Scale for
collecting information from the customer related to the beauty industry, the researcher was able
to quantify this information and thereby used the same for addressing the research objectives.
Furthermore, the researcher had not used interviews since the data collected through this
approach is difficult to quantify and often includes the general perceptions of the individuals
with a substantial amount of bias. Thus, the surveys were conducted with the customers related
to the beauty industry of UK.
3.5.2 Participants
The researcher conducted survey with 147 customers related to the beauty industry of UK
who follow the different social media influencers for analyzing the influence the social media
influencers on customer attitude and their buying behavior.

22SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Figure 3: Participant Demographics
Figure 3 clearly indicates the fact that the majority of the respondents who participated in
the survey conducted by the researcher for the collection of data are female customers (98%)
who belong to the age bracket of 18.21 years of age. In addition to these, the participants are
undergraduate students whose annual income is less than £10,000. This means that the majority
of these individuals do not have adequate amount of capital for spending on the different beauty
products and thus they often take into account the suggestions or for that matter the
recommendations offered by the social media influencers for purchasing the best beauty products
within their budget.
3.6 Data Analysis Method
As stated by Teagarden, Von Glinow and Mellahi (2018), on the basis of the data
collection method the researchers have used, the qualitative data analysis method and the
quantitative data analysis method are the two data analysis methods which are normally used by

23SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
researchers. The quantitative data analysis method is used for the analysis of the statistical or
numerical data that the researchers have collected wherein the qualitative data analysis is used
for the analysis of non-numerical or non-statistical data (Fletcher, De Massis and Nordqvist,
2016).
3.6.1 Rationale for the Selection of the Qualitative Data Analysis Method
The quantitative data analysis method had been used by the researcher since the
researcher collected primary data from 147 customers related to the beauty industry of UK
through surveys for analyzing the impact of social media influencers on their attitude and their
buying behavior. More importantly, through the usage of this data analysis method the researcher
had been able to find out the correlation between the social media influencers and the attitude or
the buying behavior displayed by the customers within the beauty industry. Furthermore, the
responses given by the respondents were downloaded from the Bristol Online Survey (BOS) in a
MS Excel file which in turn was feed into the SPSS software. The SPSS was used since it helps
in quick analysis of the data and also helps in performing different kinds of statistical analysis
like descriptive analysis, inferential analysis and others. For instance, the descriptive analysis
was used to ascertain the different characteristics of the respondents like their age, gender and
other important attributes. On the other hand, the inferential analysis was used to understand the
relationship between the different variables, the validity of the hypotheses formulated in the
study and others.
3.7 Ethical Considerations
The researcher had complied with the ethical considerations of conducting academic
research work. For instance, consent forms were sent to the survey respondents and the survey
was conducted with them only after they have consented to the same. More importantly, no
personal, financial or confidential information were being asked from the respondents and the
information provided by them had been used as per the precepts of the Data Protection Act.
Lastly, the researcher so as to avoid plagiarism had offered the required credit to the scholars or
the authors whose works have been used for the completion of this study by way of in-text
citations and reference list.

24SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
3.8 Limitations of the Study
The researcher because of time and resource constraints had been able to collect data only
through survey and no interviews were conducted for the collection of data. This in turn had
substantially narrowed down the scope of the study and also significantly limited its quality as
well. More importantly, another important limitation of the study is the fact that the researcher
could have made the research topic more specific by focusing on a particular organization related
to the beauty industry rather than focusing on the entire beauty industry.
3.9 Summary
To sum up, the above discussion presents an overview of the research methodological
framework along with its components that had been used in this study. in addition to these,
adequate justification for the selection of the different components of the research
methodological framework had also been offered.

25SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Chapter 4: FINDINGS
4.1 Introduction
The following chapter aims to present the primary data obtained from the data collection
process, and how this affects the completion of the study. The data will be analyzed using
correlation, regression, hypothesis testing, and others in order to adequately address the research
topic, and answer the research question.
4.2 Presentation of the Findings
4.2.1 Social Media Usage and Social Media Influencers
Figure 4: Usage of Social Media Influencers
Figure 4 clearly indicates that the majority of the respondents who participated in the
survey actively use different social media platforms for following social media influencers
related to the beauty industry. More importantly, the results clearly indicate that Facebook (141
respondents) and Instagram (138 respondents) are the two most preferred choices of the social
media platforms wherein respondents follow the different social media influencers. In addition to
these, it had been seen that the majority of the individuals follow around 1-5 social media
influencers or around 6-10 social media influencers over the different social media platforms.
The extensive usage of the different social media platforms and also the large number of social
media influencers that the respondents follow clearly indicate the integral role that they are
presently playing in the purchase decisions made by the customers.

26SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
4.2.2 Social Media Influencers and their important attributes
Reliability
Figure 5: Reliability of the Social Media Influencers
Figure 5 clearly indicates that the majority of the respondents, that is, 37.4% are
completely neutral regarding the expertise level of the different social media influencers. On the
other hand, around 18.4% respondents agree and around 15% respondents strongly agree that the
recommendations or the suggestions offered by the social media influencers are completely
reliable. This in turn propels the customers related to the beauty industry to actively take the help
of the recommendations or the suggestions offered by the different social media influencers.
However, 19% of respondents disagree, and 10.2% strongly disagree, this really highlights an
issue in understanding just how effective social media influencers really are in helping
consumers decide.
Expertise

27SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Figure 6: Expertise of the Social Media Influencers
Figure 6 clearly indicates that the majority of the respondents who participated in the
survey are completely neutral regarding the expertise level of the different social media
influencers, that is, they neither trust nor distrust the expertise level of the social media
influencers. On the other hand, it had been seen that around 19.7% of the respondents agree
whereas 10.2% of the respondents strongly agree that the social media influencers have the
required expertise and thereby are being able to recommend or suggest the best quality beauty
products to the customers which are actually useful for them. However, 12.2% of the
respondents strongly disagree whereas 26.6% of the respondents disagree which in turn indicates
that a significant number of customers do not trust the expertise of the social media influencers.
Product Match-up
Figure 7: Product Match-up
Figure 7 clearly indicates the fact that around 40.8% of the respondents who participated
in the survey are of the viewpoint that the beauty product recommendations or suggestions
offered by the social media influencers completely match with the different attributes of the
products. This in turn along with the attributes of expertise and reliability is the major factor
which influencers the customers related to the beauty industry to purchase beauty products
according to the recommendations or the suggestions offered by the social media influencers.
However, 12.2% of the respondents strongly disagree whereas 9.5% of the respondents strongly
disagree which in turn indicates that a significant number of customers think that the qualities of
the beauty products highlighted by the social media influencers do not matche with the actual

28SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
qualities of the beauty products that they purchase on the basis of the recommendations or the
suggestions of the social media influencers.
4.2.3 Correlation Analysis
Correlation analysis is a statistical technique used to calculate how strongly two
quantitative variables are related to one another. This is done by finding the correlation
coefficient, the value of the correlation coefficient ranges from “-1 to +1”. The closer the
correlation coefficient is to “0”, the weaker the correlation, the closer the value is to “-1 or +1”,
the stronger the correlation between the two variables. If the correlation coefficient value ranges
from “0 to +1”, this indicates that the variables are positively correlated, meaning that when one
increases or decreases statistically the other would do the same. If the correlation coefficient
value ranges from “-1 to 0”, it would indicate that the variables are negatively correlated,
meaning that when one variable increases or decreases, the other would have the opposite affect
(Hinton, Brownlow and McMurray, 2014). The researcher had used Pearson Correlation in this
study since it enables the researchers to measure the association between the variables of the
study on the basis of their covariance and thereby helps in determining the extent to which they
are related or correlated with each. Furthermore, the standard errors in the relationship between
the variables are smaller in Pearson Correlation in comparison to Spearman correlation and it is
because of this that Pearson Correlation had been used in the study.
Correlations
Social Media
Influencers
Customer
Attitude
Customer
Buying
Behavior
Social Media
Influencers
Pearson
Correlation
1 .503** -.113
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .174
N 147 147 147
Customer Attitude Pearson
Correlation
.503** 1 -.105
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .204
N 147 147 147

29SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Customer Buying
Behavior
Pearson
Correlation
-.113 -.105 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .174 .204
N 147 147 147
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
The table indicates the correlation between the answers of the different responders, where
n=147. The correlation table clearly indicates that a positive correlation or relationship exists
between the variables of customer attitude and the social media influencers. This means that the
recommendations or for that matter the suggestions related to the diverse beauty products offered
by the social media influencers directly influence the attitude of the customers. For instance, it is
seen that the customers get influenced by the recommendations or the suggestions related to the
beauty products offered by the social media influencers and their attitude or perceptions are
being formulated on the basis of this particular aspect. The resultant effect of this is that the
different brands related to the beauty industry are presently actively taking the help of the
different social media influencers for the purpose of influencing the attitude of their consumers.
The results obtained from the correlation analysis also indicate the fact that a negative
correlation or for that matter a negative relationship exists between the variables customer
buying behavior and the social media influencers. This can be explained on the basis of the fact
that although the different product related suggestions or recommendations offered by the social
media influencers are being able to influence the attitude of the customers yet they are not highly
successful in influencing the buying behavior of the customers. For instance, the customers
rather than simply following the product related suggestions or recommendations offered by the
customers also take into account the subjective norms, perceived behavior control mechanisms
and others before making the final purchase decisions. In the light of these aspects, it can be said
that the corporations related to the beauty industry for the purpose of influencing the buying
behavior of their target market need to not only take the help of the social media influencers but
also take into account the other important factors like the perceived behavior control factors,
attitude, subjective norms and others as well.

30SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
The results obtained from the correlation analysis also indicate that a negative
relationship or correlation exists between the variables customer attitude and customer buying
behavior. This is an indicative of the fact that by merely influencing or affecting the attitude of
the customers it is not possible for the corporations to make them purchase the products offered
by them. In the case of the beauty industry, it is seen that although the beauty brands through the
usage of the social media influencers have been able to influence the attitude of their customers
but this had not enabled them to influence the buying behavior of their customers. This can be
explained on the basis of the fact that the customers rather than acting on the product suggestions
or the recommendations offered by the social media influencers take into account the subjective
norms, perceived behavior control and others for making the final decisions. Thus, it becomes
important for the beauty brands to take into account these factors for the purpose of influencing
the buying behavior of their customers.
4.2.4 Regression Analysis
Regression analysis is a statistical technique that is used to compare different values of a
quantitative variable with the mean of the values. This allows the researcher to determine the
relationship between certain variables. Regression analysis works by comparing the mean value
of a set of variable with the other values in a quantitative variable, this will in-turn show the
relationship between the independent and dependent variables, as well as how strongly they
impact each other.
Model Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the
Estimate
1 .744a .553 .541 .717
The above given table clearly indicates the fact that the value of “R Square” obtained
from the regression analysis is 0.553 whereas the value of “Adjusted R Square” obtained from
the same analysis is 0.541. This means that the difference between these two values is only 0.012
which is nominal or negligible which means that the model which had been used for the conduct
of this study is a perfect fit for this study and also completely reliable.

31SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Regression analysis can be used by the researchers for the purpose of testing the validity
or for that matter the reliability of the hypotheses that they have formulated in their study. In this
regard, it needs to be said that for the attainment of this particular end, the researchers need to
take the help of the ANOVA table and also take into account the “P-Value” obtained by them for
determining whether the null hypotheses are valid in the particular context of the study that they
are conducting or the alternative hypotheses. For instance, if the “P-Value” obtained by the
researchers is less than 0.05 then this is an indicative of the fact that the alternative hypotheses
formulated in the study are valid and thereby the null hypotheses of the study are rejected. On the
other hand, if the “P-Value” obtained by the researchers is more than 0.05 then this is an
indication of the fact that the null hypotheses formulated in the study are completely valid and
thereby the alternative hypotheses are being rejected.
ANOVAa
Model Sum of
Squares
Df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 90.385 4 22.596 43.944 .000b
Residual 73.017 142 .514
Total 163.401 146
The above given table clearly indicate that the “P-Value” obtained by the researcher is
0.000 which obviously is less than 0.05. This means that the alternative hypotheses formulated in
this particular study are completely valid and it is on the basis of this particular aspect that the
null hypotheses of the study have been rejected by the researcher. The below given table offers
an outline of the hypotheses which had been accepted and the ones which had been rejected-
Hypothesis Accepted Hypothesis Rejected
The social media influencers positively affect
the attitude of the customers towards beauty
products
The social media influencers do not positively
affect the attitude of the customers towards
beauty products
The social media influencers positively affect
the buying intension of the customers towards
The social media influencers do not positively
affect the buying intension of the customers

32SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
beauty products towards beauty products
4.3 Summary
To sum up, in the above discussion an overview of the major findings obtained from the
primary data which was collected had been presented. More importantly, on the basis of the
analysis of the primary data, the researcher found that the alternative hypotheses of the study are
valid and thereby the null hypotheses of the study had been rejected on the basis of this reason.

33SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Chapter 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Research Overview
The aim on which this study focused upon was to undertake an analysis of the impact of
the social media influencers on the customer attitude and the buying behavior displayed by them
within the beauty industry. The study thus used a theoretical framework for measuring the
variables customer attitudes and customer buying behavior against the different characteristics of
the social media influencers like attractiveness, reliability, trustworthiness, product match-up and
others within the beauty industry.
The study used a quantitative framework and thereby primary data was collected through
survey from 147 customers related to the beauty industry of UK. Bristol Online Survey (BOS)
software was used for conducting the survey and the responses were analyzed through the usage
of the software SPSS. More importantly, inferential analysis and descriptive analysis were used
for presenting the results of the survey.
The results of the study reveal that a positive relationship exists between customer
attitude and the social media influencers whereas a negative relationship exist between customer
buying behavior and the social media influencers in the particular context of the beauty industry.
This confirms the match-up hypotheses of the study wherein it was suggested that the final
buying decisions are being made by the customers taking into account the subjective norms,
perceived behavior control mechanisms and others rather than merely taking into account the
suggestions or the recommendations offered by the social media influencers. Lastly, the results
of the study also reveal the fact that the alternate hypotheses formulated in this study are valid
and thereby the null hypotheses were rejected.
5.2 Discussion
The results obtained from the correlation analysis reveal that a positive relationship exists
between the variables social media influencers and customer attitude. This finds supported from
the research of Silva and de Brito (2020) which indicates that the different attributes of the social
media influencers like trustworthiness, credibility, reliability, product match-up and others help
them to influence the attitude of the customers. Thus, it is seen that the attitude of the customers

34SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
get influenced by the beauty product suggestions or recommendations offered by them which in
turn is one of the most important reasons why the different beauty brands are increasingly
resorting to the usage of the same.
The findings of the study also indicate that a negative correlation exists between the
variables social media influencers and customer buying behavior. This is in complete
contradiction to the generally held idea that the product suggestions or the recommendations
offered by the social media influencers are instrumental in influencing the buying behavior of the
customers. However, this finding is being supported by the research work of Whiting and
Williams (2013)which suggests that the customers rather than getting overtly influenced by the
marketing campaigns used by the corporations take into account the subjective norms, behavior,
perceived behavior control and others for purchasing different products. This has important
implication for the different beauty brands since it clearly indicates that the beauty brands for
influencing the buying behavior of their customers need to take into account their subjective
norms, behavior, perceived behavior control and others rather than solely depending on the
social media influencers. In addition to these, the results also indicate that the characteristics of
the social media influencers like trustworthiness, reliability, credibility, product match-up and
others are some of the most important factors which influence the beauty brands to use them.
Jiménez-Castillo and Sánchez-Fernández (2019) in the literature review section of study had also
highlighted these attributes or the characteristics of the social media influencers as the major
factors which not only enable them to influence the attitude of the customers but also propel the
brands to use them as well.
5.3 Future Scope
The research in future has the option to enhance the scope of the study by increasing the
number of customers with whom the surveys have been conducted for the collection of primary
data. In addition to these, the researcher can also take the help of the tool of interviews for
collecting more credible primary data which in turn would enhance the quality of the study.
These are the two measures through which the scope of the study can be enhanced in future.

35SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
5.4 Recommendations
The results of the study clearly reveal that the suggestions or the recommendations
offered by the social media influencers are not the sole parameters which the customers take into
account for the purchase of the beauty products. Along with this, the customers also take into
account the subjective norms, perceived behavior control mechanisms and others before making
the final purchase decision. Thus, the corporations related to the beauty industry for the purpose
of influencing the attitude and the buying behavior of the customers need to take into account all
these factors. More importantly, the marketing strategies used by the beauty brand needs to
incorporate the social media influencers and the kind of marketing campaigns which will take
into consideration the the subjective norms, perceived behavior control mechanisms and others
that influence the purchase decisions made by the customers. Furthermore, the study also showed
that a positive relationship exists between customer attitude and the social media influencers.
Thus, the beauty brands for influencing the attitude of their customers have the opportunity to
use the social media influencers.
5.5 Conclusion
The results of the study indicate that the different important characteristic features of the
social media influencers like trustworthiness, reliability, credibility, product match-up and others
are the major factors which influencers the customers related to the beauty industry to use them
for promoting the beauty products. These attributes of the social media influencers are the major
factors because of which the majority of the beauty brands are presently using them for
influencing the attitude of their customers. More importantly, the results obtained from the study
also indicate that a positive relationship exists between the suggestions or the recommendations
offered by the social media influencers and the attitude of the customers. However, at the same
time it needs to be said that a negative relationship exists between the customers buying behavior
and the social media influencers which means that although the social media influencers have
been instrumental in influencing the attitude of the customers yet they have not been largely
successful in influencing their buying behavior. In this relation, it needs to be said that the
customers along the suggestions made by the social media influencers also take into account the
subjective norms, perceived behavior control mechanisms and others for the purchase of the
different beauty products.

36SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR

37SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES AND CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
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