Consumer–Celebrity Parasocial Interaction: A Conditional Process Analysis

This article aims to empirically examine the mediating impact of consumer’s parasocial interaction on the relationship between celebrity images on the consumer’s purchase intentions. It aims to empirically investigate the moderating role of celebrity liking in the formation of consumer’s parasocial interaction. Four different versions of self-administered questionnaire using different celebrities as a stimulus were developed. Data were collected from 484 respondents. Quota cum judgemental sampling method was used for the study. The findings show that parasocial interaction mediates the relationship between celebrity images and purchase intentions. It also reveals positive moderating effect of celebrity liking. It has significant implications for marketers and academicians.