Formulated hypotheses and survey design

Deriving from the literature and the results of the focus groups, it was possible to formulate hypotheses that could be empirically tested on a quantitative basis. However, due to the novelity of the topic of social media influencers and the number of variables and factors that have been stated by the focus group participants, one had to consider the limited volume and possibilities of the study. It was not possible to consider every factor that might have an influence due to several reasons: Beside the already stated reasons why consistency has not been chosen for the study, it would not have been possible to receive meaningful results in this period of time and with the chosen study design. In order to examine, whether consistency has an influence on the source credibility of social media influencers, a long term observation by participants of social media influencers would have been necessary in order to receive realistic results. The same applies to promoting too many products or promoting products on every single post.

In this chapter, the hypotheses for the quantitative survey and its independent variables are presented. In the study it was assumed that three independent variables (transparency, being dependent on a company and product fit) have an influence on one dependent variable with two characteristics (trustworthiness and expertise).

Transparency

The factor transparency can be supported by theory and by the focus groups. In a further step, it should be proven by the quantitative study that an influencer is less credible if he or she disguises the sponsorship. Hence, the hypothesis is as follows:

H1: The source credibility of a social media influencer is higher if he or she discloses the sponsorship

Dependency on a company(Sponsored)

Originally, a difference was made between three different scenarios: no sponsorship, unpaid sponsorship and paid sponsorship. However, in order to empirically test these situations, respondents would have to be enlightened about the legal aspects and cooperations, which might have distorted the results. Furthermore, it would not represent the reality of social media influencers´ posts: The goal of the survey was to confront participants with realistic situations in order to be able to derive constructive results regarding sponsorships. The reason for the lack of difference is that participants in the focus group were not aware of the reality of sponsorships and the differences between a paid and an unpaid sponsorship.

65 Moreover, it is hard to examine whether an influencer is paid or has received the

products for free, since the legal obligations for disclosure differ depending on the legal framework of the country. In Germany and Austria social media influencers are only obliged to disclose a sponsorship at a product value of 1000 euros, which makes it impossible to say if there was a need or obligation for transparency and even if the post is sponsored. Hence, there will be differentiated between two characteristics: dependency on a company (sponsorship) vs. independency from a company (no sponsorship). In the quantitative survey, participants are going to compare two different variations regarding sponsorships:

Either a brand is supporting the product promotion (indifferent to the monetary aspect) or the influencer has paid the product on his or her own. Since it became clear in the focus group that people do make a difference between sponsored and not sponsored posts (in terms of credibility), the second hypothesis is as follows:

H2: The source credibility of a social media influencer is higher if he or she is independent of a company

Product fit

The third independent variable can be supported by literature and by the focus groups. It has been indicated that it influences the credibility of a social media influencer if he or she promotes a product that does not belong to his field of expertise and to the field of interest of the community. The goal of the quantitative survey is to prove that companies need to carefully choose the social media influencers they cooperate with in terms of product fit.

Hence that the influencer needs to fit to the brand´s characteristics and attitudes. Therefore, the third hypothesis is as follows:

H3: The source credibility of a social media influencer is higher if the product fit is given Deriving from the hypotheses and the dependent variable (source credibility), a 2x2x2 factorial design is going to be applied in the quantitative survey. Due to the fact that all independent variables are in the form of a nominal scale (two characteristics) and the dimensions of the dependent variable in the form of an interval scale ( Rating from 1-7), the survey design results in a multi-factorial ANOVA with 8 different pictures, randomly assigned to the participants.

After answering two selective questions, each participant is assigned to one of the eight study designs. The eight study designs only differ regarding the independent variables.

Regarding transparency, posts have been disclosed according to FTC guidelines. In order to be transparent, each transparent design implies a disclosed text about the sponsorship (“this product is sponsored by..”) and supported by hastags (“sponsored”,”ad”, “werbung”).

66 The independent variable “dependency on a company” or “sponsorship” is

stated in the introduction (“you are going to see a famous, sponsored (or not sponsored) social media influencer in the fitness industry”). Furthermore, two different pictures were used in order to clarify the difference. Since transparency and sponsorships are related, the hashtags also apply to the second independent variable.

For the third independent variable, a different picture was used, in which the chosen social media influencer promotes a product which is not related to fitness (a watch). In order to support the variable, the attached text also implies that the influencer is related to fitness and that wearing the watch is unfamiliar to her.

The texts and hashtags attached to the pictures have been created and reformulated by the author of the study, in order to clarify the difference between the eight study designs. Hence, the texts have not been copied or used from the original posts.

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