Physical Attractiveness, Homophily and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Parasocial Interaction Among K-POP Fans
Main Article Content
Abstract
Consequently, K-pop fans in Indonesia are showing increased interest in purchasing products related to their idols. It is worth investigating how interest in idols leads to the formation of parasocial interaction and, in turn, influences purchase intention. This study aims to determine how physical attractiveness and homophily influence purchase intention, with parasocial interaction serving as a mediating variable. The sample for this thesis consists of 100 K-pop fans of working age in Semarang. The analysis in this thesis uses PLS software to analyze the SEM model. Data analysis in this study includes outer model and inner model tests to determine the magnitude of each variable's influence. The results of the study indicate that the variables of physical attractiveness, homophily, and parasocial interaction have a direct and significant effect on purchase intention. Indirect test results also indicate that the variable of parasocial interaction significantly mediates the effects of physical attractiveness and homophily on purchase intention. These findings indicate that K-pop idols play a role—both in terms of physical attractiveness and shared values—in shaping the purchase intentions of K-pop fans in Semarang. This study has implications for businesses to leverage this phenomenon for business development by collaborating with K-pop idols.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Agnihotri, D., Chaturvedi, P., Kulshreshtha, K., & Tripathi, V. (2023). Investigating the impact of authenticity of social media influencers on followers’ purchase behavior: mediating analysis of parasocial interaction on Instagram. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 35(10), 2377–2394.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1970). The prediction of behavior from attitudinal and normative variables. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 6(4), 466–487.
Alfaena, W. V., & Gumilang, D. A. (2026). Pengaruh Homophily, Physical Attractiveness, dan Credibility terhadap Purchase Intention melalui Parasocial Interaction Pada Beauty Vlogger di Indonesia. Jurnal Lentera Bisnis, 15(1), 1904–1932.
Aral, S., & Walker, D. (2014). Tie strength, embeddedness, and social influence: A large-scale networked experiment. Management Science, 60(6), 1352–1370.
Atta, H., Ahmad, N., Tabash, M. I., Varma, M., & Elsantil, Y. (2025). Exploring the influence of vlogger attributes on followers purchase intentions: the moderating effect of parasocial interaction. International Review of Management and Marketing, 15(2), 95.
Bu, Y., Parkinson, J., & Thaichon, P. (2022). Influencer marketing: Homophily, customer value co-creation behaviour and purchase intention. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 66, 102904.
Chung, S., & Park, J. (2017). The influence of brand personality and relative brand identification on brand loyalty in the European mobile phone market. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 34(1), 47–62. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1321
Eisend, M., & Langner, T. (2010). Immediate and delayed advertising effects of celebrity endorsers’ attractiveness and expertise. International Journal of Advertising, 29(4), 527–546.
Eyal, K., & Rubin, A. M. (2003). Viewer aggression and homophily, identification, and parasocial relationships with television characters. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 47(1), 77–98.
Garg, M., & Bakshi, A. (2024). Exploring the impact of beauty vloggers’ credible attributes, parasocial interaction, and trust on consumer purchase intention in influencer marketing. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1–14.
Garg, P., & Joshi, R. (2018). Purchase intention of “Halal” brands in India: the mediating effect of attitude. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 9(3), 683–694.
Ghozali, I. (2014). Structural equation modeling, alternative method with partial least square (PLS). Semarang: Diponegoro University Publishing Agency.
Harrison, D. A., Mykytyn Jr, P. P., & Riemenschneider, C. K. (1997). Executive decisions about adoption of information technology in small business: Theory and empirical tests. Information Systems Research, 8(2), 171–195.
Hewei, T., & Youngsook, L. (2022). Factors affecting continuous purchase intention of fashion products on social E-commerce: SOR model and the mediating effect. Entertainment Computing, 41, 100474.
Horton, D., & Richard Wohl, R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction: Observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry, 19(3), 215–229.
Iranmanesh, M., Mirzaei, M., Parvin Hosseini, S. M., & Zailani, S. (2020). Muslims’ willingness to pay for certified halal food: an extension of the theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 11(1), 14–30.
Jaafar, S. N., Lalp, P. E., & Naba, M. M. (2012). Consumers’ perceptions, attitudes and purchase intention towards private label food products in Malaysia. Asian Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 2(8), 73–90.
Jannat, M., & Ahmed, N. (2025). Social media influencers: Examining the mediating effect of parasocial interaction and the moderating effect of online comments on purchase intention. Jahangirnagar University Journal of Business Research, 25(01), 69–92.
Koay, K. Y., Cheah, C. W., & Yap, J. Y. (2024). Self-influencer congruence, parasocial relationships, credibility, and purchase intentions: a sequential mediation model. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 23(1), 1–20.
Kuswati, R., Soepatini, S., Kussudyarsana, K., & Zakiyah, S. (2024). Parasocial interactions of indonesian beauty vloggers in the digital age: Do they impact purchases by millennial netizens. WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, 21, 196–207.
Labrecque, L. I. (2014). Fostering consumer–brand relationships in social media environments: The role of parasocial interaction. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28(2), 134–148.
Ladhari, R., Massa, E., & Skandrani, H. (2020). YouTube vloggers’ popularity and influence: The roles of homophily, emotional attachment, and expertise. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 54, 102027.
Le, B. N., & Le, M. T. (2024). Source credibility of beauty vloggers and consumer purchases of vegan cosmetics: The mediating role of cognitive and affective attitude. Innovative Marketing, 20(3), 14.
Lee, J. E., & Watkins, B. (2016). YouTube vloggers’ influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), 5753–5760.
Lee, M., & Lee, H. (2022). Do parasocial interactions and vicarious experiences in the beauty YouTube channels promote consumer purchase intention? International Journal of Consumer Studies, 46(1), 235–248.
Liem, C. J. E., & Firdausy, C. M. (2024). Pengaruh Attractiveness, Trustworthiness dan Expertise Social Media Influencer terhadap Purchase Intention. Jurnal Manajerial Dan Kewirausahaan, 6(4), 883–890.
Liu, X., & Zheng, X. (2024). The persuasive power of social media influencers in brand credibility and purchase intention. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 15.
Lou, C. (2022). Social media influencers and followers: Theorization of a trans-parasocial relation and explication of its implications for influencer advertising. Journal of Advertising, 51(1), 4–21.
Majalawa, F. A., & Kussudyarsana, K. (2025). The Effect Of Influencer Credibility On Consumers’ Purchase Intention Through Parasocial Relationship (A Study On Mykonos Brand Among University Students). Indonesian Journal of Digital Business, 5(4), 2010–2030.
Nadroo, Z. M., Islam, J. U., & Naqshbandi, M. A. (2025). Parasocial Interaction in Marketing Domain: Offering Insights Through a Systematic Literature Review (No Full Text).
Nurhayati, T., & Hendar, H. (2020). Personal intrinsic religiosity and product knowledge on halal product purchase intentionRole of halal product awareness. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 11(3), 603–620.
Othman, N. H. B., Hoo, W. C., & Cheng, A. Y. (2022). Factors influencing purchase intention of Korean skincare products: Malaysian Gen-Y females. WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, 19, 2000–2006.
Park, H. J., & Lin, L. M. (2020). The effects of match-ups on the consumer attitudes toward internet celebrities and their live streaming contents in the context of product endorsement. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 52, 101934.
Purnamaningsih, P., & Rizkalla, N. (2020). The role of parasocial interaction on consumers’ intention to purchase beauty products (El papel de la interacción parasocial en la intención de los consumidores de comprar productos de belleza). Revista CEA, 6(12).
Rosyidani, N. M., Rahma, G. A., Rahayu, L., Putri, M., & Handayani, W. T. (2024). Analisa pengaruh daya tarik influencer terhadap niat pembelian melalui kepercayaan masyarakat. Jurnal Ekonomi Dan Kewirausahaan West Science, 2(02), 273–281.
Santiago, J. K., & Serralha, T. (2022). What more influences the followers? The effect of digital influencer attractiveness, homophily and credibility on followers’ purchase intention. Issues in Information Systems, 23(1).
Shen, H., Zhao, C., Fan, D. X. F., & Buhalis, D. (2022). The effect of hotel livestreaming on viewers’ purchase intention: Exploring the role of parasocial interaction and emotional engagement. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 107, 103348.
Shi, R., Wang, M., Qiao, T., & Shang, J. (2024). The effects of live streamer’s facial attractiveness and product type on consumer purchase intention: An exploratory study with eye tracking technology. Behavioral Sciences, 14(5), 375.
Sokolova, K., & Kefi, H. (2020). Instagram and YouTube bloggers promote it, why should I buy? How credibility and parasocial interaction influence purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101742.
Till, B. D., & Busler, M. (2000). The match-up hypothesis: Physical attractiveness, expertise, and the role of fit on brand attitude, purchase intent and brand beliefs. Journal of Advertising, 29(3), 1–13.
Tran, G. A., Yazdanparast, A., & Strutton, D. (2019). Investigating the marketing impact of consumers’ connectedness to celebrity endorsers. Psychology & Marketing, 36(10), 923–935.
Yuan, C. L., Kim, J., & Kim, S. J. (2016). Parasocial relationship effects on customer equity in the social media context. Journal of Business Research, 69(9), 3795–3803.
Zha, T., Aw, E. C.-X., Dastane, O., & Fernando, A. G. (2023). Social media marketing for luxury brands: parasocial interactions and empowerment for enhanced loyalty and willingness to pay a premium. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 41(8), 1138–1161.
Zou, J., & Fu, X. (2024). Understanding the purchase intention in live streaming from the perspective of social image. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1–14.