Communication Research

New media, influencers, and consumer behavior in purchasing sports products

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Seyedeh Ozra Mirkazemi 1
Behnam Asheghi 2
Ali Nazarian 3

1 Associate of Prof. in Sports Management, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

2 Sports Management, University of Guilan, Guilan, Iran

3 Sport Sciences Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities. Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22082/cr.2025.2061011.2811
Abstract
In the present era, and given the extensive role of influencers in advertising, the purchase of sporting goods can also be affected by the attractiveness and interactivity of influencers. Influencers can strengthen positive feelings towards brands by creating a close and attractive connection with their audience. Their interactivity, including responding to comments and sharing personal experiences, makes consumers feel closer to the brand. This leads to emotional attachment to the brand and increases the motivation to buy, as well as encouraging people to choose specific sporting goods that influencers advertise. This research was conducted with an applied approach and in a quantitative and descriptive-survey way. The statistical population of the study was all followers of Majid Saedifar's Instagram page (Majid Brand) in 2024, and convenience sampling (214 people) was used. The research instrument was a questionnaire adapted from four standard questionnaires: influencer attractiveness (Lu and Kim, 2019), purchase intention (Armut-Chu et al., 2024), brand emotional attachment (Hemsley-Brun, 2023), and interactivity (Yee et al., 2021). Structural equation modeling including confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that all relationships between the variables of the research model, except for influencer attractiveness, and emotional attachment were significant, and the mediator of emotional attachment did not have a significant effect on the relationship between the variables of influencer attractiveness and the intention to purchase sporting goods. According to the results, it can be said that using social media and media influencers to sell more products and differentiate the product can help the success of sellers and manufacturers of sporting goods.

Keywords

: Influencer
Sporting Goods
Purchase Intention
Emotional Attachment
Media
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 18 May 2025
  • Revise Date 03 June 2025
  • Accept Date 30 August 2025

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