Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-27-2024
Abstract
Social media influencers can grow their number of followers by endorsing products that are authentic for their social media persona or, alternatively, monetize their followers by endorsing a wider variety of products. We develop a dynamic model in which an influencer continuously decides whether to be authentic as she balances increasing awareness with generating revenues from sponsored posts. We derive conditions in which the influencer is authentic during an early growth phase, but she becomes inauthentic once a large enough fraction of potential followers are aware of her. Celebrities become inauthentic at a lower awareness level than pure social media influencers. If posts can go viral, the influencer initially is inauthentic as she hopes to go viral, she later becomes authentic to grow awareness rapidly, and she eventually becomes inauthentic again.
Recommended Citation
Cristina Nistor, Matthew Selove, J. Miguel Villas-Boas (2024) Influencer Authenticity: To Grow or to Monetize. Management Science 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.03479
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
INFORMS
Comments
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Management Science in 2024 following peer review. This article may not exactly replicate the final published version. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.03479.