How would you like your (sustainability) influencer? A cross-cultural discrete choice experiment on preferred influencer characteristics

Despite influencer marketing being among the most popular digital marketing tools in practice, there are still many research gaps, especially when it comes to specific influencer types. Though technology is converging worldwide, the perception of social influencers may differ between cultures. In this study, a model of influencer characteristics is applied to cases of sustainable and regular products. The optimal influencer for German and Turkish consumers is investigated via a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Findingssuggest that female influencers are preferred over male influencers, and trustworthiness is especially required for promoting sustainable products, regardless of the respondent’sinvolvement forsustainability. For German consumers, attractiveness plays a larger role than for Turkish consumers, who prefer high levels of trustworthiness and expertise. The applicability of this methodology for larger studies with multi-country samples is discussed.