Social Media Influencer, Sustainability Communication, and Consumer-Brand Relationship: An Information Quality Perspective for Sustainable Destination Brand Marketing

Drawing on existing literature, this study aims to propose a conceptual framework to showcase the relationship between social media influencers’ (SMIs’) sustainability communication and consumer-brand relationship (CBR). This framework is grounded in the concept of information quality, which has previously been mixed and fragmented in its application. From the perspective of destination brand relationship, this study reveals how parasocial relationships with SMIs influence followers’ perceptions of the quality of sustainability-related information shared on different social media platforms which in turns affects the development of CBR. The proposed conceptual framework clarifies the interconnectedness of SMI sustainability communication, parasocial relationship, information quality (including perceived relevance, perceived accuracy, and perceived timeliness), brand trust, and brand loyalty in the stream of research on destination brand marketing and CBR. This study opens the door for future empirical investigations to provide additional insights into the theory and practice of variables presented in the conceptual framework.