A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK LINKING INFLUENCER MARKETING, EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT AND ONLINE IMPULSIVE BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

The accelerating rise of influencer marketing has significantly reshaped the digital commerce landscape, altering how consumers interpret, interact with, and respond to persuasive messages. Social media influencers—functioning as human brands—extend beyond conventional advertising by combining authenticity, relatability, and emotional narratives that cultivate deep consumer connections. Yet, the emotional processes explaining how influencer-generated content stimulates spontaneous and unplanned purchases remain underexplored. Drawing upon the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework, this conceptual paper proposes a model connecting influencer marketing stimuli, emotional engagement, and online impulsive buying behaviour. Emotional engagement, defined as an affective state encompassing excitement, empathy, and identification, is conceptualised as the mediating mechanism that transforms persuasive cues into behavioural outcomes. The model further includes persuasion knowledge and algorithmic exposure as moderating variables influencing the strength of this emotional pathway. By integrating affective, behavioural, and ethical dimensions, this framework advances theoretical insight into emotion-driven digital persuasion while acknowledging emotional engagement as both a strategic marketing tool and an ethical concern. Implications for theory development, responsible influencer practices, and directions for empirical validation are also discussed.

Keywords: influencer marketing, emotional engagement, impulsive buying, social media, S–O–R model