The Differential Effects of Celebrity Endorsements on the

Intention to Purchase a Product Online.

A cross-cultural study between the Netherlands and India.

Daud Maroof | ANR 516510 | U1278390

Master Thesis | MSc Communication & Information Sciences

Track: Business Communication & Digital Media

Tilburg School of Humanities

Tilburg University, Tilburg

Supervisor: Dr. Sarah F. van der Land

Second reader: Dr. J. Bartels

July 2017

Preface

This thesis is a culmination of my study of MSc Communication and Information

Sciences, it specializes in Business Communication and Digital Media carried out at the

University of Tilburg. The research described herein was conducted in the department of

Communication and Information Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Sarah van der Land,

whom I would like to thank for her insightful feedback, guidance and encouragement.

Additionally, I would like to thank my second reader, Jos Bartels, alongside Dimitra.

To my mother and father, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude, they have been my

rock, an epitome of stability and confidence, a source of mental, emotional and physical

strength. I cannot thank you both enough for all your unconditional love, support, and faith in

me.

To conclude, to the reader, this thesis may be the end of my journey in the scientific

world. Nevertheless, it is a product of the time and effort I have placed into putting forward

an original, un-published thesis, completed to the best of my ability.

Abstract

The rise of the Internet has virtually condensed the world into a ‘Global

Village’. Consequently, consumers are no longer restricted to purchasing

items from physical shops, instead they can compare online products,

services and prices all over the world. From a marketing perspective, the

challenges companies face, are having to determine their strategy on the

basis of “thinking global and acting local” to ensure their product or service

is a success. One of the tactics that has become common practice for

companies is the use of celebrities to endorse their products and services.

The use of celebrities in advertisements to persuade the consumers is proven

to be effective. In this study differences between Dutch and Indian online

consumers were investigated regarding the persuasiveness of celebrity

endorsement. The study consisted of a 2 (endorser type: Indian versus Dutch)

x2 (culture: Indian versus Dutch) subject factorial design. The results show

that individuals from different cultures attitudes towards the advertisements,

product and perceived credibility differs. The results of this study provide

some valuable insights regarding the persuasiveness of celebrity endorsement

and the differences in online consumer behavior between Dutch and Indian

consumers.

Keywords: Celebrity Endorsement, Culture, Cultural Differences, Attitude,

Perceived Credibility, Source Models, Online Purchase Intention.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 5

2. Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................... 9

2.1 The Theory of planned behavior .............................................................................. 9

2.2 Endorser effects and source model theories........................................................... 10

2.3 Celebrity Endorsements and Attitudes................................................................... 11

2.4 Celebrity Endorsement and Perceived Credibility ................................................. 12

2.4.1 Perceived expertise ................................................................................ 12

2.4.2 Social attractiveness ................................................................................ 13

2.5 The moderating effect of culture on attitude.......................................................... 14

2.6 The moderating effect of Culture on Perceived Credibility................................... 16

2.7 Attitude and intention to purchase the product online ........................................... 17

2.8 Perceived credibility and intention to purchase the product online ....................... 18

2.9 Conceptual Model .................................................................................................. 19

3. Method ................................................................................................................................ 20

3.1 Sample.................................................................................................................... 20

3.2 Design .................................................................................................................... 20

3.3 Development of the manipulation material............................................................ 21

3.3.1 Webshop Background ............................................................................. 21

3.3.2 The context information .......................................................................... 22

3.3.3 Selection of the celebrities ...................................................................... 22

3.3.4 Pre-test of celebrities............................................................................... 23

3.3.5 Selection of the product .......................................................................... 24

3.4 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 24

3.5 Measures ................................................................................................................ 25

4. Results ................................................................................................................................. 28

4.1 Control variables .................................................................................................... 28

4.2 Mediation ............................................................................................................... 28

4.3 Hypothesis testing .................................................................................................. 29

4.3.1 Endorser type, attitude and perceived credibility ................................... 29

4.3.2 Culture, attitude and perceived credibility .............................................. 30

5. General discussion ............................................................................................................. 35

5.1 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 35

5.2 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 39

6. References ........................................................................................................................... 40

7. Appendices .......................................................................................................................... 45

Appendix A .................................................................................................................. 45

Appendix B .................................................................................................................. 53

Appendix C .................................................................................................................. 53

Appendix D .................................................................................................................. 62

1. Introduction

The rise of the Internet has virtually condensed the world into a ‘Global Village’ (Krewani,

2015). Consequently, consumers are no longer restricted to purchasing items from physical

shops, instead they can compare online products, services and prices all over the world

(Shangquan, 2000). From a marketing perspective, the challenges companies face, are having

to determine their strategy on the basis of “thinking global and acting local” (Morley, 2002,

p.37). This refers to the idea that a good product, service or communications strategy can

achieve global success as long as it is customized to meet the local tastes (Morley, 2002,

p.35). A common approach companies may adopt to effectively market their products, is to

employ a celebrity endorser, whose role is to promote various kinds of products or services

(Bergkvist & Zhou, 2016).

Celebrities are “individuals who have achieved a significant level of fame that makes

them well known in society” (Young and Pinsky, 2006, p. 464). As such, a celebrity can

magnetize public attention, invoke public interest, and trigger individual values from the

public (Kotler, Keller and Jha, 2007). Given the impact celebrities can make on the public, it

is reasonable and in the interest of companies to spend millions of dollars, using celebrities to

endorse their products (Erikson, 2007). Celebrity endorsement was first discussed in

literature by McCracken (1989), and is viewed within the marketing spectrum as “one of the

many communication channels that companies use to promote their brand through celebrities

based on their fame and personalities” (Kotler, 2007, p. 536). There are many examples of

this outlook in marketing at present, in 2016, Nike spent almost 10 billion dollars on celebrity

endorsements and is forecasted to cross 10 billion by the end of 2017, as they recently signed

the entire Chelsea football club to endorse their brand for the purpose of greater brand

exposure (BBC News, 2017). Other examples include, famous Canadian singer Justin Bieber,

who endorses Calvin Klein’s clothing line, Dutch footballer Van Persie, who endorses the

supermarket brand C1000, British actor George Clooney, who endorses the coffee brand

Nespresso and Indian actor Shahrukh Khan who endorses Tag Heuer. Subsequently,

organizations spend this sum of money, on the assumption that celebrities are able to draw

audiences, transfer their image and values onto brands, and influence consumers’ purchase

intentions (Biswas, Hussain, & O’Donnell, 2009).

Nevertheless, the potential effectiveness of celebrity endorsements in advertising is

not as straightforward as it might appear. Research advocates that there are many aspects that

can either contribute to the persuasive effect of endorsers or further weaken it (Bergkvist &

Zhou, 2016). A contributing factor to the effectiveness of an advertisement depends upon

culture, which is defined as “a fuzzy set of basic assumptions, values, orientations to life,

beliefs, policies, procedures and behavioural conventions that are shared by a group of

people, and that influence (but do not determine) each member’s behaviour and their

interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of other people’s behaviour” (Spenser, 2000, p.53). Hence,

dependent on the culture, different celebrity endorsers may be more effective (Biswas,

Hussain, & O’Donnell, 2009; White, 2004). Moreover, what may be deemed as “appropriate”

amongst different cultures can vary” (Hofstede, 2016). To illustrate, a lingerie company using

a female model to promote their products is more likely to appeal to consumers from the

Netherlands than consumers from Saudi Arabia.

Despite research having advocated that there are reasons to suggest that the

effectiveness of celebrity endorsed advertisements, can differ subject to culture (Biswas et al.,

2006; Erdogan, 2008), these assumptions are primarily based on results of stereotyped

generalizations and dichotomies. These generalizations and dichotomies result from

comparisons of eastern and western representatives such as American vs. Chinese, American

vs. Japanese comparisons and single culture studies (Choi, Lee, & Kim,2005; Biswas,

Hussain, & O’Donnell, 2009). Moreover, less is known about the effects of individual

member’s social identity (Turner, 1980). A social identity is the portion of an individual’s

self-concept resulting from perceived association in a pertinent social group (Turner &

Oakes, 1986). An effect of the social identity theory, is the establishment of in- and out-group

whereby sometimes in-group favouritism can occur, which is when individuals give

preferential treatment to others when they are perceived to be in the same in-group. For

example, if an Indian individual was shown two similar products created by different brands,

one being endorsed by an Indian celebrity and the other by a Dutch, there is a possibility that

the individual would prefer the product being endorsed by the Indian celebrity, due to in-

group favouritism. Thus, the differences in the norms and values of both contrasting cultures

play a key element in understanding consumer behaviour.

Furthermore, research has emphasized that cultural background could potentially be

an influential factor in the process of forming a purchase intention (Saayei and Bamani,

2012). More specifically, De Mooij (2010) states people have various cultural values, which

differ in information processing, product and brand attitude. In many cases, marketers try to

choose celebrities to endorse their products or services, if there is an evident match between

the celebrity and target group. Thus, the evident challenge is the need for an extensive

amount of research, time and money. Additionally, globalization has led to companies

aspiring to expand their brand across borders. However, companies must keep in mind that

various cultures respond differently to advertisements. In this study, culture is explored by

the Indian and Dutch consumer’s attitude toward the advert, product and perceived

credibility. These are measured through two sub-mediators, expertise and likeability.

Notwithstanding the vast academic and practical interest in the impact of celebrity

endorsers on advertising effectiveness (Knoll & Matthes, 2017; Sridevi, 2014; Karasiewicz,

2015), little attention has been devoted to cultural differences in celebrity endorsers (Choi,

Lee & Kim, 2005). The available studies have conducted simple cross-cultural studies on the

effectiveness of celebrity endorsement to influence purchase intentions. Furthermore, many

diverse studies incorporate lucidity, advocating individuals of Eastern cultures responding

more auspiciously to celebrity-endorsed advertisements, than those of Western cultures. This

current study attempts to shed light upon the differences in the impact of celebrity-endorsed

advertisements between Dutch and Indian consumers, and their influence upon purchase

intentions. Therefore, the central research questions are formulated as follows:

1) To what extent does the type of celebrity endorser influence online purchase

intention?

2) To what extent is this contingent upon the type of culture?

The scientific relevance of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the

purchase intention of individuals from different cultures towards celebrity-endorsed products.

More specifically, this study contributes to the underlying mechanisms of the type of

celebrity endorsers who influence purchase intention, and to what extent this is contingent

upon the type of culture. There are countless studies in cultural differences and purchase

intention that are examined with celebrity endorsers being the independent variable of the

study, however, there are no previous study that examines the Dutch and Indian culture in

this context. Thus, the present study tries to examine these variables in an experiment context

and offer findings.

In addition, this research has societal and practical relevance. The practical relevance

of this study is to investigate the extent to which the type of celebrity endorser influences the

online purchase intention of individuals from varying cultures. Thus, the findings of this

study can help marketers in understanding the selection process for a specific celebrity to

endorse their products and services. In conjunction, this research offers insight to marketers

regarding the extent to which employment of different celebrities is contingent upon the type

of culture or market they are seeking to penetrate. The results of this study will focus

specifically on the particular benefit for marketers in India and the Netherlands, as the

findings of this study will offer insight on how purchase decision making and buying

behaviour can be increased.

This master thesis is organized in five chapters. The theoretical framework will

discuss and analyze the key theories and concepts derived from previous studies (chapter 2).

The third chapter will explain the research method of this study. More explicitly, it will

elaborate on the chosen sample, the experimental design, the manipulation material, the

procedure and operalization of the different variables. The results of the research will be

presented in chapter four. In chapter five, the research will be concluded and discussed.

Moreover, the research questions will also be answered and an insight into the theoretical and

practical implication of this research will be offered, as well as suggestions for future

research.

2. Theoretical Framework

This chapter will focus on relevant theories, elaborating on the models and key concepts

derived from prior research, with the aim to formulate the hypotheses of this study. A focal

point of the study will be to examine the influence of potential mediating and moderating

variables, as it is anticipated that the employment of celebrity endorsers alone will not lead to

direct behavioral intentions. The mediating variables are the attitudes towards the

advertisement, product and the celebrity endorsers perceived credibility. A conceptual model

(see figure 2) will be presented at the end of this chapter, which integrates and visualizes the

relationships between the variables. To some extent, the conceptual model will offer a

theoretical answer to the research questions.

2.1 The Theory of planned behavior

In this study, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a theoretical point of

departure. The TPB (Ajzen, 1991) is an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)

(Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The theory predicts deliberate behavior, since behavior can be

deliberative and premeditated. The theory suggests that individual behavioral intentions and

behaviors are driven by three independent determinants: attitude, subjective norm and

perceived control. Figure 2 depicts the theory in the form of a structural diagram.

Figure 2 The Theory of Planned Behavior model (Ajzen, 1991)

The theory states that the behavioral beliefs of an individual are governed by the central

determinant attitude, which ultimately results in the intention that forms an individual’s final

behavioral response. In the context of celebrity-endorsed products, consumers online

purchase intention can be influenced by this determinant. The subjective norm refers to the

perceived social pressure one experiences to perform a certain behavior. These determinants

were originally presented by Ajzen (2011) in TRA. The perceived behavioral control

determinant was grounded on the self-efficacy theory of Bandura (2012). It states that one's

sense of self-efficacy can play a major role in in the way one approaches their goals, tasks,

and challenges. Bandura (2012) stresses that the confidence of an individual has a major role

in their ability to engage in behavior. Consequently, it is possible for individuals with similar

traits and skills to behave differently during the selection process of purchasing a product

endorsed by a celebrity due to their self-efficacy. According to the TPB, ‘attitude’ is

hypothesised as one of the central mediators of behavioral intentions. Integrated into the

present study, is the assumption that a person’s attitude toward the advertisement and attitude

towards the celebrity endorsing the product, operates as a mediating variable and has an

influence on the intention to purchase online.

2.2 Endorser effects and source model theories

Previous research on endorser effects relies on two generic source models: the source

attractiveness model and source credibility model (Ohanian, 1990 & Biswas et al, 2006). The

source attractiveness model suggests that the effectiveness of a message depends on four

dimensions, ‘familiarity’, ‘likeability’, ‘similarity’ and ‘attractiveness’ (McGuire, 1985;

Ohanian, 1990. Biswas et al, 2006). Attractiveness is anticipated as an imperative cue in an

individual’s preliminary judgment of another individual (Debevec and Kernan, 1984).

Furthermore, attractiveness is not solely referred to as physical attraction, but comprises of

numerous other attributes of the celebrity endorser, such as intellectual skills, personality

properties, lifestyles or athletic process (Erdogan, 1999).

The source credibility model states that the effectiveness of a message is contingent

upon the perceived level of ‘expertise’ and ‘trustworthiness’ of an endorser (Ohanian, 1991).

According to Erdogan (1999), information from celebrities can influence individual’s

attitudes and/or their behavior through a process identified as internalization. Internalization

occurs when the receivers, i.e. the consumers, accepts the source with regards to their

personal attitude and value structure (Erdogan, 1999). Additionally, if the individuals do

identify the celebrity endorser as an expert and trustworthy, then there is greater prospect that

these individuals might be “real” or “potential” consumers (Goldsmith et al., 2000). A

celebrity that is considered to have expertise in a particular field has been found to be more

persuasive and to generate more intentions to buy the brand (Ohanian, 1990).

Together the source credibility and attractiveness model are combined and referred to

as the source model theory (SMT) (Biswas et al., 2006). Subsequently, in this study

Ohanian’s model (1990) will be used to explain the hypothetical effectiveness of the extent in

which a celebrity endorser influences purchase intention and to what extent this is contingent

upon the type of culture.

2.3 Celebrity Endorsements and Attitudes

Celebrity endorsement is a time-honoured strategy for drawing attention to a brand

(Makumbura, 2015). Companies might decide to sign a deal with a celebrity to help

differentiate their product or service from their rival companies to give them the competitive

edge (Temperly & Tangen, 2006). Previous research has repeatedly associated celebrity

endorsers with the ability to enhance the persuasiveness of messages (Ohanian, 1990). Thus,

the focus of celebrity persuasion research has predominantly been on detecting factors that

either moderate or contribute to the persuasive effect through a main effect.

Following the source model theories, many studies on the effectiveness of celebrity

endorsement have advocated that using a celebrity endorser has more potential to positively

affect consumers’ brand attitudes and purchase intention (Erdogan, 1999; Choi & Rifon,

2012; Schlecht, 2003). According to Bergkvist & Zhou (2016), if a celebrity is assumed to

have a certain ‘source factor’ such as ‘attractiveness’ or ‘expertise’, then audience likeability

is increased and they are more affective in generating positive brand evaluations.

Nonetheless, previous research had instigated that if the source factors were examined

individually, then conflicting results will occur in relation to consumer’s attitude and

behavioral intentions.

Similarly, the product match-up hypothesis is another important concept within

celebrity persuasion research (Erdogan, 1999). The product match-up hypothesis insinuates

that endorsers are more effective when there is a ‘fit’ between the endorsers and the endorsed

product (Bergkvist & Zhou, 2016). The higher the apparent fit between the endorser and the

product, the more persuasive the advertisement will be (Wheeler, 2003; Keel & Natarajan,

2012). Evaluating consumer’s cultural background within celebrity persuasion research is

also an important factor to consider. According to Sanayei & Bahmani (2012), cultural

background could be a highly influential element in the process of forming an online

purchase intention. Individuals from different cultures can have numerous methods of

processing information and have varying attitudes towards products/brands (Sanayei &

Bahmani (2012).

Despite the existence of no direct cross cultural study between the Indian and Dutch

culture examined in this study, research has advocated that eastern cultures tend to respond

with a more positive attitude towards the celebrity advertisement, as opposed to western

cultures (Paek, 2005; Choi, Lee & Kim, 2005). Additionally, a study in the Indian context by

Gupta and Dang (2009) concluded that celebrity endorsement in India is a useful marketing

tool to develop attitude. Moreover, according to a study by AdEx India (2013) 80 percent of

celebrity endorsers in India are actors and actresses from Bollywood, who lead to an increase

in both positive attitudes and affiliation with these celebrities in comparison to western

cultures. As a result, the present study undertakes the view that an Indian celebrity endorser

will lead to more positive attitude towards the advertisement and product endorsed in

comparison to the Dutch celebrity endorser, due to high influence Bollywood stars have on

the Indians, both in a national and international spectrum.

H1 An Indian celebrity endorser leads to more positive attitudes a) towards the

advertisement, and b) towards the product than a Dutch celebrity endorser.

2.4 Celebrity Endorsement and Perceived Credibility

Perceived expertise

There are reasons to suggest that effectiveness of celebrity endorsement is significantly

dependent on the degree of the perceived ‘fit’ between the brand and celebrity image.

(Erdogan et al., 2001). If this fit exists, the celebrity endorser’s credibility is magnified.

Henceforth, in this study it is hypothesized that an Indian endorser is perceived as more

credible than a Dutch celebrity endorser.

In reference to the source credibility model, the success of a message is contingent

upon the apparent level of expertise and trustworthiness of the endorser (Hovland & Weiss,

1953). The source credibility also refers to the extent in which the receiver sees the source as

incorporating relevant knowledge, experience, set of skills and trust to give unbiased and

impartial information (Erdogan, 1999). Furthermore, consumers adopt the mind-set whereby

they think that the information a celebrity shares about a brand or product is completely pin

point accurate and enough for them to label the celebrity as credible (Goldsmith, Lafferty &

Newell, 2000). It is also worth noting that according to Seno & Lukass (2005), a celebrity

endorser has an affirmative influence on the overall attitude of the consumer and purchase

intention. A celebrity that endorses a product or brand and scores high on expertise and

trustworthiness has the ability to alter the attitude and purchase intention of the consumers

(Liu & Teo, 2007).

A credible source, on the most part can be convincing before the consumer has learnt

much about a product or formed an opinion towards it. The source credibility model is very

advantageous when consumers have a high engrossment. When consumers have a high

engrossment, they tend to be prejudiced by arguments that are relevant for the message.

Credible sources and strong arguments will be persuasive when mind-sets are changing with

the high involvement of consumers, as they will be held with an increase in self-assurance,

influence, and more resistant to change, as opposed to when they are formed with low

involvement.

Despite the lack of previous studies to explore credibility between the examined

cultures, numerous studies exist which support that eastern cultures perceive celebrities as

more credible as opposed to western cultures (Paek, 2005; Choi, Lee & Kim, 2005). To

illustrate, a cross-cultural comparison between Koreans and Americans looking at the effects

of source credibility on attitudes and behavioral intentions found that Korean endorsers were

perceived more credible than the American endorsers, with the expertise dimension having

most influence towards triggering purchase intentions (Yoon, Kim & SunKim,1998). Thus, in

this study it is believed that the Indian celebrity endorser will be perceived as more of an

expert than the Dutch endorser.

Social attractiveness

The concept of attractiveness does not only necessitate the physical attractiveness, but also

entails concepts such as cerebral skills, personality properties, way of living, athletic

enactments and skills of endorsers (Erdogan, 1999). Physical attractiveness advocates that a

celebrity governs the effectiveness of power to the extent that the consumers want to be like

the endorser and want to identify themselves with that endorser (Cohen & Golden, 1972).

Research has proven that those deemed as physically attractive communicators, tend to be

more prosperous in altering beliefs and triggering peoples purchase intention (Cacioppo &

Petty, 1980). There are numerous celebrity endorsers that have been globally labelled as

attractive by both consumers and critics (Broeder, 2012). To illustrate, examples of

successful endorsers who have been dominating the endorsement market and are also seen as

‘attractive’ include David Beckham, Michael Jordan and George Clooney. David Beckham

endorses several brands, one of which is the brand Police. He is marketable, as many men

desire to be associated with the footballer, whilst women are physically attracted to his

appearance, as he ensures he comes across as well dressed, fashionable and in good physique.

David Beckham is considered to be tremendously credible and attractive and has a high

degree of similarity; people want to be like him, he is an example of a globally recognized

celebrity. Similarly, there are many other celebrities who are recognized for their

attractiveness globally and nationally within their cultural groups such as Indian actor Hritik

Roshan, who is labelled as the “Greek Goddess” by members of the Indian society.

Moreover, abundant research has instigated that eastern cultures perceive celebrity

endorsers as more attractive as opposed to westerns cultures (Paek, 2005; Choi, Lee & Kim,

2005). To illustrate, a cross-cultural comparison between Koreans and Americans found that

Koreans reacted towards the celebrities in a more positive manner due to their attractiveness,

as opposed to Americans (Yoon, Kim & SunKim,1998). Similarly, in this study it has been

hypothesised that an Indian celebrity endorser will be perceived as more socially attractive

then a Dutch celebrity endorser as no direct reference exists to formulate this hypothesis.

H2 An Indian celebrity endorser is perceived more as a) an expert and b) more

socially attractive than a Dutch endorser.

2.5 The moderating effect of culture on attitude

There are reasons to suggest that effectiveness of celebrity endorsement is to a great extent

dependent on a fit with the type of culture of the receiver (Erdegon et al., 2001). This section

will review theories and elaborate on why an Indian celebrity endorser leads to more positive

attitudes than a Dutch celebrity endorser, but only when the consumers are Indian.

Saayei and Bamani (2012) suggested that the cultural background could potentially be

a highly influential factor in the process of forming a positive attitude and ultimately,

purchase intention. To illustrate, Tran’s (2011) cross cultural study between Chinese and

Dutch consumers looked at the influence of celebrities on attitude, which validates Saayei

and Bamani’s claims. The study found that Chinese and the Dutch participants mutually

considered Angelina Jolie as beautiful and intelligent; however, the Dutch participants had

not considered her as an expert. This suggests that Dutch participants were less influenced by

the appearance of a celebrity as opposed to the Chinese. The occurrence of differences

amongst the way individuals perform a certain behavior is primarily a result of their attitude

towards it (Ajzen, 1991). Hence, in the above given example, the participant’s attitudes

varied.

Furthermore, the following study hypothesizes that an Indian celebrity endorser leads

to more positive attitudes than a Dutch celebrity endorser, but only when the consumers are

Indian. One argument which may indicate why an Indian celebrity endorser leads to more

positive attitudes than a Dutch celebrity endorser, but solely with Indian consumers, has to do

with the concept of social identity. The social identity theory (SIT) proposes that an

individual's sense of who they are is contingent upon the groups to which they belong (Tajfel

& Turner, 1979). The theory further stipulates that belonging to certain groups transpires

through categorization and sentimental components that are associated with group

memberships (Tajfel, 1978). In order to upsurge our self-image, we boost the eminence of the

group to which we belong. For example, the suggestion that an in-group individual from

India prompting that India is the best country in the world. Correspondingly, we can also

boost our self-image by discriminating and holding prejudice attitudes against the out-group.

Another example, the English, Polish, Arab etc. are a bunch of failures. Henceforth, we have

ended up dividing the world in to “them” and “us” based on a process of social

categorization. This is known as in-group (us) and out-group (them). In the context of

celebrity endorsed products, attitudes will vary due to the influence of the social identity

theory. One might respond in a more positive manner to an in-group developed ad as opposed

to the out group or vice-versa. However, the question remains on why Indians as opposed to

The Dutch with regards to the formulation of the hypothesis. Due to the non-existing

previous literature examining the in-group influence of celebrities endorsing products in a

cross-cultural approach, Hofstede’s cultural dimension has been used to further support the

third hypothesis.

Hofstede’s (2016) cultural dimensions’ theory is a cross-cultural communication

framework that represents the effects of a society’s culture on the values of its members, the

values, which in turn influences the behavior of its society. Hofstede created 5 dimensions in

order to decide and identify a national culture of a specific country. These cultural

dimensions represent liberated partialities for one state of matter over another that extricates

countries rather than its members from one another. These dimensions can be used to help

explain the differences in culture and the influence of celebrity endorsement on consumer

online behavior. In this particular study, the individualism dimension has been incorporated

to help understand the underlying reasons to the occurrence of in-groups and out-groups,

despite no direct effects. In sum, the individualism dimension of Hofstede can be used to

explain the influence of individualism and collectivism on the formation on in-group

favoritism.

Individualism is the ethical attitude, political philosophy, belief, or social outlook that

accentuates the moral value of the individual (Wood, 1972). The Netherlands, have a very

high score of 80, meaning that they are generally an individualistic country. As a more

‘individualistic’ culture, they value self-interest, autonomy, and self-reliance as their main

driver for their socialization process ("Netherlands - Geert Hofstede", 2016). In contrast to

the Netherlands, India, with a rather intermediate score of 48, is a society with a blend of

individualistic and collectivistic traits. In such circumstances, the actions of one are

prejudiced by numerous perceptions. Some examples are such as the judgment of one’s

family, extended family, neighbors, work group and other such wider social networks that

one has some affiliation toward ("India - Geert Hofstede", 2016). In the context of celebrity

endorsement, it would be assumed that this dimension would have a more positive influence

towards the Indians, due to their staggering population and affiliation towards other

members, who might be influenced by in-group celebrities as opposed to out-group

celebrities if their judgment is prejudiced.

The social identity theory and Hofstede’s individualism dimension has been used as

the foundation theory to form the premises of the in-group out-group hypothesis of this study.

The social identity theory and Hofstede’s cultural dimension can be used to understand the

underlying process of in-group favoritism of Indians as opposed to the Dutch people. With

regards to the above definitions and analysis, it has been hypothesized that the Indians will

prefer the in-group celebrity as opposed to the Dutch respondents in this study, although no

concrete evidence exists to support this claim. To test this assumption, the following

hypothesis is formulated:

H3 An Indian celebrity endorser leads to more positive attitudes than a Dutch

celebrity endorser, but only when the consumers are Indian.

2.6 The moderating effect of Culture on Perceived Credibility

It has already been hypothesized that an Indian celebrity endorser is perceived as more

credible than a Dutch celebrity endorser (see H2). An identifiable celebrity endorser, who is

considered as more credible is almost naturally associated with the components of ‘expertise’

and ‘likeability’, two components of the perceived credibility component (Ohanian, 1990).

Perceived credibility is greatly influenced by culture (Ohanian, 1990). Numerous

research has instigated that eastern cultures perceive celebrity endorsers as more credible as

opposed to westerns cultures (Yoon, Kim & SunKim,1998; Chanthika, 2004 Liu & Teo,

2007).

Given all that has been discussed under celebrity endorsement and perceived

credibility and the moderating effects of culture on attitude, it has also been hypothesized that

the Indian celebrity will be perceived as more credible under the two dimensions being

examined in this study as opposed to the Dutch celebrity endorser. Thus, the following has

been hypothesized:

H4 An Indian celebrity endorser is perceived more credible than a Dutch endorser,

but only when the consumers are Indian.

2.7 Attitude and intention to purchase the product online

In line with the theory of planned behavior, a theory which rationalizes how an individual

forms behavioral intention, attitude has excessive predictive power for intentions and is

considered as the central determinant that governs the influence of behavioral intentions

(Ajzen, 1991). Attitude refers to an individual’s general assessment in regard to himself,

other people, objects and issues” (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986, p. 4). According to Cooke &

French (2008), Ryu & Han (2010) and Richardson, Wang & Hall (2012), to be able to predict

a behavior intention such as purchase intention, the attitude an individual has regarding a

product or brand is regularly shown to be of great importance.

In the context of the current study, the end goal of a celebrity-endorsed product is that

it will aid towards positively influencing the intention of the consumer to purchase. When

applied in the context of celebrity-endorsed products, consumers online purchase intention

can be influenced by this determinant. Correspondingly, the present study assumes that

attitude positively influences the intention to purchase the product online and formulates the

following hypothesis:

H5 Attitude positively influences the intention to purchase the product online.

2.8 Perceived credibility and intention to purchase the product online

To relate perceived level of credibility to supposed influence on behavior is of common

practice (Van der Veen & Song, 2014). Previous studies have explored perceived credibility

and its influence on intention to purchase and through their results, it is evident that perceived

credibility has positive influence on purchasing products online (Ohanian, 1990;

Pornpitakpan, 2014; Willemsen & Unkel, 2015; Liu & Teo, 2007). For example, Raj &

Mandhuri (2012) found that a celebrity endorser with higher level of expertise as opposed to

a celebrity endorser with lower level of expertise has in turn higher influence in triggering

consumers purchase intention. Likewise, in line with the theory of planned behavior,

perceived expertise and social attractiveness have both been positively linked to behavioral

intentions.

Another factor which influences perceived credibility and intention to purchase the

product online is the concept of similarity. Similarity is well defined by McGuire (1985) as

“a supposed resemblance between the source and the receiver of the message”. In plain

English, an endorser who resembles shared personal traits effortlessly influences individuals.

According to Erdogan (1999), if the celebrity and the consumer have common interests or

lifestyles, a better viscosity is formulated, this in turn influences intention to purchase.

Additionally, familiarity is another factor that influences perceived credibility and

intention to purchase a product online. According to Erdogan (1999) and Belch & Belch

(2001), familiarity is the hypothetical alikeness, as knowledge that a celebrity endorser

possesses through exposure. Prior to companies choosing a celebrity to endorse their product,

it is essential for them to comprehend to what extent their consumers and potential consumers

are familiar with the celebrity endorsing their product. High familiarity levels as opposed to

low familiarity levels with the celebrity leads to a more positive effect. Zanjoc (1968)

additionally articulates that consumers who are more prominently exposed to a celebrity and

are therefore more familiar with them, will automatically like that particular celebrity more

than a celebrity they have been exposed to for the first time; this is known as the mere

exposure effect. Thus, this influence perceived attitudes.

As previous research has repeatedly demonstrated, perceived credibility is positively

linked to attitude and behavioral intention, it has been hypothesized that:

H6 Perceived credibility (Expertise & Likeability) positively influences the

intention to purchase the product online.

2.9 Conceptual Model

Figure 2.1 Conceptual Model

This study will verify the above-mentioned relations by means of an experimental study,

whereby numerous conditions and variables have been manipulated and tested in an online

survey. This will ultimately result in an attempt to answer the following research questions:

“To what extent does the type of celebrity endorser influence purchase intention?” and “To

what extent is this contingent upon the type of culture?”

The conceptual model illustrates how the celebrity endorser, whether Indian or

Caucasian, affects attitude and perceived credibility, which ultimately triggers online

purchase intention (Figure 2.1). Attitude is measured by consumer attitude towards the

advert and product, whilst the level of expertise and likeability of the endorser measure

perceived credibility. The extent to which an endorser type leads to favourable attitude

towards the ad, product and high-perceived credibility level is moderated by culture. In this

study, culture is defined by Indian and Dutch consumer’s attitude toward the ad and product,

product involvement and perceived credibility.

Independent Variable: Celebrity Endorser (Indian vs Dutch)

Dependent Variable: Online Purchase Intention

Moderators: Culture (Indian vs Dutch)

Mediators: Attitude and Perceived Credibility

3. Method

An online experiment was set up, in order to empirically test the formulated hypotheses. The

experiment involved participants evaluating a GoPro advertisement, which had been

endorsed by either an Indian or a Dutch celebrity. This section will offer theoretical

justification and an insight into the design decisions made.

3.1 Sample

A total of 218 people participated in this study, 16 of which did not classify their ethnicity as

either Dutch or Indian, as this was a requirement for this study these individuals were

eliminated. Furthermore, six people had incomplete questionnaires and were also removed

from the dataset. Henceforth, a final sample of 196 respondents completed the experiment,

and their responses were retained for analysis. The minimum age for participation was set at

16, in order to exclude participants who did not represent the potential financial

independence. The age ranges of participants were between 16 to 52 years old (Mage = 26,

SD = 7.34, 52% female). The vast majority of the participants, reported to have taken on

further education (N=149), with the majority of both Dutch (75.6%) and Indian (59.2%)

respondents having completed university as their highest level of education.

Participants of this study were employed via an online survey, through social media

(i.e., Facebook and WhatsApp) and E-mail by acquaintances. Subsequently, the sampling

method of this study comprises of two nonprobability-sampling techniques, namely:

convenience sampling and snowball sampling. The bulk of the sample was gathered through

convenience sampling, which designates that participants are recruited due to their

accessibility, geographical proximity and willingness to participate (Itikan et al., 2015).

Whilst a small number of participants were recruited through snowball sampling, where

existing study subjects helped recruit their acquaintances to partake in the survey

(Heckathorn & Cameron, 2017).

3.2 Design

The study consisted of a 2 (endorser type: Indian versus Dutch) x2 (culture: Indian versus

Dutch) subject factorial design. Two distinct GoPro camera advertisements were developed

to incorporate these factors. Combined with these two manipulations yields, were the four

experimental conditions of this research, whereby participants were randomly assigned to one

of the four experimental conditions.

The decision to undertake an experiment as a research method, was based on the

theory that experimental research is one of the most appropriate ways to explore the cause-

and-effect relationship between variables (Bryman, 2015). Moreover, this study was part of a

big group of cross-cultural studies, whereby the designs had to be identical for the cross

examination of the results.

3.3 Development of the manipulation material

This section will discuss the rationale for the design decisions of the manipulation material.

Furthermore, an insight will be given into how the pre-test results led to alterations in the

manipulation material.

3.3.1 Webshop Background

For the purpose of this study, an online setting was simulated selling the GoPro camera. The

setting was put together on the basis of the scheme stimuli and context of Broeder (2016).

This was comprised of three elements: the first being the webshop background, the second

the context information and thirdly the product. This design has been used extensively within

research on persuasion online advertisements, as it proved to be reliable in various studies,

exploring cross-cultural differences in online behaviour (Broeder, 2016). Figure 3.1. exhibits

the structural base of this design.

Figure 3.1 The base design of the Stimuli “Scaling Cultural Persuasivity in Advertisements”

(Broeder, 2016, p.2).

The webshop background was created to evoke an online presence. In order to create the

background, a webshop page had to be created by replicating the original menu banner of

GoPro’s website and altered so that it could be more suitable for use in both India and the

Netherlands. The dropdown menu of country selection was removed, and the plus icon and

Webshop background

Context Information

Product

“free shipping and free returns” text was added. In order to keep the language of the study

consistent and neutral between the cultures being examined, English was used and not Dutch

or Hindi. The alteration of the background can be seen in figure 3.2.

Original Webshop Background

Webshop background used for the study

Figure 3.2 The original background and the webshop background used in the study.

3.3.2 The context information

The background color chosen was originally white, however, this was altered to a light silver-

grey color, based on ecological reasoning. Although, when the meaning of the color was

investigated for confirmation of its use, it was found that in India, the color white had

negative connotations, as it was associated with death (Akcay, Dalgin & Bhanagar, 2011),

whilst in the Netherlands, it represented peace, freedom, marriage, calmness, passiveness and

fertility (Scherp, 2013). Consequently, after taking into account the importance of the

associations with the color white, it was decided to use a neutral color, thus the light silver-

grey color was employed.

3.3.3 Selection of the celebrities

The celebrities that were used in the stimuli, were selected based on a set of criteria. First and

foremost, the celebrities had to be popular in both India and The Netherlands, as well as

recognizable. After extensive research into the celebrities who met the requirements, it was

clear that most of India’s top celebrities were from Bollywood (Indian film industry) and the

Dutch celebrities were figures representing sports and music. Thus, after consultation with

supervisors and academics, it was unambiguous that the celebrities used must be actors from

the movies showcased in both India and The Netherlands. The expectation was that the

participants would better recognize such celebrities. Actors were identified using the Forbes

Celebrity List (2015), which is a list that exists in both India and the United States of

America. Since the Netherlands does not have their own Forbes list, and both American and

Dutch individuals fall under Caucasian ancestry, American actors were used to represent

‘Western’ celebrities. In addition, the presumption was made that the Indian participants

would also have a better recognition of the American celebrity in comparison to Dutch

celebrities. The next requirement desired was for both the celebrities used to be recognizable

as action stars, due to the nature of the GoPro product. This in turn would ensure that the

celebrities match with the product. Lastly, the actors had to be of similar age for a fair

comparison and to prevent a one-sided end result. These requirements led to the selection of

Shah Rukh Khan as the Indian celebrity and Chris Hemsworth as the representative of the

Dutch and the Western celebrity.

3.3.4 Pre-test of celebrities

A manual pre-test (N=30) was conducted to test whether the manipulation material evoked

the intended effects. The pre-test was carried out offline, as these participants were recruited

via a network of individuals from all over the globe. Participants answered questions about

the celebrities used to create the advertisement (3 Indians and 3 Dutch, N=6), and the scores

were manually compared amongst academics. After analysing the responses of the surveys,

the results revealed that Shah Rukh Khan and Chris Hemsworth had scored the highest. See

Appendix A part 2 for full process of the pre-test. The advertisements used for this study can

be found in Figure 3.3 and 3.4.

Figure 3.3 Condition A: Indian Celebrity.

Figure 3.4 Condition B: Dutch Celebrity.

3.3.5 Selection of the product

The GoPro Hero 5, an eponymous action camera, was the selected product for the

advertisement used in this study. The GoPro allows its users to capture both photos and

record videos. The original purpose of its design was to help individuals interested in extreme

sports to capture their Kodak moments, due to its resistance against extreme conditions. One

of the reasons for having chosen this particular product for the study, was due to the fact that

it was a globally trending product, that was sold online. Therefore, it was assumed that

participants of this study would be familiar with the product. Moreover, former students that

researched into culture and advertising had also used the GoPro as the product of choice; Van

Hour (2016), Van Aken (2016) and Cornelis (2016), where the GoPro was found to be

reliable and gender-neutral. It was agreed amongst the group of students conducting the

current cultural studies, that the same product should be employed this year, due to the

interest it generated, alongside having the opportunity to later cross examine and compare

results to prior research.

3.4 Procedure

The focal questionnaire used for obtaining data was created and published online via

Qualtrics. Participants were led to the survey after having clicked on the online link sent to

them via E-mail, Facebook or WhatsApp. All participants were welcomed, followed by a

brief explanation of the purpose of the study and provided with general information. If the

participants agreed to the terms, they were able to proceed with the questionnaire. Thereafter,

participants were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions. The survey

began with presenting a scenario to the participants, whereby they were told that they were

planning a vacation and would like to capture every moment. Lastly, prior to answering the

questionnaire, they were presented with the advertisement assigned to them. See appendix B

for the full questionnaire.

3.5 Measures

In this research, validated scales were used for measurement. The questionnaire used in this

study, was predominantly based on the survey scaling cultural persuasion in online

advertisements (Broeder, 2016). All questions were measured on a five-point Likert scales

ranging from ‘completely disagree to ‘completely agree’ or with semantic differentials. See

appendix E for the factor loadings per variable.

The present study included several manipulations checks. For example, participants

were asked about their gender, age, country of birth, country of residency, language mostly

spoken at home and level of education. It is important to highlight that the country of birth

(i.e., Dutch, Indian or Other) does not indicate participants’ ethnicity, since the country of

birth does not govern the culture an individual belongs to (Broeder et al, 2012). In fact, the

ethnic group (“To what ethnic group do you belong?”) determines the individual’s ascription

to the category of culture they belong to (i.e., Dutch, Indian or Other).

The variable online purchase intention was measured with five items adopted by

Broeder (2016). Items included, for example “I would like to use this product” and “I would

like to buy this product”. These five items were subjected to principal components analysis

(PCA). Prior to performing PCA, the suitability of data for factor analysis was assessed.

Inspection of the correlation matrix revealed the presence of all the coefficients of .3 and

above and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity reached statistical significance, supporting the

factorability of the correlation matrix. Principal components analysis revealed the presence of

one component with an eigenvalue of 2.99, explaining 59.71% of the variance respectively.

All items loaded with a minimum of .47 on component 1. The item “The buying chance for

this product is low” had the lowest factor loading, but it was not eliminated since a rotated

factor loading of at least .40 can be considered as both important and reliable if the sample

size is greater than N=150 (Field, 2013). The reliability analysis indicated that it was a

reliable scale with a Cronbach’s Alpha of .81 (Privitera, 2012). The reliability of the scale

could be slightly improved if the item “I would like to give this product as a present” was

removed. However, the item was not deleted since the reliability of the scale was already

high and it would not affect the outcome.

The variable attitude is an individual’s belief of salient attributes that an object has

and his or her evaluation of each attribute (Fishbein & Azjen, 1975). Both attitude towards

the advertisement and attitude towards the product were measured using Broeder’s (2016)

scales. Attitude towards the advertisement was measured with the question “How do you feel

about the advertisement” with twelve semantic differentials, such as enjoyable/ irritating,

nice/ unappealing and relaxing/ frustrating. A second question (“To what extent does your

reaction to the overall message in the advertisement apply?”) with two items (bad/ good,

negative/ positive) was asked. These twelve items were subjected to principal components

analysis (PCA). Prior to performing PCA, the suitability of data for factor analysis was

assessed. Inspection of the correlation matrix revealed the presence of all the coefficients of

.3 and above and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity reached statistical significance, supporting the

factorability of the correlation matrix. However, one of the items loaded below .6 on the scale

(pointless/ useful). The item was not deleted, because a rotated factor loading of at least .40 is

considered as important and reliable (Field, 2013). The reliability of the scale was high and

could not significantly improved further if the item removed. The analysis revealed one

component (enjoyable/ irritating) with an eigenvalue of 6.44, explaining 53.63% of the

variance and one component (nice/ unappealing) with an eigenvalue of 1.06 explaining

8.85% of the variance. For attitude towards the advertisement the scale was very reliable,

Cronbach’s Alpha .91 (Privitera, 2012).

Attitude towards the product was measured with five items: I have more knowledge

about this type of product than my friends, I am familiar with all the features of this type of

product, I have a lot of experience using this type of product, I used this type of product in all

kinds of situation, I would like to know more about this type of product. These five items

were subjected to principal components analysis (PCA). Prior to performing PCA, the

suitability of data for factor analysis was assessed. Inspection of the correlation matrix

revealed the presence of all the coefficients of .3 and above and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity

reached statistical significance, supporting the factorability of the correlation matrix. The

analysis revealed the first item with an eigenvalue of 3.63, explaining 72.59% of the

variance. For attitude towards the product the scale was very reliable, Cronbach’s Alpha .90

(Privitera, 2012). None of the items were deleted, since the reliability of the scale would not

improve through removal.

The perceived credibility refers to the consumer believing that the product endorser

has subject-specific knowledge and viewed as an expert and likeable. Perceived credibility

was a unidimensional construct. The question “How do you feel the advertising model in the

advertisement” was used based on Broeder (2016). Participants’ opinion was measured with

twelve semantic differentials, such as not an expert/ expert, experienced/ inexperienced,

attractive/ unattractive and unlikeable/ likeable. These items were subjected to principal

components analysis (PCA). Prior to performing PCA, the suitability of data for factor

analysis was assessed. Inspection of the correlation matrix revealed the presence of all the

coefficients of .3 and above and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity reached statistical significance,

supporting the factorability of the correlation matrix. The analysis revealed the first item with

an eigenvalue of 5.98, explaining 49.83% of the variance, the second item with an eigenvalue

of 1.45 explaining 12.05% of the variance and the third item with an eigenvalue of 1.12

explaining 9.33% of the variance. The items familiar/ unfamiliar and open/ closed had a

rotated factor loading lower than .6. They were not excluded since both rotated factor

loadings were above or close to .40 and they considered as reliable and important (Field,

2013). For perceived credibility, the scale was very reliable, Cronbach’s Alpha .89 (Privitera,

2012). None of the items were obliterated, since the reliability of the scale was exceedingly

high, this study used validated scales, and for the purpose of replication it was necessary to

keep the previously used scales.

4. Results

4.1 Control variables

Before testing the hypotheses, the effect of several control variables was investigated on the

online purchase intention. The control variables were gender, country of birth, country of

residency, language spoken mostly at home and education level. As explained in paragraph

3.4, the country of birth does not indicate participant’s ethnicity. The ethnic group determines

the individual’s ascription of the type of culture they belong to.

To investigate the effect of gender on online purchase intention an independent

sample t-test was conducted. The analysis showed that there was no significant difference,

between men (M= 3.37, SD= .83) and women (M = 3.30, SD = .82), Mdifference= .07,

t(185)= .66, p= .51, BCa 95% CI [-.15, .29] on their online purchase intention. Moreover, the

country of birth (Indian: M= 3.35, SD= .82; Dutch: M= 3.34, SD= .81) does not influence

online purchase intention, Mdifference= -.01, t(185)= -.10, p= .92, BCa 95% CI [-.25, .22].

The effect of county of residency on online purchase intention was tested. Country of

residency (Indian: M= 3.23, SD= .88; Dutch: M= 3.38, SD= .77) does not influence online

purchase intention, Mdifference= .15, t(185)= 1.22, p= .22, BCa 95% CI [-.09, .39]. The

effect of language spoken mostly at home on online purchase intention was tested. Language

spoken mostly at home (Indian: M= 3.29, SD= .82; Dutch: M= 3.35, SD= .78) does not

influence online purchase intention: Mdifference= .06, t(185)= .49, p= .62, BCa 95% CI [-

.17, .29]. The effect of educational level in on online purchase intention was examined with a

one-way ANOVA. Education has no effect on online purchase intention, F(4, 213)= 2.16, p=

.07.

4.2 Mediation

This study aims to test whether attitude and the product, and perceived credibility mediate the

relationship between endorser type and online purchase intention. According to Baron and

Kenny (1986) mediation is present when the following four conditions are met:

(1) endorser type must significantly predict the online purchase intention.

(2) endorser type must significantly predict the mediating variables attitude toward the

advertisement and the product, and perceived credibility.

(3) The mediating variables attitude toward the advertisement and the product, and perceived

credibility must significantly predict the online purchase intention.

(4) endorser type must predict the online purchase intention less strongly when the mediating

variables are involved (Baron & Kenny, 1986).

The first condition assumes that the type of endorser (Indian vs. Dutch) predicts the

online purchase intention. To investigate this, an independent samples t-test was performed

with endorser type as the independent variable and the intention to buy a product online as

the dependent variable. The results showed that there was no significant difference between

the variables, Mdifference= -.15, t (216) = -1.39, p= .16, 95% CI [-.37, .06]. The type of

endorser does not significantly influence the online purchase intention. The Indian celebrity

(M= 3.41, SD= .78) generates higher online purchase intentions compared to the Dutch (M=

3.26, SD= .86), but this difference is small. The first criterion from Baron and Kenny (1986)

is not met and, therefore, no full mediation can be assumed.

4.3 Hypothesis testing

In this study, the type of endorser is the independent variable and the online purchase

intention is the dependent variable. The attitude toward the advertisement and the product,

and perceived credibility are the mediating variables, while culture is the moderator. The

effect of celebrity type on attitude and perceived credibility was tested with two independent

sample t-tests (H1, H2). The moderating effect of culture on the relationship between

celebrity type and attitude and perceived credibility (H3, H4) was tested with two two-way

ANOVA and an additional regression analysis with the PROCESS command written by

Hayes (2013). The influence of attitude and perceived credibility on online purchase intention

was examined with two linear regressions (H5, H6).

4.3.1 Endorser type, attitude and perceived credibility

To test H1 (“An Indian celebrity endorser leads to more positive attitudes than a

Dutch celebrity endorser”), an independent sample t-test was performed. Attitude towards the

advertisement and attitude towards the product were computed into one variable named

“attitude”. The test aimed to measure whether the scores of the two groups (exposed either to

the Indian or to the Dutch celebrity endorser) differ, when compared to attitude. The results

(Table 1) revealed no differences between the two groups: Dutch (M= 3.24, SD=.67) and

Indians (M= 3.34, SD=.69), Mdifference = -.10, t(196) = -1.07, p = .28, 95% CI [-.28, .08].

Therefore, H1 is not supported. An Indian celebrity endorser creates slightly more positive

attitude compared to a Dutch, but this difference is not significant.

H2 stated that “An Indian celebrity endorser has higher perceived credibility than a

Dutch endorser”. Perceived credibility was measured with expertise and likeability. The two

constructs were computed into one variable named “perceived credibility”. H2 was tested

with an independent sample t-test to measure whether the means of the two groups differ on

perceived credibility (Table 1). There were no significant differences between the two

groups: Dutch (M= 3.14, SD=.82) and Indians (M= 3.28, SD=.78), Mdifference= -.14, t(196)

= -1.34, p= .18, 95% CI [-.36, .07]. H2 is not supported. An Indian celebrity endorser is

perceived as more credible than a Dutch, but this difference is not significant. Since H1 and

H2 has been rejected, it can be concluded that the second criterion as proposed by Baron and

Kenny (1986) is not met.

Table 1. Means and standard deviations of variables per condition.

Endorser type Dutch Indian

Culture Dutch

(n= 48)

Indian

(n= 51)

Dutch

(n = 50)

Indian

(n = 47)

M SD M SD M SD M SD

Attitude 3.45a .55 3.01a .74 3.03b .66 3.64b .60

Perceived

credibility

3.47a .76 2.79a .79 2.93b .69 3.66b .70

Online

purchase

intention

3.50a .76 3.05a .93 3.19b .78 3.64b .64

Note. Standard deviations between parentheses. Different superscripts within rows relate to

significant differences conditions, p <. 05, two-tailed.

4.3.2 Culture, attitude and perceived credibility

In order to investigate H3 (“An Indian celebrity endorser leads to more positive attitudes

than a Dutch celebrity endorser, but only when the consumers are Indian”) a two-way

ANOVA was performed to investigate the interaction between culture and endorser type on

the attitude. The results showed that there were no significant main effects for endorser type

F(1, 192)= 1.25, p= .26, η2= .006 and culture F(1, 192)= .80, p= .37, η2 = .004. However, an

interaction effect (Figure 1) between endorser type and culture was detected, F(1, 192)=

32.43, p< .001, η2= .14. Culture moderated the relationship between endorser type and

attitude. H3 is supported, since the Indian celebrity scores higher on positive attitudes, when

the consumers are Indian. In the same vein, the Dutch celebrity scores higher on positive

attitudes, when the consumers are Dutch.

Figure 1. The interaction effect of celebrity type and culture on attitude.

To investigate H4 (“An Indian celebrity endorser is perceived more credible than a Dutch

endorser, but only when the consumers are Indian”) a two-way ANOVA was performed to

explore the interaction effect of endorser type and culture on perceived credibility. The

analysis showed that there were no significant main effects for endorser type F(1, 191) =

2.33, p= .13, η2= .012 and culture F(1, 191) = .04, p= .85, η2= .000. An interaction effect

(Figure 2) between endorser type and culture was detected, F(1, 183) = 44.97, p < .001,

η2= .19. Culture moderated the relationship between endorser type and perceived credibility.

H4 is confirmed, because the Indian celebrity endorser scores higher on perceived credibility,

when consumers are Indian. In a similar way, the Dutch celebrity scores higher on perceived

credibility, when consumers are Dutch. Since H3 and H4 are supported, the third criterion as

proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) is met.

Figure 2. The interaction effect of celebrity type and culture on perceived credibility

The moderation with the method of Hayes (PROCESS)

H3 (“An Indian celebrity endorser leads to more positive attitudes than a Dutch, but only

when the consumers are Indian”) was also investigated with a regression analyses with the

method of Hayes with celebrity endorsement type as predictor, attitude as the outcome

variable and culture as moderator. The moderation analyses revealed a significant model

(R2=.12, F(3,183)= 7.99, p<.001). The model for the outcome attitude explained 12% of the

variance. For attitude, there was no effect of culture and celebrity endorsement (Table 2), but

the interaction between type of celebrity endorser and culture was significant, F(1,183)=

22.94, p<.001. The analysis showed that H3 is supported. Culture moderates the relationship

between the type of celebrity endorsement and attitude towards the advertisement and the

product.

Table 2. The effect of endorser type and culture on attitude.

Predictor b SE t p 95%CI lower 95%CI upper

Constant 3.30 0.5 70.58 <.001 3.21 3.39

Culture .06 .09 .70 .48 -.12 .25

Celebrity endorsement .08 .09 .85 .39 -.11 .26

H4 (“An Indian celebrity endorser is perceived more credible than a Dutch, but only

when the consumers are Indian”) was examined with a regression analyses with the method

of Hayes with type of celebrity endorsement as predictor, perceived credibility as the

outcome variable and culture as the moderator. The moderation analysis showed a significant

model (R2=.09, F(3,182)= 7.99, p<.001). The model for the outcome attitude explained 9%

of the variance. For perceived credibility, there was no effect of culture and type of celebrity

endorsement (Table 3), but the interaction between type of celebrity endorser and culture was

significant, F(1,182)= 17.24, p<.001. The results proved that H4 is supported. Culture

moderated the relationship between the type of celebrity endorsement and perceived

credibility.

Table 3. The effect of endorser type and culture on perceived credibility.

Predictor b SE t p 95%CI lower 95%CI upper

Constant 3.39 0.5 63.28 <.001 3.28 3.49

Culture -.05 .11 -.48 .63 -.26 .16

Celebrity endorsement .09 .11 .83 .40 -.12 .30

Attitude, perceived credibility and online purchase intention

The fifth (“Attitude positively influences the intention to purchase the product online”) and

six (“Perceived credibility positively influences the intention to purchase the product online”)

hypotheses were investigated with two linear regressions.

The first linear regression analysis investigated the relationship between a person’s

attitude and the online purchase intention. The regression analysis with attitude as the

predictor and online purchase intention as the outcome variable revealed that a person’s

attitude significantly predicts the online purchase intention, b= .70, β= .58, t(216) = 10.43, p<

.001. The model explains 33% of the variance in online purchase intention, R2= .33, F(1,

216)= 108.69, p< .001. The assumptions of normality, linearity, independent errors and

homoscedasticity were met. The results showed that more positive attitude leads to higher

purchase intention. Participants are more willing to purchase a product (M= 3.33, SD= .82),

when they have a positive attitude towards the advertisement and the advertised product (M=

3.29, SD= .68). Therefore, H5 is confirmed.

The second linear regression tested the relationship between perceived credibility and

the online purchase intention. The regression analysis with perceived credibility as the

predictor and online purchase intention as the outcome variable revealed that a person’s

perceived credibility significantly predicts the online purchase intention, b= .48, β= .46,

t(216)= 7.66, p< .001. The model explains 21% of the variance in online purchase intention,

R2= .21, F(1, 215)= 58.70, p< .001. The assumptions of normality, linearity, independent

errors and homoscedasticity were met. The analysis proved that higher perceived credibility

(M= 3.21, SD= .80) leads to higher purchase intention (M= 3.34, SD= .82). Consumers are

more willing to buy a product online, when they like the celebrity endorser and when they

perceive the celebrity as an expert. Thus, H6 is supported.

To sum up, Baron and Kenny (1986) discussed four steps in establishing mediation. If

all fours steps are met, there is full mediation. If the three first steps are met but not the forth

step, there is partial mediation. The current analysis showed that the first (endorser type must

significantly predict the online purchase intention) and the second (endorser type must

significantly predict the mediating variables attitude toward the advertisement and the

product, and perceived credibility) conditions are not met. The third condition (The

mediating variables attitude toward the advertisement and the product, and perceived

credibility must significantly predict the online purchase intention) is met. Thus, there is no

indication in the model either full or partial mediation (Baron & Kenny, 1986).

Figure 3. Conceptual model with significant relations

5. General discussion

The objective of the present study was to answer the following research questions: “To what

extent does the type of celebrity endorser influence online purchase?” and “To what extent is

this contingent upon the type of culture?” Responses to these research questions were

obtained by conducting a 2 (endorser type: Indian versus Dutch) x 2 (culture: Indian versus

Dutch) between subject factorial design. This chapter will explore and analyse the answers to

these research questions based on the results obtained in this study. Furthermore, the

theoretical and practical implications of the present study will be discussed, followed by its

limitations and suggestions for future research. The chapter will conclude with a summary of

the present study.

5.1 Discussion

The first hypothesis (H1) posed that the Indian celebrity endorser would lead to more positive

attitudes than a Dutch celebrity. However, the data revealed that the minor discrepancies on

attitudes between endorser types were of little significance. Therefore, there was no evidence

supporting this hypothesis. The Indian celebrity used in this study created a marginal increase

in positive attitude towards online purchase intention than of the Dutch celebrity endorser,

but this difference was not substantial.

The expectation in the second hypothesis (H2) was that an Indian celebrity endorser

would have a higher perceived credibility than a Dutch celebrity endorser. Although, the data

suggested that the differences between the groups were not significant. Thus, there was no

supporting evidence for the assumption that an Indian celebrity would have a higher

perceived credibility than a Dutch endorser.

The third and fourth hypothesis posed that culture would moderate the relationship

between the type of celebrity and attitude (H3) and the relationship between the type of

celebrity and perceived credibility (H4). The third hypothesis posed that specifically an

Indian celebrity endorser would lead to more positive attitudes than a Dutch celebrity

endorser, but only when the consumers are exclusively Indian. Additionally, the fourth

hypothesis suggests that an Indian celebrity endorser would be perceived as more credible

than a Dutch celebrity endorser, specifically when the consumers are Indian. The analysis

indicated that both hypotheses three and four have supporting evidence.

The final two hypotheses (H5) and (H6) specified that both attitude and perceived

credibility would have positive influence on the intention to purchase online. Both

hypotheses were confirmed, indicating that a positive attitude and higher perceived

credibility would affect online purchase intention in a positive way.

Despite the first two hypotheses not being supported, the confirmation of the other

four hypotheses does ultimately help in answering the research questions. From the findings

of this study, one can argue that the type of celebrity endorsing a brand or product does

influence online purchase intentions and is contingent upon the type of culture as a whole.

Hence, companies should not just cherry pick celebrities to endorse their product or brand,

but should carefully consider and select the right celebrity after extensive research.

The current study also led to the revelation of a few unexpected and surprising

findings. First, in line with the literature, it was expected that the Indian celebrity endorser

would lead to more positive attitudes and higher perceived credibility than a Dutch celebrity

(H1, H2). However, the analysis showed that the nationality of celebrity endorser did not

significantly influence the attitude and perceived credibility of consumers. A possible

explanation for this could be that the Indian sample taken was predominantly from

individuals living in western countries. Theoretically, it is possible that perhaps their

upbringing, lifestyle and views towards the world are conceived as more “Western”, which

might explain why the Indian celebrity failed to have had a considerable influence as opposed

to the Dutch celebrity endorser. An alternative perspective could be that although the

participant’s country of birth does not govern the culture they are affiliate to (Broeder, 2016),

the domain host of this study was the Netherlands and if the study was conducted vice-versa

the results would perhaps differ. Similarly, if in the case where the host country of this study

consisted of Indian and Dutch participants, who were brought up in India, they might have

had a greater Eastern influence as opposed to a western Dutch culture influence, which in

turn would lead to opposing results. Secondly, it was anticipated that the control variables

being examined would report to have some influence upon purchase, if not completely.

However, all five control variables (e.g. gender, country of birth, country of residency,

language spoken mostly at home and education level) reported to show no significant

differences and to have had no influence upon purchase intention.

This study contributes to existing research and offers several valuable theoretical

insights regarding the persuasiveness of celebrity endorsement, as well as the differences in

online purchase intention between Dutch and Indian consumers. First, to date, there are a

limited number of cross-cultural studies that can be found which make a direct comparison

between type of celebrity, attitude and perceived credibility that is moderated by culture

within a single study. This lack of research and gap in the literature is quite astonishing as

celebrity endorsement is not a recent phenomenon (Erdogan,1999) and dates back to the

second half of the nineteenth century (Keel & Nataraajan, 2012). Hence, this study attempts

to fill this gap within research by conducting a cross-cultural, celebrity endorsement study

and analysing all the potential differences in one experimental study.

The second contribution of the present study is that the findings advocate that in-

group favouritism does have an influence upon consumers, when measuring their attitude and

celebrity perceived credibility. In the case of this study, it presented that the Indian celebrity

endorser lead to more positive attitudes and was perceived as more credible than a Dutch

celebrity endorser, solely when the consumers were Indian. Thus, the present study implies

and supports the notion that celebrities from the in-group lead to more favorable attitudes and

credibility amongst consumers.

Moreover, this research also contains several practical implications. The findings of

this study offer several valuable insights regarding the persuasiveness of celebrity

endorsement and the differences in online purchase intention between Dutch and Indian

consumers. Companies from all over the world could potentially take advantage of the

insights offered by this study, in particular companies in The Netherlands and India. The

results show that different cultures respond varyingly towards advertisements, celebrities

employed in the advertisements and the study also revealed differences in purchase behavior

between cultures. Thus, it would be prudent for the marketing teams within companies to

invest large sums of money in research to try and match their advertisements as well as

possible to co-ordinate with the culture they seek to penetrate. Studies exploring the effects of

celebrity endorsement as a marketing strategy from an Indian context, all indicate that up to

80 percent of the celebrity endorsers used in Indian advertisements are from Bollywood (Jain

et al, 2010). Similarly, the Indian celebrity from this study was from Bollywood and the

results implied that the nationality of the celebrity endorser does not significantly influence

the attitude and perceived credibility of consumers. Thus, companies that operate on a global

scale should ensure their marketing teams adapt their strategies to the culture of the country

in which they are selling their products and services, specifically Indian companies as

research indicates they are very reliant of using celebrities from Bollywood.

As with every study, there are several limitations that should be taken in to account.

One of the limitations of the study was that the product used in the stimuli, the GoPro, is an

existing and well-known product. The implication is that consumers may already have a pre-

existing opinion or attitude towards it. Future research could therefore replicate this study

with another non-existing product, in order to create a blank template in which respondents

have no pre-existing opinion towards.

The second limitation refers to the sample, where the distribution of the survey took

place online. On the one hand, this is a pragmatic and convenient way to gather a large

number of participants within a short time. On the contrary, a drawback with online surveys

is the environment in which the participant takes the survey in cannot be controlled. Further

research, could perhaps better prepare the employment of participants. Additionally, the

validity of the results, as participants may have rushed to fill in the survey or just inputted

information randomly, this could also have had an impact on the validity of the results.

Future research can perhaps allow the conduction of further approaches to test the validity of

the results (Fowler, 2013). For example, after the participants have filled in the

questionnaires, conducting second screens might possibly be a second process to increase the

validity of the results (Fowler, 2013). It would also be interesting to investigate the same

study with a different approach to obtaining data and see how the results differ. Another

possibility would have been

The third limitation refers to the research method of this study. Likewise, to the

present study, the majority of celebrity persuasion studies are carried out in the form of

advertising experiments (Bergkvist & Zhou, 2016). Conversely, the disadvantage of

conducting an experiment relates to external validity (Treadwell, 2014). Whilst the ads were

ought to have a realistic appearance, the experimental conditions in which the participants

were placed do not reflect reality. Consequently, it is unlikely that the intention to purchase

the GoPro online will be triggered after exposure to only one advertisement. It is therefore,

advisable to improve external validity, future studies should also explore other research

methods (e.g., qualitative approaches)

The final limitation lies within the manipulation material. The effects of this study are

restricted to only two types of male celebrity endorsers and two cultures being examined. The

present study therefore encourages future research to include multiple celebrity endorsers and

more cultures as moderators within a single study in order to increase the generalizability of

the results.

Putting aside the limitations of this study and ways in which one could perhaps better

conduct future research regarding ways of which further increases the validity of the results

obtained and enhancement of the outcomes. A potential proposal for a future research agenda

ought to continue with the current experimental research design examining the effects of

celebrity endorsements on the intention to purchase a product online between Indians and

Dutch participants. However, first and foremost more variables of perceived credibility

should be examined as opposed to the current study which only looks at expertise and

likeability. Additionally, all the aforementioned limitations should be taken in to

considerations regarding the stimuli, sample, research method and manipulation material

should be taken into consideration and altered accordingly.

5.2 Conclusion

This research focused on the differential effects between the type of celebrity on the intention

to purchase a product online and the extent to which this was contingent upon the type of

cultures being examined. The results of the 2 (endorser type: Indian versus Dutch) x 2

(culture: Indian versus Dutch) between subject factorial design showed that both attitude

towards the ad and product and the celebrities’ endorser’s perceived credibility significantly

influences the intention to purchase a product online. However, in contrast to our

expectations, the present study found no evidence to suggest that an Indian celebrity endorser

will lead to more positive attitudes and be perceived as more credible than a Dutch celebrity

endorser when being exposed respondents of both cultures at the same time. Celebrity

endorser type did significantly affect online purchase intention, when consumers were solely

from the in-group of the celebrity or vice-versa. Thus, practioners are advised to take caution

and be culturally sensitive to markets they haven’t penetrated and markets which vary to their

common market practices.

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7. Appendices

Appendix A: Part 1: An overview of the images used in the pretest.

Stage 1

Design 1 - Shah Rukh Khan (Indian model) and Design 2 - Michiel Huisman (Dutch model)

Stage 2

This appendix is dedicated to the pretesting of different celebrities of the two cultures being

studied. As soon as I started working on the experiment part of the study, I went on to Google and

searched the following terms: “Top Indian celebrities” and “Top Dutch celebrities”. Amongst the

various names that were shown as the search result, I saw the names “Shah Rukh Khan” and

“Michiel Huisman”. I decided to select these celebrities are the representing models of the two

cultures for the experiment. The decision was purely based on the fact that one of the celebrities

represented the Indian culture and the other respectively represented the Dutch culture. I tried to

ensure both photos were of similar style of clothing and the features. After searching, I selected

two photos of which both the advertising model was wearing similar clothing and of similar age.

Post designing the first initial set of designs, I posted them in a closed online Facebook group

whereby experts were asked to comment their views of the designs. After receiving feedback from

the experts, I came to understand that the advertising models used for the designs have different

postures. I then tried to find two similar photos whereby the advertising models are wearing

similar type of clothing and their poses were similar. After collecting the images and creating the

web shop design, I ended up with the following designs.

Stage 3

Source Indian Celebrity Source Western Celebrity

India Today Hritik Roshan Ranker.com Bradley Cooper

India Today Salman Khan Ranker.com Michiel Huisman

India Today Shahrukh Khan Ranker.com Chris Hemsworth

Through the responses attained by the panel of experts, I was also advised to conduct a pilot for

the selection of the celebrities representing the two cultures used for the cross-cultural studies. I

was told that for the initial two designs, the celebrities’ level of masculinity varied as one had a

heavy beard and the other has a clean shave. Thus, I decided to create six designs, 3x2 designs of

the selected celebrities. To avoid choosing the celebrities that were of my preferences for the

experiment, I conducted the following pilot study. I selected 3 Indian and 3 western celebrities that

are also recognized and popular in The Netherlands. I selected the Indian celebrities through a site,

which listed the top ten Indian celebrities (India Today, 2016). After selecting the Indian results, I

also did the same with the western celebrities and selected 3 out of the top 10 celebrities.

Design 5 + 6 – Hritik Roshan (Bollywood Actor)

Design 7 + 8 – Salman Khan (Bollywood Actor)

Design 9 +10 – Shah Rukh Khan (Bollywood Actor)

Design 11 + 12 Bradley Cooper (Hollywood Actor)

Design 13 + 14 Michiel Huisman (Dutch Actor)

Design 15 + 16 Chris Hemsworth (Hollywood Actor)

Final Images selected for pilot study through feedback of experts.

Final Designs based on predominantly the likeability and familiarity scale of Broeder (2016).

Appendix A: Part 2: Pilot questionnaire.

Questionnaire used for pilot study

Person _______

Do you know this person? Yes / no

How do you feel about the person in the advertisement?

bad O O O O O good

negative O O O O O positive

not an expert O O O O O expert

experienced O O O O O inexperienced

competent O O O O O incompetent

unreliable O O O O O reliable

subjective O O O O O objective

familiar O O O O O unfamiliar

attractive O O O O O unattractive

ugly O O O O O good-looking

exciting O O O O O dull

unfavourable O O O O O favourable

unlikable O O O O O likeable

open O O O O O closed

What you think of him, and why?

What is your age?

What is your e-mail?

Appendix A: Part 3: Analysis and choice of final celebs for ad design.

The choice for the pictures of Shah Rukh Khan as the Indian celebrity and Chris Hemsworth as the

Western celebrity representing the in-group celebrity for the Dutch people. Initially two pictures of

two random searched celebrities were intended to be used. After consulting with a group of

experts, I was advised to conduct a pilot for the selection of the celebrities for the in and out group.

First two pictures of three Indian and Western celebrities were selected in line with Forbes list of

popular celebrities. They were then edited on Adobe Photoshop CC and three manipulations from

each group was selected in line with familiarity and likeability scales of Broeder (2016). The final

six images of which three was Indian celebrities and three Western celebrities was presented to a

jury of 30 people who evaluated all 6 images through a short questionnaire that they were asked to

fill.

The first question asked of the participants was if they knew who the person was which was

measured with just a yes or no. A 5-point scale was used to measure how the participants felt about

the person in the advertisement (refer to appendix A for full breakdown of scales) and eventually

they were asked an open question to give a response in regards to what they thought of the

celebrity and why. Lastly, their age was asked and their email id.

The scores of all six images given by the participants was recorded and compared manually with

my supervisor and based on the results the picture of Shahrukh Khan and Chris Hemsworth were

selected for this study.

Appendix B: The online questionnaire.

Appendix C: Expert feedback on questionnaire

Expert 1

Expert 2

Expert 3

Expert 4

“Maybe you can balance negative and positive adjectives in the question "How do you feel about

the advertisement" better. So, put both negative and positive in both sides that you don’t bias.

Open-closed also I would recommend better extrovert-introvert. Also, instead of advertising

model--> model in the advertisement. Finally, you have two times the page "don’t forget to

push >> to record your answers”. It appeared twice for me. Good Luck”

“Hey Maroof, looks good. Just like I told Elke, you could maybe put an age restriction on age

question. Also, I’m able to put random symbols in your age box. Qualtrics provides you to make

participants only able to insert numbers in that specific box. It's somewhere in the tool menu on the

right side of the screen after clicking on the question”

“Hi Maroof, the questionnaire looks good, I notice there is no forced response in one or two of the

questionnaires in the second condition. I filled in your questionnaire two times to be able to test

both conditions for you. Best of luck with the data collection ☺ ”.

“Hi Maroof, I think it would be better to take of the term celebrity from the phrases created for the

scenarios as I believe it gives away a little the purpose of the study in my opinion. Other than that

all looks good, wish you all the best. Success!”

Appendix D: Questionnaire items.

Convergent validity and reliability statistics (N = 196)

Construct Items Factor loadings

(Varimax

rotation)

Online purchase

intention

I would like to use this product .79

I would like to buy this product .88

I would like to talk with friends about this

product

.88

I would like to give this product as a present .75

The buying chance for this product is low .47

Cronbach’s alpha: .81

Attitude towards

the advertisement

How do you feel about this advertisement

Enjoyable- irritating .80

Nice- unappealing .82

Relaxing- frustrating .75

Fun- no fun .72

Amusing- not amusing .62

Informative- not informative .63

Necessary- unnecessary .68

Worthwhile- useless .81

Pointless- useful .49

Sensible- stupid .81

To what extent does your reaction to the overall

message in the advertisement apply?

Bad- good .80

Negative- positive .78

Cronbach’s alpha: .91

Attitude towards

the product

I have more knowledge about this type of

product than my friends

.93

I am familiar with all the features of this type of

product

.92

I have a lot of experience using this type of

product

.89

I used this type of product in all kinds of

situation

.87

I would like to know more about this type of

product

.61

Cronbach’s alpha: .90

Perceived

credibility

How do you feel the advertising model in the

advertisement?

Not an expert- expert .76

Experienced- inexperienced .81

Competent- incompetent .71

Unreliable- reliable .60

Subjective- objective .87

Familiar- unfamiliar .35

Attractive- unattractive .73

Ugly- good-looking .77

Exciting- dull .78

Unfavorable- favorable .83

Unlikeable- likeable .84

Open - closed .49

Cronbach’s alpha: .89