📄 social_science

The Role of KOL Attractiveness in Shaping Green Purchase Intention Through Trust and Green Advertising Skepticism

This study of 300 Vietnamese consumers reveals that Key Opinion Leader attractiveness positively influences green purchase intention by enhancing trustworthiness and green trust, while green advertising skepticism specifically weakens the impact of green trust but not that of source trustworthiness.

Original authors: Nga Quynh Thi Pham, Nhu Thuc Tran Le, Kien Trung Tran

Published 2026-07-14

📖 4 min read☕ Coffee break read

CC BY 4.0

Original authors: Nga Quynh Thi Pham, Nhu Thuc Tran Le, Kien Trung Tran

Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ✨ This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer

Imagine you're scrolling through your phone, and a famous, super-charismatic influencer (a Key Opinion Leader, or KOL) posts a video about a new eco-friendly water bottle. You're thinking, "That looks cool, and I want to help the planet." But then, a little voice in your head whispers, "Wait, is this just a trick? Are they lying about it being green?"

This paper is like a detective story trying to figure out exactly how that influencer's charm, your trust in them, and that nagging voice of skepticism all mix together to decide if you actually buy the bottle. The researchers, working with 300 young Vietnamese consumers who love green products and follow KOLs, built a model to test this.

The Charismatic Spark
First, the study found that when a KOL is attractive and charismatic, it acts like a magic key. It doesn't just make you like the person; it makes you trust them more. Think of it like a really good-looking tour guide; if they look the part, you're more likely to believe what they say about the path ahead. The data showed that a KOL's attractiveness has a strong, positive impact on how trustworthy they seem (a score of 0.360) and also boosts your trust in the green message itself (a score of 0.196).

The Trust Bridge
Once you trust the influencer, that trust acts like a bridge. The study measured that when you trust the KOL, you are more likely to intend to buy the green product (a score of 0.220). Even more importantly, if you trust that the product is actually green (green trust), that belief pushes you even harder toward buying it (a score of 0.240). So, the path is: Attractive KOL → Trust the KOL → Trust the Product → Want to Buy.

The Skepticism Brake
Here is where it gets really interesting, and where the paper rules out a common guess. You might think that if you are super skeptical about green advertising (that "greenwashing" feeling), it would ruin the KOL's ability to convince you. The researchers tested this specifically.

They found that skeptical thinking does NOT break the link between the KOL's trustworthiness and your buying intention. Even if you are suspicious of ads in general, if you genuinely trust the specific person talking to you, they can still get you to want to buy the product. The paper explicitly rejects the idea that skepticism weakens the KOL's power.

However, skepticism does act like a heavy brake on the product's trust. If you are highly skeptical about green claims in general, your trust in the product itself becomes much less effective at making you buy it. The data showed a significant negative effect here (a score of -0.186). In other words, if you doubt the "greenness" of the world, trusting the product isn't enough to make you click "buy," but trusting the person telling you about it still works.

The Numbers and the Method
The researchers didn't just guess; they measured this using a survey of 300 people. Of those, 190 were female and 110 were male. Most of them (278 people) were between 18 and 29 years old. When it came to money, 221 participants earned less than USD 380 a month. They used a specific statistical method called PLS-SEM to crunch the numbers, ensuring the results were solid.

The study suggests that while we can't be 100% sure about everything in the real world (since this was a snapshot in time and used a specific group of young people), the evidence strongly points to a specific mechanism: Attractiveness builds trust, trust builds intention, and while general skepticism can kill your faith in a product, it doesn't kill your faith in a person you already trust.

So, if you want to sell a green product, the paper suggests you need a KOL who is not just popular, but genuinely trusted. And while you can't stop people from being skeptical of "green" claims in general, a trusted voice can still cut through that noise and get them to care about the product. But remember, this is a suggestion based on a specific group of young consumers in Vietnam, and the researchers admit that future studies might need to look at different groups or track people over a longer time to see if these feelings stay the same.

Technical Summary: The Role of KOL Attractiveness in Shaping Green Purchase Intention Through Trust and Green Advertising Skepticism

Problem Statement
Despite rising environmental awareness, a significant gap persists between green awareness and actual green purchase intention (GPI), particularly in emerging economies like Vietnam. While Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) on social media serve as critical information sources, the mechanisms by which their characteristics influence GPI remain unclear, especially amidst rising consumer skepticism toward green advertising (greenwashing). Existing literature often treats green trust from a corporate perspective, neglecting the specific role of KOLs in forming trust and the moderating effects of skepticism in digital environments. Furthermore, there is a lack of integrated empirical models combining Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT) to explain how KOL attractiveness and trustworthiness interact with consumer cognition to drive green consumption.

Methodology
The study employs a quantitative approach using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test a conceptual framework integrating SCT and BRT.

Sample: Data was collected via convenient sampling from 300 Vietnamese consumers who have experience purchasing green products and regularly follow KOLs. The demographic profile is heavily skewed toward young adults (92.67% aged 18–29) and lower-to-middle income brackets.
Measures: The study utilized a 5-point Likert scale for five constructs:
- KOL Attractiveness (AN) and KOL Trustworthiness (TW): Adapted from Ohanian [52].
- Green Trust (GT): Inherited from Wasaya et al. [53].
- Green Advertising Skepticism (GAS): Developed based on Mohr et al. [54].
- Green Purchase Intention (GPI): Inherited from Paul et al. [55].
Analysis: Data analysis was conducted using SmartPLS 4.0. The process involved two stages: evaluating the measurement model (reliability, validity, discriminant validity via HTMT) and evaluating the structural model (path coefficients, $R^2$ , $Q^2$ , and moderation effects).

Key Results
The structural model analysis yielded the following findings:

Direct Effects:
- KOL Attractiveness (AN) has a significant positive impact on KOL Trustworthiness (TW) ( $\beta = 0.360, p < 0.001$ ) and Green Trust (GT) ( $\beta = 0.196, p < 0.05$ ).
- KOL Trustworthiness (TW) positively influences GPI ( $\beta = 0.220, p < 0.01$ ).
- Green Trust (GT) positively influences GPI ( $\beta = 0.240, p < 0.01$ ).
Moderation Effects (Green Advertising Skepticism):
- GAS does not moderate the relationship between KOL Trustworthiness and GPI ( $\beta = -0.037, p = 0.640$ ). The influence of KOL trustworthiness remains stable regardless of skepticism levels.
- GAS significantly negatively moderates the relationship between Green Trust and GPI ( $\beta = -0.186, p < 0.05$ ). As skepticism increases, the positive impact of green trust on purchase intention diminishes.
Model Fit: The model demonstrated acceptable explanatory power ( $R^2$ values > 0.1 for most variables) and predictive relevance ( $Q^2 > 0$ ). Multicollinearity was not an issue (VIF < 3.3).

Key Contributions

Theoretical Integration: The study successfully integrates Social Cognitive Theory (focusing on social learning and observation of KOLs) and Behavioral Reasoning Theory (focusing on "reasons for" and "reasons against" behavior) to explain green consumption. It posits that KOL attractiveness acts as a cognitive signal simplifying information evaluation (SCT), while trust and skepticism serve as the "reasons" justifying or hindering purchase decisions (BRT).
Differentiation of Trust Mechanisms: A primary contribution is the finding that trust operates through two distinct pathways with different vulnerabilities to skepticism. Trust in the source (KOL trustworthiness) is resilient to green advertising skepticism, whereas trust in the product/message (green trust) is highly susceptible to it.
Role of Attractiveness: The study validates KOL attractiveness not merely as a superficial trait but as a critical antecedent that enhances both the perceived credibility of the KOL and the consumer's trust in the environmental message itself.

Significance and Claims
The authors claim this research expands the explanatory power of behavioral reasoning theory within the context of digital media. By demonstrating that skepticism acts as a boundary condition specifically for product-level trust rather than source-level trust, the study offers a nuanced understanding of consumer psychology in green consumption.

Practically, the paper suggests that businesses should:

Select KOLs based on both attractiveness and the ability to build genuine trust, as these traits initiate the trust formation process.
Recognize that while a trustworthy KOL can maintain influence even when consumers are skeptical of green ads, the product's green claims require concrete evidence and transparency to overcome skepticism.
Design communication strategies that leverage the "personalized signal" of KOLs to mitigate the negative effects of skepticism that typically erode confidence in corporate green messaging.

The study acknowledges limitations regarding its cross-sectional design, reliance on convenient sampling of young Vietnamese consumers, and the exclusion of other variables like price sensitivity or environmental knowledge, suggesting these as avenues for future longitudinal and broader research.

Technical Summary: The Role of KOL Attractiveness in Shaping Green Purchase Intention Through Trust and Green Advertising Skepticism

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