New Directions in Influencer Research

Éditeurs invités

• Veronica L. Thomas, Old Dominion University
• Kendra Fowler, Youngstown State University

Synthèse

Influencer marketing has become central to brand communication strategies, but the field now stands at a critical juncture. Rapid technological changes including generative AI, synthetic influencers, evolving platform structures, and creator professionalization are fundamentally transforming the landscape, making many previously established assumptions potentially obsolete.

This special issue seeks research that transcends incremental contributions and instead examines how influence operates in contemporary contexts. The call invites scholars to adopt new theoretical frameworks, explore how technological and cultural shifts have altered influencer dynamics, and investigate emerging managerial challenges that will shape future advertising strategies.

Contributions should critically revisit core assumptions while avoiding simple replications of well-established findings. The journal welcomes theoretically grounded and methodologically rigorous work addressing evolving ecosystems, influencers as entrepreneurs, strategic implications, measurement innovation, and fundamental reconceptualizations of influencer theory.

Thèmes proposés

• How are deepfakes and synthetic media altering how consumers process and engage with influencer marketing?
• How are influencers incorporating AI tools into content creation, audience management, and monetization, and how do these practices reshape influence?
• How do influencer collectives, creator economies, and platform governance structures reshape influence and value creation?
• What are the power dynamics that occur across influencer–brand–platform relationships?
• How has the influencer ecosystem changed, or how does it need to change, to address increased opportunities for influence beyond social media platforms or the use of AI tools to facilitate content creation?
• How is influence extending beyond traditional social media into commerce, entertainment, education, and hybrid digital physical spaces?
• How do influencers function as brands, entrepreneurs, and marketing organizations rather than merely as endorsers?
• What competitive threats do influencers face from other creators, platforms, AI generated content, or brand owned media?
• How do influencers adapt, reposition, or professionalize as their audiences, technologies, and revenue models evolve?
• How can influencers themselves be protected from exploitation, burnout, harassment, or reputational harm?
• How should firms design influencer strategies across different stages of the customer journey and across multiple platforms?
• How does influencer marketing effectiveness vary across cultural, geographic, and market contexts?
• What strategic trade-offs do firms face between reach, authenticity, control, and risk in influencer partnerships?
• How should brands evaluate influencer fit, performance, and spillovers in increasingly algorithmic environments?
• How do misinformation, manipulated content, and brand safety risks emerge and spread within influencer ecosystems?
• How can influence, engagement, and persuasion be more accurately measured in dynamic, algorithmically curated environments?
• How can field experiments and platform-based data be leveraged to enhance external validity?
• How can researchers capture spillover effects, halo effects, and cross-platform influence in influencer campaigns?
• What new metrics or analytical approaches are needed to study influence at scale and over time?
• How should advertisers select influencers to fit their specific strategic needs?
• Are existing influencer typologies still relevant, or are new classification frameworks needed?
• Where do existing theories of persuasion, social influence, and communication fall short in explaining consumer–influencer relationships today?
• How should foundational theories be extended or revised to account for AI-mediated and platform-driven influence?