Employees as brand ambassadors qualities influence in jewelery products purchase intention in e-commerce.

Abstract

Supervisor – Assoc. Prof. Elzė Rudienė Work was prepared – Vilnius, 2024. Scope of work – 78 pages. Number of tables – 14 pcs. Number of pictures – 8 pcs. Number of literature sources – 78 pcs. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of employees as brand ambassadors qualities on the intention to purchase jewelry products in e-commerce. This bachelor thesis consists of three parts: a review of academic literature, research methodology and analysis of research results. The first part explores the scientific literature on the concept, diversity, and communication characteristics of employees as brand ambassadors. Models related to the information acquisition process and the evaluation of source credibility are also presented. The second part of the thesis describes the research methodology, introduces the developed research model, presents the hypotheses, and assesses the reliability of the questionnaire. The third part focuses on the analysis of the collected data, using linear and multiple regression analyses. Data for the quantitative research was collected through a standardized online survey, which included a description of the employee ambassador, photos and example posts for social media. A convenience sampling method was used, with a total of 321 respondents answers analyzed in the study. The results showed that employee ambassador traits, such as expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness, significantly impact the intention to purchase jewelry online. Expertise and trustworthiness are particularly important for consumers who are familiar with the ambassador, while trustworthiness has the strongest influence on audiences unfamiliar with the ambassador. Attractiveness has a positive effect only on consumers familiar with the ambassador, but it has no significance for new consumers