Decoding influencer authenticity: the CueSphere model of extrinsic cues

Social media influencers (SMIs) play multiple vital roles in service marketing, particularly in content co-creation, such as acting as experiencers (e.g. sharing their own consumption experience to create value-in-use for peer customers; Bargoni et al., 2023), communicators (e.g. explaining the value-in-use of services and communicating persuasively their peer customers to purchase those services; Wu et al., 2022) and innovators (e.g. innovating new value propositions for unique needs of niche follower communities, thereby developing personalized brand; Wu et al., 2022). Recent transformative changes in content co-creation within services highlight the roles of SMIs as servicescape atmosphere shapers, as well as “walking billboards”, co-creating content with professional beauty services brands (Rodner et al., 2022). Previous studies on shaping servicescape atmosphere have extended beyond the physical environment, such as store spaces and employees (Bitner, 1992), to include the non-physical settings’ elements, such as the appearance of employees serving as “organizational artefacts” that evoke sensory responses in customers (Warhurst and Nickson, 2009). Of greater significance in shaping the servicescapes atmosphere in a non-physical environment is SMI endorsements (Rodner et al., 2022) that go beyond simply promoting specific clinics, technicians, cosmetic procedures or brands through electronic word of mouth (Lu and Chen, 2023; Jin et al., 2019). SMIs serve as aesthetic collaborators, becoming integral to the aesthetic service environment. Although they are not direct employees of cosmetic clinics, SMIs generate strong emotional responses in peer customers (i.e. followers) through their depiction, narration and reframing of their own cosmetic transformations − similar to how a store’s physical servicescape influences customers’ emotions and behaviours (Rodner et al., 2022).

Trust, however, has eroded. Indeed, there has been an increasing concern about how genuine SMIs are, in their roles as servicescape atmosphere shapers, when they depict and accurately reframe their own cosmetic transformations. Only those motivated by internal factors (e.g. an authentic SMI), rather than external financial rewards, can truly shape the atmosphere of the servicescape. About 64% of firms collaborating with SMIs expressed concerns regarding fraudulent behaviours (MarketingHub, 2023), leading to increased customers’ scepticism towards SMIs partnered with these firms. SMIs can spread inauthentic content in exchange for financial benefits from their sponsored posts (Audrezet et al., 2020). For example, a recent Business Insider report shows that influencer Chiara Ferragni, who has 29.5 million Instagram followers, was fined €1.075m for misleading clients by encouraging them to buy sponsored services to assist a bone cancer charity (Cheong, 2024). In Germany, half of the customers who follow SMIs report receiving fake sponsored messages from their favourite SMIs, which erodes trust in the independence and objectivity of these influencers (Wavemaker, 2019). As a result, only 37% of German customers currently trust the content co-created by SMIs with collaborative brands (Nielsen, 2022). Similarly, in the USA, only 13% of customers rely on influencers for purchasing decisions (Oracle and Leary, 2022). This, along with substantial anecdotal and empirical data from global sources such as CXM (2022), Entrepreneur (2021) and Forbes (2020), indicates a growing decline in customers’ trust in influencers. Thus, the perceived authenticity of social media influencer (PASMI) has emerged as an important and timely topic to address these challenges.

While research on the perceived authenticity of SMIs in services is still in its infancy, it has flourished and attracted substantial scholarly attention in the field of marketing in general. We build on this research stream and address an important phenomenon regarding how to decode PASMI in service content co-creation. PASMI is conceptualized as the extent to which customers perceive SMIs as behaving according to their true selves rather than engaging in sponsored activities with financial motives (Zniva et al., 2023). PASMI plays an important role for both customers and endorsed brands as the effectiveness of an endorsed brand relies on the authenticity of the SMI (Lefebvre and Cowart, 2022). Our review of the extant literature shows that the current understanding of PASMI decoding is primarily grounded in attribution theory (Folkes, 1988; Kelley, 1967). Indeed, to decode PASMI, customers cannot directly observe it (Moulard et al., 2015). Instead, they must rely on available information to make inferences about PASMI. Advocates of attribution theory (Folkes, 1988; Kelley, 1967) posit that customers naturally attempt to infer the causes behind unobserved behaviours (Kelley, 1973; Weiner, 2000). As such, the causes of PASMI can be attributed either to intrinsic characteristics of SMIs or to extrinsic information in the situational context surrounding the SMIs (Heider, 2013; Moulard et al., 2015).

Premised on attribution theory, we review and categorize prior studies on PASMI decoding into two research streams as shown in Table 1. The first emphasizes the implications of intrinsic cues [¹] (e.g. personal traits of SMIs). For example, customers can infer the authenticity of SMIs in terms of their rarity, stability, uniqueness and consistency (Zniva et al., 2023); talent, discretion, originality, candidness and morality (Moulard et al., 2015); truthful endorsements, sincerity, visibility and expertise (Lee and Eastin, 2021); attributes and profiles, selfies (Abidin, 2016); passion and transparency (Audrezet et al., 2020); ask for fee (Miguel et al., 2022); ethos of self (Valentinsson, 2018); eye gaze (Ilicic and Brennan, 2020); and interactivity (Jun and Yi, 2020). Collectively, these studies in the first stream underscore the central role of intrinsic cues in shaping the perceived authenticity of SMIs.

The latter focuses on extrinsic cues (e.g. the situational context information surrounding SMIs) to infer an SMI’s authenticity. However, this emerging research stream is still in its infancy, with only few studies highlighting materialistic consumption (Lee et al., 2022) and SMI-owned brand (Kennedy et al., 2021). Further research is needed to explore extrinsic cues and their contribution to decoding PASMI in content co-creation within services for four main reasons. Firstly, extrinsic cues can help customers strengthen their confidence in attribution inferences about PASMI, which cannot be directly observed. Customers are not always certain about their attribution inferences, as their inferences present only one of many possible explanations of an occurrence (Li and Fumagalli, 2022; Major and Crocker, 1993). Therefore, customers require extrinsic cues to validate their understanding of PASMI, rather than relying solely on intrinsic cues, which only reflect the SMI’s personal traits.

Secondly, to comprehensively decode PASMI, customers and brands need to consider multiple perspectives − not only from the SMI but also from the collaborative brands and the customers’ experience (Zidny et al., 2020). This is because content co-creation within services involves three important parties: SMIs, brands and their customers, all of whom interact within the collaboration (Jun and Yi, 2020). Thirdly, marketing scholars have recently called for further research to explore extrinsic signals from the “collaborated brand and customer experience that influence the perceived authenticity of social media influencers” (Vo et al., 2023, p. 15). Finally, recent marketing reports have highlighted the increased importance of extrinsic cues – specifically, those related to both the partnered brands and customers − and their connection to SMI authenticity (MarketingHub, 2023). This is particularly relevant in the professional beauty service industry, which reached $213.9bn in 2022 (Global Marketing Insights, 2023). The annual adoption of cosmetic treatment services is remarkably high, especially for non-surgical or minimally invasive cosmetic procedures (Rodner et al., 2022). Professional beauty service brands consider SMIs an integral part of influencer marketing campaigns (Rosenbaum et al., 2022).

Our current research is among the first attempts to advance our understanding of the authenticity implications of extrinsic cues. We first classify these extrinsic cues into two categories: customer experience-related cues (e.g. experience alignment) and collaborative brand-related cues (e.g. brand coolness). We address the following question: What extrinsic cues exist in the two categories, and how do they contribute to decoding PASMI in content co-creation within services? To answer this question, we use a qualitative method and thematic analysis. We conduct in-depth, one-on-one interviews with 21 customers of professional service beauty brands in Vietnam.

Our research offers two theoretical contributions relating to decoding the perceived authenticity of social media influencers in content co-creation within services. Firstly, building on attribution theory, we examine extrinsic cues (i.e. customer experience-related and collaborative brand-related cues) as a new avenue to decode PASMI in content co-creation within professional beauty services marketing. We demonstrate that unlike product-based endorsements, where authenticity relates to an influencer’s honesty and expertise, decoding authenticity in service-based endorsements requires considering cues from both the service brand and customer experiences.

Secondly, building upon this theoretical conjecture, we develop a novel CueSphere model based on insights gained from in-depth interviews with professional beauty services. The CueSphere model offers nine distinct extrinsic cues to decode the perceived authenticity of SMIs in shaping the servicescape atmosphere for minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. Our research is the first of its kind highlighting the crucial role of extrinsic cues within the professional beauty service sector. It is also fascinating to highlight that our empirical setting is Vietnam, a developing economy within the Asia-Pacific region, where social media dynamics play an increasingly significant role with a social media penetration rate of 73.3% (Jtmasia, 2024; Statista, 2024b). As of 2024, over 55% of Vietnamese customers’ purchase decisions in the beauty services category are influenced by social media platforms (Statista, 2024a). The relationship between social media influencers and their audience, as well as the way perceived authenticity is decoded, may differ from other economies due to cultural influences. This distinct cultural context opens avenues for future cross-cultural research, enriching our understanding of how SMI authenticity shapes customer decision-making across diverse settings.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The next section shows the theoretical background on the perceived authenticity in services in general, the definition of PASMI and the extrinsic cues to decode it. In the next section, the methods and data analysis are explained. Next, we present the findings, discussion, theoretical contributions, practical, and societal implications, future research and conclusion.

Authenticity generally refers to things that are genuine, real, true and sincere (Grayson and Martinec, 2004). It cannot be assessed by objective criteria, but rather only through the perceptions of evaluators (Lehman et al., 2019). Echoing this viewpoint, the existing marketing literature considers authenticity as a “socially-constructed interpretation of the essence of what is observed rather than properties inherent in an object” (Beverland and Farrelly, 2010, p. 839). Thus, scholars have consistently emphasized the importance of conveying perceived authenticity in service organizations, because it significantly influences the credibility of service providers (Kraak and Holmqvist, 2017) and customers’ behaviour (Lechner and Mathmann, 2021; Tariq et al., 2023).

Previous research on authenticity in services has primarily focused on human attributes (i.e. service providers) (Kim, 2021). For instance, frontline service employees, who interact directly with customers (Lechner and Mathmann, 2021; Lechner and Paul, 2019; Yagil, 2014) are regarded as authentic when they have decent linguistic styles, and emotional tones, genuinely embody their values and align with their self-concept (Baker et al., 2014; Burton et al., 2021). Prior studies have also explored employee emotional authenticity (Andrzejewski and Mooney, 2016), and how employees’ knowledge and interactive behaviours – such as dialect, humour, attire and body language – contribute to the perceptions of authenticity (Värlander, 2009). The emphasis on human attributes in service research is premised on the idea that service employees shape the atmosphere of servicescapes, creating sensory and emotional responses in customers (Chen, 2024).

Nonetheless, social media influencers are increasingly recognized as pivotal shapers in the evolution of servicescapes atmosphere (Rodner et al., 2022). Although SMIs are not direct employees of services firms, they evoke strong emotional responses in their peer customers (i.e. followers) through their descriptions, stories and re-evaluations of personal transformations – particularly in professional beauty services – ultimately influencing their peer customers’ purchase behaviours (Rodner et al., 2022). Despite recent calls from academics for a heightened focus on authenticity in service encounters (Lindsey-Hall et al., 2021), little attention has been given to the perceived authenticity of SMIs in beauty service research.

This study is in harmony with the conceptualization of PASMI as articulated by Moulard et al. (2020) and Zniva et al. (2023). PASMI refers to a customer’s perception of whether SMIs can genuinely communicate purchasing-related information that corresponds to their true self and intrinsic motivation regarding brands and services without being influenced by financial incentives. Authentic influencers generate content (i.e. videos or posts) fuelled by a strong passion and dedication to particular products and services (Park et al., 2021). Their motivation for content creation is not to please followers, meet brand expectations or achieve commercial goals (Jun and Yi, 2020). Instead, they focus on enjoying self-improvement, fostering positive emotions and creating genuine value for their audiences, grounded in the SMIs’ true selves and motivations (Lee and Johnson, 2022).

However, customers cannot directly observe PASMI (Moulard et al., 2015). Instead, they must rely on available information to decode PASMI and determine if SMIs genuinely communicate their true intrinsic opinions of brands and services that are independent of financial incentives. This process is consistent with the tenets of attribution theory (Folkes, 1988; Kelley, 1967). This theory posits that individuals naturally try to infer the causes of unobserved behaviours because they cannot provide explicit explanations for them (Kelley, 1973; Weiner, 2000). In the case of an SMI’s perceived authenticity, the causes of unobserved action – why the SMI is perceived as authentic – are not disclosed, prompting customers to search for explanations. These causes can be attributed either to intrinsic cues (i.e. SMI’s disposition or characteristics) or to extrinsic cues (i.e. situational context information surrounding SMIs). While prior research has predominantly focused on decoding PASMI using intrinsic cues (see Table 1), the current study extends and contributes to the understanding of authenticity via extrinsic cues.

Extrinsic cues, which encompass the situational context information surrounding the SMI, can help customers enhance their confidence in attribution inferences about PASMI. This is crucial because customers are not always certain about their attribution inferences, as their inferences represent merely one of the numerous possible causes of an event (Li and Fumagalli, 2022; Major and Crocker, 1993). Moreover, customers should not depend exclusively on the characteristics and actions of SMIs (i.e. intrinsic cues), as some SMIs may occasionally manipulate the information they present (Zniva et al., 2023). Thus, extrinsic cues serve as more reliable sources and provide an additional important layer of validation to support customers in decoding PASMI, complementing intrinsic cues.

In the context of SMI−brand collaborations, two key sources of extrinsic information surrounding the SMI emerge from the collaborative brands and the customers, given that these collaborations encompass three parties: the brands, the customers and the SMIs (Audrezet et al., 2020). We propose that extrinsic cues are shaped by customers’ experiences with SMI−brand partnerships (e.g. experience alignment) and brand attributes (e.g. brand coolness). Consequently, we classify these extrinsic cues into two categories: customer experience-related cues and collaborative brand-related cues.

This category consists of clues related to the customers’ experience, which have been discussed in the services marketing literature. For instance, prior studies on public health-care delivery systems have found customer experience-related cues to be essential for employees in assessing service quality (Young et al., 2009). These cues include customer comments, complaints and requests for assistance (Young et al., 2009). Similarly, customer experience-related cues encompass feedback on website functionality, which can influence service purchase intention (Becker and Jaakkola, 2020).

Despite the widespread use of customer experience-related cues across diverse contexts for evaluating various subjects, the application of such cues in decoding the authenticity of SMIs within professional beauty services remains relatively scarce. To our knowledge, Lee et al. (2022) is a sole study that identifies materialistic customers as a customer experience-related cue for understanding SMI authenticity. Nevertheless, while they briefly suggest that SMIs are perceived as authentic by this specific customer group, they do not explain the underlying mechanism such as the emotional experiences that materialistic customers undergo. In addition, their analysis does not extend to a broader spectrum of customer experience-related cues applicable to customers in general. Our research builds on their study to further explore different customer experience-related cues to decode the perceived authenticity of SMIs for a more general customer base.

This category encompasses cues related to brands. Brand-related cues have been examined in various service contexts. For instance, brand-related cues refer to elements associated with a service brand that can evoke sensory experiences and emotional responses in customers (Zha et al., 2022). Customers, such as surfers and skaters, use brand-related cues, like brand-sponsored sports events, to identify reliable brand partners (Beverland et al., 2010) in the sports context. Konttinen et al. (2021) explored brand-related cues, including website colour schemes, shapes and logos, to enhance brand identification.

While existing studies use brand-related cues across diverse contexts to evaluate various topics, there is limited use of such cues in decoding the authenticity of SMIs within professional beauty services. A closer look at the extant literature reveals that Kennedy et al. (2021) is the only study to have used a brand-related cue (i.e. brands owned by SMIs) for decoding influencer authenticity. However, this study focused exclusively on macro-influencers (e.g. celebrities) and used a single brand-related cue. Therefore, our study broadens the scope to include all types of SMIs and further explores a range of brand-related cues. In the collaborations between SMIs and brands, we designate these as collaborative brand-related cues.

Taken together, we propose a structured framework (Figure 1) that highlights two unexplored categories of extrinsic cues and provides a systematic approach for decoding the PASMI as well as guiding our data analysis.

This study conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with social media users, who had undergone or hoped to undergo these professional beauty services after watching influencers’ content on social media platforms, for two main reasons. Firstly, given the research objective is to explore collaborative brand-related cues and customer experience-related cues in decoding PASMI, in-depth interviews can elicit nuanced subjective insights from informants (Creswell and Creswell, 2017). Secondly, in-depth interviews maintain the independence of informants, thus mitigating the risk of contamination from exposure to other informants or the stress associated with group dynamics (Saunders et al., 2009).

We developed a qualitative research design following the approach outlined by Creswell and Creswell (2017) (Figure 2). Prior to the main interviews, we conducted a pilot study with five interviewees, as Saunders et al. (2009) highlight a minimum of five interviews is required.

This study was conducted within the context of professional beauty services in Vietnam, an emerging economy in Southeast Asia, where over 55% of beauty service buyers make decisions via social media (Statista, 2024a). To facilitate the sampling process, we consulted reputable sources, such as Statista’s report on leading beauty service brands (Statista, 2023), to select the top 10 professional beauty service brands in Vietnam. We then contacted these brands to request permission to interview their customers.

This study used a cluster purposive sampling technique to select interviewees from two distinct social media user groups located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, two major cities in Vietnam. We recruited participants from beauty centres, salons, spas and clinics located in these cities. The interviewees were social media users aged 18–34 years who had undergone or hoped to undergo these professional beauty services after watching influencers’ content on social media platforms. The recommended range of interviewees was between 5 and 25 (Saunders et al., 2009). We interviewed more informants until the theoretical saturation point was reached (McCracken, 1988). Hence, a total of 21 individuals participated in the in-depth interviews at which saturation was achieved. Although we considered both genders, the focus was primarily on females as professional beauty services attract predominantly female customers (Hancock, 2023). Table 2 presents the participant profiles. To maintain privacy, we allocated pseudonyms to the participants.  Appendix shows the guide for the in-depth interviews.

We transcribed and analysed the in-depth interviews using NVivo 12. Figure 3 illustrates the data analysis and theme development process, which involved four steps: (1) transcribing, (2) verbatim coding, (3) axial coding and (4) themes allocation. Intercoder reliability was checked at each step, as detailed below.

Transcribing − We used a combination of deductive thematic and inductive analyses (Boyatzis, 1998) to transcribe the transcripts. Firstly, we followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) deductive approach, using a predetermined framework (see Figure 1) based on attribution theory and existing literature. This framework includes two main categories: customer experience-related cues and collaborative brand-related cues. These categories guided the coding process with any emerging themes being assigned to them. Secondly, we adopted Boyatzis’ (1998) data-driven inductive analysis approach to explore customer experience-related and collaborative brand-related cues in decoding PASMI.

Verbatim coding − For every transcript, we used verbatim (in vivo) coding to analyse qualitative data. During the verbatim coding process, we carefully read and reread 21 transcripts, assigning codes based on the actual words and phrases spoken by the participants (Adu, 2019).

Axial coding − Next, we conducted an axial coding step, categorizing similar concepts or codes into broader categorical themes (Charmaz, 2006).

Themes allocation − Subsequently, we presented and cross-referenced these themes with relevant research to verify similar conceptual categories, thereby ensuring the findings’ validities (Lou et al., 2023). Finally, we allocated them into two main categories of extrinsic cues, established from the literature: customer experience-related and collaborative brand-related cues.

Intercoder reliability − To mitigate data misinterpretation, we used a team of three coders and implemented a two-level verification process. Two experienced researchers with expertise in English collaborated to create the initial verbatim codes and the subsequent axial codes. The third researcher reviewed the coding process and its results. Auditing involved verifying both the coding stages and outcomes. Any discrepancies between the coders and the auditor were resolved through discussion, negotiation and cross-referencing with relevant literature (Haley, 1996). The consistency of theme interpretation among coders was validated through comparative data coding.

An example of the qualitative analysis process is as follows: for customer experience-related cues, after transcribing the interviews, we conducted the verbatim coding based on the participants’ actual phrases such as have two-sided information, two-way comments, mixed information, both pros and cons and but I lean toward the positive or constructive comments, based on the real experiences of users. Subsequently, we performed axial coding by grouping similar verbatim codes into a broader categorical theme labelled Two-sided comments, but leaning toward the positive side. This process was repeated to group other verbatim codes into two broader themes: Negative comments and Positive comments (details in Figure 3). We synthesized these three themes and presented the overarching theme as directions of comments. To ensure its validity, we cross-referenced this theme with previous studies. According to Filieri (2016), the directions of comments (i.e. positive, balanced and negative) are referred to as the audience’s comment valence. We further validated that customers’ comment valence is associated with interaction; a key category of customer experience as defined by Calder et al. (2016). Finally, we determined “comment valence” to be a more appropriate theme aligned with the literature and designated it as a core element within the category of customer experience-related cues.

The findings are structured around the main cues, with each cue’s primary aspects, and representative quotes presented to address the research question “What extrinsic cues exist in the two categories of customer experience-related and collaborative brand-related cues, and how do they contribute to decoding PASMI in content co-creation within services?”. Table 3 summarizes the main cues, primary aspects and representative quotes related to customer experience and collaborative brand-related cues for decoding PASMI. Below are findings and discussion of each cue, revealing key aspects that contribute to decoding PASMI in content co-creation within services.

Our findings identified five cues pertinent to customer experience: source factors, comment valence, post-service effectiveness, experience alignment and customer materialism.

Our findings reveal that source factors are key cues for decoding PASMI. These source factors include commenters’ profiles and accounts on social media. We identified four aspects of source factors: public account status, account verification indicated by a blue checkmark, frequency of posted content and the absence of a default user avatar.

Firstly, the interviewees noted that the profiles of commenters on SMI videos should be set to public rather than private. An anonymous status complicates the ability to decode the personal information of SMI audiences, leading to customers’ scepticism about the authenticity of SMIs. For example, ID04 described “The user account status must be public, not private […] This information helps me realise the authenticity of the influencer I follow”. Secondly, to realize the authenticity of SMIs, their commenters must verify their accounts with a blue checkmark. This indicates that the user account is genuine and represents a real individual. Users can include doctors, managing directors of beauty centres, or professional influencers with high expertise and extensive experience in the beauty services domain. Moreover, the frequency of posted content is pivotal for decoding authentic SMIs, evidenced by accounts that post numerous videos daily. The fourth significant aspect is the absence of default user avatars, as these can contribute to perceptions of inauthenticity or suspiciousness in SMIs. Profile avatars must be genuine and appealing:

“[…] The user account status must be public, not private, and post multiple videos per day or the user’s account must be verified by a blue check mark […] This information helps me realise the authenticity of the influencer I follow […]” (ID04).

“[…] I click on the user’s profile to see if the user’s avatar is a default avatar, hidden avatar, or real face avatar. The default and hidden avatars are clones […], which makes me suspicious about the SMI’s authenticity […]” (ID13).

The findings show that comment valence is the second important customer experience-related cue for decoding influencer-perceived authenticity. Around 19 of the 21 interviewees mention comment valence in their responses. Comment valences include three aspects: two-sided comments leaning towards the positive side, negative and positive comments.

Firstly, to decode the authenticity of SMIs, we discovered an interesting insight: comment valence represents two-sided information (i.e. including both positive and negative perspectives), but it primarily leans towards the positive side rather than being balanced. This implies that positive comments within two-sided feedback should not only outnumber negative comments but also reflect customers’ genuine experiences with the services recommended by SMIs. They encompass creative, natural content or tagging the names of acquaintances. For example, “Hey, @friend’s name”, “the queen of content” and “this place is fine, it’s close to my house, it’s okay to try it out” (ID06):

The remaining two aspects of comment valence were negative and positive comments. These one-sided comments negatively affected the PASMI (ID03), because they may be influenced by competitors, manipulation or seeding. In the case of negative comments on SMI content, the influencer can be perceived as lacking authenticity and dedication in their work (ID17). However, positive comments without signs of seeding (ID13) enable the decoding of PASMI. The signals of seeding are dropping icons, similarity in comments’ content and tagging the name of the beauty centre SMI mentioned. Interviewees provide examples of seeding content, such as I have used the product and found it effective and Good quality spa. Alternatively, seeding comments are simplistic, commonplace and repetitive phrases, such as Great, I’ve experienced it and I’ve used it, it’s been great.

The findings highlight that post-service effectiveness is the next crucial cue for realizing authentic SMI. We discovered that there are three aspects of post-service effectiveness: tangible results self-evaluated by customers after using the service, before-and-after results evaluated and shared by SMIs or their audiences, and service results without any photo editing.

Firstly, when an SMI introduces a service, customers self-evaluate the actual results they observe after using the service to assess the SMI’s dedication to their work (SMI authenticity). The actual results were tangible and observable directly to customers. For example, during the interview, ID06 provided insights into the tangible results of whitening skin services, following the recommendations from SMI “After I finish the service, I see the effect as good as my face is bright, the skin is not oily for the whole day, then I will find SMI [Name removed] authentic”.

Secondly, to decode the authenticity of SMIs, customers also rely on before-and-after results, either from the SMIs themselves or their audiences. For instance, ID04 described that “rely on the image in the video clip to see a noticeable change in the results, before–after results from SMIs or SMI’s audiences, which makes the SMI authentic”. Importantly, customers expect that SMIs will update daily on the before-and-after status of effectiveness, allowing them to track real-time progress. In cases where the actual effectiveness is shared by SMIs’ audiences in posts or videos, their audiences include SMI followers, particularly if the SMIs are beauty bloggers or opinion leaders. If SMIs are medical practitioners (i.e. dermatologists), their audiences are patients. The third key aspect of post-service effectiveness is that those before-and-after results are not edited by photo software.

The findings reveal that the third customer experience-related cue is experience alignment, which refers to the extent to which SMIs’ reviews and recommendations align customers’ own real-life experiences and knowledge with the service. Experience alignment encompasses two aspects: SMI’s evaluations align customers’ personal experiences and match their knowledge.

Firstly, when customers watch videos, especially those showcasing both past and present SMI collaborations, they tend to compare the SMI’s evaluations of those collaborations with their own experiences. If the SMI’s opinions are aligned with what the customers have previously encountered, it strengthens the perception of authenticity. This is consistent with interviewee ID04: “What the SMI said on the video clip aligns with what I experienced, so I feel she is very authentic and reliable”. Secondly, if the reviews or evaluations provided by an SMI match customers’ knowledge, it can be inferred that the SMI exhibits a level of authenticity. Conversely, when discrepancies arise, the customer’s perception of the SMI’s authenticity is undermined. For example, ID16 stated, “I have some knowledge […]. I see that SMI’s review does not match my knowledge […] so this SMI is no longer authentic to me”.

The findings also reveal that customer materialism represents a significant cue in the customer experience category for decoding influencer authenticity. It encompasses two aspects: customers’ happiness and the pursuit of wealth, both attributed to SMIs.

Firstly, customers’ happiness is attributed to SMIs through personal interactions that foster a sense of emotional fulfilment. These interactions enable SMIs to help customers access products or services that they had never owned before, creating unique and emotionally resonant experiences. As a result, materialistic customers can quickly decode the authenticity of the SMI. For example, ID14 revealed that SMI delighted her, making her willing to afford all services that SMI suggests, as this SMI introduced her to services she had never known about before.

Secondly, materialistic customers often prioritize wealth, status and material possessions, largely driven by social comparison. Accordingly, the aspirational content and personal narratives endorsed by SMIs about their lifestyle appeal to these materialistic customers, reinforcing perceptions of SMIs as authentic and dedicated to their work. For instance, interviewee ID13 mentioned, “[Name removed] is very rich and successful. She goes to study abroad; this is my dream. She satisfies me via her content. So I don’t think she cheats me for advertising money […] She is authentic”.

Our findings delineated four collaborative brand-related cues, which include brand credibility, brand coolness, brand experience and influencer-owned brand.

Most interviewees mention brand credibility as a reliable cue for perceiving influencers as authentic. Brand credibility encompasses five aspects: good facilities, professional staff skills, service provider expertise, trustworthy services with clear processes and price consistency.

Firstly, PASMIs can be decoded when SMIs collaborate with credible brands (i.e. beauty centres, spas or clinics) that have good facilities. These good facilities are visually presented in the accompanying images of the SMI video clips. For example, when SMIs stated a spa facility featuring good facilities (ID05), and good and modern interior equipment (ID03) in their video content, the images immediately depicted medical standards for autoclaving and sterilization machinery. The next three aspects to realize influencer authenticity are professional staff skills (ID03), service provider expertise (ID01) and trustworthy services with clear processes (ID09). ID09 emphasized that untrustworthy services with vague processes diminish the authenticity of SMIs. He described that “Spa [name removed] collaborates with influencer [name removed] is not as credible […] the process is vague, not clear […] I bought a hair removal package with Diode Laser technology, but this spa used old technology IPL […] Another staff explained that the IPL machine contained the Diode Laser […] so, the spa is less credible, the services are not trustworthy, the influencer [name removed] is not authentic […]”.

The fifth aspect of brand credibility is price consistency. Collaborative brands must demonstrate consistent prices for services promoted in their advertising materials. Otherwise, the authenticity of SMIs that collaborate with these brands cannot be recognized. For example, ID07 and ID10 stated that “The service price list is public and consistent with what the spa describes”.

The findings reveal that brand coolness is considered a beneficial cue for perceiving SMIs as authentic. Two aspects of brand coolness are: updating new beauty service trends and being familiar with customers’ memories.

Firstly, when SMIs collaborate with cool brands (i.e. beauty centres, spas and clinics), customers realize their authenticity, specifically their dedication to their work. Cool brands consistently introduce novel beauty service methods into the market, offering customers a wide variety of choices. By partnering with these brands, SMIs demonstrate their passion for new discoveries in beauty services as pioneers. For example, ID13 said “[Name removed] beauty is one of the first spas to bring AHA, BHA, and Retinol, creating a new era of skin treatment services […] SMI [Name removed] collabs with this beauty centre, I can see she is dedicated to her job as she finds out and updates new information about beauty services for customers”.

Secondly, cool brands must be familiar with customers’ memories. This implies that customers’ prior experiences and knowledge retained in their recollections enable them to feel a sense of familiarity with cool brands. Such familiarity reinforces the coolness of the brand, aiding customers in quickly decoding the authenticity of SMIs who collaborate with those brands. For instance, “To see whether this influencer is authentic, she should collaborate with beauty centres which are updating with top new services. I usually get familiar with centres in my memory because I have experience and knowledge in those centres before […]. Spa [name removed] is a trendy brand” said ID04.

Our findings emphasize that customers base their brand experience on decoding the authenticity of SMIs. Brand experience is derived from four aspects: convenience of location, pleasing atmosphere, positive social media experience and competent staff.

Firstly, to recognize an authentic SMI, customers can have a favourable brand experience through a convenient location, specifically one that is close to their residence, and a diverse range of stores. This allows customers to select a suitable place to receive services. For example, ID18 stated “Location is not hard to find, convenient and close to my home […]. a lot of branches, I feel comfortable to use the service here […] She is very authentic in my mind […]”

Secondly, the spas need to have a pleasing atmosphere with a comfortable environment to impress customers’ senses. A pleasing atmosphere comes from the cleanliness of the surroundings, cleaning equipment and medical sterilization. In addition, ID06 and ID19 emphasized that decoration, spa ambience, welcome drinks, foot baths while waiting and additional services can serve as elements of pleasing spaces to assess the authenticity of SMIs. For instance, ID19 mentioned, “I see that an authentic SMI has to work with spas/clinics that must have clean, advanced, pleasing space, such as cleaning machines and medical sterilization […]”

Thirdly, the authenticity of the SMIs can be decoded through their collaboration with brands that provide positive information on their social media platforms, such as details about the services they offer, industry trends, or tips on beauty treatments. This kind of informative and useful content helps establish a positive brand experience, which in turn reflects the authenticity of SMIs. For instance, ID13 stated “I had good social media experiences. A brand must have useful information on social media, which recognizes the authenticity of the SMI with whom it collaborates”.

Finally, when customers visit a beauty centre partnered with an SMI, competent staff play a key role in perceiving the SMI’s authenticity. This means that the staff avoid solicitation, manipulation or critique aimed at persuading customers to purchase additional services. For example, according to ID08, the SMI seems fake because they recommended a beauty centre that “solicits customers too much. The competence of staff is bad. The staff always forced me to buy the service package […]”

Our findings highlight that when SMIs collaborate with their own brands (influencer-owned brands), it serves as a strong cue for authenticity. There are two aspects in this cue: transparent self-disclosure of service positives and negatives, and comprehensive disclosure of service details. Firstly, brands owned by SMI can transparently disclose both the positive and negative views of beauty services because SMIs’ expertise in the beauty industry gives them a more intimate understanding of every stage of the professional service they offer. For instance, ID20 answered that “spa [Name removed] has an owner who is a very famous and talented SMI [Name removed]. Because of having a spa, she has high expertise in beauty domains […] she discloses both the pros and cons sides of a service applied to the face, for example, botox injection […]. All things can prove her authenticity”.

Secondly, brands owned by SMI can disclose detailed service information, including certification of origin, legal status and the ingredients of the products used in a variety of services. This additional transparency allows customers to feel more informed and reassured, making it easier for them to decode the perceived authenticity of SMIs. For example, ID17 emphasized that “[…]. Because this store is opened by SMI [Name removed] […] He discloses all service information he provides. I judge he has high authenticity”.

Figure 4 presents the CueSphere model of extrinsic cues authenticity of influencer, providing a comprehensive overview of the nine cues, and their corresponding aspects. Items 1–5, shown in dark blue, present cues related to customer experience, while items 6–9, displayed in black, illustrate collaborative brand-related cues. When customers watch SMI’s content on social media platforms, they rely on these nine cues and their respective aspects to assess whether SMIs are acting according to their true selves rather than participating in sponsored activities driven by financial incentives. For instance, the perception of authenticity is decoded when customers observe collaborations between SMIs and brands that introduce new beauty service trends, becoming embedded in customers’ memories. Based on Figure 4, we provide theoretical contributions below, followed by recommendations for service providers, marketing agencies and other stakeholders (i.e. SMIs, SMIs management firms and regulatory authorities) in the service marketing ecosystem.

Our research explores what extrinsic cues exist in the two categories, and how they contribute to decoding PASMI in content co-creation within professional beauty services. We conducted one-on-one in-depth interviews and thematic analysis with 21 customers of professional-service beauty brands. We found the CueSphere model of extrinsic cues for decoding the authenticity of SMIs, which includes nine extrinsic cues: five customer experience-related cues (source factors, comment valence, post-service effectiveness, experience alignment and customer materialism) and four collaborative brand-related cues (brand credibility, brand coolness, brand experience and influencer-owned brand). We offer two theoretical contributions.

Firstly, our research contributes to the professional beauty services marketing literature − particularly in the areas of minimally invasive cosmetic procedures and the extension of the body image and medical literature − by highlighting the essential role of perceived authenticity of SMIs in shaping the atmosphere of the professional beauty servicescape when services firms integrate SMIs into social media content co-creation strategies. Although the professional beauty services endorsed by SMIs continue to experience remarkable growth, understanding customers’ perceptions of the authenticity of SMIs endorsing these services remains underexplored. Unlike product-based endorsements where authenticity is tied to an influencer’s honesty, expertise and transparent about the product (Lee and Eastin, 2021; Audrezet et al., 2020), our research suggests that decoding authenticity in services-based endorsement requires a more nuanced approach. Our research echoes the recent view of considering SMIs as shapers of servicescapes atmosphere and “walking billboards” (Rodner et al., 2022) for professional beauty services. Grounded in attribution theory, we advance this view by showing that, in content co-creation within services between SMIs and brands, customers perceive the authenticity of SMIs in diverse ways, using cues from the service brands (i.e. clinics, spas and beauty centres) and their own experiences.

Secondly, using this conceptualization and empirical findings from in-depth interviews, we introduce the CueSphere model (Figure 4) to decode the extrinsic-cue authenticity of SMIs collaborating with professional beauty services brands. Our work extends prior studies that have primarily examined PASMI, which cannot be directly observed, by using intrinsic cues (Zniva et al., 2023). Our research directly responds to recent calls to explore elements from both collaborative brands and customer experiences that influence PASMI (Vo et al., 2023). The CueSphere model includes nine extrinsic cues, categorized into two groups: (1) five customer experience-related cues (source factors, comment valence, post-service effectiveness, experience alignment and customer materialism) and (2) four collaborative brand-related cues (brand credibility, brand coolness, brand experience and influencer-owned brand). Our work is the first to explicitly link these nine cues as mechanisms for decoding PASMI in the context of professional beauty services. We extend the insights of every cue within this context, as follows.

Firstly, while source factors have been studied in the context of trustworthy online customer reviews (Filieri, 2016), existing studies have yet to establish a connection between these factors and SMI authenticity. Our study expands on this by highlighting specific factors within source factors, including public account status, account verification denoted by a blue checkmark, frequency of posted content and the absence of a default user avatar – nuances that have not been previously explored in prior studies.

Secondly, regarding comment valence, previous studies have acknowledged the influence of two-sided messages on advertisers’ credibility (Eisend, 2006), and the detrimental impact of negative comments on trust in SMIs (Xiao, 2023). However, to decode PASMI, we emphasize the degree of bias towards two-sided comments, highlighting that an imbalance favouring one side is more significant than merely achieving an equal distribution of positive and negative comments.

Next, despite substantial research focused on service effectiveness in logistics (Panayides, 2007) and tourism (Yu and Lee, 2009), as well as the experience similarity in psychology and interpersonal communication (Kang et al., 2022), the concepts of post-service effectiveness, experience alignment – specifically, the alignment between SMI reviews and customer experiences – have been largely overlooked in the context of decoding PASMI in the beauty service marketing research. Our research addresses this gap by shedding light on their significance.

Finally, our findings not only echo but also extend the current insights of Lee et al. (2022) by elucidating the underlying mechanisms, particularly the emotional experiences of materialistic customers during social interaction with SMIs. We highlight the importance of authenticity, demonstrating that engagement with authentic SMIs can alleviate this unhappiness by linking customers’ happiness to their interactions with authentic SMIs. This connection fulfils the wealth-driven desires of this customer group, underscoring how authentic SMIs address both emotional and aspirational needs.

Firstly, our research highlights the presence of brand credibility as an important cue in establishing PASMI, thus further advancing previous studies that have predominantly focused on the link between brand credibility and parasocial interaction (Liu and Zheng, 2024), sponsorship disclosure and influencer credibility (Lee and Kim, 2020). In addition, while brand credibility is generally measured by expertise and trustworthiness (Erdem and Swait, 2004), we elaborate on professional beauty brand credibility by incorporating new aspects such as good facilities, professional staff skills, service provider expertise, trustworthy services with clear processes and price consistency.

Secondly, the discovery of brand coolness as a cue for decoding PASMI is notable. While prior studies found that autonomy is the shared characteristic between brand coolness and authenticity (Warren et al., 2019), our findings highlight that consistently updating new beauty service trends and being familiar with customers’ memories are beneficial cues for perceiving SMIs as authentic.

Thirdly, our findings that connect the brand experience to PASMI are particularly noteworthy, given that prior studies primarily emphasized how brand experiences contribute to customers’ preference, satisfaction and trust (Khan and Fatma, 2017). Building on this connection, we extend the concept of brand experience to the beauty services context. While we embrace the same definition of brand experience – encompassing location, space, staff competence and social media experience (Khan and Rahman, 2017) – our new approach expands it including unique elements such as the use of autoclaving machinery and adherence to medical sterilization standards to form a pleasing atmosphere, which transcends mere aesthetical decorations to establish safe and pleasing service spaces (Lin, 2016).

Finally, our research highlights that the influencer-owned brand cue now extends to all types of SMIs, from micro- to macro-influencers, who own beauty services brands. This cue serves as a marker of SMI authenticity, rather than solely focusing on macro-influencer or celebrity-owned brands in prior studies (Kennedy et al., 2021).

Our research offers several practical and societal implications for both practitioners and society. Practitioners include service providers, marketing agencies and various stakeholders within the service marketing ecosystem, including SMIs, SMI management firms and regulatory authorities.

Service providers, particularly those offering minimally invasive cosmetic services, and service marketing agencies should prioritize selecting and collaborating with authentic SMIs in co-creating social media content. Authentic SMIs help shape a genuine service atmosphere by bridging the gap between online portrayals and actual service quality, making it easier to convert online followers into real clients and fostering long-term customer engagement and brand loyalty. Thus, our findings on the CueSphere model provide a practical guiding framework for service providers and marketing agencies to decode the authenticity of SMIs.

Specifically, service providers and marketing agencies should closely observe the followers of SMIs, as they offer credible evidence for decoding the authenticity of SMIs. Insights can be gained by assessing the alignment of experiences between SMIs and their followers, particularly those who have previously used the services recommended by SMIs. By inquiring about these customers’ experiences, service providers can evaluate the consistency between the information shared by SMIs and the actual service outcomes. If followers report improvements after using the suggested services, it becomes quick to decode the SMI’s authenticity.

Furthermore, service providers and marketing agencies should carefully examine the online comments under SMI content, paying close attention to commenters’ profiles (i.e. public account status, or a blue checkmark) and the comment valences (i.e. two-sided, positive or negative) to avoid seeding. This approach helps in accurately decoding the authenticity of SMIs because, according to MarketingHub (2023), nearly 50% of influencers worldwide have fake comments. For example, Tiffany JK [²], a well-known Vietnamese beauty influencer, raised suspicions about her authenticity when online comments on her videos indicated manipulation. Some commenters remarked, “She told a bald-faced lie. There are seeding comments around”.

In addition, service providers and marketing agencies should not rely solely on the characteristics and activities of SMIs, as these SMIs may manipulate the information they present. Instead, providers should thoroughly examine all the brands with which SMIs have collaborated – considering the credibility and coolness of these brands – to ensure alignment between the SMIs and service brand’s identity and values. For example, Hannah Olala, a prominent influencer in the Vietnamese beauty industry, consistently partners with high-credibility and cool brands such as Obagi, Shiseido and Lancome, earning her Tiktok videos millions of views. Her authenticity is frequently praised by followers, with comments such as “I trust her so much, she has high dedication and passion” and “She gets business, but she never does it for money”.

For other stakeholders, including SMIs, SMI management firms and regulatory authorities, the CueSphere model also provides significant value. Through the nine cues outlined, SMI management firms and SMIs can strategically manage SMI authenticity to align with brand values and customer experiences, ensuring that SMIs meet audience expectations and maintain customers’ trust. For instance, SMI management firms and SMIs can aggregate and analyse followers’ online comments about services they promote and then publicize these reports on social media. Sharing this feedback helps not only improve content quality but also reinforces the SMI’s authenticity with potential partners and followers. Furthermore, this model can assist authorities in establishing guidelines to promote authentic SMI practices within the beauty services industry, ultimately safeguarding customers’ interests.

Our research also contributes positively to societal well-being by promoting ethical marketing practices and a positive body image through authentic SMIs. By emphasizing cues to decode SMI authenticity in collaborations with professional beauty services, SMIs and service providers can act more responsibly, avoiding the promotion of unrealistic beauty standards. Authentic SMIs, driven by intrinsic motivations and transparency in sharing their experiences, can help mitigate the negative effects of idealized body portrayals often seen on social media. This fosters a healthier and more realistic perception of beauty, aligning with broader societal goals of promoting body positivity and well-being.

Our study had limitations related to its research context and sampling. Regarding the research context, this study was limited to professional beauty services, specifically minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. Thus, future studies broaden the scope to include other service contexts, such as business or financial services. This study also focused predominantly on female customers, and different genders may have diverse opinions on the perceived authenticity of SMIs. Hence, future studies should explore the differences between the two genders in realizing PASMI. Finally, this is an exploratory qualitative study. To enhance the findings’ generalizability, future studies should use quantitative methods to validate the conclusions in a broader population. Our team is actively preparing to conduct further quantitative investigations.

The objective of this study is to explore what extrinsic cues exist, and how they contribute to decoding the perceived authenticity of social media influencers in content co-creation within services. We conducted 21 in-depth interviews with the customers of professional beauty brands in Vietnam. Both extrinsic and intrinsic cues of SMIs play a crucial role in shaping the perceptions of influencer authenticity when SMIs collaborate with brands. In particular, the study delves into the importance of extrinsic cues, highlighting that customers go beyond evaluating an SMI’s authenticity based solely on their characteristics and activities. Instead, we conclude that customers also decode the authenticity of SMIs by observing all brand attributes with which SMIs have collaborated and the SMI’s followers, including followers’ profiles and comments. Hence, we develop the CueSphere model of extrinsic cues for decoding the authenticity of SMIs, which includes nine extrinsic cues: five customer experience-related cues and four collaborative brand-related cues. This model allows customers to make comprehensive judgements regarding the authenticity of SMIs.

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Table A1