A Narrative Review of Influencer Marketing: The Role of Credibility and Emotional Engagement in Shaping Gen Z's Purchase Intentions

Abstrak

Influencer marketing has become an important part of brand communication strategies in the digital age, especially in reaching Gen Z, who grew up with social media and are accustomed to making decisions based on digital content. This study aims to understand how two key aspects, influencer credibility and emotional engagement, independently shape Gen Z consumers' purchase intentions. The research was conducted in the form of a narrative review of 16 scholarly articles published between 2020 and 2025, obtained through literature searches on the Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases. The findings show that influencer credibility demonstrated through trustworthiness, expertise, and personal appeal has a significant influence in shaping brand perception and increasing purchase intention, especially when there is congruence between the influencer's identity and the audience. Meanwhile, emotional engagement through parasocial relationships and perceived authenticity can strengthen the psychological connection between followers and influencers, which in turn influences purchase decisions. However, most studies still examine these two aspects separately, and not many have examined their interrelationships in depth. Moreover, the lack of research focusing on the Southeast Asian context, particularly Indonesia, suggests the need for a more contextualized approach. This review contributes to summarizing the latest literature developments, as well as providing practical direction for the industry in designing digital communication strategies that are more aligned with the characteristics and preferences of Gen Z.