The role of reference groups as credible sources in African women’s natural hair care consumption behaviour

Abstract

The proliferation of information on Black women’s natural hair care products globally and in South Africa has created the need for a better understanding of the role of reference groups’ source credibility in Black African women’s natural hair care consumption behaviour. Reference groups’ source credibility has long been studied by consumer researchers and marketing practitioners because credible sources of information are important in impacting consumer behaviour. Source credibility has been defined in several ways in the literature; this study focuses on attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness as a reference group’s source credibility subdimensions.

The primary objective of this study was to determine the effect of reference groups as credible sources on Black African women’s natural hair care consumption behaviour. The secondary objectives were (1) to investigate the relationship between a social media influencer’s (SMI’s) source credibility and purchase intentions towards natural hair care products; (2) to investigate the moderating role of an SMI’s source credibility on the relationship between involvement and purchase intentions towards natural hair care products; and (3) to examine the effects of normative (female family member - FFM) and comparative (SMI) reference groups’ source credibility and their impact on purchase intentions towards natural hair care products. The study used three social theories: social identity theory, social cognitive theory, and social influence theory. The three social theories provided a social theoretical lens that explained the effect of the social environment on an individual’s cognitive, affective, and evaluative behaviours.

The study used a deductive approach to assess the hypotheses generated from the literature. The primary data was collected using online, self-administered questionnaires from the target population – specifically, Black African women with natural hair (that is, not chemically straightened hair). Convenience sampling was done through a consumer panel of a third-party service provider. In line with the third secondary objective of the study, one group of respondents received a questionnaire with a scenario about an FFM as their reference group, while the other group of respondents received a scenario with an SMI as their reference group. There were 306 usable responses from the FFM questionnaire and 305 usable responses from the SMI scenario questionnaire.

Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess the hypothesised relationships in the study. The results indicated that the SMI’s attractiveness did positively influence the purchase intentions of Black African women towards natural hair care products recommended by the SMI with natural hair. The findings of this study also revealed that sense of belonging with the SMI with natural hair, in the form of social identification and perceived similarity, was not a cause of the effect of SMI source credibility on purchase intentions. Second, the SMI’s source credibility interacted with affective involvement to influence purchase intentions. The findings also revealed that affective involvement with natural hair care products mediated product involvement with natural hair care products and purchase intentions towards natural hair care products. Third, the effects of the FFM’s and the SMI’s expertise and trustworthiness on purchase intentions towards natural hair care products were not evident. Furthermore, the study’s findings revealed that attitudes towards natural hair care products were a mechanism for the effect of SMI expertise, FFM trustworthiness, and SMI trustworthiness on purchase intentions towards natural hair care products.

This study contributes towards a better understanding of reference groups’ source credibility and its role in Black African women’s consumption behaviour towards natural hair care products. The study has made several theoretical contributions to the reference groups and source credibility literature on the role of reference groups’ source credibility as antecedents and moderators. Furthermore, the study has provided insights into the effects of normative reference groups’ and comparative reference groups’ source credibility. The study provides marketing practitioners of Black African women’s natural hair care products with recommendations on using credible reference groups to drive purchase intentions towards natural hair care products. The recommendations include a) creating natural hair care communities using reference groups with which consumers resonate and connect; b) using credible reference groups to get consumers to feel emotionally involved with natural hair care products in order to drive purchase intentions; and c) using different reference group source credibility subdimensions during the consumer journey. Despite methodological limitations, such as its cross-sectional design, this study contributes theoretically and practically to providing a better understanding of the role of reference groups as credible sources in Black African women’s natural hair care consumption behaviour. This study thus allows for informed marketing strategies to be adopted by marketing practitioners in the Black African women’s natural hair care industry.