The impact of KOLs on consumption intention: The mediating role of perceived brand quality

In Vietnam’s fast-evolving cosmetics industry, the strategic use of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) is often challenged by a limited understanding of which attributes drive immediate sales and which contribute to long-term brand value. This study examines the influence of five KOL characteristics, including specialty, connection, suitability, attractiveness, and credibility, on Generation Y consumers’ consumption intention while also investigating the mediating role of perceived brand quality. Using data collected from 515 respondents and analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the findings highlight a dual-pathway model of influence. Four attributes, namely specialty, suitability, credibility, and attractiveness, positively shape brand quality, while specialty, connection, credibility, and attractiveness directly stimulate consumption intention. Suitability emerges as particularly distinctive because it does not exert a direct effect but instead influences consumption intention entirely through its enhancement of brand quality. Building on these insights, the study makes significant theoretical contributions by validating KOL effectiveness as a second-order construct that integrates the five attributes into a unified framework, demonstrating how both heuristic and cognitive routes operate in consumer decision-making. Managerially, the findings provide a strategic blueprint for firms to balance immediate campaign objectives with long-term brand-building goals, emphasizing suitability as the cornerstone of sustainable partnerships that foster authenticity, credibility, and enduring consumer trust.