Pålitlighetens Paradox

Eriksson, Amanda; Lind, Alicia; Sandell, Alva

Pålitlighetens Paradox

Mark

Eriksson, Amanda ^LU ; Lind, Alicia ^LU and Sandell, Alva ^LU (2026) FEKH29 20252
Department of Business Administration

Abstract (Swedish): Examensarbetets titel: Pålitlighetens Paradox
Ämne: FEKH29 - Examensarbete i marknadsföring på kandidatnivå, 15 hp
Författare: Amanda Eriksson, Alicia Lind & Alva Sandell
Handledare: Clara Gustafsson
Nyckelord: Pålitlighet, Autenticitet, Parasociala relationer, Annonsmärkning, Influencer marketing
Frågeställning: Uppfattar konsumenter 18–30 år influencer marketing som pålitligt idag? Hur uppfattas autenticitet, parasociala relationer och annonsmärkning i relation till konsumenters upplevda pålitlighet i influencer marketing?
Syftet: Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur konsumenter mellan 18-30 år uppfattar pålitligheten hos influencer marketing och därtill studera hur begreppen autenticitet, parasociala relationer och annonsmärkningar... (More); Examensarbetets titel: Pålitlighetens Paradox
Ämne: FEKH29 - Examensarbete i marknadsföring på kandidatnivå, 15 hp
Författare: Amanda Eriksson, Alicia Lind & Alva Sandell
Handledare: Clara Gustafsson
Nyckelord: Pålitlighet, Autenticitet, Parasociala relationer, Annonsmärkning, Influencer marketing
Frågeställning: Uppfattar konsumenter 18–30 år influencer marketing som pålitligt idag? Hur uppfattas autenticitet, parasociala relationer och annonsmärkning i relation till konsumenters upplevda pålitlighet i influencer marketing?
Syftet: Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur konsumenter mellan 18-30 år uppfattar pålitligheten hos influencer marketing och därtill studera hur begreppen autenticitet, parasociala relationer och annonsmärkningar uppfattas i relation till pålitligheten.
Metod: Studien tillämpar en kvalitativ forskningsansats och baseras på två fokusgrupper. Intervjumaterialet omfattar inlägg, scenarion och frågor om autenticitet, parasociala relation samt annonmärkningar kopplat till de fyra teorierna. Empirin analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys, vilket resulterade i identifieringen av sex centrala teman.
Teori: Studien grundar sig på en konceptuell modell som bygger på fyra teorier. Källtrovärdighetsmodellen som huvudsaklig teoretisk ram, kongurensteorin utgör grunden för begreppet autenticitet, parasociala interaktionsteorin (PSI) belyser parasociala relationer och attributionsteorin tillämpas för att analysera annonsmärkningar.
Empiri/Analys: Analysen urskiljer att konsumenter upplever influencer marketing som pålitlig beroende på reklamens mängd och frekvens, influencers expertis, känsla av att “känna” influencers samt tydliga annonsmärkningar.
Slutsats: Studien identifierar fyra centrala slutsatser baserat på deltagarnas resonemang. Huvudslutsatsen belyser att deltagarna tenderar att inte uppfatta influencer marketing som pålitligt till följd av en medvetenhet om kommersiella incitament. Vidare kräver autenticitet kontinuitet och profilmatchning, medan parasociala relationer endast stärker pålitligheten om influencern upplevs moraliskt trovärdig. Slutligen identifieras annonsmärkningens paradox; tydlighet krävs för transparens men signalerar en extern attribution som kan reducera budskapets upplevda pålitlighet. (Less)
Abstract: Title: The Paradox of Reliability
Course: FEK29 - Bachelor´s levels thesis in marketing, 15 ECTS
Authors: Amanda Eriksson, Alicia Lind & Alva Sandell
Advisor: Clara Gustafsson
Key words: Trustworthiness, Authenticity, Parasocial relationships, Ad disclosure, Influencer marketing
Research question: Do consumers aged 18-30 perceive influencer marketing as trustworthy today? How are authenticity, parasocial relationships and ad disclosure perceived in relation to consumers´perceived trustworthiness in influencer marketing?
Purpose: The purpose is to investigate how consumers between the ages of 18 and 30 perceive the reliability of influencer marketing and study how the concepts of authenticity, parasocial relationships and ad... (More); Title: The Paradox of Reliability
Course: FEK29 - Bachelor´s levels thesis in marketing, 15 ECTS
Authors: Amanda Eriksson, Alicia Lind & Alva Sandell
Advisor: Clara Gustafsson
Key words: Trustworthiness, Authenticity, Parasocial relationships, Ad disclosure, Influencer marketing
Research question: Do consumers aged 18-30 perceive influencer marketing as trustworthy today? How are authenticity, parasocial relationships and ad disclosure perceived in relation to consumers´perceived trustworthiness in influencer marketing?
Purpose: The purpose is to investigate how consumers between the ages of 18 and 30 perceive the reliability of influencer marketing and study how the concepts of authenticity, parasocial relationships and ad disclosure are perceived in relation to reliability.
Methodology: The study applies a qualitative research approach and is based on two focus groups. The interview material includes posts, scenarios and questions about authenticity, parasocial relationships and ad disclosures linked to our theories. The empirical material was analyzed using thematic analysis, which resulted in the identification of six central themes.
Theoretical perspectives: The study is based on a conceptual model that builds on four theories. The sources credibility model as the main theoretical framework, congruence theory forms the basis for the concept of authenticity, parasocial interaction theory (PSI) sheds light on parasocial relationships and attribution theory is applied to analyze advertising labels.
Results/Analysis: The analysis identifies that consumers perceive influencer marketing as trustworthy depending on the amount and frequency of advertising influencer expertise, feeling of “knowing” influencers and clear ad disclosures.
Conclusions: Based on participants' reasoning, the study identifies four conclusions. Primarily, participants tend not to perceive influencer marketing as trustworthy due to an awareness of commercial incentives. Furthermore, authenticity requires continuity and profile matching, while parasocial relationships only enhance trustworthiness if the influencer is perceived as morally credible. Finally, an ad disclosure paradox is identified; clarity ensures transparency but signals external attribution, which may reduce perceived reliability. (Less)

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9220985

author

Eriksson, Amanda ^LU ; Lind, Alicia ^LU and Sandell, Alva ^LU

supervisor

Clara Gustafsson ^LU

organization

Department of Business Administration

course

FEKH29 20252

year

2026

type

M2 - Bachelor Degree

subject

Business and Economics

keywords

Pålitlighet, Autenticitet, Parasociala relationer, Annonsmärkning, Influencer marketing

language

Swedish

id

9220985

date added to LUP

2026-02-24 14:31:03

date last changed

2026-02-24 14:31:03

@misc{9220985,
  abstract     = {{Title: The Paradox of Reliability
Course: FEK29 - Bachelor´s levels thesis in marketing, 15 ECTS
Authors: Amanda Eriksson, Alicia Lind & Alva Sandell
Advisor: Clara Gustafsson
Key words: Trustworthiness, Authenticity, Parasocial relationships, Ad disclosure, Influencer marketing
Research question: Do consumers aged 18-30 perceive influencer marketing as trustworthy today? How are authenticity, parasocial relationships and ad disclosure perceived in relation to consumers´perceived trustworthiness in influencer marketing?
Purpose: The purpose is to investigate how consumers between the ages of 18 and 30 perceive the reliability of influencer marketing and study how the concepts of authenticity, parasocial relationships and ad disclosure are perceived in relation to reliability.
Methodology: The study applies a qualitative research approach and is based on two focus groups. The interview material includes posts, scenarios and questions about authenticity, parasocial relationships and ad disclosures linked to our theories. The empirical material was analyzed using thematic analysis, which resulted in the identification of six central themes.
Theoretical perspectives: The study is based on a conceptual model that builds on four theories. The sources credibility model as the main theoretical framework, congruence theory forms the basis for the concept of authenticity, parasocial interaction theory (PSI) sheds light on parasocial relationships and attribution theory is applied to analyze advertising labels.
Results/Analysis: The analysis identifies that consumers perceive influencer marketing as trustworthy depending on the amount and frequency of advertising influencer expertise, feeling of “knowing” influencers and clear ad disclosures.
Conclusions: Based on participants' reasoning, the study identifies four conclusions. Primarily, participants tend not to perceive influencer marketing as trustworthy due to an awareness of commercial incentives. Furthermore, authenticity requires continuity and profile matching, while parasocial relationships only enhance trustworthiness if the influencer is perceived as morally credible. Finally, an ad disclosure paradox is identified; clarity ensures transparency but signals external attribution, which may reduce perceived reliability.}},
  author       = {{Eriksson, Amanda and Lind, Alicia and Sandell, Alva}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Pålitlighetens Paradox}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Pålitlighetens Paradox