Attractive Influencers Build Green Trust, but Skepticism Can Undermine It

Key Opinion Leaders on social media are increasingly the face of green marketing, and a new study suggests that how attractive they are perceived to be plays a measurable role in whether consumers intend to buy eco-friendly products. The research, published as an open-access article in Discover Sustainability, draws on survey data from 300 Vietnamese consumers who had purchased green products and regularly followed KOLs. Using convenience sampling, the authors tested a model that integrates Social Cognitive Theory and Behavioral Reasoning Theory to trace how influencer characteristics translate into purchase intentions through two distinct forms of trust.

The statistical results point to a two-pathway mechanism. Perceived KOL attractiveness had a positive effect on trustworthiness, with a standardized coefficient of 0.360 (p < 0.001), and a smaller but significant effect on green trust, at 0.196 (p = 0.021). In turn, both trustworthiness (β = 0.220, p = 0.002) and green trust (β = 0.240, p = 0.002) positively predicted green purchase intention. In other words, an appealing communicator appears to build two related but separable assets: confidence in the messenger and confidence in green claims themselves.

The study’s most technically interesting finding concerns green advertising skepticism, the consumer’s tendency to doubt environmental advertising claims. The authors examined whether skepticism moderated the links between trust and intention. It did not alter the impact of trustworthiness (β = −0.037, p = 0.640), but it significantly diminished the influence of green trust as skepticism increased (β = −0.186, p = 0.032). The authors interpret this asymmetry as evidence that source trust and green trust are shaped by different cognitive processes: skepticism erodes the product-related belief while leaving faith in the individual communicator largely intact.

Methodologically, the work extends Behavioral Reasoning Theory into digital media contexts, where consumers encounter green messaging through personalities rather than institutions. The authors are candid that the proposed model exhibits only modest overall explanatory power, meaning many other factors beyond attractiveness and trust shape green purchase intentions. The convenience sample of experienced green-product buyers in Vietnam also limits generalization to broader populations or markets where influencer marketing operates differently.

Practically, the authors state that the findings offer implications for businesses in selecting KOLs, developing transparent green messages, and effectively managing consumer skepticism. The study adds quantitative texture to how digital intermediaries shape sustainable consumption, while flagging that the trust consumers place in a person and the trust they place in green claims follow partly independent psychological routes.

Subject of Research: How KOL attractiveness influences green purchase intention through trust and green advertising skepticism

Article Title: The role of KOL attractiveness in shaping green purchase intention through trust and green advertising skepticism

Article References: Pham, N. Q. T., Le, N. T. T., & Tran, K. T. (2026). The role of KOL attractiveness in shaping green purchase intention through trust and green advertising skepticism. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-05073-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-05073-w

Keywords: Key Opinion Leaders, green purchase intention, green advertising skepticism, green trust, trustworthiness, Social Cognitive Theory, Behavioral Reasoning Theory, influencer marketing, Vietnam, consumer behavior, role, attractiveness