THE AUTHENTICITY PENALTY: HOW TRANSPARENT DISCLOSURE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT COMMERCIAL TERMS REDUCES PURCHASE INTENTION AMONG SKEPTICAL CONSUMERS

This study investigated the phenomenon of authenticity penalties in influencer marketing by examining how the level of transparency in sponsorship disclosure affects consumer purchase intentions, with brand authenticity as a mediating variable and consumer skepticism as a moderation variable. The study mention an important gap, although previous research has shown conflicting results regarding the impact of sponsorship disclosure, the correlation between disclosure transparency, consumer skepticism, and brand authenticity has still not been thoroughly explored. This gap becomes even more relevant in the Indonesian context, which is 76% of consumers have made purchases through affiliate links, while the level of trust in mega influencers has decreased by 7%. Using a quantitative experimental design through manipulation between subjects, with 60 active social media users in Indonesia were randomly divided into two groups: minimal disclosure (#ad) and detailed disclosure (contract value, partnership duration, and status as a brand ambassador). Data were analyzed using moderated mediation analysis with PROCESS Macro Model 7. The results showed that detailed disclosure of sponsorship significantly increased purchase intent (β = 0.456; p = 0.006), which was mediated by the perception of brand authenticity (indirect effect = 0.342; 95% CI [0.156, 0.528]). Consumer skepticism moderates the relationship between disclosure and authenticity (interaction β = −0.425; p = 0.003), so for consumers with high levels of skepticism, detailed disclosure paradoxically lowers the perception of brand authenticity confirming the phenomenon of authenticity penalties. Moderated mediation analysis also showed conditional indirect effects (index = −0.187; 95% CI [−0.342, −0.052]), where indirect effects were positive for consumers with low levels of skepticism, but negative for consumers with high levels of skepticism. This research contributes to the Persuasion Knowledge Model by showing that transparency can backfire on highly skeptical consumers.