The Influencer Effect: Assessing the Impact of Strategic Partnerships on Brand Reputation

The Influencer Effect: Assessing the Impact of Strategic Partnerships on Brand ReputationThe rapid growth of social media has fundamentally transformed marketing dynamics, positioning influencers as key strategic partners in shaping corporate reputation. This study examines the intellectual structure, thematic developments, and conceptual evolution of research at the intersection of influencer partnerships and brand reputation. Using a PRISMA-guided bibliometric protocol, a final dataset of 151 peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus database (2021–2026) was analyzed using VOSviewer. The findings map a dynamic research landscape centered around three key thematic domains: social media contextual frameworks, credibility-trust mechanisms, and audience engagement outcomes. The study highlights a pivotal movement from transactional metrics toward relational evaluation models, emphasizing authenticity, audience congruence, and parasocial interaction. Gaps in direct reputational measurement and crisis dynamics are identified, providing actionable directions for future research.