Abstract
FROM TRADITIONAL WORD-OF-MOUTH TO DIGITAL AUTHORITY: THE CONCEPTUAL JOURNEY OF INFLUENCER MARKETING LITERATURE
This study analyzes the evolution, intellectual structure, and thematic trends of influencer marketing literature using a large-scale dataset spanning 1983–2025 and a bibliometric approach. The analysis of 8,370 articles from the Web of Science database shows that the field is dynamic and rapidly maturing, with an annual growth rate of 10.76%. The findings reveal that the literature gained significant momentum after 2016 and expanded globally, driven particularly by publications from China and the United States. Co-citation network analysis indicates that the field’s intellectual foundation is built on classical approaches such as Ohanian’s (1990) source credibility framework, alongside recent work by De Veirman et al. (2017) and Lou and Yuan (2019) on influencer–follower engagement. Thematic mapping results show that credibility, brand, and impact are the motor (engine) themes driving the literature, whereas traditional word-of-mouth (WOM)–centered discussions have given way to more measurable and outcome-oriented digital strategies. The study explains how influencer marketing bridges the gap between platform ecologies and persuasion mechanisms and highlights how emerging phenomena such as artificial intelligence, virtual influencers, and social commerce are transforming research questions. Overall, the study provides a reference framework that consolidates the theoretical body of knowledge and proposes a holistic research agenda for future studies, including causal mechanism testing and cross-platform comparative analyses.
Keywords
Influencer Marketing, Virtual Influencers, Social Media Influencer Marketing, Bibliometric Analysis.
