Celik, Fatih; Ibrahim, Blend; Polat, Eray; Moulard, Julie; Akbulut, Metin

As influencer marketing scales into a mainstream advertising channel, authenticity has become its defining currency, yet consumers and brands struggle to understand what makes a social media influencer (SMI) genuinely credible and why strategic authenticity backfires. Despite growing scholarly interest, research remains fragmented, leaving practitioners without a unified framework to guide their decisions. Through a systematic literature review (SLR) of 138 peer-reviewed articles (2011-2024), using topic modeling and thematic analysis, we identify the authenticity paradox, the inherent conflict that arises when SMIs attempt to commercialize their genuine self-presentation. This tension also explains why recent evidence reports no overall engagement benefit from perceived authenticity. Seven latent topics are synthesized into four integrated axes: (1) ontological tensions at the technological interface, (2) the commercial transparency and trust paradox, (3) ethical negotiation in identity construction, and (4) strategic consumer responses. Our findings reveal how consumers continuously navigate between SMIs' curated performances and perceived genuineness, with self-determination theory, attribution theory, and parasocial interaction theory dominating current explanations, predominantly within USA-based contexts. Beyond mapping the field, we specify three conceptual patterns, namely authenticity as attributed intent, transparency as coherence rather than concealment, and authenticity as a structurally constrained accomplishment. We then translate the gaps they expose into a structured research agenda, offering actionable insights for brands, managers, and platform designers on authenticity management, influencer selection, partnership governance, and performance evaluation.

Polat, Eray; Çelik, Fatih; Ibrahim, Blend; Gursoy, Dogan

This paper reviews influencer marketing (IM)-research in the tourism and hospitality (H&T) field to provide a state-of-the-art of the past, present, and future of IM-research. It identifies research themes, theoretical underpinnings, and methodologies utilized in IM-research. Seventy-five studies are examined through co-citation, bibliographic coupling and content analysis based on the TCCM (theory/context/characteristics/methodology) framework. Co-citation analysis reveals that IM-research focused on travel blogs, vlogs, celebrity endorsement, influencer authenticity. An assessment of recent studies through bibliographic coupling indicates a partial shift toward the study of more contemporary issues. This field-discipline-focused hybrid-review contributes to literature and practice by presenting the past, present, and future of IM-research.

Polat, Eray; Çelik, Fatih; Ibrahim, Blend; Köseoglu, Mehmet Ali

We review user-generated video (UGV)-research in hospitality and tourism (H&T), provide an overview of its current-state, and suggest ways forward. We adopted a systematic literature review methodology and reviewed 66 articles with TCM (theory/context/methodology) framework. UGV-research focuses on (i) destination image perception, (ii) short-form videos and travel live-streaming, (iii) behavioral intentions, and (iv) crisis management. Theoretical development is diverse, given the descriptive nature of research questions, but it is still in its infancy. The context varies by H&T setting, type of social media platform, population, and country. Research methods and techniques range from traditional analysis to advanced machine learning or artificial intelligence-based quantitative approaches, predominantly qualitative methods.