Self Congruence and Parasocial Dynamics in Influencer Marketing: A Bibliometric Review (2012–2026)

Abstract

Influencer marketing has emerged as a central research domain in marketing and consumer behavior, with increasing scholarly attention devoted to the roles of self‑congruence and parasocial dynamics in shaping consumer responses. Despite this growth, a consolidated overview of how this body of knowledge has evolved remains limited. Addressing this gap, the present study provides a bibliometric review of influencer marketing research focused on self‑congruence and parasocial relationships. Drawing on 56 articles indexed in the Scopus database between 2012 and 2026, this study applies descriptive bibliometric techniques and network analyses, including keyword co‑occurrence and co‑authorship mapping, to uncover the field’s intellectual and social structure.

The findings reveal a pronounced surge in publications after 2021, indicating a rapidly expanding research stream. The thematic patterns identified highlight a dominant explanatory mechanism linking self‑congruence and parasocial relationships to credibility, trust, and consumer outcomes. Beyond this core mechanism, the literature increasingly addresses issues related to virtual influencers and intimate self‑disclosure, as well as impulse buying in platform‑specific contexts such as TikTok and live commerce. Building on established bibliometric methodologies, this study contributes a theory‑driven map of the field and identifies key gaps and promising avenues for future research, offering both academic and managerial insights.