Less Is More : Pure Motivation Gains More Support

The research explores the question of influencers’ external motivation disclosure and followers’ support. A new IT artifact – a digital psychological contract can be used to describe the relationship between influencers and followers. The research plans to use second-hand data, surveys, and experiments to confirm that influencers’ external motivation disclosure (e.g., MCN information disclosure) will decrease followers’ supportive behaviors because of decreased perceived motivation purity. The research also plans to exclude many alternative explanations and try to find some solutions to alleviate the adverse effects of external motivation disclosure. This research will also make theoretical contributions and provide practical insights for influencers, MCN companies, and content-sharing platforms.