Thusyanthy Lavan

  • Thusyanthy Lavan

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PhD Student

MSc. in Management, BBA (Marketing Management) | Currently finishing PhD

Thesis topic

“Brand selfie credibility: Conceptualisation and scale development”

Thesis project

Industry reports indicate that a growing number of consumers post brand selfies, which provides a new avenue for marketers to promote their brands on social media. Although brand selfies of consumers are generally perceived as credible, what constitutes a consumer brand selfie as being credible is not well understood. Thus, my research aims to address the following: (1) develop a definition of brand selfie credibility, (2) evaluate the applicability of source credibility theory, (3) develop a scale to measure brand selfie credibility, and (4) evaluate the antecedents and consequences to brand selfie credibility through the lens of signaling theory.

The scale development followed established scale development methods (e.g., Churchill, 1979; Gerbing & Anderson, 1988). Based on exploratory qualitative and quantitative studies, my research project developed a 10-item scale to measure brand selfie credibility. My research also finds that brand selfie credibility is influenced by brand-related (consistency of the brand and clarity of the brand), person-related (altruistic motivation), and image-related (positive affect) antecedents as well as, brand selfie credibility impacts on purchase intention and positive word-of-mouth.

Supervisor details

Dr Udo Gottlieb – Principal Supervisor – AMPR – QUT Faculty of Business and Law

Dr Sven Tuzovic – Associate Supervisor – AMPR – QUT Faculty of Business and Law

Dr Rory Mulcahy – Associate Supervisor – USC Business School – University of the Sunshine Coast

Publications

  1. Thusyanthy, L. (2021, July 1-4). Do you trust that brand selfie? A new scale to measure brand selfie credibility. Virtual Annual Conference, Academy of Marketing Science, Unites States.
  2. Thusyanthy, L., Gottlieb, U., & Tuzovic, S. (2020, July 9-12). The rise of user generated content: How credible are brand selfies?. Proceedings of High Tech and High Touch: The Future of Human Service: American Marketing Association 11th SERVSIG 2020 (pp. 258-260), Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/208075/
  3. Thusyanthy, L. (2019, June 13-14). Brand selfie credibility: Conceptualization and scale development [Paper presentation]. ANZMAC Mid-Year Doctoral Colloquium, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
  4. Thusyanthy, V. (2016, June 24). Assessing the levels of health consciousness and customer-based brand equity in Sri Lanka. Proceedings of Research Conference on Business Studies (pp. 119-124), Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
  5. Thusyanthy, V. (2018). Health consciousness and brand equity in the carbonated soft drink industry in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Business and Management, 13(3), 118-199. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v13n3p188
  6. Thusyanthy, V. (2018). Celebrity endorsement and brand credibility in the carbonated soft drink industry in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Business and Management, 13(7), 93-106. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v13n7p93
  7. Thusyanthy, V., & Tharanikaran, V. (2017). Antecedents and outcomes of customer satisfaction: A comprehensive review. International Journal of Business and Management, 12(3), 144-156. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v12n4p144
  8. Tharanikaran, V., Sutha, S., & Thusyanthy, V. (2017). Service quality and customer satisfaction in electronic banking. International Journal of Business and Management, 12(3), 67-83. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v12n4p67
  9. Karunakaran, A.S.J., & Thusyanthy, V. (2016). A review on the relationship variables to customer satisfaction. Global Journal of Management and Business Research: E Marketing, 16(5), 87-91. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2903052
  10. Thusyanthy, V., & Tharanikaran, V. (2015). The relationship variables to celebrity endorsement and brand equity: A comprehensive review. International Journal of Business and Management, 10(11), 212-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v10n11p212
  11. Thusyanthy, V. (2014). A review on the relationship variables to job design. International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), 5(5), 81-87. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2706957
  12. Thusyanthy, V., & Senthilnathan, S. (2013). Level of job satisfaction and its association with demographic variables. IME Journal, 7(2), 39-45. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2229712
  13. Thusyanthy, V., & Senthilnathan, S. (2012). Customer satisfaction in terms of physical evidence and employee interaction. The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, 11(3), 7-24. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1939601

Awards

  • Become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA Fellow), UK – 2020
  • Received the ‘Chellappah Kanapathipillai Memorial Award-2011’ for the overall best performance at the BBA Degree Programme-2010/2011.

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