Awawdeh, EsraaAlhassan, RouaaAlalya, Amer2024-04-052024-04-052024Awawdeh, E., Alhassan, R., Alalya, A. (2024). The Impact of Fostering Parasocial Relationship Between Influencing Entrepreneurs and Social Media Followers on the Brand Image and the Purchase Intentions of Start-Up Companies. In: Al Marri, K., Mir, F.A., David, S.A., Al-Emran, M. (eds) BUiD Doctoral Research Conference 2023. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 473. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56121-4_41Print: 978-3031561207 Online: 978-3031561214https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/2551https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-56121-4_41This open access book presents contributions on a wide range of scientific areas originating from the BUiD Doctoral Research Conference (BDRC 2023)Purpose: this research tends to study the parasocial relationship between influencers on social media and their followers, and how it impacts the purchase intentions of the startup companies and their brand images. Findings: The parasocial relationship has a moderate impact on the purchase intentions, while it has a strong impact on the brand image, while the brand image has a strong positive impact on the purchase intentions. Conclusion: parasocial relationship can be used in an effective way to build the brand image of the company and to increase the purchase intentions.enparasocial relationship, brand image, purchase intention, influencers, startup companiesConference paper