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Increasing Purchase Intention A.
(Mohammad Agung Prasetyo & Ardian Adhiatm.
Increasing Purchase Intention Through Creator-Moderated Customer Engagement Facial Presence and Islamic Business Ethics Fit in TikTok Affiliate Promotion Videos Mohammad Agung Prasetyo.
& Ardian Adhiatma.
Faculty of Economy.
Universitas Islam Sultan Agung (UNISSULA) Semarang.
Indonesia.
Email: mohammadagungprasetyo.
std@unissula.
Faculty of Economy.
Universitas Islam Sultan Agung (UNISSULA) Semarang.
Indonesia.
Email: ardianadhiatma@unissula.
Abstract.
This study aims to analyze the increase in purchase intention through customer engagement moderated by creator facial presence and Islamic business ethics fit in TikTok affiliate promotional videos.
This study uses a quantitative approach with descriptive and causal research types.
The population in this study includes the entire TikTok Muslim audience in Cirebon Regency who are included in the categories of generation Z .
orn 1997Ae2.
and millennials .
orn 1981Ae1.
, with an unknown population size.
A sample of 100 respondents was determined using a purposive sampling technique calculated using the Lemes how formula.
The results of the study show that .
Customer engagement has a positive and significant effect on purchase intention, this means that the higher the engagement on the product in the TikTok affiliate promotional video, the greater the audience's intention to buy the promoted product, .
Creator facial presence has a positive and significant effect on purchase intention, this means that the higher the creator's facial presence in the TikTok affiliate promotional video, the higher the audience's intention to buy the promoted product, .
Islamic business ethics fit has a positive and significant effect on purchase intention, this means that the higher the level of conformity of the TikTok affiliate promotional video to Islamic business ethics, the greater the audience's intention to buy the promoted product, .
Creator facial presence can strengthen the influence of customer engagement on purchase This means that the higher the creator's facial presence, the greater the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention, .
Islamic business ethics fit can strengthen the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention.
This means that the higher the conformity of Islamic business ethics in the TikTok affiliate promotional video, the greater the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention.
Keywords: Business.
Creator.
Engagement.
Facials.
Presence.
Vol.
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Increasing Purchase Intention A.
(Mohammad Agung Prasetyo & Ardian Adhiatm.
Introduction The rapid development of information and communication technology has changed the way humans communicate and interact.
The emergence of social media is one of the biggest innovations from this technological development, one of which is TikTok.
TikTok is a social media and video content distribution platform that allows users to produce and share short videos supported by various video effects and background music.
TikTok was launched in 2016 by ByteDance, a global technology company from China.
Initially.
TikTok was known in Indonesia as an entertainment platform with dance content, viral music, and comedy.
that time, the platform's users were dominated by teenagers.
On July 3, 2018, the government through the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominf.
blocked this platform because it was deemed to contain content that was not educational and contrary to Indonesian norms and morals, including content that led to pornography, religious harassment, etc.
After a content cleanup.
TikTok was reopened in August 2018.
Although TikTok initially focused on social media and video content distribution, in 2021, it launched TikTok Shop.
TikTok Shop is a feature that allows users to buy and sell products directly through TikTok.
TikTok Shop provides creators with the opportunity to join an affiliate program, where they can promote products sold by sellers on TikTok Shop and earn a commission on each sale.
This business model is known as affiliate marketing, a product promotion from TikTok creators that generates a commission for every purchase made through links in their videos (Nadila.
Kurlillah, & Safarida, 2.
TikTok's dual role as a social media platform and e-commerce platform .
ocio-commerc.
has received a positive response from some.
For consumers .
, this innovation increases the ease of shopping after watching product review videos on TikTok.
Similarly, from the perspective of sellers and creators, this feature makes it easier for them to promote their products.
However, on the other hand, it has also generated a lot of TikTok was deemed to have violated the permit that had been granted, namely only as a social media platform, not e-commerce, so that it was not permitted to carry out trade transactions.
On October 4, 2023.
TikTok Shop was closed by the government.
At that time, the number of TikTok Shop sellers reached more than 6 million, and the number of affiliate creators reached more than 7 million.
Then on December 12, 2023.
TikTok Shop reopened after TikTok partnered with Tokopedia, so that transactions on TikTok Shop were handled by Tokopedia, and since then TikTok Shop has changed its name to Shop | Tokopedia.
Over time.
TikTok's user base continues to grow.
Data as of July 2024 (Kompas, 2.
shows that Indonesia has the most TikTok users in the world, reaching 157.
6 million.
The majority of TikTok users in Indonesia are from Generation Z and millennials, who are productive age groups with relatively high purchasing power.
This data indicates that these two generations are the primary targets of TikTok's affiliate marketing phenomenon.
Furthermore, research from Indonesia Indicator (I.
in 2024, of the five largest social media platforms studiedAi Vol.
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Increasing Purchase Intention A.
(Mohammad Agung Prasetyo & Ardian Adhiatm.
YouTube.
Twitter (X).
Instagram.
Facebook, and TikTokAiconcluded that TikTok is the platform with the highest customer engagement by audiences.
However, unlike platforms like Shopee, which primarily function as a marketplace, users who open the Shopee app generally already have the intention to shop or search for specific Therefore, when they are presented with affiliate promotional videos within the Shopee app, the chance of purchase intention tends to be higher because the audience is already in "shopping mode.
" This is not entirely true on TikTok.
TikTok users don't always enter the app with the intention of buying, but rather to seek entertainment, information, or simply to fill their free time.
When they are then presented with affiliate promotional videos, even if engagement occurs such as likes, comments, or even clicks to the cart, not all of these interactions necessarily lead to purchase intention.
This situation is the source of the discrepancy in previous research results.
Research by Limos-Galay.
JA .
examined the relationship between customer engagement and purchase intention and found a significant positive effect.
However, research by MT Dung & NY An .
in Vietnam showed that despite high engagement, its effect on purchase intention was not statistically significant.
This discrepancy indicates a research gap that requires further explanation.
One approach to explaining this inconsistency is to consider moderating variables that can strengthen or weaken the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention.
One variable that potentially plays a significant role is creator facial presence.
Official guidance from TikTok Indonesia, which recommends creators display their faces in promotional videos ("Videos without faces are not recommended," 2.
, indicates that the TikTok system encourages the distribution of content that shows direct human interaction.
This aligns with Social Presence theory (Short.
Williams.
, & Christie.
, 1.
, which states that the presence of a human face in digital communication can enhance emotional connections, strengthen trust, and magnify the impact of communication on audience Therefore, the presence of a creator's face in TikTok affiliate videos can serve as a moderator in strengthening the relationship between customer engagement and purchase Besides creator facial presence, another factor that can moderate this relationship is Islamic Business Ethics Fit.
In the context of Indonesian Muslim society.
Islamic values such as honesty .
, justice .
, transparency, and the prohibition of exploitation play a crucial role in shaping perceptions of promotional content.
However, there are ethical challenges in the practice of TikTok affiliate promotional videos.
Unlike YouTube video creators, who generate revenue from advertising (AdSens.
, and are therefore encouraged to provide balanced product reviews .
luses and minuse.
to maintain credibility and viewership.
TikTok affiliate video creators only earn revenue if a purchase is made through the cart embedded in the video.
This commission-based monetization system encourages some creators to display reviews that tend to be exclusively positive and exaggerate product Vol.
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advantages while concealing product shortcomings.
Such practices have the potential to violate the principles of Islamic business ethics, which emphasize honesty, openness, and avoiding consumer deception.
In fact, several studies such as Perkasa & Qizwini .
and Mostafa & ElSahn .
show that Muslim consumers show higher purchase intentions when promotional content is in accordance with Islamic values.
Research Methods This study uses a quantitative approach with descriptive and causal research types.
The descriptive approach is used to analyze the characteristics of each variable studied, namely creator facial presence.
Islamic business ethics fit, customer engagement, and purchase intention in TikTok affiliate videos.
The causal approach is used to analyze the relationship between variables to answer the problem formulation and test the hypothesis.
The types of data in this study include primary data and secondary data.
Primary data were obtained through sources of structured survey questionnaire results consisting of closed-ended statements based on a Likert scale .
Ae.
, where a scale of "1" indicates "strongly disagree" and a scale of "5" indicates "strongly agree".
Secondary data were obtained from a literature review of various literature relevant to this study.
This study in collecting data used a survey through a closed-ended questionnaire conducted on respondents using research indicators with a 5-point Likert scale.
Results and Discussion Respondent Overview The subjects of this study were Muslim TikTok users in Cirebon Regency.
Data collection used a questionnaire distributed online via Google Forms from October 25 to November 25, 2025, and 100 respondents were obtained.
Respondents with the following characteristics:
Respondent Characteristics Table Characteristics Information Gender Man Woman Total Age Education 18 Ae 24 years old 25 Ae 34 years old 35 Ae 44 years old Total High school or equivalent Total Frequency Percentage Based on the gender characteristics of 100 TikTok users, it is known that 63% are women, this shows that women dominate TikTok use compared to men.
TikTok offers a variety of content that is very Vol.
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popular among women, including beauty trends, fashion, cooking, and lifestyle.
Age characteristics indicate that 40%Tiktok users aged 25 Ae 34 years.
This age group is an important target for marketing campaigns due to its high purchasing power.
Generally, this age group .
-34 years ol.
already has a job and a more stable income than teenagers, which significantly influences shopping decisions and e-commerce participation on TikTok.
Educational characteristics show that as many as 50% of TikTok users with a bachelor's degree.
TikTok users with a bachelor's degree end to be better able to analyze the content offered, compare products more carefully before purchasing.
Descriptive analysis aims to determine respondents' responses to each question asked.
In this case, descriptive analysis explains customers' responses to the questions asked for each variable.
customer engagement, creator facial presence.
Islamic business ethics fit.
And purchase intention.
find out the respondents' responses to each variable, in this study they were grouped into one score category using a scale range with the following formula (Umar, 2.
TT - TR
Scale Information RS: Scale Range TR: Lowest Score .
TT: Highest Score .
Based on the formula above, the scale range can be calculated:
: 1.
Thus the interval value can be explained as follows:
Low: 1 Ae 2.
Medium: 2.
34 Ae 3.
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Height: 3.
68 Ae 5.
TableDescription of Customer Engagement Variables Code
Indicator STS
CE1
Content interaction CE2
Watch time
CE3
Responseto
Call-to- 6
Action (CTA) CE4
Frequency of repeated 4
CE5
Shareability Average Mean Criteria Tall Currently Currently Currently Currently Currently Based on tables how that respondents' responses regarding customer engagement has an average value of 3.
which indicates that the average respondent gave a fairly agreeable response to the statement in the questionnaire, this shows that TikTok users have customer engagement moderate/quite high.
Respondents' responses regarding content interaction were the highest indicator, with a mean value of 3.
This indicates that users frequently interact with TikTok affiliate promotional videos .
, liking or Furthermore, responses to calls-to-action (CTA.
received a mean value of 48 .
, making them the lowest indicator in this variable.
This indicates that users frequently respond to creators' calls to action, such as clicking the cart, following, or saving TikTok affiliate promotional videos.
Table Facial Presence Creator Variable Description Code
Indicator STS
CFP1
The presence of the 2
creator's face
CFP2
Creator's CFP3 Duration CFP4 Combination of facial 2 presence and other visual elements Average Mean Criteria Tall Tall Tall Tall Tall Based on tables how that respondents' responses regarding creator facial presence has an average value of 4.
which indicates that the average respondent gave an agreement response to the statement in the questionnaire, this shows that TikTok affiliate promotional videos have creator facial presence High.
Respondents' responses regarding the duration of facial presence were the highest indicator, with a mean value of 4.
This indicates that users are more confident in TikTok affiliate promotions when the creator's face appears consistently for most of the video.
Furthermore, responses regarding the creator's facial expressions received a mean value of 3.
, the lowest indicator in this This suggests that creators' facial expressions help users understand the emotions and honesty of product reviews given in TikTok affiliate promotional videos.
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Table Description of Islamic Business Ethics Fit Variables Code
Indicator STS
IBE1
Honesty (Shiddi.
IBE2
Justice (Al-Ad.
IBE3
Prohibition IBE4
Trust
IBE5
Prohibition Average Mean Criteria Currently Currently Currently Currently Currently Currently Based on tables how that the respondents' responses regarding Islamic business ethics fit has an average value of 3.
which indicates that the average respondent gave a fairly agreeable response to the statement in the questionnaire, this shows that TikTok affiliate promotional videos have Islamic business ethics fit moderate/quite high.
Respondents' responses regarding fairness .
l-ad.
were the highest indicator, with a mean value of 3.
This indicates that users felt the product information in TikTok affiliate promotional videos provided fairly and balanced information regarding the product's advantages and disadvantages.
Furthermore, responses regarding the prohibition of exploitation received a mean value of 3.
, making it the lowest indicator in this variable.
This indicates that users felt the TikTok affiliate promotional videos they viewed did not contain elements of exploitation .
, exploitation of bodies, children, or Composite Reliability and Cronbach Alpha Table Creator Facial Presence Composite Reliability Cronbach Alpha Customer Engagement Reliable Islamic Business Ethics Fit Reliable Purchase Intention Reliable Variables Information Reliable Based on the table above, the composite reliability value for each latent variable is Ou 0.
indicating that the model has high reliability.
The Cronbach's alpha value is Ou 0.
60, indicating that the variable indicators are reliable.
Inner Model Testing (Structural Mode.
The structural model in this study can be described as follows:
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Inner Model Image (Structural Mode.
After conducting a model evaluation and finding that each construct has met the validity and reliability requirements, the next step is to evaluate the structural model which includes hypothesis testing, model fit.
RA and FA with the following results:
Hypothesis Testing Hypothesis testing in this context aims to validate or refute the researcher's initial assumptions regarding the relationship between variables.
Hypothesis testing is conducted by examining the structural path coefficients.
The stability of the estimates is tested using the t-statistic through a bootstrapping procedure.
The basis for hypothesis testing in this study is the value of the path coefficient.
The path coefficient results for structural model testing are obtained by comparing the p-value with alpha .
or a t-statistic (>1.
The path coefficient results can be seen in the following table:
Path Coefficient Table Path Coefficient Customer Engagement-> Purchase Intention
Creator Facial Presence-> Purchase Intention
Islamic Business Ethics Fit-> Original (O) Sample (M) Standard
(STDEV)
4,333
2,133
3,335
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Purchase Intention Creator Facial Presencex Customer Engagement -> Purchase Intention Islamic Business Ethics Fitx Customer Engagement -> Purchase Intention Increasing Purchase Intention A.
(Mohammad Agung Prasetyo & Ardian Adhiatm.
1,971 2,757 Based on the data presentation on from the table above, it can be seen that of the five hypotheses proposed in this study, they are explained as follows:
Influence Customer Engagement on Purchase Intention Based on the path coefficient results, it can be seen that the P-values that determine the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention are 0.
000 < 0.
05 and the Tstatistics value .
> 1.
Meanwhile, the original sample has a value of 0.
These results support the first hypothesis, namely customer engagement.
positive and significant effect on purchase intention.
Influence Creator Facial Presence on Purchase Intention Based on the results of the path coefficient, it can be seen that the P-Values that form the influence of creator facial presence The correlation coefficient on purchase intention was 016 < 0.
05 and the T-statistic value .
> 1.
Meanwhile, the original sample had a value of 0.
These results support the second hypothesis, namely that creator facial presence has a positive and significant effect on purchase intention.
Influence Islamic Business Ethics Fit on Purchase Intention Based on the results of the path coefficient, it can be seen that the P-Values that form the influence of Islamic business ethics fit the correlation between Islamic business ethics fit and purchase intention was 0.
000 < 0.
05, with a T-statistic value of 3.
335 > 1.
Meanwhile, the original sample had a positive value of 0.
These results support the third hypothesis, namely that Islamic business ethics fit has a positive and significant effect on purchase .
Role Creator Facial Presence in Moderating the Influence of Customer Engagement on Purchase Intention Based on the path coefficient results, it can be seen that the P-value is 0.
038 < 0.
05 and the T-statistic value .
> 1.
Meanwhile, the original sample has a value of 0.
These results support the fourth hypothesis, namely creator facial presence.
to moderate the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention, in other words, the creator's facial presence can strengthen the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention.
Role Islamic Business Ethics Fitin Moderating the Influence of Customer Engagement on Vol.
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Purchase Intention Based on the path coefficient results, it can be seen that the P-value is 0.
003 < 0.
05 and the T-statistic value .
> 1.
Meanwhile, the original sample has a value of 0.
These results support the fifth hypothesis, namely Islamic business ethics fit.
to moderate the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention, in other words, the existence of Islamic business ethics fit can strengthen the influence of customer engagement on purchase intention.
R-square The structural model is evaluated using R-square for the dependent construct.
The RA value can be used to assess the influence of certain endogenous variables and whether exogenous variables have a substantive influence.
R-Square Value Table Variables Purchase Intention R-Squares Adjusted R-Square Based on the table, the Adjusted R-square purchase intention value is 0.
912, this means that 2% of the variation or change in purchase intention is influenced by customer engagement, creator facial presence and Islamic business ethics fit while the remaining 8% is influenced by other variables not studied.
F-square The F2 value criteria consist of three classifications: 0.
mall/poo.
oderate/sufficien.
arge/goo.
(Setiaman, 2.
The following are the results of the F-square test in this study:
F-Square Value Table Variable Relationship f-Squares Creator Facial Presence-> Purchase Intention Customer Engagement-> Purchase Intention Islamic Business Ethics Fit-> Purchase Intention Creator Facial Presencex Customer Engagement -> Purchase Intention Islamic Business Ethics Fitx Customer Engagement -> Purchase Intention Substantive Small Enough Enough Small Small Based on the table above, it can be seen that the relationship between variables that have a fairly large substantive influence occurs in the customer engagement variable.
To purchase intention .
and Islamic business ethics fit to purchase intention .
Meanwhile, the relationship between variables that have a small substantive influence occurs in the creator facial presence variable.
To purchase intention .
, creator facial presence customer engagement to purchase intention .
and Islamic business ethics fit X Vol.
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customer engagement to purchase intention .
Model Fit Test In this study, the evaluation of model fit used SRMR, d_ULS, d G.
Chi square and NFI, with the following results:
Goodness of Fit Model Test Results Table Structural Cut-Off Value Model
SRMR
< 0.
d_ULS > 0.
> 0.
>X2table Chi-Square .
f = 96.
X2table = 74.
NFI
Approaching 1
Estimated Information Fit
Fit
Fit
241,159
Fit Fit The analysis results show that the tested model exhibits an acceptable fit.
This result indicates that the model has a good level of fit with the data, meaning the proposed model accurately represents the relationships between variables in the data.
Discussion .