Influencing Factors in Fans' Consumer Behavior: BTS Meal Distribution in Indonesia*

Purpose: BTS Meal at McDonald's was launched in May 2021 in selected countries all over the world. BTS fans in Indonesia bought the BTS Meal and collectively donated to the online delivery drivers as a form of empathy. As a quantitative study, this paper aims to identify the influencing factors in sociopsychology for fans to buy products (BTS Meal) available online using celebrity endorsement strategy, as well as demonstrating social empathy as an extended effect. Research design, data and methodology: empirical research was conducted through an online survey sent to 150 participants using the purposive sampling method. Participants were BTS fans, or ARMYs, who bought BTS Meal and conducted donations. Data were then sorted and processed with path regression. Results: preference and role model influenced the buying behavior; however, these factors influenced social empathy only when mediated by consumption. Preference and role model alone did not have a direct influence on social empathy. Conclusions: Consumer behavior insight is relevant in distribution science. A meal distribution involving brand ambassadors is considerable, particularly with celebrities demonstrating quality in capturing fans' hearts through role modeling. When a distribution is conducted online using a brand ambassador, buying behavior could lead to a social impact.