Over the past few years, the popularity of social media influencers (SMIs) has been growing exponentially, making influencer marketing (IM) prevalent in firm strategies. Despite the mounting interest of researchers and practitioners, the resulting scholarly work remains divergent, partial and fragmented. In light of the pivotal role of SMIs on the consumer decision journey and as this research domain is still developing, a comprehensive and critical overview of extant research on this topic is sorely needed. In response, this paper is the first to consolidate the present state of research on IM within social media settings. More specifically, a systematic review of relevant studies published in peer‐reviewed academic journals across diverse fields was conducted in order to identify key themes and dominant concepts. The analysis of 68 articles from 29 Chartered Association of Business Schools‐ranked journals forges a robust understanding of this phenomenon, shedding light on the mechanisms underlying the appeal of SMIs and their influential power in shaping consumer attitudes and behaviour. Based on the analysis, an integrative multidimensional framework is presented that considers antecedents, mediators and moderators of potential outcomes, as well as contextual factors that translate into consumer behaviour. In so doing, various research gaps are identified and avenues for future research are proposed that reflect important emerging areas and unexplored realms with reference to theory, context and methodology. Conclusively, implications of this study for theory and practice are discussed.

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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to systematically collate and scrutinize the state of the art on consumer cosmopolitanism (CCOS) from an international marketing perspective and to provide a foundation for future research on the subject matter to proliferate and prosper.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the extant literature was conducted focusing on peer-reviewed journal articles published in major marketing, international business and management journals.FindingsA systematic analysis of 44 journal articles shows that CCOS research is a rapidly growing research stream in the international marketing field. However, at the same time, the results reveal a lack of coherent and consistent conceptual underpinning, conflicting empirical findings regarding the profile and behavior of cosmopolitan consumers, persisting knowledge gaps, as well as methodological and contextual weaknesses.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to consolidate the pertinent literature on CCOS. In doing so, it provides a roadmap for future research with reference to theory, context and methodology based on the research inconsistencies and knowledge gaps identified, contributing toward the development of this research area.

Advertising through digital channels—known as Digital Marketing—is recognized for its transformative impact on companies and for its immense effect on brand–consumer relationships, as it enables interactions with customers at any time and in any place. Based on these realities, this study analyzes several digital platforms and practices that have proven to be effective and assesses digital media dynamics to examine whether they can increase brand awareness on an international level. By employing a survey methodology approach with 200 respondents as a final sample, this study shows that digital marketing represents a huge potential for small- and medium-sized enterprises, giving internationalization a dominant digital attribute. Additionally, the findings reflect the noteworthy and rapid emergence of different digital marketing techniques serving different market segments. Finally, the study discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings and proposes several avenues for future research.

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