Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain

Influencer marketing continues to expand, intensifying debates about compliance with advertising regulations and the distribution of responsibility among influencers, brands, and other stakeholders. This qualitative study draws on 30 in-depth interviews with micro-influencers in Spain to examine how...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Marchán Sanz, Clara, Fernández Gómez, Erika, Feijoó Fernández, Beatriz
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2026
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Villanueva (UV)
Repositório:DIGI-UV. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad Villanueva
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digi-uv_____::857f2d8c5c22b50449803f27161447b8
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12766/892
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Comunicación Audiovisual
Micro-influencers
Transparency
Influencer marketing
Advertising
Ethics
Regulations
Disclosure
Dilemmas
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spelling Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal GainMarchán Sanz, ClaraFernández Gómez, ErikaFeijoó Fernández, BeatrizComunicación AudiovisualMicro-influencersTransparencyInfluencer marketingAdvertisingEthicsRegulationsDisclosureDilemmasInfluencer marketing continues to expand, intensifying debates about compliance with advertising regulations and the distribution of responsibility among influencers, brands, and other stakeholders. This qualitative study draws on 30 in-depth interviews with micro-influencers in Spain to examine how they interpret and manage legal requirements and ethical considerations in the context of commercial collaborations. The findings indicate a high level of awareness of disclosure obligations, with most participants reporting regular identification of sponsored content. While interviewees generally attribute primary responsibility for product-related information to brands, they also acknowledge shared accountability and describe practices aimed at ensuring accuracy and maintaining credibility. Although participants recognize significant pressure to increase follower numbers, they largely reject the practice of purchasing followers. Instead, they emphasize authenticity, thematic coherence, and trust as central to sustaining their professional legitimacy. Overall, micro-influencers conceptualize ethical responsibility less as strict adherence to formal rules and more as an ongoing communicative practice oriented toward credibility, audience expectations, and long-term professional sustainability.ComunicaciónSchool of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12766/892reponame:DIGI-UV. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad Villanuevainstname:Universidad Villanueva (UV)Ingléshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:digi-uv_____::857f2d8c5c22b50449803f27161447b82026-06-11T12:44:17Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain
title Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain
spellingShingle Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain
Marchán Sanz, Clara
Comunicación Audiovisual
Micro-influencers
Transparency
Influencer marketing
Advertising
Ethics
Regulations
Disclosure
Dilemmas
title_short Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain
title_full Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain
title_fullStr Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain
title_full_unstemmed Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain
title_sort Dilemmas Faced by Micro-influencers in Commercial Collaborations: Ethical Responsibility and Personal Gain
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Marchán Sanz, Clara
Fernández Gómez, Erika
Feijoó Fernández, Beatriz
author Marchán Sanz, Clara
author_facet Marchán Sanz, Clara
Fernández Gómez, Erika
Feijoó Fernández, Beatriz
author_role author
author2 Fernández Gómez, Erika
Feijoó Fernández, Beatriz
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Comunicación Audiovisual
Micro-influencers
Transparency
Influencer marketing
Advertising
Ethics
Regulations
Disclosure
Dilemmas
topic Comunicación Audiovisual
Micro-influencers
Transparency
Influencer marketing
Advertising
Ethics
Regulations
Disclosure
Dilemmas
description Influencer marketing continues to expand, intensifying debates about compliance with advertising regulations and the distribution of responsibility among influencers, brands, and other stakeholders. This qualitative study draws on 30 in-depth interviews with micro-influencers in Spain to examine how they interpret and manage legal requirements and ethical considerations in the context of commercial collaborations. The findings indicate a high level of awareness of disclosure obligations, with most participants reporting regular identification of sponsored content. While interviewees generally attribute primary responsibility for product-related information to brands, they also acknowledge shared accountability and describe practices aimed at ensuring accuracy and maintaining credibility. Although participants recognize significant pressure to increase follower numbers, they largely reject the practice of purchasing followers. Instead, they emphasize authenticity, thematic coherence, and trust as central to sustaining their professional legitimacy. Overall, micro-influencers conceptualize ethical responsibility less as strict adherence to formal rules and more as an ongoing communicative practice oriented toward credibility, audience expectations, and long-term professional sustainability.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12766/892
url https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12766/892
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University
publisher.none.fl_str_mv School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGI-UV. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad Villanueva
instname:Universidad Villanueva (UV)
instname_str Universidad Villanueva (UV)
reponame_str DIGI-UV. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad Villanueva
collection DIGI-UV. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad Villanueva
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,223283

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