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Mere copycat? The effects of human versus human-like virtual influencers on brand endorsement effectiveness: A moderated serial-mediation model

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  • Zhou, Qi
  • Li, Bin
  • Li, Huajun
  • Lei, Yueqiu

Abstract

The emergence of virtual influencers, who possess realistic human-like appearances and intelligence, has provided new opportunities for brand endorsement strategy and gradually become an innovative trend. As the effectiveness of influencer endorsement is rooted in parasocial relationships, it remains unknown whether this effect can be extended to virtual influencers. With a focus on endorsement, the current study investigated the impact of human-like virtual influencers on parasocial relationships and their further outcomes. Two scenario-based experiments spanning two cultural contexts (Studies 1 and 2) provided sufficient evidence that users build weaker parasocial relationships with human-like virtual influencers due to the lower emotional engagement involved, which results in lower endorsement effectiveness in terms of brand interest and purchase intention. Moreover, a novel moderation role of influencer post modality (image vs. video) was found to attenuate the negative effect of human-like virtual influencers. The findings contribute to enhancing the understanding of users’ relationship building with virtual influencers, and offer suggestions for influencer endorsements and communication strategies for virtual influencers.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou, Qi & Li, Bin & Li, Huajun & Lei, Yueqiu, 2024. "Mere copycat? The effects of human versus human-like virtual influencers on brand endorsement effectiveness: A moderated serial-mediation model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:76:y:2024:i:c:s0969698923003612
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103610
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    3. Deng, Fengyi & Tuo, Muyuan & Chen, Si & Zhang, Zichen, 2024. "Born for marketing? The effects of virtual versus human influencers on brand endorsement effectiveness: The role of advertising recognition," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    4. Akhtar, Naeem & Hameed, Zahid & Islam, Tahir & Pant, Manoj Kumar & Sharma, Anshuman & Rather, Raouf Ahmad & Kuzior, Aleksandra, 2024. "Avatars of influence: Understanding how virtual influencers trigger consumer engagement on online booking platforms," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Zhao, Taiyang & Ran, Yaxuan & Wu, Banggang & Lynette Wang, Valerie & Zhou, Liying & Lu Wang, Cheng, 2024. "Virtual versus human: Unraveling consumer reactions to service failures through influencer types," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    6. Zhao, Tong & Shi, Qiumei & Zhang, Xingnian & Zhang, Tianyi, 2024. "Decoding green food safety information dependency in the digital era: An intelligent validation using SEM-ANN framework," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Xie, Jifei & Wu, Haoyu & Liu, Kexi & Cui, Yunce & Zhang, Xiaofei, 2024. "Is virtual streamer useful? Effect of streamer type on consumer brand forgiveness when streamers make inappropriate remarks," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. You, Leping & Liu, Fanjue, 2024. "From virtual voices to real impact: Authenticity, altruism, and egoism in social advocacy by human and virtual influencers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    9. Nadroo, Zeeshan Majeed & Lim, Weng Marc & Naqshbandi, Mohd Asif, 2024. "Domino effect of parasocial interaction: Of vicarious expression, electronic word-of-mouth, and bandwagon effect in online shopping," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    10. Cheah, Chee Wei & Koay, Kian Yeik & Lim, Weng Marc, 2024. "Social media influencer over-endorsement: Implications from a moderated-mediation analysis," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    11. Yang, Defeng & Zhang, Jiaen & Sun, Yu & Huang, Zan, 2024. "Showing usage behavior or not? The effect of virtual influencers’ product usage behavior on consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

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