Let virtual creatures stay virtual: tactics to increase trust in virtual influencers

Abstract

PurposeAdvances in technology and the popularity of social media influencers have sparked a rise of “virtual influencers (VIs).” This study examines consumer attitudes toward VIs in social networking services and explores factors that enhance or dampen these attitudes. In three experiments, it was explored how contextual factors (background and companion) interact with human (HIs) and VIs, influencing attitudes through trustworthiness.Design/methodology/approachThree experiments were conducted using an online panel (N = 894). All experiments were based on the comparison between HIs and VI with mediating role of trustworthiness. In Studies 2 and 3, moderated mediation analyses were conducted to test hypotheses.FindingsThe results revealed that human-like VI was less trusted than animi-like VI or HIs. However, the perceived trustworthiness toward VI was enhanced when the VI was in a virtual (vs. real) environment (Study 2) or accompanied by a virtual (vs. human) companion (Study 3), leading to positive attitudes.Originality/valueThis research not only enriches relevant literature (avatars and SMIs) but also provides actionable insight for practitioners who design and utilize VIs. This paper proposes novel and handy tactics to enhance consumers' trustworthiness in and attitudes toward VIs.

Guest editorial: Artificial intelligence application and future research directions in interactive marketing

“…Qu and Baek (2024) explore the conditions that affect consumers' trust in the context of virtual influencers (VIs). Their findings reveal that attitudes toward a human-like VI are more negative than attitudes toward a human influencer (HI) and negative attitudes toward VI can be avoided by adjusting the surrounding cues such as the type of companion and the background.…”

“…Last but not least, research captured in this special issue particularly emphasizes the human–AI interaction across different industries (Zhu et al , 2024; Qu and Baek, 2024). First, the effectiveness of anthropomorphic features needs to be further explored.…”

One independent or many independent? The relationship among self-construal, number of brand endorsers, and brand attitudes

“…As for research on social media influencer endorsements, recent studies have focused on virtual influencer endorsements (Wang and Liu, 2023). Technological advances brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the popularity of social media influencers have led to the popularity of "virtual influencers" on social networks (Qu and Baek, 2023). Virtual influencers are digital characters created by computer graphics software and given a personality by their production team.…”