Human versus virtual influences, a comparative study

Influencer marketing aims to promote brands and influence consumer decisions, and recent technological advances have created options for non-human, virtual influencers. Such developments suggest the need to determine whether the effects of virtual influencers on consumer decisions differ from those of human influencers, depending on the type of product they are promoting. With a 2 (virtual vs. human influencer) × 2 (utilitarian vs. hedonic product) experimental design, using Instagram influencer posts and data from 275 participants, the current research establishes that the type of influencer does not affect intentions to adopt recommendations. But the influence process varies by type of influencer: Virtual…

• MD
  Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad

  Award: PID2019-105468RB-I00
• GD
  Gobierno de Aragón

  Awards: LMP51_21, PID2019-105468RB-I00, S20_23R
• MD
  Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, Gobierno de España
• ES
  European Social Fund