 Can a 2D shark girl be an influencer? uncovering prevailing archetypes in the virtual entertainer industryYee Heng Tan and Barbara R. Greene Journal of Business Research, 2025, vol. 186, issue C Abstract: The rise of virtual technology has served as a catalyst for a new influencer model – one with a crafted persona and an animated avatar. These virtual entertainers excel in engaging audiences and have become increasingly popular as a promising industry with many prospective opportunities. However, research within this industry is limited and lacks consistency. This paper aims to establish an emergent theory for the virtual entertainer industry. First, the concept of a virtual entertainer is introduced and defined along with key developments in the evolution of the industry. Using content analysis on 1189 comments and clustering 293 channels with over 180,000 livestreams, the paper identifies 3 key dimensions of virtual entertainers – (1) Organizational Support, (2) Self Expression and (3) Activity; and 5 distinguishing archetypes for virtual entertainers. The performances of these archetypes were compared across multiple success indicators, providing insights for understanding and developing positioning strategies within this growing industry. Keywords: Virtual Influencers; Virtual YouTubers; Industry Lifecycle; Influencer Archetype; VTuber Performance (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:186:y:2025:i:c:s0148296324004557 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114951 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.