Green power of virtual influencer: The role of virtual influencer image, emotional appeal, and product involvement

Kan Jiang, Junyuan Zheng and Shaohua Luo

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2024, vol. 77, issue C

Abstract: Based on the fast-growing sustainable consumption trend and the importance of social media in consumer decision-making, increasingly companies are introducing green products and promoting them through social media platforms. Virtual influencers (VI), as interesting alternatives to human influencers, have a lower risk of being involved in scandals and unethical behaviors, and can convey consistent ethical signals, showing a higher fit with green products. However, how to design effective VI green product endorsement solutions remains unknown. This study explored the effectiveness of VI green endorsement from three dimensions: VI image, emotional appeal, and product involvement. Four experimental studies (NÂ =Â 1027) showed that human-like VI (HVI) was more credible and had an endorsement advantage compared to anime-like VI (AVI). Second, HVI was more suitable for using pride appeals, while AVI was a better match for gratitude appeals, and AVI using gratitude appeals was considered as credible as HVI. It is worth noting that emotional appeals are only applicable in low-involvement green products, and HVI is more advantageous in high-involvement product advertisements regardless of the appeal used. The findings provide a new direction for the VI green marketing of enterprises.

Keywords: Virtual influencer; Green product endorsement; Emotional appeal; Product involvement; Perceived credibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joreco:v:77:y:2024:i:c:s0969698923004113

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103660

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