隨著科技的發展，近幾年由CGI、AI技術創建的虛擬影響者（Virtual Influencer）在社群媒體中嶄露頭角，也成為品牌商挑選代言人之對象，可謂是新興的代言人類型。本研究以恐怖谷理論作為研究基礎，使用虛擬影響者擬人化程度（高擬人vs.低擬人）x 2虛擬影響者與產品一致性（一致vs.不一致）x 2控制實體類型（人類vs. AI）之三因子組間實驗設計，探究虛擬影響者作為產品代言人時，對消費者之廣告效果的影響（品牌態度、購買意願、分享意願）。同時，本研究亦分析了感知獨特性在自變數（虛擬影響者擬人化程度、控制實體類型）和依變數（廣告效果：品牌態度、購買意願、分享意願）間的中介效果，以及代言人可信度在自變數（虛擬影與產品一致性）和依變數（廣告效果：品牌態度、購買意願、分享意願）間的中介效果。
研究結果顯示，（1）高擬人虛擬影響者比低擬人虛擬影響者有較佳的品牌態度、分享意願；（2）虛擬影響者與產品一致性對廣告效果有顯著影響；（3）在低擬人虛擬影響者的前提下，虛擬影響者與產品一致搭配控制實體為人類會產生較佳的廣告效果；（4）感知獨特性能顯著中介虛擬影響者擬人化程度和廣告效果；（5）代言人可信度能顯著中介虛擬影響者與產品一致性和廣告效果。

With the development of technology, Virtual influencers, created through CGI and AI technologies, have gained prominence in social media recently. These digital entities have emerged as a novel category of endorsers, becoming a preferred choice for brand representation. This study was based on the Uncanny Valley Theory and adopted a two (the anthropomorphism of virtual influencer: high vs. low) x two (virtual influencers-product congruence: congruence vs. non-congruence) x two (the type of controlling entity: human vs. AI) three- factor between-subject experimental design, aiming to explore the differences in advertising effectiveness (brand attitude, purchase intention, willingness to share) on consumers when Virtual Influencers serve as product endorsers. This study also examined the mediating effects of perceived uniqueness on the relationships between independent variables (the anthropomorphism of virtual influencer and the type of controlling entity) and dependent variables (advertising effectiveness: brand attitude, purchase intention, willingness to share). The mediating effects of endorser credibility on the relationships between independent variables (virtual influencers-product congruence) and dependent variables (advertising effectiveness: brand attitude, purchase intention, willingness to share) was also included.
The results showed that: (1) higher anthropomorphism virtual influencers showed better brand attitudes and greater willingness to share than lower anthropomorphism virtual influencers. (2) The virtual influencer-product congruence significantly affected advertising effectiveness. (3) When the virtual influencers’ anthropomorphism being low, a virtual influencers-product congruence and the type of controlling entity being human generated better advertising effects. (4) Perceived uniqueness significantly mediated between the anthropomorphism of virtual influencers and advertising effectiveness. (5) Endorser credibility significantly mediated between the virtual influencers-product congruence and advertising effectiveness.

Babbie, E.（2013）。社會科學研究方法（林秀雲譯）。雙葉書廊有限公司。（原著出版於1975年）。
KOL Rader（2023年3月17日）。網紅行銷趨勢洞察報告書。 https://www.kolradar.com/reports/2023-influencer-marketing-trend
LnData（2022年4月23日）。為什麼大品牌開始搶用虛擬網紅當代言人？。https://lndata-taiwan.medium.com/為什麼大品牌開始搶用虛擬網紅當代言人-ad6d2bb89084
OOSGA（2023年1月5日）。台灣社群媒體現況：2023年社群平台發展趨勢、用戶分佈數據。https://zh.oosga.com/social-media/twn/
石欣蒨（2020年9月28日）。vivo V25 5G系列攜手IMMA打造「顏」宇宙 旗艦級夜拍更明亮。中時新聞網。https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20220928001238-260405?chdtv
吳修豪（2023年3月10日）。2023台灣網紅名單｜10大網紅排名與4個網紅收入來源一次揭密！。就是廣告科技股份有限公司。https://www.just-adtech.com/influencer-list/
李鴻文、蔡進發與賴柏諺（2017）。虛擬代言人對廣告效果之影響：以產品類別、 自我參照為干擾變數。行銷評論，14（4），335–366。
林欣儀、林佩如（2020）。仿生造形動漫角色之擬真程度對消費者喜好度之影響-以寶可夢為例。商業設計學報，（24），51-66。
邱浩政（2008）。量化研究法(一）：研究設計與資料分析（修訂初版）。雙葉書廊有限公司。
張寧、余利琴與鄭付成（2018）。虛擬代言人特徵對品牌態度的影響—產品知識的調節作用。珞珈管理評論，2，91-101。
陳琬樺（2023年1月5日）。虛擬網紅完美排除醜聞、也不會撞檔期！明知是假的，為何消費者會買單？數位時代。https://www.bnext.com.tw/article/73602/virtual-influencer-rising?
楊運秀、郭芳伃（2017）。網紅業配文的說服效果：懷疑人格、熟悉度及專業性的影響。行銷評論，14（2），163–189。
趙品灃、趙怜琄（2017）。善因行銷對品牌形象與購買意願影響之研究。康大學報，7，57-82。
劉嘉雯、游功揚、呂汶蓁與陳富美（2021）。品牌關係品質對口碑宣傳意願的影響：虛擬代言人特性的角色。管理資訊計算，10（2），155-164。
簡鈺璇（2023年9月21日）。「一心多用」是種假象！邊開會邊回信、邊吃飯邊看手機，為何最好戒掉？經理人。https://www.managertoday.com.tw/articles/view/67450?utm_source=copyshare
欒斌、邱于平與趙光正（2013）。故事行銷要素對Facebook中分享意願之影響。行銷評論 ，10（4），409-423。
admin (2022, Mar 29). Virtual Influencers Survey + INFOGRAPHIC. THE INFLUENCER MARKETING FACTORY. https://theinfluencermarketingfactory.com/virtual-influencers-survey-infographic/?utm_source=media&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=virtual-influencers-survey
Aggarwal, P., & McGill, A. L. (2007). Is that car smiling at me? Schema congruity as a basis for evaluating anthropomorphized products. Journal of consumer research, 34(4), 468-479.
Ahn, R. J., Cho, S. Y., & Sunny Tsai, W. (2022). Demystifying computer-generated imagery(cgi)influencers: The effect of perceived anthropomorphism and social presence on brand outcomes. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2022.2111242
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision processes, 50, 179-211.
Alexa, B. (2022, December 19). 5 Industries That Thrive With Influencer Marketing. MAVRCK. https://www.mavrck.co/find-influencers-in-your-industry/
AlRabiah, S., Marder, B., Marshall, D., & Angell, R. (2022). Too much information: An examination of the effects of social self-disclosure embedded within influencer eWOM campaigns. Journal of Business Research, 152, 93–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.07.029
Ameen, N., Hosany, S., & Taheri, B. (2023). Generation Z’s psychology and new‐age technologies: Implications for future research. Psychology & Marketing, 40(10), 2029–2040. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21868
Andersson, V. & Sobek,T. (2020). Virtual avatars, virtual influencers & authenticity. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/64928
Arsenyan, J., & Mirowska, A. (2021). Almost human? A comparative case study on the social media presence of virtual influencers. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 155, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2021.102694
Baker, A. M., Donthu, N., & Kumar, V. (2016). Studying How Brand Traits Moderate Brand Purchase Intentions Resulting from Word-of-Mouth. AMA Winter Academic Conference Proceedings, 27, A-32-A-33.
Balaban, D.C., Iancu, I.R., Mustãtea, M., Pavelea, A., Culic, L. (2020). What determines young people to follow influencers? The role of perceived information quality and trustworthiness on users’ following intentions. Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations, 22(3), 5-19.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51 (6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173
Bartneck, C., Kulić, D., Croft, E., & Zoghbi, S. (2009). Measurement instruments for the anthropomorphism, animacy, likeability, perceived intelligence, and perceived safety of robots. International journal of social robotics, 1, 71-81.
Baxter, S., Ilicic, J., & Kulczynski, A. (2015). What’s in a name? Examining the effect of phonetic fit between spokesperson name and product attributes on source credibility. Marketing Letters, 26(4), 525–534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-014-9287-0
Bayus, B.l., Carroll, V.P. & Rao, A.G. (1985). Harnessing the power of word-of-mouth. In V. Maha (ed.) Innovation Diffusion Models of New Product Acceptance. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
Belanche, D., Casaló, L. V., Flavián, M., & Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. (2021). Understanding influencer marketing: The role of congruence between influencers, products and consumers. Journal of Business Research, 132, 186–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.03.06
Belk, R. (2007). Why not share rather than own? The Annals of the AmericanAcademy of Political and Social Science, 611(1), 126-140.
Belk, R. (2009). Sharing. Journal of consumer research, 36(5), 715-734.
Bhattacharyya, J., Balaji, M. S., & Jiang, Y. (2023). Causal complexity of sustainable consumption: Unveiling the equifinal causes of purchase intentions of plant-based meat alternatives. Journal of Business Research, 156, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113511
Blackwell, R. D., Miniard , P. W., & Engel, J. F. (2006). Consumer behavior (10th ed.). Boston, MA South-Western College Publishing.
Blut, M., Wang, C., Wünderlich, N. V., & Brock, C. (2021). Understanding anthropomorphism in service provision: a meta-analysis of physical robots, chatbots, and other AI. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49 (4), 632–658. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00762-y
Bradley, S. (2020, March 20). Even better than the real thing? Meet the virtual influencers taking over your feeds. The Drum. https://www.thedrum. com/news/2020/03/20/even-better-the-real-thing-meet- the-virtual-influencers-taking-over-your-feeds.
Breves, P. L., Liebers, N., Abt, M., & Kunze, A. (2019). The perceived fit between instagram influencers and the endorsed brand: How influencer-brand fit affects source credibility and persuasive effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research, 59 (4), 440–454.
Brown, S. M. (2020). Let's get virtual: Measuring virtual influencer's endorser effectiveness . Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University, State of Texas.
Callcott, M. F., & Alvey, P. A. (1991). Toons sell... and sometimes they don't: An advertising spokes-character typology and exploratory study. In Proceedings of the 1991 Conference of the American Academy of Advertising (pp. 43-52). New York: D’Arcy Masius Benton and Bowles.
Campbell, C., & Farrell, J. R. (2020). More than meets the eye: The functional components underlying influencer marketing. Business Horizons, 63(4), 469–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.03.003
Campbell, C., & Grimm, P. E. (2019). The challenges native advertising poses: exploring potential federal trade commission responses and identifying research needs. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 38(1), 110–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915618818576
Candello, H., Pinhanez, C., & Figueiredo, F. (2017, May). Typefaces and the perception of humanness in natural language chatbots. In Proceedings of the 2017 chi conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 3476-3487).
Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. (2020). Influencers on Instagram: Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership. Journal of Business Research, 117, 510–519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.005
Cheng, X., Bao, Y., Zarifis, A., Gong, W., & Mou, J. (2022). Exploring consumers’ response to text-based chatbots in e-commerce: The moderating role of task complexity and chatbot disclosure. Internet Research, 32 (2), 496–517.
Chernev, B. (2023, July 27). 33+ Incredible Instagram Stories Statistics You Need to Know in 2023. Techjury. https://techjury.net/blog/instagram-stories-statistics/
Chiu, C. L., & Ho, H.-C. (2023). Impact of celebrity, micro-celebrity, and virtual influencers on chinese gen z’s purchase intention through social media. SAGE Open, 13(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231164034
Chiu, H.-C., Pant, A., Hsieh, Y.-C., Lee, M., Hsioa, Y.-T., & Roan, J. (2014). Snowball to avalanche. European Journal of Marketing, 48(7/8), 1255–1273. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-05-2012-0329
Choi, J., Lee, H.J. & Kim, H.W. (2017). Examining the effects of personalized app recommender systems on purchase intention: A self and social-interaction perspective. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 18 (1), 73–102.
Choi, S. M., & Rifon, N. J. (2012). It is a match: The impact of congruence between celebrity image and consumer ideal self on endorsement effectiveness. Psychology & Marketing, 29(9), 639–650. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20550
Choudhry, A., Han, J., Xu, X., & Huang, Y. (2022). " I felt a little crazy following a'doll'" Investigating real influence of virtual influencers on their followers. Proceedings of the ACM on human-computer interaction, 6 (GROUP), 1-28.
Chu, K., Lee, D.-H., & Kim, J. Y. (2016). The effect of non-stereotypical gender role advertising on consumer evaluation. International Journal of Advertising, 35(1), 106–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2015.1110942
Chu, S.C. (2021, Stepember, 22). Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM). Oxford Bibliographies. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199756841/obo-9780199756841-0267.xml#obo-9780199756841-0267-bibItem-0005
Conti, M., Gathani, J., & Tricomi, P. P. (2022). Virtual influencers in online social media. IEEE Communications Magazine, 60(8), 86–91. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.001.2100786
Cornelius, S., Leidner, D.E., & Bina, S. (2023a). Significance of visual realism - eeriness, credibility, and persuasiveness of virtual influencers. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2023-January, 3421-3430.
Cornelius, S., Leidner, D.E., & Benbya, H. (2023b). Credibility of Virtual Influencers: The Role of Design Stimuli, Knowledge Cues, and User Disposition. Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2023-January, 3401-3410.
Croes, E. A. J., & Antheunis, M. L. (2021). Can we be friends with Mitsuku? A longitudinal study on the process of relationship formation between humans and a social chatbot. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 38(1), 279–300.
da Silva Oliveira, A. B., & Chimenti, P. (2021). “Humanized Robots”: A proposition of categories to understand virtual influencers. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 25, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v25i0.3223
Dabbous, A., Aoun Barakat, K., & Merhej Sayegh, M. (2020). Social commerce success: Antecedents of purchase intention and the mediating role of trust. Journal of Internet Commerce, 19(3), 262–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2020.1756190
Darner, A., & Arvidsson, N. (2019). Virtual influencers: Anonymous celebrities on social media. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Jönköping University, Sweden.
Das, G., Mukherjee, A., & Smith, R. J. (2018). The Perfect Fit: The Moderating Role of Selling Cues on Hedonic and Utilitarian Product Types. Journal of Retailing, 94(2), 203–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2017.12.002
De Cicco, R., Iacobucci, S., & Pagliaro, S. (2021). The effect of influencer–product fit on advertising recognition and the role of an enhanced disclosure in increasing sponsorship transparency. International Journal of Advertising, 40 (5), 733–759. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1801198
De Veirman, M., Cauberghe, V., & Hudders, L. (2017). Marketing through Instagram influencers: the impact of number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude. International Journal of Advertising, 36(5), 798–828. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2017.1348035
Delbaere, M., McQuarrie, E. F., & Phillips, B. J. (2011). Personification in advertising: Using a visual metaphor to trigger anthropomorphism. Journal of Advertising, 40(1), 121- 130
Derlega, V.J., Metts, S., Petronio,S. & Margulis, S.T. (1993). Self-Disclosure. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
Dhar, R., & Sherman, S. J. (1996). The effect of common and unique features in consumer choice. Journal of Consumer Research, 23(3), 193-203.
Dill, V., Flach, L. M., Hocevar, R., Lykawka, C., Musse, S. R., & Pinho, M. S. (2012). Evaluation of the uncanny valley in CG characters. In Intelligent Virtual Agents: 12th International Conference, IVA 2012, Santa Cruz, CA, USA, September, 12-14, 2012. Proceedings 12 (pp. 511-513). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Dodds, W. B., Monroe, K. B., & Dhruv, G. (1991). Effects of price, and store information on buyers product evaluation. Journal of Marketing Research, 28(3), 307-318.
Drenten, J., & Brooks, G. (2020). Celebrity 2.0: Lil Miquela and the rise of a virtual star system. Feminist Media Studies, 20(8), 1319–1323. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2020.1830927
Du, Y., Rui, J. R., & Yu, N. (2023). How parasocial relationship and influencer-product congruence shape audience’s attitude towards product placement in online videos: the mediation role of reactance. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 16, 1315–1329. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S406558
Dumas, J. E., & Stough, R. A. (2022). When influencers are not very influential: The negative effects of social media verification. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 21(3), 614–624. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2039
Dwivedi, A., Nayeem, T., & Murshed, F. (2018). Brand experience and consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) a price premium: Mediating role of brand credibility and perceived uniqueness. Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, 44, 100–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.06.009
Epley, N., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2007). On seeing human: A three-factor theory of anthropomorphism. Psychological review, 114(4), 864.
Farivar, S., Fang Wang, & Yufei Yuan. (2023). Influencer Marketing: A Perspective of the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 24(2), 127–145.
Feng, Y., & Xie, Q. (2019). Ad creativity via augmented reality technology in online video ads: The differential role of novelty, message usefulness, and ad-consumer association. Journal of Promotion Management, 25(6), 907–933. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2018.1536624
Feng, Y., Chen, H., & Xie, Q. (2023). AI Influencers in Advertising: The Role of AI Influencer-Related Attributes in Shaping Consumer Attitudes, Consumer Trust, and Perceived Influencer–Product Fit. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2023.2284355
Filieri, R., Acikgoz, F., Li, C., & Alguezaui, S. (2023). Influencers’ “organic” persuasion through electronic word of mouth: A case of sincerity over brains and beauty. Psychology & Marketing, 40(2), 347–364. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21760
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Fisher, D.V. (1984). A conceptual analysis of self-disclosure. Journal for the Throgv of Social Bchauiour, 14.
Flach, L. M., de Moura, R. H., Musse, S. R., Dill, V., Pinho, M. S., & Lykawka, C. (2012). Evaluation of the uncanny valley in CG characters. Proceedings of SBGames, 108-116.
Fleck, N., Korchia, M., & Le Roy, I. (2012). Celebrities in advertising: Looking for congruence or likability? Psychology & Marketing, 29(9), 651–662. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20551
Fox, J., Ahn, S. J. (Grace), Janssen, J. H., Yeykelis, L., Segovia, K. Y., & Bailenson, J. N. (2015). Avatars Versus Agents: A meta-analysis quantifying the effect of agency on social influence. Human-Computer Interaction, 30(5), 401–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370024.2014.921494
Franke, C., Groeppel-Klein, A., & Müller, K. (2022). Consumers’ responses to virtual influencers as advertising endorsers: Novel and effective or uncanny and deceiving? Journal of Advertising, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2022.2154721
Gambino, A., Fox, J., & Ratan, R. A. (2020). Building a stronger CASA: Extending the computers are social actors paradigm. Human-Machine Communication, 1, 71-85.
Ganesan, S., & Hess, R. (1997). Dimensions and levels of trust: Implications for commitment to a relationship. Marketing Letters, 8(4), 439-448.
Ganguli, R., Padhy, S. C., & Saxena, T. (2022). The characteristics and preferences of Gen Z: A review of multi-geography findings. IUP Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(2), 79–98.
Garbin, L. (2020, December 27). Knox Frost and the Phenomenon of Virtual Influencers, How Do They Work? Bold Creators Club. https://boldcreators.club/knox-frost-virtual-influencers/
Geyser, W. (2023, February 7). The State of Influencer Marketing 2023: Benchmark Report. Influencer Marketing Hub. https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/#toc-1
GMO Research. (2022, December 1). What Is AISAS? Five Things You Should Know About This Customer Journey Framework. GMO Research. https://gmo-research.com/news-events/articles/what-aisas-five-things-you-should-know-about-customer-journey-framework
Gogoi, b. (2013). Study of antecedents of purchase intention and its effect on brand loyalty of private label brand of apparel. International Journal of Sales & Marketing, 3(2), 73-86.
Goldsmith, R. E., Lafferty, B. A., & Newell, S. J. (2000). The impact of corporate credibility and celebrity credibility on consumer reaction to advertisements and brands. Journal of Advertising, 29(3), 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2000.10673616
Gray, K., & Wegner, D.M. (2012). Feeling robots and human zombies: mind perception and the uncanny valley. Cognition, 125(1), 125-130.
Guthrie, S. E. (1995). Faces in the clouds: A new theory of religion. Oxford University Press.
Hafez, M. (2022). Unpacking the influence of social media marketing activities on brand equity in the banking sector in Bangladesh: A moderated mediation analysis of brand experience and perceived uniqueness. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights, 2(2), 100140.
Ham, J., Li, S., Shah, P., & Eastin, M. S. (2023). The “Mixed” reality of virtual brand endorsers: Understanding the effect of brand engagement and social cues on technological perceptions and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 1–16.
Hautz, J., Füller, J., Füller, K., & Thürridl, C. (2014). Let users generate your video ads? The impact of video source and quality on consumers’ perceptions and intended behaviors. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2013.06.003
Heiser, R. S., Sierra, J. J., & Torres, I. M. (2008). Creativity via Cartoon Spokespeople in Print Ads. Journal of Advertising, 37(4), 75–84. https://doi.org/10.2753/JOA0091-3367370406
Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., Walsh, G., & Gremler, D. D. (2004). Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: what motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the internet?. Journal of interactive marketing, 18(1), 38-52.
Himelboim, I., & Golan, G. J. (2023). A social network approach to social media influencers on instagram: The strength of being a nano-influencer in cause communities. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 23(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2022.2139653
Hofeditz, L., Erle, L., Timm, L. timm, & Mirbabaie , M. (2023). How virtuous are virtual influencers? -A qualitative analysis of virtual actors' virtues on instagram. The 56th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS).
Hovland, C. I., & Weiss, W. (1951). The influence of source credibility on communication effectiveness. Public opinion quarterly, 15(4), 635-650. https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/27/1/49/1791551
Huang, Q. Q., Qu, H. J., & Li, P. (2022). The influence of virtual idol characteristics on consumers’ clothing purchase intention. Sustainability, 14(14), 8964.
Hudson, S., Matson-Barkat, S., Pallamin, N., & Jegou, G. (2019). With or without you? Interaction and immersion in a virtual reality experience. Journal of Business Research, 100, 459-468.
Instagramforbusiness (2020, July 25). Did you know 500M people interact with Instagram Stories every day?. Instagramforbusiness. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDCEVkknqA0/?img_index=2
Jaeger, S. R., Cardello, A. V., Jin, D., Hunter, D. C., Roigard, C. M., & Hedderley, D. I. (2017). Product uniqueness: Further exploration and application of a consumer-based methodology. Food Quality and Preference, 60, 59-71.
Jang, H. (2022). The impact of the humanness of AI influencers on the success of influencer marketing (Doctoral dissertation). University of Texas.
Janssen, L., Schouten, A. P., & Croes, E. A. J. (2022). Influencer advertising on Instagram: product-influencer fit and number of followers affect advertising outcomes and influencer evaluations via credibility and identification. International Journal of Advertising, 41(1), 101–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2021.1994205
Jentsch, E. (1906/1997). On the psychology of the uncanny (R. Sellars, Trans.). Angelaki, 2(1), 7–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09697259708571910
Jeong, S. C., Kim, S.-H., Park, J. Y., & Choi, B. (2017). Domain-specific innovativeness and new product adoption: A case of wearable devices. Telematics & Informatics, 34(5), 399–412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.001
Jhawar, A., Kumar, P., & Varshney, S. (2023). The emergence of virtual influencers: a shift in the influencer marketing paradigm. Young Consumers, 24(4), 468–484. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-05-2022-1529
Jin, C. (2023, March). The influence of virtual influencers on people’s consumption. In 2022 3rd International Conference on Big Data Economy and Information Management (BDEIM 2022) (pp. 362-368). Atlantis Press.
Ju, I., & Lou, C. (2022). Does influencer–follower relationship matter? Exploring how relationship norms and influencer–product congruence affect advertising effectiveness across product categories. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 22(2), 157–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2022.2087809
Kádeková, Z., & Holienčinová, M. (2018). Influencer marketing as a modern phenomenon creating a new frontier of virtual opportunities. Communication Today, 9(2), 90-104. www.researchgate.net/publication/329247338
Kahle, L. R., & Homer, P. M. (1985). Physical attractiveness of the celebrity endorser: A social adaptation perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 11, 954–961.
Kamins, M. (1990). An investigation into the “Match-up” hypothesis in celebrity advertising: When beauty may be only skin deep. Journal of Advertising, 19(1), 4-13.
Kamins, M. A., & Gupta, K. (1994). Congruence between spokesperson and product type: a matchup hypothesis perspective. Psychology & Marketing, 11(6), 569–586. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.4220110605
Kätsyri, J., Mäkäräinen, M., & Takala, T. (2017). Testing the ‘uncanny valley’ hypothesis in semirealistic computer-animated film characters: An empirical evaluation of natural film stimuli. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 97, 149–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2016.09.010
Keller, K.L. (1993) Conceptualizing, Measuring, Managing Customer Based Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing, 57, 1-22.
Ki, C.-W. (Chloe), Cuevas, L. M., Chong, S. M., & Lim, H. (2020). Influencer marketing: Social media influencers as human brands attaching to followers and yielding positive marketing results by fulfilling needs. Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, 55, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102133
Kim, D. Y., & Kim, H.-Y. (2021). Influencer advertising on social media: The multiple inference model on influencer-product congruence and sponsorship disclosure. Journal of Business Research, 130, 405–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.02.020
Kim, E. A., Kim, D., E, Z., & Shoenberger, H. (2023). The next hype in social media advertising: Examining virtual influencers’ brand endorsement effectiveness. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1089051. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1089051
Kim, E. E. K. (2017). The impact of restaurant service experience valence and purchase involvement on consumer motivation and intention to engage in eWOM. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 18(3), 259–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2016.1213687
Kim, E. H., Kwak, S. S., Hyun, K. H., Kim, S. H., & Kwak, Y. K. (2009). Design and development of an emotional interaction robot, mung. Advanced Robotics, 23(6), 767-784.
Kim, H., & Park, M. (2023). Virtual influencers’ attractiveness effect on purchase intention: A moderated mediation model of the Product–Endorser fit with the brand. Computers in Human Behavior, 143, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107703
Kim, S. Y., Schmitt, B. H., & Thalmann, N. M. (2019). Eliza in the uncanny valley: anthropomorphizing consumer robots increases their perceived warmth but decreases liking. Marketing Letters, 30(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-019-09485-9
Klucarova, S. (2022). Disabled Social Media Influencers and Perceptions of Product Luxury. Society for Marketing Advances Proceedings, 564–565.
Konni.violet. (2022, March 13 ). Meet Konni 💜⚡️. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CYp6RX-vmVZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Kugler, L. (2023). Virtual influencers in the real world: We are increasingly engaging with these digital personalities, online and offline. Communications of the ACM, 66(3), 23–25. https://doi.org/10.1145/3579635
Kuzminov, M. (2023, March 29). Consumer Trust And Virtual Influencers. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/03/29/consumer-trust-and-virtual-influencers/?sh=18bf07ea68e2
Lafferty, B. A., Goldsmith, R. E., & Newell, S. J. (2002). The dual credibility model: The influence of corporate and endorser credibility on attitudes and purchase intentions. Journal of marketing theory and practice, 10(3), 1-11.
Lee, A. Y., & Aaker, J. L. (2004). Bringing the frame into focus: The influence of regulatory fit on processing fluency and persuasion. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 205–218.
Lee, J. A., & Eastin, M. S. (2021). Perceived authenticity of social media influencers: scale development and validation. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 15(4), 822-841.
Lee, J.-S., Chang, H., & Zhang, L. (2022a). An integrated model of congruence and credibility in celebrity endorsement. International Journal of Advertising, 41(7), 1358–1381. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2021.2020563
Lee, S. S., Chen, H., & Lee, Y.-H. (2022b). How endorser-product congruity and self-expressiveness affect Instagram micro-celebrities’ native advertising effectiveness. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 31(1), 149–162.
Lee, Y. H., & Yuan, C. W. T. (2023). I’m not a puppet, I’ma real boy! Gender presentations by virtual influencers and how they are received. Computers in Human Behavior, 149, 107927.
Lee, Y., & Koo, J. (2015). Athlete endorsement, attitudes, and purchase intention: The interaction effect between athlete endorser-product congruence and endorser credibility. Journal of Sport Management, 29(5), 523-538.
Leighton, H. (2019, November 26). What It Means For Virtual Instagram Influencers’ Popularity Rising. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/heatherleighton/2019/11/26/what-it-means-for-virtual-instagram-influencers-popularity-rising/?sh=21ef7af56e09
Leite, F. P., & Baptista, P. de P. (2022). The effects of social media influencers’ self-disclosure on behavioral intentions: The role of source credibility, parasocial relationships, and brand trust. Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, 30(3), 295–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2021.1935275
Lewczyk, M. (2021). Official: India Moves to Regulate Virtual Influencers. Virtual Humans. https://www.virtualhumans.org/article/official-india-moves-to-regulate-virtual-influencersrtual-influencers.
Li, X., & Sung, Y. (2021). Anthropomorphism brings us closer: The mediating role of psychological distance in User–AI assistant interactions. Computers in Human Behavior, 118, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106680.
Lim, R. E., & Lee, S. Y. (2023). “You are a virtual influencer!”: Understanding the impact of origin disclosure and emotional narratives on parasocial relationships and virtual influencer credibility. Computers in Human Behavior, 148, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107897
Lin, C. A., J. Crowe, L. Pierre, & Y. Lee. (2021). Effects of parasocial interaction with an instafamous influencer on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 10(1), 55–78.
Liu, F., & Lee, Y. H. (2022, June). Unveiling behind-the-scenes human interventions and examining source orientation in virtual influencer endorsements. In ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (pp. 175-192).
Liudmila, B. (2020). Designing identity in VTuber era. Proceedings of Laval Virtual VRIC ConVRgence, 182-184.
Lou, C., & Yuan, S. (2019). Influencer marketing: How message value and credibility affect consumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2018.1533501
Lou, C., Kiew, S. T. J., Chen, T., Lee, T. Y. M., Ong, J. E. C., & Phua, Z. (2022). Authentically fake? How consumers respond to the influence of virtual influencers. Journal of Advertising, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2022.2149641
Louie, T. A., & Obermiller, C. (2002). Consumer response to a firm’s endorser (dis) association decisions. Journal of Advertising, 31(4), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 00913367.2002.10673684
Luo, L., & Kim, W. (2023). How virtual influencers’ identities are shaped on Chinese social media: A case study of Ling. Global Media and China, 20594364231188353.
Luo, X., Tong, S., Fang, Z., & Qu, Z. (2019). Frontiers: Machines vs. Humans: The impact of artificial intelligence chatbot disclosure on customer purchases. Marketing Science, 38(6), 937–947. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2019.1192
Lutz, R.J., S.B. MacKenzie & G.E. Belch (1983). Attitude toward the ad as a mediator of advertising effectiveness: Determinants and consequences. Advances in Consumer Research, 10(1), 532-539.
Lynch, J., & Schuler, D. (1994). The matchup effect of spokesperson and product congruency: A schema theory interpretation. Psychology & Marketing, 11, 417–445.
MacDorman, K. F. (2005, December). Mortality salience and the uncanny valley. In 5th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, 2005. (pp. 399-405). IEEE.
Martínez, P., Herrero, Á., García-de los Salmones, M.D.M. (2020). Determinants of eWOM on hospitality CSR issues. In Facebook we trust? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(10), 1479–1497. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1742133
Maslach, C., Stapp, J., & Santee, R. T. (1985). Individuation: Conceptual analysis and assessment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(3), 729–738. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.49.3.729
Mathur, M. B., & Reichling, D. B. (2009, March). An uncanny game of trust: social trustworthiness of robots inferred from subtle anthropomorphic facial cues. In Proceedings of the 4th ACM/IEEE international conference on Human robot interaction (pp. 313-314).
McCormick, K. (2016). Celebrity endorsements: Influence of a product-endorser match on Millennials attitudes and purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, 32, 39–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.05.012
Miao, F., Kozlenkova, I. V., Wang, H., Xie, T., & Palmatier, R. W. (2022). An emerging theory of avatar marketing. Journal of Marketing, 86(1), 67–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242921996646
Mirabi, V., Akbariyeh, H., & Tahmasebifard, H. (2015). A study of factors affecting on customers purchase intention. Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST), 2(1).
Mirowska, A., & Arsenyan, J. (2023). Sweet escape: The role of empathy in social media engagement with human versus virtual influencers. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 174, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103008
Misra, S., & Beatty, S. E. (1990). Celebrity spokesperson and brand congruence, an assessment of recall and affect. Journal of Business Research, 21, 159-173
Misselhorn, C. (2009). Empathy with Inanimate objects and the uncanny valley. Minds & Machines, 19(3), 345–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-009-9158-2
Mitchell, A. A., & Olson, J. C. (1981). Are product attribute beliefs the only mediator of advertising effects on brand attitude?. Journal of marketing research, 18(3), 318-332.
Molin, V., & Nordgren, S. (2019). Robot or Human? The Marketing Phenomenon of Virtual Influencers: A Case Study About Virtual Influencers’ Parasocial Interaction on Instagram. (Doctoral thesis, Uppsala University, Sweden). https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1334486/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Morhart, F., Malär, L., Guèvremont, A., Girardin, F., & Grohmann, B. (2015). Brand authenticity: An integrative framework and measurement scale. Journal of consumer psychology, 25(2), 200-218.
Mori, M. (1970). The uncanny valley. Energy, 7, 33-35.
Mori, M., MacDorman, K., & Kageki, N. (2012). The uncanny valley [From the Field]. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, 19(2), 98–100. https://doi.org/10.1109/MRA.2012.2192811
Mouritzen, S.L.T., Penttinen, V., & Pedersen, S. (2023). Virtual influencer marketing: the good, the bad and the unreal. European Journal of Marketing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EJM-12-2022-0915
Moustakas, E., Lamba, N., Mahmoud, D., & Ranganathan, C. (2020, June). Blurring lines between fiction and reality: Perspectives of experts on marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers. In 2020 International Conference on Cyber Security and Protection of Digital Services (Cyber Security) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Munawar, S., Ahmad, N., & Abro, Q. M. M. (2021). Impact of eWOM credibility on purchase intention mediated by eWOM adoption. KASBIT Business Journal, 14(2), 84–99.
Muniz, F., Stewart, K., & Magalhães, L. (2023). Are they humans or are they robots? The effect of virtual influencer disclosure on brand trust. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 1. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2271
Najmi, M., Atefi, Y., & Mirbagheri, S. (2012). Attitude toward brand: An integrative look at mediators and moderators. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 16(1), 111.
Nikuro. (2021, November 4). November Has Come🍂. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CV2UpWfvKIR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Nisandzic, M. (2022). Are you even real? Virtual influencers on instagram and the role of authenticity in the virtual influencer consumer relationship. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Nissen, A., Conrad, C., Newman, A. (2023). Are You Human? Investigating the Perceptions and Evaluations of Virtual Versus Human Instagram Influencers. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – Proceedings, 659.
Nowak, K. L., & Fox, J. (2018). Avatars and computer-mediated communication: a review of the definitions, uses, and effects of digital representations. Review of Communication Research, 6, 30-53.
Nowak, K. L., & Rauh, C. (2005). The Influence of the Avatar on Online Perceptions of anthropomorphism, androgyny, credibility, homophily, and attraction. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(1), 153–178. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.tb00308.x
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers' perceived expertise,trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of advertising, 19(3), 39-52.
Ozdemir, O., Kolfal, B., Messinger, P. R., & Rizvi, S. (2023). Human or virtual: How influencer type shapes brand attitudes. Computers in Human Behavior, 145, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107771
Parguel, B., Delécolle, T., & Valette-Florence, P. (2016). How price display influences consumer luxury perceptions. Journal of Business Research, 69(1), 341–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.08.006
Park, J., Lee, J. M., Xiong, V. Y., Septianto, F., & Seo, Y. (2021). David and Goliath: When and why micro-influencers are more persuasive than mega-influencers. Journal of Advertising, 50(5), 584–602. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2021.1980470
Park, S., & Sung, Y. (2023). The interplay between human likeness and agency on virtual influencer credibility. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 26(10), 764-771.
Peña-García, N., Gil-Saura, I., Rodríguez-Orejuela, A., & Siqueira-Junior, J. R. (2020). Purchase intention and purchase behavior online: A cross-cultural approach. Heliyon, 6(6).
Penttinen, V., Ciuchita, R., & Čaić, M. (2022). YouTube it before you buy it: The role of parasocial interaction in consumer-to-consumer video reviews. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 57(4), 561–582. https://doi.org/10.1177/10949968221102825
Pérez-Cabañero, C., Veas-González, I., Navarro-Cisternas, C., Zuleta-Cortés, H., & Urizar-Urizard, C. (2023). Influencers who most engage on Instagram. The effect of their expertise, taste leadership and opinion leadership on their followers’ behavioural intentions. Cuadernos de Gestión, 23(2), 7–20. https://doi.org/10.5295/cdg.221863cp
Phua, J., Jin, S. V., & Kim, J. (2020). The roles of celebrity endorsers’ and consumers’ vegan identity in marketing communication about veganism. Journal of Marketing Communications, 26(8), 813–835. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2019.1590854
Pick, M. (2021). Psychological ownership in social media influencer marketing. European Business Review, 33(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-08-2019-0165
Rasmussen, M. (2021, August 25). 5 Innovative Commercials Featuring Virtual Influencers. Virtual Humans. https://www.virtualhumans.org/article/five-innovative-commercials-featuring-virtual-influencers
Rifon, N. J., Choi, S. M., Trimble, C. S., & Li, H. (2004). Congruence effects in sponsorship: The mediating role of sponsor credibility and consumer attributions of sponsor motive. Journal of advertising, 33(1), 30-42.
Robinson, B. (2020). Towards an ontology and ethics of virtual influencers. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 24, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v24i0.2807
Rochman, E. A., & Iskandar, B. P. (2015). Users’ engagement toward the brand accounts in Instagram based on the AISAS model. Journal of business and management, 4(8), 890-900.
Rodrigo-Martín, L., Rodrigo-Martín, I., & Muñoz-Sastre, D. (2021). Virtual Influencers as an advertising tool in the promotion of brands and products. Study of the commercial activity of Lil Miquela. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, (79), 70-91.
Sallam, M. A. A., & Wahid, N. A. (2012). Endorser credibility effects on Yemeni male consumer's attitudes towards advertising, brand attitude and purchase intention: The mediating role of attitude toward brand. International Business Research, 5(4), 55-66.
Sands, S., Campbell, C., Plangger, K., & Ferraro, C. (2022a). Unreal influence: Leveraging AI in influencer marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 56(6), 1721-1747. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-12-2019-0949
Sands, S., Ferraro, C., Demsar, V., & Chandler, G. (2022b). False idols: Unpacking the opportunities and challenges of falsity in the context of virtual influencers. Business Horizons, 65(6), 777-788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2022.08.002
Satista (2023, February 14). Distribution of Instagram users worldwide as of January 2023, by age and gender. Satista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/248769/age-distribution-of-worldwide-instagram-users/
Schiffman, L. G., & Kanuk, L. L. (2000). Consumer Behavior (7th ed.). Pearson College Div.
Schnittka, O., Hofmann, J., Johnen, M., Erfgen, C., & Rezvani, Z. (2023). Brand evaluations in sponsorship versus celebrity endorsement. International Journal of Market Research, 65 (1), 126–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/14707853221106309
Schouten, A. P., Janssen, L., & Verspaget, M. (2020). Celebrity vs. influencer endorsements in advertising: The role of identification, credibility, and product-endorser fit. International Journal of Advertising, 39(2), 258–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1634898
Schreiner, N., Pick, D., & Kenning, P. (2018). To share or not to share? Explaining willingness to share in the context of social distance. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 17(4), 366-378. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1717
Seyama, J. I., & Nagayama, R. S. (2007). The uncanny valley: Effect of realism on the impression of artificial human faces. Presence, 16 (4), 337-351.
Seymour, M., Riemer, K., & Kay, J. (2017). Interactive realistic digital avatars—revisiting the uncanny valley. Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2017 (HICSS-50). https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-50/cl/hci/4
Seymour, M.,Yuan, L.,Dennis, A.,&Riemer, K. (2019). Crossing the uncanny valley? Understanding affinity, trustworthiness, and preference for more realistic virtual humans in immersive environments. In Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Grand Wailea, HI: HICSS.
Shah, H., Aziz, A., Jaffari, A. R., Waris, S., Ejaz, W., Fatima, M. and Sherazi., K. (2012). The impact of brands on consumer purchase intentions. Asian Journal of Business Management, 4(2), 105-110.
Sheinin, D. A., Varki, S., & Ashley, C. (2011). The differential effect of ad novelty and message usefulness on brand judgments. Journal of Advertising, 40(3), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.2753/JOA0091-3367400301
Shin, J., & Lee, S. (2020, January). Intimacy between actual users and virtual agents: interaction through" likes" and" comments". In 2020 14th International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Management and Communication (IMCOM) (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
Siemens, J. C., Smith, S., Fisher, D., & Jensen, T. D. (2008). Product expertise versus professional expertise: congruency between an endorser’s chosen profession and the endorsed product. Journal of Targeting, Measurement & Analysis for Marketing, 16(3), 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1057/jt.2008.8
Silvera, D. H., & Austad, B. (2004). Factors predicting the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement advertisements. European Journal of Marketing, 38(11/12), 1509–1526.
Simonson, I., & Nowlis, S. M. (2000). The role of explanations and need for uniqueness in consumer decision making: Unconventional choices based on reasons. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(1), 49-68.
Snyder, C. R. (1992). Product scarcity by need for uniqueness interaction: a consumer catch-22 carousel?. Basic and applied social psychology, 13(1), 9-24.
Snyder, C. R., & Fromkin, H. L. (1977). Abnormality as a positive characteristic: The development and validation of a scale measuring need for uniqueness. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86(5), 518.
Stein, J.-P., Linda Breves, P., & Anders, N. (2022). Parasocial interactions with real and virtual influencers: The role of perceived similarity and human-likeness. New Media & Society, 0(0), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221102900
Thepsoonthorn, C., Ogawa, K., & Miyake, Y. (2021). The exploration of the uncanny valley from the viewpoint of the robot’s nonverbal behaviour. International Journal of Social Robotics, 13(6), 1443–1455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-020-00726-w
Thomas, V. L., & Fowler, K. (2015). More Isn’t Always Better: Exploring the influence of familiarity when using multiple celebrity endorsers. Journal of Promotion Management, 21(2), 208–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2014.996798
Thomas, V.L., & Fowler, K. (2021).Close encounters of the AI kind: use of AI influencers as brand endorsers. Journal of Advertising, 50(1), 11-25.
Tian, K. T., Bearden, W. O., & Hunter, G. L. (2001). Consumers' need for uniqueness: Scale development and validation. Journal of consumer research, 28(1), 50-66.
Till, B. D., & Busler, M. (2000). The match-up hypothesis: Physical attractiveness, expertise, and the role of fit on brand attitude, purchase intent and brand beliefs. Journal of Advertising, 29(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2000.10673613
Tinwell, A., & Sloan, R. J. S. (2014). Children’s perception of uncanny human-like virtual characters. Computers in Human Behavior, 36, 286–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.073
Torres, P., Augusto, M., & Matos, M. (2019). Antecedents and outcomes of digital influencer endorsement: An exploratory study. Psychology & Marketing, 36(12), 1267-1276. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21274
Triantos, A., Plakoyiannaki, E., Outra, E., & Petridis, N. (2016). Anthropomorphic packaging: Is there life on “Mars”?. European Journal of Marketing, 50(1/2), 260-275.
Tsang, A. S., & Zhou, N. (2005). Newsgroup participants as opinion leaders and seekers in online and offline communication environments. Journal of Business Research, 58(9), 1186-1193.
Tseng, S., & Fogg, B. J. (1999). Credibility and computing technology. Communications of the ACM, 42(5), 39-44.
Um, N. (2023). Predictors affecting effects of virtual influencer advertising among College Students. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(8),6388.
Valenzuela, A., & Hadi, R. (2017). Implications of product anthropomorphism through design. In The Routledge Companion to Consumer Behavior (pp. 82-96). Routledge.
Valsesia, F., Proserpio, D., & Nunes, J. C. (2020). The positive effect of not following others on social media. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(6), 1152–1168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022243720915467
Venkatesan, M. (1973). Cognitive consistency and novelty seeking. Consumer behavior: Theoretical sources, 355-384.
Vigneron, F., & Johnson, L. W. (1999). A review and a conceptual framework of prestigeseeking consumer behavior. Academy of marketing science review, 1(1), 1-15.
Vrontis, D., Makrides, A., Christofi, M., & Thrassou, A. (2021). Social media influencer marketing: A systematic review, integrative framework and future research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(4), 617–644. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12647
Wang, X., & Qiu, X. (2023). The influence of image realism of digital endorsers on the purchase intention of gift products for the elderly. Behavioral Sciences, 13(1), 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13010074
Wang, Y., Kong, S., Li, M., & Liu, L. (2022). Need for uniqueness moderates the effectiveness of different types of scarcity appeals. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 890350. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.890350
Wang, S., Lilienfeld, S. O., & Rochat, P. (2015). The uncanny valley: Existence and explanations. Review of General Psychology, 19(4), 393-407.
Weismueller, J., Harrigan, P., Wang, S. and Soutar, G.N. (2020). Influencer endorsements: how advertising disclosure and source credibility affect consumer purchase intention on social media. Australasian Marketing Journal, 28(4), 160-170.
Wibawa, R. C., Pratiwi, C. P., Wahyono, E., Hidayat, D., & Adiasari, W. (2022). Virtual influencers: Is the persona trustworthy?. Jurnal Manajemen Informatika (JAMIKA), 12(1), 51-62.
Wiese, E. & Weis, P. P. (2020). It matters to me if you are human - Examining categorical perception in human and nonhuman agents. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 133, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.08.002
Wilkens, P. (2023, April 1). 7 Predictions for How Brands Will Use Virtual Influencers to Connect With Consumers in 2023. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/7-predictions-for-how-brands-will-use-virtual-influencers/445123
Wilkie, W. (1986), Consumer Behavior. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Wolff, W.E.M. (2022) A trend or is the future of influencer marketing virtual? The effect of virtual influencers and sponsorship disclosure on purchase intention, brand trust, and consumer engagement. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Twente, the Netherlands.
Xie-Carson, L., Magor, T., Benckendorff, P., Hughes, K. (2023). All hype or the real deal? Investigating user engagement with virtual influencers in tourism. Tourism Management, 99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104779
Yoo, J.-W., & Jin, Y. J. (2015). Reverse transfer effect of celebrity-product congruence on the celebrity’s perceived credibility. Journal of Promotion Management, 21(6), 666–684. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2015.1055046
Zhang, L., & Ren, J. (2022). Virtual influencers: the effects of controlling entity, appearance realism and product type on advertising effect. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 298-305). Springer, Cham.
Zhao, J., Zhu, C., Peng, Z., Xu, X., & Liu, Y. (2018). User willingness toward knowledge sharing in social networks. Sustainability, 10(12), 4680.