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Human-like Virtual Influencers and Consumer Purchase Behaviour: An Empirical SEM-based Investigation of Engagement and Emotional Mechanisms

Anuradha Yadav & Sandeep Kumar

Global Business Review2026https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509261428638article
AJG 1ABDC B
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed influencer marketing by introducing human-like virtual influencers (HVIs) that provide brands with new avenues of controlled and scalable digital promotion. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies on how consumers process and react to these AI-generated personas. This research article is based on the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework and Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), and examines the influence of core HVIs attributes in driving consumers to purchase, namely visual appeal (VA), social attraction (SA), cognitive response (CR) and perceived enjoyment (PE) as a primary psychological process, and parasocial interaction (PSI) as a primary means of interaction. Making use of quantitative structural modelling, results reveal that SA, CR and PE have a significant influence on PSI, whereas a decisive role on purchase-related urge is played by CR. On the other hand, visual effects and parasocial relationships are not enough to cause purchase intentions. This research adds to the literature on VIs by explaining the unique functions of emotional connection and cognitive evaluation. It offers practical recommendations to companies that implement AI-based influencer marketing on online markets.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509261428638

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@article{anuradha2026,
  title        = {{Human-like Virtual Influencers and Consumer Purchase Behaviour: An Empirical SEM-based Investigation of Engagement and Emotional Mechanisms}},
  author       = {Anuradha Yadav & Sandeep Kumar},
  journal      = {Global Business Review},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509261428638},
}

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Human-like Virtual Influencers and Consumer Purchase Behaviour: An Empirical SEM-based Investigation of Engagement and Emotional Mechanisms

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.