Table 1 Summary of previous research in... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Summary of previous research in VI

Study	Independent variable	Outcome variables	Mediators/moderators	Theory	Key findings
El Hedhli et al. (2023)	VI’s anthropomorphism,	Purchase intentions	Perceived warmth and competence, willingness to follow		VI’s anthropomorphism shapes consumer perceptions, emphasising warmth over competence. This preference for warmth drives consumer willingness to follow these influencers, impacting purchase intentions
Kim and Park (2023)	VI attractiveness	Purchase intention	Mimetic desire and brand attachment	Source attractiveness model and attachment theory	The attractiveness of VI did not directly impact purchase intention; instead, it was mediated by mimetic desire and brand attachment
Ham et al. (2023)	Social cues and product engagements	Brand attitude and selection, perceived anthropomorphism	Perceived authenticity, credibility	Meaning transfer model	Realism and engagement enhance perceptions, but excessive reality weakens effects. “Mixed” reality social media can influence implicit product selection through credibility
Chan et al. (2023)	VI post colour	Liking post and recommendation	Perceived warmth and emotional trust		Warmer colours in VI post lead to positive consumer responses, with brightness moderating the relationship. Perceived warmth and emotional trust mediate the causal effect of warm colours on consumer reactions
Ahn et al. (2022)	VI’ anthropomorphism	Post and brand attitude	Social presence, social and physical attractiveness	Computers-are-social-actor theory	VI’ anthropomorphism enhances her social presence, which in turn boosts her perceived physical and social attractiveness, respectively, to drive consumer evaluation outcomes
This study	Level of VI anthropomorphism (low vs high)	Customer engagement and well-being	Upward social comparison, VI size and agency	Social comparison theory	VIs anthropomorphism firstly decreases, then increases engagement, while it decreases customer well-being, which is mediated through upward social comparison

Study	Independent variable	Outcome variables	Mediators/moderators	Theory	Key findings
El Hedhli et al. (2023)	VI’s anthropomorphism,	Purchase intentions	Perceived warmth and competence, willingness to follow		VI’s anthropomorphism shapes consumer perceptions, emphasising warmth over competence. This preference for warmth drives consumer willingness to follow these influencers, impacting purchase intentions
Kim and Park (2023)	VI attractiveness	Purchase intention	Mimetic desire and brand attachment	Source attractiveness model and attachment theory	The attractiveness of VI did not directly impact purchase intention; instead, it was mediated by mimetic desire and brand attachment
Ham et al. (2023)	Social cues and product engagements	Brand attitude and selection, perceived anthropomorphism	Perceived authenticity, credibility	Meaning transfer model	Realism and engagement enhance perceptions, but excessive reality weakens effects. “Mixed” reality social media can influence implicit product selection through credibility
Chan et al. (2023)	VI post colour	Liking post and recommendation	Perceived warmth and emotional trust		Warmer colours in VI post lead to positive consumer responses, with brightness moderating the relationship. Perceived warmth and emotional trust mediate the causal effect of warm colours on consumer reactions
Ahn et al. (2022)	VI’ anthropomorphism	Post and brand attitude	Social presence, social and physical attractiveness	Computers-are-social-actor theory	VI’ anthropomorphism enhances her social presence, which in turn boosts her perceived physical and social attractiveness, respectively, to drive consumer evaluation outcomes
This study	Level of VI anthropomorphism (low vs high)	Customer engagement and well-being	Upward social comparison, VI size and agency	Social comparison theory	VIs anthropomorphism firstly decreases, then increases engagement, while it decreases customer well-being, which is mediated through upward social comparison

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