Virtual Influencer Marketing and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Roles of Product Involvement and Brand Familiarity

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Elnagar, Dr. Clarissa Tolete, Dr. Hala A. S. Elsaadany, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5324811/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Virtual influencers have emerged as effective marketing tools, especially in social media contexts where they can influence consumer behaviour. This study investigates the effect of virtual influencer marketing on purchase intentions for sports goods in the Philippines, using product involvement and brand familiarity as mediators. Data from 319 participants were collected and analyzed using a variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. The findings indicate that virtual influencer marketing significantly impacts product involvement, brand familiarity, and purchase intention. Furthermore, product involvement and brand familiarity significantly mediate the relationship between virtual influencer marketing and purchase intention. Virtual influencers are important in establishing brand trust and engaging customers through emotional connections. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on influencer marketing by demonstrating the efficacy of virtual influencers in the sports goods industry. Virtual influencers effectively drive purchase intentions by increasing product involvement and brand familiarity. Marketers can use virtual influencers to increase consumer engagement, brand awareness, and purchase intent in competitive markets. Marketing Virtual influencer marketing purchase intention product involvement brand familiarity Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 1. Introduction As social media continues to gain traction and advertising agencies devote a larger portion of their media expenditures to social media, the advertising sector is looking for efficient methods to maximize return on investment in social media (Appel et al., 2020). Influencer marketing is a type of advertising in the business world. It is a type of advertising that emphasizes certain people rather than a target market as a whole, and it has become one of these tactics in recent years (Woods, 2016). It is a digital marketing technique that involves identifying opinion leaders or influencers and incorporating them into a brand's social media communications (Bakker, 2018). Influencers heavily utilize new digital and conventional communication channels or those with the power to shape a brand's marketing and advertising tactics and create brand communities (Costello, 2020). Influencer marketing is a growing strategy companies and organizations use to advertise their goods and services on social media (Cabeza-Ramírez et al., 2022). These companies choose and compensate (for example, through pay-per-post schemes) online influencers: single people, groups of people, or even virtual avatars with a large social media following. Human influencers (HIs) have faced new competition due to the rise of virtual influencers (VIs), mainly since 2016 (Zhou, 2020). Even a well-known international star with a positive reputation can suddenly lose popularity if certain performers, presenters, athletes, or singers are considered safe choices concerning influence and can draw in many high-profile corporations. With the advantages and disadvantages of using human influencers removed, AI-powered VIs provide a fresh approach to connecting with customers (Allal-Chérif et al., 2024). These days, artificial intelligence (AI) is a widely discussed topic. The term "VIs" refers to computer-generated human replicas that are employed in place of actual people in social media marketing (Moustakas et al., 2020; Ozdemir et al., 2023). On social media, VIs and their human influencer counterparts have the same goal of producing positive content that sparks interest in brands' goods and services. By expanding their reach and engagement, VIs help brands improve their marketing performance (Kim et al., 2024). VIs have secured partnerships with well-known businesses, commanded high market prices, and improved marketers' financial results (Fauser et al., 2023). As a result, it is growing in popularity among consumers and marketers alike since it is a powerful tool for connecting brands with their target audience (Tafesse & Wood, 2021). When source credibility was considered, the V type indirectly impacted consumer engagement, purchase intention, and brand trust (Wolff, 2022). Marketers need to be increasingly involved in this kind of marketing since social media influencers are taking over the Internet, and marketing is currently popular. Additionally, because influencers' opinions have a significant impact on VI people, particularly the younger generation (Kádeková & Holienčinová, 2018), marketers should leverage influencers to improve their campaigns. Vis are a great instrument for attracting the most recent generations, as they are the topic of discussion. Therefore, before using VI marketing, marketers must ascertain how it affects purchase intention, particularly concerning brand familiarity and product participation. It will help businesses quantify their perceived revenue from this marketing and better understand their customers' intentions. There is little literature on social influencer marketing, taking product involvement (Chiu & Ho, 2023) and brand familiarity (McClure & Seock, 2019; Siqi and Yee, 2021) as mediators. However, no research has been done on VI marketing that highlights its impact on purchase intention using both mediators—product involvement and brand familiarity. Few studies have been conducted on the purchase intentions of sports products in the Philippines (Giango et al., 2022). Several studies have examined the impact of social media influencers on consumer purchase intentions in the Philippines (Soria, 2024; Singco et al., 2023; Dalangin et al., 2021; Ang et al., 2020; Rodriguez, 2008). However, in the Philippines context, there is no research on the impact of virtual influencers marketing sports products on purchase intention. Furthermore, no study has been conducted on how customers' purchase intentions are affected by virtual influencer marketing, with product participation and brand familiarity assumed as mediators. The primary objective of this study is to identify the influence of virtual influencer marketing on the purchase intention of sports products in the Philippines. The specific objectives of this study are a) to examine the influence of virtual influencer marketing on product involvement, brand familiarity, and purchase intention, b) to identify the link among product involvement, brand familiarity, and purchase intention, and c) to investigate the mediating effects of product involvement and brand familiarity on the relationship between virtual influencer marketing and purchase intention. 2. Literature review 2.1 Theoretical underpinnings Consumers' purchasing purpose influences how they process information while creating a brand preference, making it more automatic at lower levels and deliberate at higher ones. This is known as product involvement (Friedmann & Lowengart, 2019). Customer behaviour, including purchase intention, is influenced by product involvement (Peng et al., 2019). People are more inclined to absorb and elaborate on information when developing opinions than in circumstances with little involvement (Lee et al., 2017). Additionally, a high-involvement purchase occurs when the buyer values the product; as a result, the client might be more inclined to research the product further or hunt for alternatives, as Schiffman and Kanuk (2005) stated. Moreover, the quantity of direct or indirect brand-related experiences a consumer has accumulated is known as brand familiarity (Jacob & Tan, 2021). According to Kim & Kim (2015), customers are less impacted by rival product advertising, recall known brand product advertising better than unfamiliar brand advertising, and have greater brand familiarity due to their interactions with the brand. According to a study by Azzari & Pelissari (2020), brand familiarity also directly affects consumers' purchase intentions. However, to ascertain the impact of VI marketing on purchase intention, this study focuses on these two intermediaries (product involvement and brand familiarity). This study uses a modified model to understand the purchase intention better. The SOR Model (Stimulus, Organism, and Response) is one of the theories considered to determine consumer purchase intention. This model was developed by Mehrabian and Russell (1974), and it is a foundational concept of how the environment affects consumer behaviour. According to this paradigm, humans take three stages in response to their physical environment: environmental stimuli, emotional state, and behavioural response. The term "stimulus" describes the external world. The term "organism" refers to the interior states of customers from an emotional and cognitive standpoint. Furthermore, behaviour in terms of approach or avoidance describes reaction. The S-O-R model describes how people's emotional states (O) are influenced by their surroundings (S), which in turn determines how they behave toward the environment (R) (Manthiou et al., 2016). This model contributes to understanding the internal psychological shifts brought about by an individual's stimulation of their surroundings (Lin et al., 2020). As described by Zhai et al. (2019), this model explains how many external factors might function as a stimulus that impacts an individual's internal state, referring to the organism, which would result in a certain behavioural reaction. The SOR model is more applicable in this context because the study examines elements such as product involvement and brand familiarity as stimuli influencing an individual's purchasing intention. In addition to the SOR model, the ELM model (Elaboration Likelihood Model) is utilized in this study. The ELM has been used online in situations like customer reactions to advertisements (Blanco et al., 2010), and the theory of ELM is a twofold process that focuses on how attitudes are formed and changed to achieve persuasion (Cyr et al., 2018). Regarding how the ELM may function online, San Jose-Cabezudo et al. (2009) discovered evidence of a combined influence of central and peripheral channels for highly involved individuals exposed to serious versus humorous online advertising. This study's methodology can be utilized to ascertain how customers' purchase intentions are influenced by high or low product participation and by the influence of well-known and unknown companies on consumers' purchase intentions when employing VI marketing. Additionally, this model will aid in comprehending how these two variables may act as moderators of customer purchase intention. 2.2 Hypotheses development and conceptual framework 2.2.1 Influence of Virtual Influencer Marketing Studies indicate that consumer reactions are directly impacted by high product engagement tactics that involve telepresence, co-creation, and inventiveness. On the other hand, low-involvement tactics use interaction—a less mentally exhausting process—to raise brand engagement and indirectly affect customers' reactions (Cowan and Ketron, 2019). A further study by Akhtar et al. (2024) reveals a favourable correlation between Vis and behavioural engagement and informational and normative social impact. The VIs are anticipated to have a greater influence because they have positively impacted marketers' financial results (Kim et al., 2024; Beichert et al., 2023). Wolff (2022) finds that VIs indirectly influence customer engagement, purchase intention, and brand trust. According to a different study, real influencers still perform better than virtual ones in marketing since they are more attractive than virtual ones (Rossi and Rivetti, 2023). Yap & Ismail's (2022) research indicates that parasocial connection has a noteworthy impact on the purchase intention of Generation Y customers through VI interaction on Instagram. According to some studies, a well-known brand has a greater favourable effect on purchase intention and brand trust than a lesser-known one (Kolarova, 2018; Ha & Perks, 2005). These results lead to the construction of the following hypotheses: Hypothesis H 1 . Virtual Influencer Marketing positively influences product involvement. Hypothesis H 2 . Virtual Influencer Marketing positively influences purchase intention. Hypothesis H 3 . Virtual Influencer Marketing positively influences brand familiarity. 2.3.2 Influence of product involvement and brand familiarity It has been discovered that purchase intentions are influenced by the interaction between affecting and cognitive product involvement (Drossos et al., 2014; Drossos & Fouskas, 2010). As much research has shown, product involvement positively relates to purchase intention (Lin & Chen, 2006; Mou et al., 2019; Hunjra et al., 2015; Tamboto & Pangemanan, 2019). However, Kusumawardhini et al. (2016) found no significant relationship between product involvement and intention to purchase Islamic brands in Indonesia. Product involvement influences purchase intention, but, as seen by Lin et al. (2013), Jothi et al. (2011), and Salvation & Sorooshian (2018), these effects are moderating. Researchers have found a significant positive impact between brand familiarity and the purchase intention of consumers (Park & Stoel, 2005; Jacob & Tan, 2021; Das, 2015; Laroche et al., 1996). According to a study by Ha and Perks (2005), brand familiarity influences consumers' purchase intentions and develops brand trust. Thus, the following hypotheses are developed in light of the discussion above: Hypothesis H 4 . Product involvement positively influences purchase intention. Hypothesis H 5 . Brand familiarity positively influences purchase intention. 2.3.3 Mediating role of product involvement and brand familiarity Fauser et al. (2023) discovered that consumer acceptability and trust of Vis varied widely. While some participants said they would be willing to purchase goods that VIs advertised, others raised doubts about their sincerity. Wolff (2022) demonstrates that purchase intention, brand trust, consumer engagement, and social presence are not directly impacted by sponsorship disclosure or influencer type (social media, humanized virtual, animated virtual, or other VI). However, when mediated by the source's credibility, he discovered an indirect effect on purchase intention, brand trust, and consumer engagement. Another researcher found that regardless of the degree of participation in various items, Gen Z's desire to purchase is not directly impacted by the knowledge of VIs (Chiu & Ho, 2023). According to Jia et al. (2022), there is a relationship between perceived influence and virtual engagement with purchase intentions that is indirectly influenced by brand image and expected value. Social presence and parasocial interaction have a much lesser effect on purchase intention when a brand is familiar to consumers (Li et al., 2024). Yunpeng & Khan (2021) found that the relationship between affective and behavioural brand experiences is significantly mediated by familiarity with the brand. According to research by Hameed et al. (2023), there is an indirect relationship between brand awareness, consumer attitude, and purchase intention in the digital communication era. The study offers insight into the relationship between controlled meditation and brand awareness. The findings show that favourable attitudes resulting from celebrity endorsements will boost brand awareness and positively impact purchase intention. In light of the previous debate, the following hypotheses are demonstrated: Hypothesis H 6 . Product involvement mediates the relationship between Virtual Influencer Marketing and purchase intention. Hypothesis H 7 . Brand familiarity mediates the relationship between Virtual Influencer Marketing and purchase intention. 3. Data and Method 3.1 Sampling procedure The target population of this study included respondents from Manila, the capital and chief city of the Philippines. The city is the country's economic, political, social, and cultural hub. Convenience sampling was used to collect data from the sample respondents due to time constraints and cost considerations. However, convenience non-probability sampling enables researchers to estimate population parameters (Malhotra, 2010). The data were gathered between July - September 2024 using a structured questionnaire distributed via online channels such as e-mail and social media platforms. Hair et al. (2019) recommended a minimum of 200 samples for the study, which applies partial least square structural equation modeling. The number of respondents is approached based on a few demographic characteristics (such as age, education, and occupation). This study collected data from 319 participants, with a gender distribution of 32.6% female (n = 104) and 67.4% male (n = 215). Most of the respondents fell within the 21–30 age group (50.8%, n = 162), followed by 31–40 years (42.0%, n = 134), and 41–50 years (7.2%, n = 23). Regarding educational attainment, 60.8% (n = 194) had completed a graduate degree, 14.4% (n = 46) had a high school or college education, 12.9% (n = 41) had post-graduate or higher qualifications, and 11.9% (n = 38) were undergraduate students. In terms of occupation, professionals made up the largest group (59.9%, n = 191), followed by entrepreneurs (17.9%, n = 57), students (12.2%, n = 39), and unemployed individuals (10.0%, n = 32). Table 1 shows the respondents' demographics, including gender, age, education, and occupation. Table 1 Demographic profiles of the respondents Variables Categories N % Gender Female 104 32.6 Male 215 67.4 Age 21–30 years 162 50.8 31–40 years 134 42.0 41–50 years 23 7.2 Education level Graduate 194 60.8 High School/college 46 14.4 Post-graduate and above 41 12.9 Undergraduate 38 11.9 Occupation Entrepreneur 57 17.9 Professional 191 59.9 Student 39 12.2 Unemployed 32 10.0 3.2 Measurement items Measurement items for the constructs used in this study were incorporated from relevant previous studies. Items related to virtual influencer marketing, e.g., parasocial interaction (PI1:PI5), perceived realism (PR1:PR5), attractiveness (AT1:AT5), and trustworthiness (TR1:TR5) were adopted from Yap & Ismail (2022). Items about product involvement were incorporated from Akbar & El-Gohary (2022) and Zaichkowsky (1994) and this variable include items PIN1:PIN6. The items of brand familiarity were adopted from Akbar & El-Gohary (2022), Kent & Allen (1994) and this variable include items BF1:BF6. Finally, the items related to purchase intention were sourced from Kok Wei & Li (2013) and this variable include items INT1:INT5. The questionnaire was divided into two parts, with the first containing various demographic variables, including gender, age, education, and occupation. The second section contained the items scored on a 5-point Likert scale. A pilot test using 25 respondents was conducted, and the questionnaire was refined per the pilot group respondents' feedback. 4. Findings The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and SmartPLS version 4. The hypothesized relationships are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The variance-based partial least squares (PLS) statistical approach is used to run SEM, which is suggested as suitable for studies with small sample sizes (Hair et al., 2011; Lu et al., 2011). Furthermore, the study examines the hypothesized mediating relationships among study variables, and PLS is proposed as a highly appropriate statistical approach for developing such theoretical relationships. 4.1 Measurement model analysis The measurement model analysis specifies the relationship between observed or measured variables (measurement items, e.g., How interested are you in virtual influencers?) and a latent variable (construct, e.g., Parasocial interaction) (Hair et al., 2019). Convergent validity, composite reliability and discriminant validity were evaluated to establish the measurement model. As shown in Table 2 , all items' standardized factor loading estimates are greater than 0.70 and statistically significant, indicating that the items (e.g., PI1, PI2, and others) converge on their latent construct (for example, parasocial interaction). Hair et al. (2019) suggested that Cronbach's alpha (α) values should exceed the acceptable range of > 0.70. Furthermore, all AVE values are greater than 0.50, indicating that the latent construct accounts for approximately half of the variance in the observed variables on average. Composite reliability (CR) values indicated that each measure is consistently represented by its corresponding latent construct. Factor loadings, average variance extracted (AVE), and composite reliability met all statistical criteria, indicating that this study's constructs have adequate convergent validity. Table 2 Construct reliability and validity (first-order constructs) Construct Items Factor loading Mean SD α CR AVE Parasocial interaction PI1: How interested are you in virtual influencers? 0.932 2.966 1.123 0.951 0.962 0.836 PI2: How likely are you to follow a virtual influencer? 0.899 PI3: How likely are you to comment about a virtual influencer? 0.929 PI4: How likely are you to share the post with a virtual influencer? 0.903 PI5: How likely are you to talk about a virtual influencer? 0.908 Perceived realism PR1: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's behavior is real? 0.814 2.582 1.037 0.931 0.947 0.783 PR2: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's posture is real? 0.881 PR3: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's gestures are real? 0.9 PR4: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's facial expressions are real? 0.915 PR5: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's emotions are real? 0.909 Attractiveness AT1: To what extent do you find a virtual influencer attractive? 0.941 3.093 1.047 0.969 0.976 0.889 AT2: To what extent do you consider a virtual influencer to be classy? 0.95 AT3: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer is good-looking? 0.924 AT4: To what extent do you think a virtual influencer is stylish? 0.942 AT5: To what extent do you find a virtual influencer appealing? 0.958 Trustworthiness TR1: To what extent do you consider a virtual influencer dependable? 0.962 2.700 1.034 0.978 0.983 0.918 TR2: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer is honest? 0.952 TR3: To what extent do you consider a virtual influencer reliable? 0.963 TR4: To what extent do you perceive a virtual influencer as sincere? 0.942 TR5: To what extent do you perceive a virtual influencer as trustworthy? 0.973 Product involvement PIN1: To what extent do you find the products advertised by virtual influencers relevant to your needs? 0.886 2.969 0.952 0.93 0.945 0.742 PIN2: To what extent do you find the products advertised by virtual influencers exciting? 0.866 PIN3: To what extent do you consider the products advertised by virtual influencers important? 0.925 PIN4: To what extent do you find the products advertised by virtual influencers appealing? 0.889 PIN5: To what extent do you regularly use the products advertised by virtual influencers? 0.822 PIN6: How much do you like products promoted by virtual influencers compared to similar brands? 0.771 Brand Familiarity BF1: How familiar are you with the brand featured in the advertisement by the virtual influencer? 0.846 3.091 0.924 0.905 0.926 0.678 BF2: Have you used the brand featured in the advertisement by a virtual influencer? 0.737 BF3: Are you able to identify the brand from its logo when advertised by a virtual influencer? 0.797 BF4: To what extent do you feel that the values of the brand advertised by the virtual influencer align with your own? 0.852 BF5: I like the brand advertised by a virtual influencer 0.885 BF6: To what extent do you feel an emotional connection to the brand after seeing the advertisement by the virtual influencer? 0.817 Purchase intention INT1: Would you consider the product advertised by the virtual influencer as your first choice? 0.844 3.027 0.927 0.927 0.945 0.775 INT2: Would you encourage your relatives or friends to buy the product advertised by a virtual influencer? 0.903 INT3: How likely are you to recommend the product advertised by the virtual influencer to someone? 0.95 INT4: How likely are you to say positive things about the product advertised by a virtual influencer? 0.875 INT5: How likely are you to consider buying the product advertised by a virtual influencer? 0.825 Discriminant validity for the constructs was assessed using the Heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT) and Fornell-Larcker criterion. HTMT values less than 0.90 indicate that the constructs are distinct (Hair et al., 2019). Moreover, discriminant validity is achieved when the square root of AVE exceeds the correlation coefficients for all constructs (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). As shown in Table 3 , diagonal values represented the square root of AVE, while off-diagonal values represented inter-construct correlations. All the square roots of AVE values are greater than the correlation coefficients across all constructs, indicating that the study constructs are distinct and capture some phenomena that others do not. Table 3 Discriminant validity (first-order constructs) HTMT Attractiveness Brand familiarity Parasocial interaction Perceived realism Product involvement Purchase intention Trustworthiness Attractiveness Brand familiarity 0.586 Parasocial interaction 0.542 0.218 Perceived realism 0.690 0.554 0.575 Product involvement 0.760 0.821 0.385 0.719 Purchase intention 0.584 0.896 0.445 0.664 0.838 Trustworthiness 0.536 0.459 0.621 0.872 0.633 0.599 Fornell-Larcker criterion Attractiveness Brand familiarity Parasocial interaction Perceived realism Product involvement Purchase intention Trustworthiness Attractiveness 0.943 Brand familiarity 0.567 0.824 Parasocial interaction 0.534 0.208 0.914 Perceived realism 0.660 0.544 0.552 0.885 Product involvement 0.732 0.771 0.376 0.683 0.861 Purchase intention 0.566 0.842 0.426 0.637 0.783 0.880 Trustworthiness 0.528 0.455 0.598 0.837 0.609 0.573 0.958 In the second stage, the reliability and validity of all second-order constructs were evaluated. Virtual influencer marketing was a reflective-reflective second-order construct consisting of 4 first-order constructs: parasocial interaction, perceived realism, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. Sarstedt et al. (2019) proposed a two-stage disjoint approach for generating second-order constructs. Table 4 showed that all higher-order and first-order constructs had convergent validity. Table 4 Construct reliability and validity after generating second-order constructs Constructs Items Scale type Factor Loadings CA CR AVE Virtual influencer marketing (Higher order construct) Parasocial interaction Reflective 0.738 0.866 0.908 0.713 Perceived realism 0.922 Attractiveness 0.826 Trustworthiness 0.879 Product involvement PIN1 Reflective 0.885 0.930 0.945 0.742 PIN2 0.865 PIN3 0.924 PIN4 0.887 PIN5 0.824 PIN6 0.774 Brand familiarity BF1 Reflective 0.838 0.905 0.926 0.677 BF2 0.733 BF3 0.789 BF4 0.856 BF5 0.885 BF6 0.826 Purchase intention INT1 Reflective 0.847 0.927 0.945 0.775 INT2 0.906 INT3 0.949 INT4 0.873 INT5 0.819 The discriminant validity of the second-order constructs with other first-order constructs is shown in Table 5 . The results indicated that discriminant validity was also present in this case. Table 5 Discriminant validity after generating second-order constructs HTMT Brand familiarity Product involvement Purchase intention Virtual influencer marketing Brand familiarity Product involvement 0.821 Purchase intention 0.896 0.838 Virtual influencer marketing 0.564 0.786 0.721 Fornell-Larcker criterion Brand familiarity Product involvement Purchase intention Virtual influencer marketing Brand familiarity 0.823 Product involvement 0.775 0.861 Purchase intention 0.848 0.785 0.880 Virtual influencer marketing 0.563 0.737 0.666 0.844 4.2 Structural model analysis Structural model analysis was done to estimate the significance of the path coefficients and test the proposed hypotheses (Byrne, 2013). A bootstrapping with 5000 subsamples was used to run the model in the SmartPLS software package (Ringle et al., 2024). R square values suggested that 37.1% variations in Brand familiarity, 54.2% in product involvement, and 77.9% in purchase intention were explained by the model. Table 6 illustrates direct paths, beta, t statistics, and p values. The results showed that virtual influencer marketing had a significant positive effect on product involvement (β = 0.737, t = 17.681, p < 0.001, f² = 1.186) and brand familiarity (β = 0.563, t = 10.129, p < 0.001, f² = 0.464). Additionally, purchase intention was significantly and positively influenced by brand familiarity (β = 0.602, t = 9.411, p < 0.001, f² = 0.655) and product involvement (β = 0.171, t = 2.316, p < 0.05, f² = 0.035). Furthermore, virtual influencer marketing also significantly positively affected purchase intention (β = 0.201, t = 3.854, p < 0.001, f² = 0.084). Therefore, all hypothesized relationships (H1 – H5) were supported. Table 6 Results of the structural model (direct paths) Direct paths Beta T Statistics P Values f-square Results H1. Virtual influencer marketing → Product involvement 0.737 17.681 0.000 1.186 Supported H2. Virtual influencer marketing → Purchase intention 0.201 3.854 0.000 0.084 Supported H3. Virtual influencer marketing → Brand familiarity 0.563 10.129 0.000 0.464 Supported H4. Product involvement → Purchase intention 0.171 2.316 0.021 0.035 Supported H5. Brand familiarity → Purchase intention 0.602 9.411 0.000 0.655 Supported Indirect paths H6. Virtual influencer marketing → Product involvement → Purchase intention 0.126 2.382 0.017 - Supported H7. Virtual influencer marketing → Brand familiarity → Purchase intention 0.339 8.720 0.000 - Supported The indirect effect showed that virtual influencer marketing significantly and positively influenced purchase intention through product involvement (β = 0.126, t = 2.382, p < 0.5). Additionally, virtual influencer marketing had a significant positive indirect effect on purchase intention through brand familiarity (β = 0.339, t = 8.720, p < 0.001). Therefore, both indirect pathways (H6 and H7) were supported. 5. Discussion Influencer marketing is an effective branding and marketing strategy that raises brand salience and draws social media users (SMUs), particularly millennials from Generation Y and Z, toward companies. The importance of influencer marketing, which involves encouraging social media influencers (SMIs) to post-paid business advertisements, has increased recently (Jhawar et al., 2023). Numerous research has examined how social media influencers affect consumers' desire to make purchases (Beichert et al., 2024; Gu et al., 2024; Jhawar et al., 2023; Leung et al., 2022; Wies et al., 2023; Yap & Ismail, n.d.; Yasir et al., 2022). Our paper adds knowledge to the existing literature by analyzing the impact of virtual influencer marketing on purchase intentions for sports goods within the Philippine market. The paper took four variables, including the mediating effect of product involvement and brand familiarity, and developed six hypotheses. The analysis result found that all the variables are significant and positive. Firstly, virtual influencer marketing positively and significantly impacts product involvement, purchase intention, and brand familiarity, and the analysis supports the hypotheses. The result is consistent with previous studies (Akhtar et al., 2024; Wolff, 2022; Yap & Ismail, 2022). For instance, according to Yuan & Lou (2020), influencer fairness and trustworthiness benefit the parasocial connections that followers have with influencers, which raises followers' interest in things that influencers endorse. Another similar conclusion was made by Veirman et al. (2017), who found that Instagram influencers with large followers are viewed as likable, mainly because this makes them appear more popular and allows them to take advantage of word-of-mouth marketing on a large scale. Balaban et al. (2022) found that the trustworthiness of SMIs is positively impacted by parasocial connections, which fosters favorable views toward the business and increases the intention to buy the promoted goods and share their content on social media. Because attractiveness plays a major role in emotional advertising appeals and positively influences brand attitude, it is especially crucial in influencer marketing. The quality of influencer content and the alignment of an influencer's image with a brand are two additional influencer attributes that may impact an influencer's sales performance in addition to their following base size (Gu et al., 2024; Bakker, 2018). According to Yap & Ismail (2022), VIs's involvement on Instagram with Generation Y customers significantly affects their purchase intentions due to parasocial connections. Influencer marketers claim that the main objective of their strategy is to increase sales. The largest obstacle to using influencer marketing as a revenue stream, especially for direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses, is identifying influencers who provide good returns on investment (ROI) (Beichert et al., 2024). Customers' perception of the brand and purchase decisions are greatly influenced by the influencer's natural qualities, which include popularity, competence, and credibility. To raise brand awareness and buy intent, marketing managers use both influencers' sizable followings (Jhawar et al., 2023). Gaining significant followers on several platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter, Nobody Sausage is the perfect example of successful self-branding (Fauser et al., 2023). Influencers who work with companies should raise brand awareness and assist in converting followers into paying customers. Within social media, these individuals have a substantial following and can endorse businesses, goods, or services via active online engagement (Yap & Ismail, 2022). Secondly, the influence of product involvement and brand familiarity on purchase intention is positive and significant. The study aligns with the findings of Teixeira (2022), who concluded that by contrasting customers' intentions between two different levels of product involvement (high versus low) on Instagram, influencer attributes lead to effective endorsements of products. Product involvement influences consumers' marketing process and is a precursor of purchase engagement. According to da Costa (2022), when a viewer gets involved with a product, especially in internet advertising, they become more inspired and can assimilate information more quickly. This suggests that consumers are more likely to pay attention to advertisements and fully digest information when the product being sold has a high degree of engagement. In contrast, Cabeza-Ramírez et al. (2022) discovered no connection between the intention to buy and the product. This might be because those heavily active in the fashion industry only follow influencers to stay on top of trends. However, Mou & Benyoucef (2020) cite that customers are more likely to have a favorable opinion of a product when actively involved with it. The consumer's desire to buy is influenced by their stronger emotional connection to the product. As per the involvement hypothesis, a significant degree of product engagement can alter customers' perceptions of products, encouraging the development of their buying intentions and actions. Ha and Perks (2005) found that brand familiarity affects customers' purchasing intentions and fosters the growth of brand trust. Das (2015) demonstrated that self-congruity and brand familiarity have greater indirect effects on purchase intention than direct ones. Aljarah et al. (2024) showed that respondents exhibited higher levels of online brand advocacy when the brand was familiar as opposed to when they were exposed to firm-generated content (vs unfamiliar brand). However, when individuals were subjected to user-produced content, the effect of familiar and unfamiliar brands on online brand advocacy remained somewhat similar. Respondents' involvement with user-produced content was positively impacted by brand familiarity. Thirdly, the mediating role of product involvement and brand familiarity accurately supports the hypotheses. The mediation effect of product involvement was discussed in previous studies, such as Teixeira (2022), which failed to demonstrate the association between purchase intention and influencer credibility is moderated by product engagement. Yet, the results of the multiple linear regressions conducted for each participation condition offer an intriguing insight into the relationship between attractiveness and product involvement. On the other hand, Rachmawati et al. (2019) showed a consistent result with our findings that the relationship between product knowledge and purchasing decisions can be processed through product participation, even while product knowledge does not affect it. Another contradicting finding demonstrated that having an SMI and a parasocial relationship are not requirements for being an Instagram follower. However, a moderating effect of product involvement is seen in the fact that followers who indicate high involvement only exhibit significant parasocial relationships with the SMI (Balaban et al., 2022). According to Simões (2013), in terms of impressions of the sponsor's brand image and its impact on purchase intentions, product participation and brand familiarity are considered. According to Yunpeng & Khan (2021), brand familiarity substantially mediates the link between emotional and behavioral brand experiences. Jia et al. (2022) claimed that brand image and anticipated value indirectly impact the link between perceived impact and online interaction with purchase intentions. 5.1 Managerial Implications Because our findings are based on thorough analysis and trustworthy data, they should be helpful to executives, marketing managers, social media managers, digital marketing managers, legislators, and brand managers. First, influencers may enhance their parasocial ties with their followers by cultivating visually appealing personas that convey similarity to them. Meanwhile, relationship building also depends on procedural fairness—whether interactions with influencers are two-way and partly reciprocal—and interpersonal fairness—how influencers treat followers. To maintain long-lasting relationships with their followers, influencers should treat followers appropriately and respectfully by returning their expectations and feelings (Yuan & Lou, 2020). Secondly, our research provides management insights into influencer advertising, including follower considerations, content briefings, and celebrity selection. Companies might choose influencers with unique materials to improve elasticity and invest in those with a larger following. Along with evaluating the influencers' reach (number of followers, for example) and whether they behave appropriately and uphold reciprocity in their relationships with supporters, businesses and marketers seeking influencer marketing should also consider the influencers' expertise in particular fields (distributive fairness) and the morality of their knowledge sharing (informational equality). Businesses may increase flexibility by choosing influencers that share more unique content. They ought to motivate influencers to include clickable references to brands and URL links in their posts to increase the sponsor brand's visibility (Leung et al., 2022). Thirdly, the survey was based on the purchase intention of sports products in the context of the Philippines, and managers can be selective in identifying the social media and sites used mainly by the Philippines market and what characteristics of the influencers they prefer. Because this will enable a more accurate assessment of the impact of advertising messages, marketing managers should select the appropriate influencer based on audience segmentation by generational cohort. Finally, according to our research, there is a double impact on intention when it comes to high-involvement products—a direct effect on buy intention and an indirect influence on the message's perceived credibility. Thus, searching for the ideal product with a particular attribute related to audience engagement (technical, ecological, etc.) is essential. 5.2 Theoretical implications By integrating companies' use of influencer marketing to gauge its efficacy in driving purchase intensity, this study adds to the body of marketing literature already in existence. First, our analysis of post attributes reveals some of the distinctive qualities of the influencer marketing approach. Unlike celebrity endorsers, influencers may produce content for companies, and their degree of sharing original content provides a distinct quality to consider. Because they enhance engagement elasticity, we find that influencers who share more unique material are more successful senders. This is consistent with studies on seeding strategies, which usually indicate that seeding highly linked network members is preferable. Second, we have taken product involvement and brand familiarity as mediators. In contrast, previous literature used these variables as moderators, so we added a more comprehensive analysis of the mediation effect. Third, by extending the idea of planned behavior and modifying the product participation construct, the suggested model may be used with all consumer goods influencers endorse. Fourth, our research has implications for media literacy when creating programs that promote critical consumption, particularly for young individuals whose media diets typically contain SMI material. Finally, because buyers feel compelled to read product evaluations before purchasing, internet reviews are crucial to brand assessment. This result is in line with the Elaboration Likelihood Model, which contends that when consumers are highly engaged with a product, they are more likely to process information directly related to their purchases (such as the benefits and features of the brand), rendering attractiveness a moot point in the decision-making process. 6. Conclusion Influencer marketing is becoming more and more popular, which presents marketers with both benefits and problems. So, our paper aims to analyze how virtual influencer marketing affects product involvement, brand familiarity, and purchase intention in the context of Philippine sports products. Additionally, we show the mediating effect of product involvement and brand familiarity. Our analysis supported all the hypotheses developed. Thus, our paper adds knowledge to the existing body of literature and offers important theoretical and practical contributions that will be effective for marketing and brand managers in implementing effective strategies in selecting virtual influencers, considering the important attributes. Numerous limitations to our study also point to potential areas for further investigation. Initially, we concentrate on influencers' parasocial ties, trustworthiness, and attractiveness as significant factors that determine their ability to effectively influence product participation, brand knowledge, and purchase intention through influencer marketing. Future studies that evaluate additional influencer attributes, such as consistency (derived from past postings), personality (e.g., funny, self-assured), perceived originality, genuineness, and endorsement history, may aid businesses in understanding the factors that determine efficacy. Second, the convenience sample survey approach likely made it impossible for empirical investigation to establish causality. Consequently, further research may verify these relationships using a cross-sectional or longitudinal study design and comparison analysis. Furthermore, a range of research strategies, including mixed methods that combine quantitative and qualitative techniques, may provide a deeper understanding of how virtual influencer marketing differs from traditional marketing in influencing purchase intention. Third, we are unaware of the precise expenses businesses pay when using live-streaming platforms and hiring influencers. Yet, marketing expenses might differ significantly across influencers with intricate structures, and they ought to be a major consideration when businesses make strategic decisions. Future studies might examine the relationship between product sales and the cost structure of influencer marketing and offer suggestions for the best profitability and influencer tactics. Finally, although getting followers, feedback, and reports from consumers is one of the main goals of influencer marketing efforts, not all interaction types are equal. Customers interacting with various influencers or postings may display varying search behavior or likelihood of making a purchase. With technology that is presently accessible, businesses may monitor website traffic and click-through rates to determine which purchases result from specific influencer marketing articles. More studies should look at the factors that influence click-through- or sales-based elasticity results to find out how particular influencer marketing tactics might directly impact businesses' bottom lines. Declarations The research study titled “Virtual Influencer Marketing and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Roles of Product Involvement and Brand Familiarity” has received ethical approval from the Philippine Christian University Institute for Research, Innovation, and Sustainability (IRIS) Ethics Committee. References Akbar, T. A., & El-Gohary, H. (2022). 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The SOR (stimulus-organism-response) paradigm in online learning: an empirical study of students' knowledge hiding perceptions. Interactive Learning Environments , 28(5), 586–601. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1696841 Zhou, X. (2020), Virtual Youtuber Kizuna AI: co-creating human-non-human interaction and celebrityaudience relationship, pp. 1–91 Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5324811","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":369910857,"identity":"121eb447-39e1-4c74-be11-1204a0178d13","order_by":0,"name":"Ricardo Biason","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZhDBxsBgAGYw2ECF2YjXksbAQ1ALTIEBhHWYsBbzduaHnyvKbBjM2Zkff/i443zifvbjDxg+lB1m4Bc7gFWLzGE2Y8kz59IYLJvZzCRnnrmd2MOTY8A449xhBsnZCVi1SDDzMEg2th1mMDjMYMbM2wbUwpDDAGQARW7j1ML8E6KF/fNn3rZziT38zx8w/8WvhQ1qC4+BNG/bgcQeiQQDZka8WtjMLBvOpfFYNvOUSc5sSzbuufHG4GDPuXQenH7hP/z4ZkOZjZw5//HNHz622cm296c/fPCjzFqOXxq7FhjgQeEdwBAZBaNgFIyCUUASAACFIlV3wSnCsQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Marketing, College of Economics and Business Administration, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Salalah, Oman.","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ricardo","middleName":"","lastName":"Biason","suffix":""},{"id":369910858,"identity":"a05551eb-78fd-4a29-8204-7d593449bd7a","order_by":1,"name":"Dr. Ahmed K. Elnagar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Administrative and Financial Sciences and Technology Department, Applied College, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"Dr.","firstName":"Ahmed","middleName":"K.","lastName":"Elnagar","suffix":""},{"id":369910859,"identity":"b570d82b-6d8e-4113-b256-4f56b4d28df3","order_by":2,"name":"Dr. Clarissa Tolete","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Philippine Christian University, Manila, Philippines.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"Dr.","firstName":"Clarissa","middleName":"","lastName":"Tolete","suffix":""},{"id":369910860,"identity":"4ee03a03-a59d-4613-bc9b-ac0828e2530a","order_by":3,"name":"Dr. Hala A. S. Elsaadany","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Administrative and Financial Sciences and Technology Department, Applied College, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"Dr.","firstName":"Hala","middleName":"A. S.","lastName":"Elsaadany","suffix":""},{"id":369910861,"identity":"56076712-5e08-45b0-b8a5-101c12958115","order_by":4,"name":"Shahedul Hasan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Army Education Corps, Rangpur Cantonment, Bangladesh.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shahedul","middleName":"","lastName":"Hasan","suffix":""},{"id":369910862,"identity":"2bb6e332-0a85-44a0-ae51-5c8b068efce5","order_by":5,"name":"Larissa Santos","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Marketing, College of Economics and Business Administration, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Salalah, Oman.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Larissa","middleName":"","lastName":"Santos","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-10-24 09:56:41","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5324811/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5324811/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":67730967,"identity":"faf1ef5a-d582-41be-bf36-001b9509db29","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-10-29 07:12:31","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":17907,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConceptual framework\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure1ConceptualFramework.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5324811/v1/0e26096bb501ded4a2b1d1ee.png"},{"id":67731806,"identity":"a79820f7-8a8a-406c-98eb-7d66e866095d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-10-29 07:20:31","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":120650,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeasurement model diagram\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure2MeasurementModelDiagram.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5324811/v1/edcd2ffb4d302e68a88515a7.png"},{"id":67732918,"identity":"1613cfac-07fc-4291-93f7-4db9d014b3b1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-10-29 07:28:32","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1137919,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5324811/v1/112d4a96-1925-4ec0-abb3-1ef87f34e2ec.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eVirtual Influencer Marketing and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Roles of Product\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInvolvement and Brand Familiarity\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eAs social media continues to gain traction and advertising agencies devote a larger portion of their media expenditures to social media, the advertising sector is looking for efficient methods to maximize return on investment in social media (Appel et al., 2020). Influencer marketing is a type of advertising in the business world. It is a type of advertising that emphasizes certain people rather than a target market as a whole, and it has become one of these tactics in recent years (Woods, 2016). It is a digital marketing technique that involves identifying opinion leaders or influencers and incorporating them into a brand's social media communications (Bakker, 2018). Influencers heavily utilize new digital and conventional communication channels or those with the power to shape a brand's marketing and advertising tactics and create brand communities (Costello, 2020).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfluencer marketing is a growing strategy companies and organizations use to advertise their goods and services on social media (Cabeza-Ram\u0026iacute;rez et al., 2022). These companies choose and compensate (for example, through pay-per-post schemes) online influencers: single people, groups of people, or even virtual avatars with a large social media following. Human influencers (HIs) have faced new competition due to the rise of virtual influencers (VIs), mainly since 2016 (Zhou, 2020). Even a well-known international star with a positive reputation can suddenly lose popularity if certain performers, presenters, athletes, or singers are considered safe choices concerning influence and can draw in many high-profile corporations. With the advantages and disadvantages of using human influencers removed, AI-powered VIs provide a fresh approach to connecting with customers (Allal-Ch\u0026eacute;rif et al., 2024).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese days, artificial intelligence (AI) is a widely discussed topic. The term \"VIs\" refers to computer-generated human replicas that are employed in place of actual people in social media marketing (Moustakas et al., 2020; Ozdemir et al., 2023). On social media, VIs and their human influencer counterparts have the same goal of producing positive content that sparks interest in brands' goods and services. By expanding their reach and engagement, VIs help brands improve their marketing performance (Kim et al., 2024). VIs have secured partnerships with well-known businesses, commanded high market prices, and improved marketers' financial results (Fauser et al., 2023). As a result, it is growing in popularity among consumers and marketers alike since it is a powerful tool for connecting brands with their target audience (Tafesse \u0026amp; Wood, 2021). When source credibility was considered, the V type indirectly impacted consumer engagement, purchase intention, and brand trust (Wolff, 2022). Marketers need to be increasingly involved in this kind of marketing since social media influencers are taking over the Internet, and marketing is currently popular.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditionally, because influencers' opinions have a significant impact on VI people, particularly the younger generation (K\u0026aacute;dekov\u0026aacute; \u0026amp; Holienčinov\u0026aacute;, 2018), marketers should leverage influencers to improve their campaigns. Vis are a great instrument for attracting the most recent generations, as they are the topic of discussion. Therefore, before using VI marketing, marketers must ascertain how it affects purchase intention, particularly concerning brand familiarity and product participation. It will help businesses quantify their perceived revenue from this marketing and better understand their customers' intentions. There is little literature on social influencer marketing, taking product involvement (Chiu \u0026amp; Ho, 2023) and brand familiarity (McClure \u0026amp; Seock, 2019; Siqi and Yee, 2021) as mediators.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, no research has been done on VI marketing that highlights its impact on purchase intention using both mediators\u0026mdash;product involvement and brand familiarity. Few studies have been conducted on the purchase intentions of sports products in the Philippines (Giango et al., 2022). Several studies have examined the impact of social media influencers on consumer purchase intentions in the Philippines (Soria, 2024; Singco et al., 2023; Dalangin et al., 2021; Ang et al., 2020; Rodriguez, 2008). However, in the Philippines context, there is no research on the impact of virtual influencers marketing sports products on purchase intention. Furthermore, no study has been conducted on how customers' purchase intentions are affected by virtual influencer marketing, with product participation and brand familiarity assumed as mediators.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe primary objective of this study is to identify the influence of virtual influencer marketing on the purchase intention of sports products in the Philippines. The specific objectives of this study are a) to examine the influence of virtual influencer marketing on product involvement, brand familiarity, and purchase intention, b) to identify the link among product involvement, brand familiarity, and purchase intention, and c) to investigate the mediating effects of product involvement and brand familiarity on the relationship between virtual influencer marketing and purchase intention.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Literature review","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Theoretical underpinnings\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsumers' purchasing purpose influences how they process information while creating a brand preference, making it more automatic at lower levels and deliberate at higher ones. This is known as product involvement (Friedmann \u0026amp; Lowengart, 2019). Customer behaviour, including purchase intention, is influenced by product involvement (Peng et al., 2019). People are more inclined to absorb and elaborate on information when developing opinions than in circumstances with little involvement (Lee et al., 2017). Additionally, a high-involvement purchase occurs when the buyer values the product; as a result, the client might be more inclined to research the product further or hunt for alternatives, as Schiffman and Kanuk (2005) stated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoreover, the quantity of direct or indirect brand-related experiences a consumer has accumulated is known as brand familiarity (Jacob \u0026amp; Tan, 2021). According to Kim \u0026amp; Kim (2015), customers are less impacted by rival product advertising, recall known brand product advertising better than unfamiliar brand advertising, and have greater brand familiarity due to their interactions with the brand. According to a study by Azzari \u0026amp; Pelissari (2020), brand familiarity also directly affects consumers' purchase intentions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, to ascertain the impact of VI marketing on purchase intention, this study focuses on these two intermediaries (product involvement and brand familiarity). This study uses a modified model to understand the purchase intention better. The SOR Model (Stimulus, Organism, and Response) is one of the theories considered to determine consumer purchase intention. This model was developed by Mehrabian and Russell (1974), and it is a foundational concept of how the environment affects consumer behaviour. According to this paradigm, humans take three stages in response to their physical environment: environmental stimuli, emotional state, and behavioural response. The term \"stimulus\" describes the external world. The term \"organism\" refers to the interior states of customers from an emotional and cognitive standpoint.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, behaviour in terms of approach or avoidance describes reaction. The S-O-R model describes how people's emotional states (O) are influenced by their surroundings (S), which in turn determines how they behave toward the environment (R) (Manthiou et al., 2016). This model contributes to understanding the internal psychological shifts brought about by an individual's stimulation of their surroundings (Lin et al., 2020). As described by Zhai et al. (2019), this model explains how many external factors might function as a stimulus that impacts an individual's internal state, referring to the organism, which would result in a certain behavioural reaction. The SOR model is more applicable in this context because the study examines elements such as product involvement and brand familiarity as stimuli influencing an individual's purchasing intention. In addition to the SOR model, the ELM model (Elaboration Likelihood Model) is utilized in this study. The ELM has been used online in situations like customer reactions to advertisements (Blanco et al., 2010), and the theory of ELM is a twofold process that focuses on how attitudes are formed and changed to achieve persuasion (Cyr et al., 2018).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding how the ELM may function online, San Jose-Cabezudo et al. (2009) discovered evidence of a combined influence of central and peripheral channels for highly involved individuals exposed to serious versus humorous online advertising. This study's methodology can be utilized to ascertain how customers' purchase intentions are influenced by high or low product participation and by the influence of well-known and unknown companies on consumers' purchase intentions when employing VI marketing. Additionally, this model will aid in comprehending how these two variables may act as moderators of customer purchase intention.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Hypotheses development and conceptual framework\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.1 Influence of Virtual Influencer Marketing\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudies indicate that consumer reactions are directly impacted by high product engagement tactics that involve telepresence, co-creation, and inventiveness. On the other hand, low-involvement tactics use interaction\u0026mdash;a less mentally exhausting process\u0026mdash;to raise brand engagement and indirectly affect customers' reactions (Cowan and Ketron, 2019). A further study by Akhtar et al. (2024) reveals a favourable correlation between Vis and behavioural engagement and informational and normative social impact. The VIs are anticipated to have a greater influence because they have positively impacted marketers' financial results (Kim et al., 2024; Beichert et al., 2023). Wolff (2022) finds that VIs indirectly influence customer engagement, purchase intention, and brand trust. According to a different study, real influencers still perform better than virtual ones in marketing since they are more attractive than virtual ones (Rossi and Rivetti, 2023). Yap \u0026amp; Ismail's (2022) research indicates that parasocial connection has a noteworthy impact on the purchase intention of Generation Y customers through VI interaction on Instagram. According to some studies, a well-known brand has a greater favourable effect on purchase intention and brand trust than a lesser-known one (Kolarova, 2018; Ha \u0026amp; Perks, 2005). These results lead to the construction of the following hypotheses:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eHypothesis H\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e1\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e. \u003cem\u003eVirtual Influencer Marketing positively influences product involvement.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eHypothesis H\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e. \u003cem\u003eVirtual Influencer Marketing positively influences purchase intention.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eHypothesis H\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e3\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e. \u003cem\u003eVirtual Influencer Marketing positively influences brand familiarity.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3.2 Influence of product involvement and brand familiarity\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt has been discovered that purchase intentions are influenced by the interaction between affecting and cognitive product involvement (Drossos et al., 2014; Drossos \u0026amp; Fouskas, 2010). As much research has shown, product involvement positively relates to purchase intention (Lin \u0026amp; Chen, 2006; Mou et al., 2019; Hunjra et al., 2015; Tamboto \u0026amp; Pangemanan, 2019). However, Kusumawardhini et al. (2016) found no significant relationship between product involvement and intention to purchase Islamic brands in Indonesia. Product involvement influences purchase intention, but, as seen by Lin et al. (2013), Jothi et al. (2011), and Salvation \u0026amp; Sorooshian (2018), these effects are moderating. Researchers have found a significant positive impact between brand familiarity and the purchase intention of consumers (Park \u0026amp; Stoel, 2005; Jacob \u0026amp; Tan, 2021; Das, 2015; Laroche et al., 1996). According to a study by Ha and Perks (2005), brand familiarity influences consumers' purchase intentions and develops brand trust. Thus, the following hypotheses are developed in light of the discussion above:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eHypothesis H\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e4\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e. \u003cem\u003eProduct involvement positively influences purchase intention.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eHypothesis H\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e5\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e. \u003cem\u003eBrand familiarity positively influences purchase intention.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3.3 Mediating role of product involvement and brand familiarity\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFauser et al. (2023) discovered that consumer acceptability and trust of Vis varied widely. While some participants said they would be willing to purchase goods that VIs advertised, others raised doubts about their sincerity. Wolff (2022) demonstrates that purchase intention, brand trust, consumer engagement, and social presence are not directly impacted by sponsorship disclosure or influencer type (social media, humanized virtual, animated virtual, or other VI). However, when mediated by the source's credibility, he discovered an indirect effect on purchase intention, brand trust, and consumer engagement. Another researcher found that regardless of the degree of participation in various items, Gen Z's desire to purchase is not directly impacted by the knowledge of VIs (Chiu \u0026amp; Ho, 2023). According to Jia et al. (2022), there is a relationship between perceived influence and virtual engagement with purchase intentions that is indirectly influenced by brand image and expected value. Social presence and parasocial interaction have a much lesser effect on purchase intention when a brand is familiar to consumers (Li et al., 2024). Yunpeng \u0026amp; Khan (2021) found that the relationship between affective and behavioural brand experiences is significantly mediated by familiarity with the brand. According to research by Hameed et al. (2023), there is an indirect relationship between brand awareness, consumer attitude, and purchase intention in the digital communication era. The study offers insight into the relationship between controlled meditation and brand awareness. The findings show that favourable attitudes resulting from celebrity endorsements will boost brand awareness and positively impact purchase intention. In light of the previous debate, the following hypotheses are demonstrated:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eHypothesis H\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e6\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e. \u003cem\u003eProduct involvement mediates the relationship between Virtual Influencer Marketing and purchase intention.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eHypothesis H\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e7\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e. \u003cem\u003eBrand familiarity mediates the relationship between Virtual Influencer Marketing and purchase intention.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Data and Method","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Sampling procedure\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe target population of this study included respondents from Manila, the capital and chief city of the Philippines. The city is the country's economic, political, social, and cultural hub. Convenience sampling was used to collect data from the sample respondents due to time constraints and cost considerations. However, convenience non-probability sampling enables researchers to estimate population parameters (Malhotra, 2010). The data were gathered between July - September 2024 using a structured questionnaire distributed via online channels such as e-mail and social media platforms. Hair et al. (2019) recommended a minimum of 200 samples for the study, which applies partial least square structural equation modeling. The number of respondents is approached based on a few demographic characteristics (such as age, education, and occupation). This study collected data from 319 participants, with a gender distribution of 32.6% female (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;104) and 67.4% male (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;215). Most of the respondents fell within the 21\u0026ndash;30 age group (50.8%, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;162), followed by 31\u0026ndash;40 years (42.0%, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;134), and 41\u0026ndash;50 years (7.2%, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;23). Regarding educational attainment, 60.8% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;194) had completed a graduate degree, 14.4% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;46) had a high school or college education, 12.9% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;41) had post-graduate or higher qualifications, and 11.9% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;38) were undergraduate students. In terms of occupation, professionals made up the largest group (59.9%, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;191), followed by entrepreneurs (17.9%, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;57), students (12.2%, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;39), and unemployed individuals (10.0%, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;32). Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e shows the respondents' demographics, including gender, age, education, and occupation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic profiles of the respondents\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategories\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e104\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e215\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u0026ndash;30 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e162\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31\u0026ndash;40 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e134\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u0026ndash;50 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducation level\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGraduate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e194\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh School/college\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePost-graduate and above\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUndergraduate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOccupation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEntrepreneur\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfessional\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e191\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnemployed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Measurement items\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeasurement items for the constructs used in this study were incorporated from relevant previous studies. Items related to virtual influencer marketing, e.g., parasocial interaction (PI1:PI5), perceived realism (PR1:PR5), attractiveness (AT1:AT5), and trustworthiness (TR1:TR5) were adopted from Yap \u0026amp; Ismail (2022). Items about product involvement were incorporated from Akbar \u0026amp; El-Gohary (2022) and Zaichkowsky (1994) and this variable include items PIN1:PIN6. The items of brand familiarity were adopted from Akbar \u0026amp; El-Gohary (2022), Kent \u0026amp; Allen (1994) and this variable include items BF1:BF6. Finally, the items related to purchase intention were sourced from Kok Wei \u0026amp; Li (2013) and this variable include items INT1:INT5. The questionnaire was divided into two parts, with the first containing various demographic variables, including gender, age, education, and occupation. The second section contained the items scored on a 5-point Likert scale. A pilot test using 25 respondents was conducted, and the questionnaire was refined per the pilot group respondents' feedback.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. Findings","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and SmartPLS version 4. The hypothesized relationships are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The variance-based partial least squares (PLS) statistical approach is used to run SEM, which is suggested as suitable for studies with small sample sizes (Hair et al., 2011; Lu et al., 2011). Furthermore, the study examines the hypothesized mediating relationships among study variables, and PLS is proposed as a highly appropriate statistical approach for developing such theoretical relationships.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 Measurement model analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe measurement model analysis specifies the relationship between observed or measured variables (measurement items, e.g., How interested are you in virtual influencers?) and a latent variable (construct, e.g., Parasocial interaction) (Hair et al., 2019). Convergent validity, composite reliability and discriminant validity were evaluated to establish the measurement model. As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, all items' standardized factor loading estimates are greater than 0.70 and statistically significant, indicating that the items (e.g., PI1, PI2, and others) converge on their latent construct (for example, parasocial interaction). Hair et al. (2019) suggested that Cronbach's alpha (α) values should exceed the acceptable range of \u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.70. Furthermore, all AVE values are greater than 0.50, indicating that the latent construct accounts for approximately half of the variance in the observed variables on average. Composite reliability (CR) values indicated that each measure is consistently represented by its corresponding latent construct. Factor loadings, average variance extracted (AVE), and composite reliability met all statistical criteria, indicating that this study's constructs have adequate convergent validity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConstruct reliability and validity (first-order constructs)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstruct\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eItems\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFactor loading\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eα\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAVE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParasocial interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePI1: How interested are you in virtual influencers?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.932\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.966\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.123\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.951\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.962\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.836\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePI2: How likely are you to follow a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.899\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePI3: How likely are you to comment about a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.929\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePI4: How likely are you to share the post with a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.903\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePI5: How likely are you to talk about a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.908\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived realism\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR1: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's behavior is real?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.814\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.582\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.037\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.931\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.947\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.783\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR2: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's posture is real?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.881\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR3: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's gestures are real?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR4: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's facial expressions are real?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.915\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePR5: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer's emotions are real?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.909\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttractiveness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAT1: To what extent do you find a virtual influencer attractive?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.941\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.093\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.047\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.969\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.976\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.889\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAT2: To what extent do you consider a virtual influencer to be classy?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.95\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAT3: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer is good-looking?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.924\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAT4: To what extent do you think a virtual influencer is stylish?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.942\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAT5: To what extent do you find a virtual influencer appealing?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.958\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrustworthiness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR1: To what extent do you consider a virtual influencer dependable?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.962\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.034\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.978\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.983\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.918\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR2: To what extent do you believe a virtual influencer is honest?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.952\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR3: To what extent do you consider a virtual influencer reliable?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.963\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR4: To what extent do you perceive a virtual influencer as sincere?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.942\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR5: To what extent do you perceive a virtual influencer as trustworthy?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.973\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN1: To what extent do you find the products advertised by virtual influencers relevant to your needs?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.886\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.969\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.952\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.742\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN2: To what extent do you find the products advertised by virtual influencers exciting?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.866\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN3: To what extent do you consider the products advertised by virtual influencers important?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.925\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN4: To what extent do you find the products advertised by virtual influencers appealing?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.889\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN5: To what extent do you regularly use the products advertised by virtual influencers?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.822\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN6: How much do you like products promoted by virtual influencers compared to similar brands?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.771\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamiliarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF1: How familiar are you with the brand featured in the advertisement by the virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.846\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.091\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.924\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.905\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.926\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.678\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF2: Have you used the brand featured in the advertisement by a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.737\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF3: Are you able to identify the brand from its logo when advertised by a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.797\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF4: To what extent do you feel that the values of the brand advertised by the virtual influencer align with your own?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.852\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF5: I like the brand advertised by a virtual influencer\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.885\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF6: To what extent do you feel an emotional connection to the brand after seeing the advertisement by the virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.817\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT1: Would you consider the product advertised by the virtual influencer as your first choice?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.844\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.027\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.927\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.927\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.775\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT2: Would you encourage your relatives or friends to buy the product advertised by a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.903\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT3: How likely are you to recommend the product advertised by the virtual influencer to someone?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.95\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT4: How likely are you to say positive things about the product advertised by a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.875\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT5: How likely are you to consider buying the product advertised by a virtual influencer?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.825\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiscriminant validity for the constructs was assessed using the Heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT) and Fornell-Larcker criterion. HTMT values less than 0.90 indicate that the constructs are distinct (Hair et al., 2019). Moreover, discriminant validity is achieved when the square root of AVE exceeds the correlation coefficients for all constructs (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, diagonal values represented the square root of AVE, while off-diagonal values represented inter-construct correlations. All the square roots of AVE values are greater than the correlation coefficients across all constructs, indicating that the study constructs are distinct and capture some phenomena that others do not.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDiscriminant validity (first-order constructs)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHTMT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttractiveness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParasocial interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived realism\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrustworthiness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttractiveness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.586\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParasocial interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.542\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.218\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived realism\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.690\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.554\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.575\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.760\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.821\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.385\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.719\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.584\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.896\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.445\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.664\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.838\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrustworthiness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.536\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.459\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.621\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.872\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.633\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.599\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFornell-Larcker criterion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttractiveness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParasocial interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived realism\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrustworthiness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttractiveness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.943\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.567\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.824\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParasocial interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.534\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.208\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.914\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived realism\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.660\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.544\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.552\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.885\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.732\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.771\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.376\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.683\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.861\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.566\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.842\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.426\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.637\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.783\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.880\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrustworthiness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.528\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.455\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.598\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.837\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.609\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.573\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.958\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the second stage, the reliability and validity of all second-order constructs were evaluated. Virtual influencer marketing was a reflective-reflective second-order construct consisting of 4 first-order constructs: parasocial interaction, perceived realism, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. Sarstedt et al. (2019) proposed a two-stage disjoint approach for generating second-order constructs. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e showed that all higher-order and first-order constructs had convergent validity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstruct reliability and validity after generating second-order constructs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eItems\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eScale type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFactor Loadings\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAVE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVirtual influencer marketing (Higher order construct)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParasocial interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReflective\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.738\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.866\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.908\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.713\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived realism\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.922\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttractiveness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.826\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrustworthiness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.879\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReflective\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.885\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.930\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.742\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.865\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.924\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.887\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.824\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePIN6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.774\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReflective\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.838\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.905\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.926\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.677\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.733\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.789\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.856\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.885\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBF6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.826\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReflective\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.847\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.927\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.775\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.906\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.949\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.873\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eINT5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.819\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe discriminant validity of the second-order constructs with other first-order constructs is shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. The results indicated that discriminant validity was also present in this case.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiscriminant validity after generating second-order constructs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHTMT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVirtual influencer marketing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.821\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.896\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.838\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVirtual influencer marketing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.564\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.786\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.721\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFornell-Larcker criterion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVirtual influencer marketing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.823\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.775\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.861\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.848\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.785\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.880\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVirtual influencer marketing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.563\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.737\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.666\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.844\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2 Structural model analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eStructural model analysis was done to estimate the significance of the path coefficients and test the proposed hypotheses (Byrne, 2013). A bootstrapping with 5000 subsamples was used to run the model in the SmartPLS software package (Ringle et al., 2024). R square values suggested that 37.1% variations in Brand familiarity, 54.2% in product involvement, and 77.9% in purchase intention were explained by the model. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e illustrates direct paths, beta, t statistics, and p values. The results showed that virtual influencer marketing had a significant positive effect on product involvement (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.737, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;17.681, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, f\u0026sup2; = 1.186) and brand familiarity (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.563, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;10.129, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, f\u0026sup2; = 0.464). Additionally, purchase intention was significantly and positively influenced by brand familiarity (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.602, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.411, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, f\u0026sup2; = 0.655) and product involvement (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.171, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.316, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, f\u0026sup2; = 0.035). Furthermore, virtual influencer marketing also significantly positively affected purchase intention (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.201, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.854, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, f\u0026sup2; = 0.084). Therefore, all hypothesized relationships (H1 \u0026ndash; H5) were supported.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eResults of the structural model (direct paths)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirect paths\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeta\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT Statistics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP Values\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ef-square\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eResults\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH1. Virtual influencer marketing \u0026rarr; Product involvement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.737\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.681\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.186\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH2. Virtual influencer marketing \u0026rarr; Purchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.201\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.854\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.084\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH3. Virtual influencer marketing \u0026rarr; Brand familiarity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.563\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.129\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.464\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH4. Product involvement \u0026rarr; Purchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.171\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.316\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.035\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH5. Brand familiarity \u0026rarr; Purchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.602\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.411\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.655\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"6\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIndirect paths\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH6. Virtual influencer marketing \u0026rarr; Product involvement \u0026rarr; Purchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.126\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.382\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.017\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH7. Virtual influencer marketing \u0026rarr; Brand familiarity \u0026rarr; Purchase intention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.339\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.720\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe indirect effect showed that virtual influencer marketing significantly and positively influenced purchase intention through product involvement (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.126, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.382, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.5). Additionally, virtual influencer marketing had a significant positive indirect effect on purchase intention through brand familiarity (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.339, t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;8.720, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Therefore, both indirect pathways (H6 and H7) were supported.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eInfluencer marketing is an effective branding and marketing strategy that raises brand salience and draws social media users (SMUs), particularly millennials from Generation Y and Z, toward companies. The importance of influencer marketing, which involves encouraging social media influencers (SMIs) to post-paid business advertisements, has increased recently (Jhawar et al., 2023). Numerous research has examined how social media influencers affect consumers' desire to make purchases (Beichert et al., 2024; Gu et al., 2024; Jhawar et al., 2023; Leung et al., 2022; Wies et al., 2023; Yap \u0026amp; Ismail, n.d.; Yasir et al., 2022). Our paper adds knowledge to the existing literature by analyzing the impact of virtual influencer marketing on purchase intentions for sports goods within the Philippine market. The paper took four variables, including the mediating effect of product involvement and brand familiarity, and developed six hypotheses. The analysis result found that all the variables are significant and positive.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirstly, virtual influencer marketing positively and significantly impacts product involvement, purchase intention, and brand familiarity, and the analysis supports the hypotheses. The result is consistent with previous studies (Akhtar et al., 2024; Wolff, 2022; Yap \u0026amp; Ismail, 2022). For instance, according to Yuan \u0026amp; Lou (2020), influencer fairness and trustworthiness benefit the parasocial connections that followers have with influencers, which raises followers' interest in things that influencers endorse. Another similar conclusion was made by Veirman et al. (2017), who found that Instagram influencers with large followers are viewed as likable, mainly because this makes them appear more popular and allows them to take advantage of word-of-mouth marketing on a large scale. Balaban et al. (2022) found that the trustworthiness of SMIs is positively impacted by parasocial connections, which fosters favorable views toward the business and increases the intention to buy the promoted goods and share their content on social media. Because attractiveness plays a major role in emotional advertising appeals and positively influences brand attitude, it is especially crucial in influencer marketing. The quality of influencer content and the alignment of an influencer's image with a brand are two additional influencer attributes that may impact an influencer's sales performance in addition to their following base size (Gu et al., 2024; Bakker, 2018). According to Yap \u0026amp; Ismail (2022), VIs's involvement on Instagram with Generation Y customers significantly affects their purchase intentions due to parasocial connections. Influencer marketers claim that the main objective of their strategy is to increase sales. The largest obstacle to using influencer marketing as a revenue stream, especially for direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses, is identifying influencers who provide good returns on investment (ROI) (Beichert et al., 2024). Customers' perception of the brand and purchase decisions are greatly influenced by the influencer's natural qualities, which include popularity, competence, and credibility. To raise brand awareness and buy intent, marketing managers use both influencers' sizable followings (Jhawar et al., 2023). Gaining significant followers on several platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter, Nobody Sausage is the perfect example of successful self-branding (Fauser et al., 2023). Influencers who work with companies should raise brand awareness and assist in converting followers into paying customers. Within social media, these individuals have a substantial following and can endorse businesses, goods, or services via active online engagement (Yap \u0026amp; Ismail, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecondly, the influence of product involvement and brand familiarity on purchase intention is positive and significant. The study aligns with the findings of Teixeira (2022), who concluded that by contrasting customers' intentions between two different levels of product involvement (high versus low) on Instagram, influencer attributes lead to effective endorsements of products. Product involvement influences consumers' marketing process and is a precursor of purchase engagement. According to da Costa (2022), when a viewer gets involved with a product, especially in internet advertising, they become more inspired and can assimilate information more quickly. This suggests that consumers are more likely to pay attention to advertisements and fully digest information when the product being sold has a high degree of engagement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, Cabeza-Ram\u0026iacute;rez et al. (2022) discovered no connection between the intention to buy and the product. This might be because those heavily active in the fashion industry only follow influencers to stay on top of trends. However, Mou \u0026amp; Benyoucef (2020) cite that customers are more likely to have a favorable opinion of a product when actively involved with it. The consumer's desire to buy is influenced by their stronger emotional connection to the product. As per the involvement hypothesis, a significant degree of product engagement can alter customers' perceptions of products, encouraging the development of their buying intentions and actions. Ha and Perks (2005) found that brand familiarity affects customers' purchasing intentions and fosters the growth of brand trust. Das (2015) demonstrated that self-congruity and brand familiarity have greater indirect effects on purchase intention than direct ones. Aljarah et al. (2024) showed that respondents exhibited higher levels of online brand advocacy when the brand was familiar as opposed to when they were exposed to firm-generated content (vs unfamiliar brand). However, when individuals were subjected to user-produced content, the effect of familiar and unfamiliar brands on online brand advocacy remained somewhat similar. Respondents' involvement with user-produced content was positively impacted by brand familiarity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThirdly, the mediating role of product involvement and brand familiarity accurately supports the hypotheses. The mediation effect of product involvement was discussed in previous studies, such as Teixeira (2022), which failed to demonstrate the association between purchase intention and influencer credibility is moderated by product engagement. Yet, the results of the multiple linear regressions conducted for each participation condition offer an intriguing insight into the relationship between attractiveness and product involvement. On the other hand, Rachmawati et al. (2019) showed a consistent result with our findings that the relationship between product knowledge and purchasing decisions can be processed through product participation, even while product knowledge does not affect it. Another contradicting finding demonstrated that having an SMI and a parasocial relationship are not requirements for being an Instagram follower. However, a moderating effect of product involvement is seen in the fact that followers who indicate high involvement only exhibit significant parasocial relationships with the SMI (Balaban et al., 2022). According to Sim\u0026otilde;es (2013), in terms of impressions of the sponsor's brand image and its impact on purchase intentions, product participation and brand familiarity are considered. According to Yunpeng \u0026amp; Khan (2021), brand familiarity substantially mediates the link between emotional and behavioral brand experiences. Jia et al. (2022) claimed that brand image and anticipated value indirectly impact the link between perceived impact and online interaction with purchase intentions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.1 Managerial Implications\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause our findings are based on thorough analysis and trustworthy data, they should be helpful to executives, marketing managers, social media managers, digital marketing managers, legislators, and brand managers. First, influencers may enhance their parasocial ties with their followers by cultivating visually appealing personas that convey similarity to them. Meanwhile, relationship building also depends on procedural fairness\u0026mdash;whether interactions with influencers are two-way and partly reciprocal\u0026mdash;and interpersonal fairness\u0026mdash;how influencers treat followers. To maintain long-lasting relationships with their followers, influencers should treat followers appropriately and respectfully by returning their expectations and feelings (Yuan \u0026amp; Lou, 2020). Secondly, our research provides management insights into influencer advertising, including follower considerations, content briefings, and celebrity selection. Companies might choose influencers with unique materials to improve elasticity and invest in those with a larger following.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlong with evaluating the influencers' reach (number of followers, for example) and whether they behave appropriately and uphold reciprocity in their relationships with supporters, businesses and marketers seeking influencer marketing should also consider the influencers' expertise in particular fields (distributive fairness) and the morality of their knowledge sharing (informational equality). Businesses may increase flexibility by choosing influencers that share more unique content. They ought to motivate influencers to include clickable references to brands and URL links in their posts to increase the sponsor brand's visibility (Leung et al., 2022). Thirdly, the survey was based on the purchase intention of sports products in the context of the Philippines, and managers can be selective in identifying the social media and sites used mainly by the Philippines market and what characteristics of the influencers they prefer. Because this will enable a more accurate assessment of the impact of advertising messages, marketing managers should select the appropriate influencer based on audience segmentation by generational cohort. Finally, according to our research, there is a double impact on intention when it comes to high-involvement products\u0026mdash;a direct effect on buy intention and an indirect influence on the message's perceived credibility. Thus, searching for the ideal product with a particular attribute related to audience engagement (technical, ecological, etc.) is essential.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.2 Theoretical implications\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy integrating companies' use of influencer marketing to gauge its efficacy in driving purchase intensity, this study adds to the body of marketing literature already in existence. First, our analysis of post attributes reveals some of the distinctive qualities of the influencer marketing approach. Unlike celebrity endorsers, influencers may produce content for companies, and their degree of sharing original content provides a distinct quality to consider. Because they enhance engagement elasticity, we find that influencers who share more unique material are more successful senders. This is consistent with studies on seeding strategies, which usually indicate that seeding highly linked network members is preferable. Second, we have taken product involvement and brand familiarity as mediators.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, previous literature used these variables as moderators, so we added a more comprehensive analysis of the mediation effect. Third, by extending the idea of planned behavior and modifying the product participation construct, the suggested model may be used with all consumer goods influencers endorse. Fourth, our research has implications for media literacy when creating programs that promote critical consumption, particularly for young individuals whose media diets typically contain SMI material. Finally, because buyers feel compelled to read product evaluations before purchasing, internet reviews are crucial to brand assessment. This result is in line with the Elaboration Likelihood Model, which contends that when consumers are highly engaged with a product, they are more likely to process information directly related to their purchases (such as the benefits and features of the brand), rendering attractiveness a moot point in the decision-making process.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"6. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eInfluencer marketing is becoming more and more popular, which presents marketers with both benefits and problems. So, our paper aims to analyze how virtual influencer marketing affects product involvement, brand familiarity, and purchase intention in the context of Philippine sports products. Additionally, we show the mediating effect of product involvement and brand familiarity. Our analysis supported all the hypotheses developed. Thus, our paper adds knowledge to the existing body of literature and offers important theoretical and practical contributions that will be effective for marketing and brand managers in implementing effective strategies in selecting virtual influencers, considering the important attributes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumerous limitations to our study also point to potential areas for further investigation. Initially, we concentrate on influencers' parasocial ties, trustworthiness, and attractiveness as significant factors that determine their ability to effectively influence product participation, brand knowledge, and purchase intention through influencer marketing. Future studies that evaluate additional influencer attributes, such as consistency (derived from past postings), personality (e.g., funny, self-assured), perceived originality, genuineness, and endorsement history, may aid businesses in understanding the factors that determine efficacy. Second, the convenience sample survey approach likely made it impossible for empirical investigation to establish causality. Consequently, further research may verify these relationships using a cross-sectional or longitudinal study design and comparison analysis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, a range of research strategies, including mixed methods that combine quantitative and qualitative techniques, may provide a deeper understanding of how virtual influencer marketing differs from traditional marketing in influencing purchase intention. Third, we are unaware of the precise expenses businesses pay when using live-streaming platforms and hiring influencers. Yet, marketing expenses might differ significantly across influencers with intricate structures, and they ought to be a major consideration when businesses make strategic decisions. Future studies might examine the relationship between product sales and the cost structure of influencer marketing and offer suggestions for the best profitability and influencer tactics. Finally, although getting followers, feedback, and reports from consumers is one of the main goals of influencer marketing efforts, not all interaction types are equal. Customers interacting with various influencers or postings may display varying search behavior or likelihood of making a purchase. With technology that is presently accessible, businesses may monitor website traffic and click-through rates to determine which purchases result from specific influencer marketing articles. More studies should look at the factors that influence click-through- or sales-based elasticity results to find out how particular influencer marketing tactics might directly impact businesses' bottom lines.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe research study titled \u0026ldquo;Virtual Influencer Marketing and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Roles of Product Involvement and Brand Familiarity\u0026rdquo; has received ethical approval from the Philippine Christian University Institute for Research, Innovation, and Sustainability (IRIS) Ethics Committee.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAkbar, T. A., \u0026amp; El-Gohary, H. (2022). Brand Humour Advertisements on a Social Network Platform and Their Impact on Online Consumer Engagement: The Case of Instagram. 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(2020), Virtual Youtuber Kizuna AI: co-creating human-non-human interaction and celebrityaudience relationship, pp. 1\u0026ndash;91\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Virtual influencer marketing, purchase intention, product involvement, brand familiarity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5324811/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5324811/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eVirtual influencers have emerged as effective marketing tools, especially in social media contexts where they can influence consumer behaviour. This study investigates the effect of virtual influencer marketing on purchase intentions for sports goods in the Philippines, using product involvement and brand familiarity as mediators. Data from 319 participants were collected and analyzed using a variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. The findings indicate that virtual influencer marketing significantly impacts product involvement, brand familiarity, and purchase intention. Furthermore, product involvement and brand familiarity significantly mediate the relationship between virtual influencer marketing and purchase intention. Virtual influencers are important in establishing brand trust and engaging customers through emotional connections. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on influencer marketing by demonstrating the efficacy of virtual influencers in the sports goods industry. Virtual influencers effectively drive purchase intentions by increasing product involvement and brand familiarity. Marketers can use virtual influencers to increase consumer engagement, brand awareness, and purchase intent in competitive markets.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Virtual Influencer Marketing and Purchase Intention: The Mediating Roles of Product\nInvolvement and Brand Familiarity","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-10-29 07:12:27","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5324811/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0e0a0535-f6c3-4c33-bf86-8a06060bfcbe","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 29th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":39366428,"name":"Marketing"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-10-29T07:12:27+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-10-29 07:12:27","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5324811","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5324811","identity":"rs-5324811","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}