管理工程学报2026，Vol.40Issue(3)：44-57,14.DOI:10.13587/j.cnki.jieem.2026.03.004
代言人类型和产品类型对购买意愿的交互影响研究
The interactive effects of endorser type and product type on purchase intention
摘要
Abstract
Recent advances in technology,especially in the realm of artificial intelligence,have produced in new,nonhuman alternatives to traditional human endorsers.Virtual endorsers,situated within the digital realm,are crafted by experts utilizing advanced artificial intelligence technologies,including virtual engines and real-time rendering.This innovative approach has resulted in the creation of virtual characters who are indistinguishable in appearance from real humans.These virtual endorsers rely on artificial intelligence(AI)to capture the perspectives of enterprises in the context of their perceptions of lower costs and permanent endorsements.Although virtual endorsers may be attractive to marketers,the benefits,such as those of the endorsers themselves,may be illusions.Whether virtual endorsers are complementary to human endorsers and under what circumstances it is more appropriate to use virtual endorsers are important practical issues that have attracted the attention of enterprises.Most of the current research focuses on the effects of the appearance of virtual endorsers,consumer characteristics and innovative product types on consumer attitudes toward advertisements,products and brands;however,few researchers have investigated these effects from the perspective of human nature.In today's increasingly service-oriented society,experiential purchases have become a widespread consumer behavior.Purchasing experiences versus tangible goods elicits distinct psychological effects on consumers.However,research on how digital endorsers perform across different categories of products,regardless of whether they are experiential or material,is lacking.Furthermore,the exploration of consumer reactions to digital versus real-life endorsers,grounded in theories of human nature,remains limited among scholars. On the basis of human nature theory,we proposed various research hypotheses.One field experiment and three laboratory experiments were implemented to demonstrate the interaction effect of endorser type(human vs.virtual)and product type(material vs.experiential goods)on consumer purchase intentions,with four pairs of products at different price levels(shampoo and haircut service,massager and massage therapy session,headphones with material and experiential attributes,stereo system and tickets to an upcoming concert)used as research objects.A total of 1378 valid questionnaires were collected.Through ANOVA,logistic analysis and bootstrap mediation analysis,we analyzed the interaction effect of endorser type and product type on consumers' purchase intentions.We also examined the mediating effect of competence trust on this interaction and the moderating effect of public persona communication. The results of this study show that compared with human endorsers,virtual endorsers lead to lower purchase intentions for experience goods,while there are no differences for material goods.The results of Study 2 verify the mediating role of competence trust by excluding other interpretation mechanisms,such as narrative transportation;specifically,compared with human endorsers,virtual endorsers lead to lower competence trust,thus triggering lower purchase intentions for experience goods.However,there are no differences in competence trust for material goods.In Study 3,the robustness of the mechanism model is further enhanced by manipulating the material and experiential attributes of products.The results of Study 4 show that public persona communication plays a moderating role in the interaction effect of the type of endorser and product type on consumers' purchase intentions.The negative effect of virtual endorsers on both consumers' competence trust and purchase intentions for experience goods is reversed when they face endorsers for public persona communication. From a theoretical point of view,the results obtained in this study expand the current research on brand endorsement in the era of deep integration of artificial intelligence technology and endorsement marketing.Furthermore,this study helps comprehensively elucidate the different psychological perceptions of contemporary consumers when they face human or virtual endorsers,which is a further extension of human nature theory in the marketing field.Practically speaking,this approach can inform strategy development in several areas:selecting strategies for digital spokespeople representing various product types,guiding the promotional strategies of companies that utilize digital spokespeople,and shaping the marketing communication strategies of firms that create digital spokespersons.关键词
数字代言人/人性理论/体验消费/购买意愿/人格化沟通Key words
Virtual endorser/Human nature theory/Experiential consumption/Purchase intention/Public persona communication分类
管理科学引用本文复制引用
宋晓兵,鲁艺..代言人类型和产品类型对购买意愿的交互影响研究[J].管理工程学报,2026,40(3):44-57,14.基金项目
国家自然科学基金项目(71972024) The National Natural Science Foundation of China(71972024) （71972024）
