The impact of virtual influencers’ anthropomorphism, attractiveness, credibility and sports knowledge on consumers’ information-sharing intentions

Purpose With the rapid rise of virtual influencers across various fields of digital marketing, there remains limited understanding of why and how they influence consumer engagement on social media. To address this gap, this study examines the impact of virtual influencers’ anthropomorphism and attractiveness on consumers’ information-sharing intentions. It also investigates the mediating roles of perceived credibility and sports knowledge to understand the effectiveness of virtual influencers in marketing strategies and how these features shape consumer engagement on social media. Design/methodology/approach This study employed an experimental design in which 534 South Korean social media users were randomly assigned to one of two types of stimuli and measured participants’ perceptions of Virtual Influencers’ anthropomorphism, attractiveness, credibility, sports knowledge and information-sharing intentions after observing the stimuli. Structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to examine the mediating effect of perceived credibility and the moderated mediation effect of perceived sports knowledge. Findings Perceived credibility fully mediated the effect of physical attractiveness on information-sharing intention and partially mediated the effect of social attractiveness. While the moderated mediation effect of perceived sports knowledge was not statistically significant, structural path differences emerged between consumers exposed to different types of virtual influencers (sports vs non-sports). Anthropomorphism negatively affected information-sharing intention but was significant only when the virtual influencer was perceived to lack sports knowledge. Brands should prioritize credibility and perceived sports knowledge over superficial traits to foster meaningful connections with consumers. Originality/value This study provides insight into how virtual influencers shape consumer behavior, emphasizing the importance of perceived credibility and sports knowledge. It offers a theoretical framework for understanding virtual influencers’ roles in social network services and valuable guidance for leveraging virtual influencers in competitive markets by combining theoretical insights with practical strategies.