• Smart Media Journal
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• v.12 no.11
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• pp.86-94
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• 2023

In recent years, advertisements and brand promotions using virtual influencer have been actively conducted, and this study focused on the characteristics of virtual influencer, including Attractiveness, to examine the Attractiveness of virtual influencer through previous studies and to test the hypothesis that Attractiveness has an effect on Brand attitude and Advertising attitude when mediated by Immersion. For this purpose, data were collected from university students who experienced marketing contents using virtual influencer, and Process macro was conducted to analyse the mediating effect. The results showed that virtual influencer Attractiveness partially mediated the relationship between Brand attitude and Advertising attitude. These results suggest that virtual influencer Attractiveness not only affects Brand attitude and Advertising attitude, but also positively increases consumer attitude when mediated by Immersion. This study has both academic and practical implications by examining the mediating effect of Immersion on the effect of virtual influencer Attractiveness on consumer attitudes.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.309-314
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine how the characteristics of virtual influencer, which are rapidly emerging in recent years, affect consumers. To this end, the change in information accecptance intention was examined using the perceived attractiveness and social distance of consumers toward virtual influencers as independent variables. I found the more attractive consumers feel about virtual influencer and the closer they perceive social distance, the higher the intention to accept information. However, when virtual influencer was perceived as attractive, there was no difference in information acceptance intention according to social distance. On the other side, even if the virtual influencer was perceived as less attractive, the information acceptance intention was higher when the social distance was perceived as close than when it was not. Based on these results, I provided implications for the marketing strategy of virtual influencers.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.159-175
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• 2021

This study attempted to analyze the relationship between influencer's characteristic factors such as professionalism, authenticity, and interactivity and content quality factors consisting of accuracy, completeness, and diversity on brand attitude and purchase attitude through trust and self-consistency. To reveal the structural relationship between main variables, a survey was conducted on 201 users. An EFA, CFA, and reliability analysis were performed to confirm reliability and validity. And structural equation was conducted to verify hypothesis. The main results are as follows. First, it was found that professionalism and interactivity had a significant positive effect on trust. And, accuracy, completeness, and variety were all found to have a significant positive effect on trust. Second, in the relationship between individual characteristic factors and self-consistency, it was found that professionalism and authenticity had a significant positive effect on self-consistency. In addition, in the relationship between content quality and self-consistency, accuracy, completeness, and diversity were found to have a positive effect on self-consistency along with trust. Third, in the relationship between trust and self-consistency on brand attitude and purchase intention, both trust and self-consistency were found to have a statistically significant positive effect on brand attitude. It was found that only self-consistency and brand attitude had a statistically significant positive effect on purchase intention. These findings showed that when users perceive professionalism and interaction with influencer, trust increases, and professionalism and progress increase self-consistency with influencer. In addition, in the case of content quality, it was found that trust and self-consistency responded positively when perceived content quality through content accuracy, completeness, and diversity. Also, trust and self-consistency increased attitudes toward brands and could influence consumption behavior such as purchase intention. Therefore, for effective marketing performance using influencer's influence in the field of influencer marketing, which has a strong information delivery on products and brands, not only personal characteristics such as professionalism, authenticity, and interactivity, but also quality of content should be considered. The above research results are expected to suggest implications for marketing strategies and practices as one available basic data to exert the expected effect of marketing using influencer.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2023

As influencers have recently drawn attention amid the rapid growth of the global market in influencer, it is time for systematic research on the working characteristics and working environment of influencers. Therefore, this study empirically examined whether positive psychological capital and social support have a moderating effect on job burnout in the relationship between influencers' emotional labor and job stress on job burnout. A survey was conducted influencers who were active through Instagram, and structural equation were used for statistical processing and analysis. As a result of the analysis, it was found that positive psychological capital had no moderating effect, and the relationship between emotional coordination and job burnout was adopted as the moderating effect of social support, and the the relationship between surface behavior and job burnout, it was found that there was no significant interaction between variables and job burnout.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.193-204
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• 2023

In recent years, the concept of influencer marketing has experienced rapid growth in both academia and industry, leading to its emergence as a crucial consideration in the marketing strategies of many businesses. Despite the significance and expansion of the influencer market, however, research on the topic has not kept pace with its growth. Thus, this study seeks to address this gap by empirically analyzing the impact of influencer characteristics on consumer behavior through the coexistence of buyers and providing an empirical contribution to expand the relevant literature. To accomplish this, a survey was conducted with a sample of 400 individuals who had purchased a product through an influencer, and 384 responses were ultimately utilized in the analysis. The results revealed that the attractiveness and empathy of influencers had a positive impact on satisfaction among coexisting buyers, while also having a negative impact on dissatisfaction. In contrast, expertise had no impact on satisfaction, but a positive impact on dissatisfaction. Moreover, satisfaction was found to have a positive impact on brand image and recommendation intention, whereas dissatisfaction had a negative impact on both. Overall, this study adds to the growing body of literature on influencer marketing by providing empirical evidence of the impact of influencer characteristics on consumer behavior, specifically through the lens of coexistence with buyers. These findings hold important implications for businesses looking to develop effective influencer marketing strategies that can enhance their brand image and recommendation intention among consumers.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.23-39
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• 2022

This study was conducted to empirically analyze the factors influencing the intention to continue using live commerce, which was active as digital contacts become more prevailed due to the progress of the 4th industrial revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic. A research model was established by paying attention to the characteristics of influencers among various influencing factors. Influencer characteristics were subdivided into attractiveness, professionality, awareness, and entertainment. In addition, the dual mediating effect of interaction and trust was also tested between influencer's characteristics and the intention to continue using of live commerce. To this end, a survey was conducted targeting people who have experience using live commerce, and 300 valid samples were analyzed. The empirical analysis utilized SPSS 25.0 and Process Macro 4.0. As a result of the empirical analysis, it was found that attractiveness, professionality, awareness, and entertainment derived from the characteristics of influencers all had a significant positive (+) effect on the intention to continue using live commerce. The impact of the influence of variables that directly affect the intention to continue using was in the order of entertainment, awareness, professionality, and attractiveness. On the other hand, as a result of examining the dual mediating effect of interaction and trust, it was found that they all tested a mediating role between attractiveness, professionality, awareness, entertainment, and intention to continue using live commerce. Based on these research results, the academic and practical implications of this study were presented.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.557-567
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• 2023

The rapidly evolving social platform marketing landscape has led businesses to increasingly rely on social platform influencers for brand and service promotion. Despite growing interest in these influencers, there remains a dearth of empirical research examining the impact of their characteristics on consumer attachment and brand loyalty. This study, therefore, investigates the relationships between social platform influencer characteristics, consumer attachment, and brand loyalty. An online survey targeting Chinese consumers was conducted, and a total of 360 responses were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software. The findings reveal that among the various social platform influencer characteristics, reliability, professionalism, and intimacy significantly influence consumer attachment. Furthermore, it was confirmed that higher attachment to a social platform influencer leads to increased brand loyalty.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.163-170
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine the research trend on social media influencers in Korea. To this end, a total of 178 papers on social media influencers were analyzed from 2009 to 2021 among the academic papers registered in the Korean Academic Citation Index. As a result, the early social media influencer research, which was limited to only a few fields such as fashion, beauty, and communication, has expanded to various ones as time passed and achieved quantitative growth. The proportion of empirical studies has been on the rise in recent years, and studies that applied qualitative research methodologies have shown a tendency to decrease. The proportion of research focusing on specific media platforms and influencer types gets lower, although both the characteristics of social media platforms and the attitudes of each influencer are very diverse. This study has academic significance in that it is the first empirical study to investigate the current status of the social media influencer research in Korea.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2024

Virtual influencers, who are emerging as new players in digital marketing, impact consumers' purchase intentions. They promote positive perceptions and mimetic consumption of specific brands or products through interactions with followers. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of the characteristics of virtual influencers on the purchase intention for fashion products through the consumers' mimetic desire. As characteristics of virtual influencers, five factors were set: reality, attractiveness, professionalism, trustworthiness, and curiosity. Data for analysis were collected through an online questionnaire from the 8th to the 15th of August 2023, and 268 data points in total were analyzed using SPSS and Process Macro 4.3. The results of the study showed that the characteristics of virtual influencers all positively affected mimetic desire and purchase intention for fashion products. Moreover, it was found that mimetic desire has a mediating effect between the five characteristics of virtual influencers and the purchase intention for fashion products. Mimetic desire fully mediates the relationship between reality and the intention to purchase fashion products, and partially mediates the relationship between attractiveness, professionalism, trustworthiness, and curiosity and the purchase intention for fashion products. These findings further enhance the understanding of the relationship between virtual influencers and consumer behavior and identify the relationship between virtual influencers, mimetic desire, and fashion product purchase intentions. Consequently, leveraging virtual influencers strategically in digital marketing, the fashion industry can amplify positive brand perceptions, drive consumer engagement, and ultimately foster increased purchase intent.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.57-76
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• 2024

A virtual influencer is a digital artifact that primarily operates on social media and acts like the human influencer. This study investigate how the attractiveness and reputation of virtual influencers affect consumers' purchase intentions. Based on previous studies, we developed a research model and questionnaire, and analyzed a total of 371 survey questionnaires using a structural equation model. The study results show that reputation positively affect attachment, imitation desire, and interaction, while attractiveness positively influence attachment and imitation desire but not interaction. Lastly, purchase intention was positively influenced by imitation desire, attachment, and interaction; which indicates that attractiveness, reputation, and interactivity are crucial factors in virtual influencer implementation strategies. The quality and reliability of contents provided by virtual influencers are essential not only for gaining popularity but also for maintaining a good reputation. Additionally, continuous interaction is necessary in order to foster close relationships with consumers. A few practical insights are presented for firms considering to implement a virtual influencer.