Virtual influencers: how human-like or animal-like traits shape intention to donate

Purpose Anthropomorphism in virtual influencers plays a significant role in shaping prosocial behavior. Human-like virtual influencers build emotional connections, leading to greater engagement in social causes such as environmental protection. In contrast, animal-like influencers, like the Bee Influencer, capture attention with their unique advocacy. Despite this, there is limited research comparing the effectiveness of human-like and animal-like virtual influencers in promoting prosocial behavior. This study investigates how the anthropomorphism of virtual influencers impacts prosocial behavior, particularly in encouraging environmental protection and charitable donations. Grounded in Social Identity Theory, the research explores the mediating role of identification, along with the moderating effects of political identity and mood. Design/methodology/approach Study 1 demonstrates that human-like virtual influencers enhance donation intentions by increasing identification. Study 2 highlights political identity as a moderator, with conservatives favoring human-like influencers and liberals preferring animal-like ones. Study 3 examines how mood further influences these dynamics. Findings This study examines how different types of virtual influencers (human-like vs animal-like) affect prosocial behaviors, with political identity and mood as moderating variables. It finds that human-like influencers boost donation intentions, with conservatives favoring them more, while liberals prefer animal-like ones. Mood also affects identification, with positive moods increasing identification with human-like influencers. Originality/value This study examines how the anthropomorphism of virtual influencers and political identity influence prosocial behaviors like donations. It also explores the effects of background music and mood, offering insights for optimizing virtual influencer campaigns.