Exploring youths’ willingness and objections to follow virtual influencers promoting sustainable consumption: an integration of VBN, AIDUA, and SSRIT frameworks

Purpose The purpose of the present study, which integrates the value-belief-norm (VBN), artificial intelligence device use acceptance (AIDUA), and social service robot interaction trust (SSRIT) frameworks, is to investigate youths’ willingness or objections to following virtual influencers (VIs) promoting sustainable consumption. This study, which integrates the value-belief-norm (VBN), artificial intelligence device use acceptance (AIDUA) and social service robot interaction trust (SSRIT) frameworks, investigates youths’ willingness or objections to following virtual influencers (VI) promoting sustainable consumption. Design/methodology/approach The data was collected from 1,162 young individuals studying in public and private universities of Punjab using purposive sampling and analysed using SmartPLS. Findings The findings reveal that the youths’ biosphere values, awareness and ascription of responsibility significantly influence their hedonic motivation to follow VI. Moreover, hedonic motivation and social influence are strong indicators of the willingness to follow VI. Youth’s trust and emotions towards VI are key elements in influencing youths’ willingness to follow VI and promote sustainable habits. Originality/value This study distinctively integrates the VBN, AIDUA and SSRIT frameworks to explore how VI can impact youth’s willingness or objection to follow them. The study highlights the importance of environmental values with user-centric elements, including hedonic motivation, trust and emotions, to enhance the effectiveness of VI in promoting eco-friendly consumption among youths. VI can more effectively motivate youths to embrace sustainable practices by focusing on these crucial aspects.