Recently, the metaverse-related industry has been attracting more and more attention, and virtual influencers are one of the focuses. Due to the impact of the pandemic, people's viewing habits have gradually shifted from cable TV to online streaming platforms and live streaming platforms. Therefore, the popularity of virtual influencers who interact with the audience through live broadcasts has gradually grown. At the same time, it is considered by many companies as one of the advantageous factors in brand marketing. This study explores the reasons why people are fascinated by virtual influencers from the perspective of their earnings. The credibility and attractiveness of the source are considered as the characteristics of the virtual influencers. The perceived value is viewed as the subjective feeling of the audience when watching the live broadcast of the virtual influencers. Emotional attachment is added as a mediator variable, and 7 direct effect hypotheses and 12 mediating effect hypotheses are proposed.
The research results show that credibility, familiarity, hedonic value, and symbolic value drive emotional attachment, which can trigger donations and purchase of peripheral products. Among the 12 paths of the mediating effect, 8 are supported. However, similarity and utility value did not achieve statistical significance in both direct effects and mediating effects, so they are not the main factors for the audience to donate or purchase peripheral products. Suggestions are made to consumers and related businesses based on the research results. For consumers/audience, they should pay more attention to the characteristics and market changes of virtual influencers; for businesses, they should consider how to increase the value of virtual influencers and increase the emotional attachment of the audience; for relevant government agencies, they should promote and formulate regulations for technology and issues related to virtual influencers.
