Meixian Wang(汪媚仙)

Meixian Wang(汪媚仙)

A Ph.D. candidate in Fox Business School of Temple University

Research

The Impact of Realism and AI Disclosure on Virtual Influencer Effectiveness: A Large Field Experiment

Abstract

Influencer marketing has become an essential component for brand strategies, and the adoption of AI-generated virtual influencers is accelerating with advancements in generative AI. However, these emerging practices raise challenges related to transparency and ethical concerns. By conducting a large field experiment involving over 1.8 million consumers, we examine the interplay between virtual influencers’ anthropomorphism levels and the disclosure of their AI identity. The results show that virtual influencers with higher anthropomorphism levels enhance engagement metrics, while AI identity disclosure reduces link clicks and three-second video plays, particularly for highly realistic virtual influencers. Our underlying mechanism analysis based on an online experiment reveals that this reduction is driven by “expectation violation effect”, where disclosure violates consumers’ expectations and evokes negative feelings. Importantly, the negative effects reverse for consumers with prior experience interacting with virtual influencers—among this group, highly realistic virtual influencers with disclosure actually lead to greater engagement than their less anthropomorphic counterparts. Our findings provide theoretical and practical insights into the design and development of AI agents, emphasizing the need to strategically manage anthropomorphism and transparency to optimize consumer engagement.

When Prosocial Opportunities Collide: Tipping vs. Charity on Digital Platforms

Abstract

Motivated by incorporating charity streams on live streaming platforms, we investigate how adopting charity streams impacts streamers’ engagement and economic performance. Our setting is on a live streaming platform, Twitch, which launched its charity tool to enable viewers to choose between supporting streamers directly or donating to charities easily. Using a combination of coarsened exact matching and a staggered difference-in-differences estimation model, our initial findings indicate that charity streams enhance streamer viewership and followers and potentially increase donations to streamers and charities. The study fills a gap in understanding the strategic use of influencers for fundraising, offering practical insights for influencers on harmonizing prosocial activities to build their image and engage their audience.

An Empirical Case Study of the Impact of Superstar Streamer Exits on Live Streaming E-Commerce Platforms

Abstract

Although superstar streamers currently dominate the emerging live streaming e-commerce (LSE) platforms, their enduring presence on such platforms is not guaranteed. Superstar streamers are important because they attract consumers, promote new sellers, and increase sales. However, their exit from LSE platforms has been largely neglected in the literature. To address this research gap, this study examines how the exit of superstar streamers impacts peer streamers on the same LSE platform. Using data collected from Taobao Live, we model the superstar exit effect, using the unexpected exit of Viya, a once popular streamer on Taobao Live, as an exogenous shock on the performance of peer streamers. Also, we examine challenges posed by the exit of superstar streamers from a market structure perspective, considering the heterogeneous impact of streamer types and brand halo effects. Our results suggest that in general, streamers on LSE platforms benefit from a superstar streamer’s exit through a redistribution of consumer demand across similar streamers. Furthermore, we found that streamers employed by brands benefit from the brand halo effect and gain more sales and viewership than independent streamers. Our study extends the literature on LSE, the superstar effect, and brand halo effects. Our findings also have practical implications for platform managers, brands, streamers, and consumers.