Loneliness increases consumers’ preference for virtual human companionship

IF 9.8 1区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Journal of Business Research Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-27 DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116001

Junyun Liao , Xinyue Wang , Xuebing Dong

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Consumers increasingly seek online companionship in their daily lives. Alongside traditional real human online companionship, a novel form of online companionship through virtual humans powered by artificial intelligence (AI), has rapidly gained prominence. However, factors influencing consumers’ preferences for virtual versus real human companionship remain unexplored. The current research examines how loneliness shapes the preference for online companionship. Six experiments demonstrate that loneliness increases individuals’ preferences for virtual human companionship (vs. real human), and such an effect is driven by social anxiety. Importantly, this effect diminishes when the interaction serves a functional purpose. These findings provide valuable insights for marketers aiming to leverage virtual humans in the companionship economy.

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孤独增加了消费者对虚拟人类陪伴的偏好

越来越多的消费者在日常生活中寻求网络伴侣。除了传统的真人在线交友外，一种由人工智能（AI）驱动的虚拟人在线交友的新形式迅速得到重视。然而，影响消费者对虚拟与真实人类伴侣的偏好的因素仍未被探索。目前的研究考察了孤独是如何影响人们对网络伴侣的偏好的。六个实验表明，孤独增加了个体对虚拟人类伴侣（相对于真实人类）的偏好，而这种效应是由社交焦虑驱动的。重要的是，当交互服务于功能性目的时，这种影响会减弱。这些发现为那些想要在陪伴经济中利用虚拟人的营销人员提供了有价值的见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Business Research BUSINESS-

CiteScore

20.30

自引率

10.60%

发文量

956

期刊介绍： The Journal of Business Research aims to publish research that is rigorous, relevant, and potentially impactful. It examines a wide variety of business decision contexts, processes, and activities, developing insights that are meaningful for theory, practice, and/or society at large. The research is intended to generate meaningful debates in academia and practice, that are thought provoking and have the potential to make a difference to conceptual thinking and/or practice. The Journal is published for a broad range of stakeholders, including scholars, researchers, executives, and policy makers. It aids the application of its research to practical situations and theoretical findings to the reality of the business world as well as to society. The Journal is abstracted and indexed in several databases, including Social Sciences Citation Index, ANBAR, Current Contents, Management Contents, Management Literature in Brief, PsycINFO, Information Service, RePEc, Academic Journal Guide, ABI/Inform, INSPEC, etc.