Do digital nature cues work? Investigating the shaping effect of virtual Influencers’ biophilic design backgrounds on green product preferences

IF 6.8 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Electronic Commerce Research and Applications Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2026-04-30 DOI:10.1016/j.elerap.2026.101602

Xueying Wang , Yuexian Zhang

{"title":"Do digital nature cues work? Investigating the shaping effect of virtual Influencers’ biophilic design backgrounds on green product preferences","authors":"Xueying Wang , Yuexian Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2026.101602","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Visual imagery is a critical factor when virtual influencers endorse green products. Given the innate human affinity for nature, incorporating biophilic elements into influencer backgrounds can strengthen consumer associations between green products and environmental benefits, thereby stimulating purchase intentions. However, this relationship remains empirically unexplored. Grounded in the biophilia hypothesis, this study investigates how biophilic design backgrounds in virtual influencer endorsements impact consumer purchase intentions. Across three studies, we find that biophilic backgrounds significantly enhance purchase intentions toward green products, with perceived naturalness and product value serving as mediating mechanisms. Furthermore, the positive effect of perceived naturalness on product value is stronger for hedonic products than for utilitarian products. Additionally, high image-text congruency amplifies the positive impact of biophilic backgrounds on perceived naturalness. This research advances visual marketing literature by offering practical insights for integrating biophilic design into virtual influencer campaigns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"77 ","pages":"Article 101602"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8000,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1567422326000311","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/4/30 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Visual imagery is a critical factor when virtual influencers endorse green products. Given the innate human affinity for nature, incorporating biophilic elements into influencer backgrounds can strengthen consumer associations between green products and environmental benefits, thereby stimulating purchase intentions. However, this relationship remains empirically unexplored. Grounded in the biophilia hypothesis, this study investigates how biophilic design backgrounds in virtual influencer endorsements impact consumer purchase intentions. Across three studies, we find that biophilic backgrounds significantly enhance purchase intentions toward green products, with perceived naturalness and product value serving as mediating mechanisms. Furthermore, the positive effect of perceived naturalness on product value is stronger for hedonic products than for utilitarian products. Additionally, high image-text congruency amplifies the positive impact of biophilic backgrounds on perceived naturalness. This research advances visual marketing literature by offering practical insights for integrating biophilic design into virtual influencer campaigns.

查看原文本刊更多论文

数字自然暗示有用吗？研究虚拟影响者亲生物设计背景对绿色产品偏好的塑造作用

当虚拟网红支持绿色产品时，视觉形象是一个关键因素。考虑到人类对自然与生俱来的亲和力，将亲生物元素融入网红背景可以加强消费者对绿色产品与环境效益之间的联系，从而激发购买意愿。然而，这种关系仍未得到实证研究。基于亲生物假设，本研究探讨了虚拟网红代言中的亲生物设计背景如何影响消费者的购买意愿。在三个研究中，我们发现亲生物背景显著增强了绿色产品的购买意愿，感知自然性和产品价值是中介机制。此外，感知自然性对产品价值的积极影响在享乐产品中比在功利产品中更强。此外，高图像-文本一致性放大了亲生物背景对感知自然性的积极影响。本研究通过提供将亲生物设计整合到虚拟影响者活动中的实际见解，推进了视觉营销文献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 工程技术-计算机：跨学科应用

CiteScore

10.10

自引率

8.30%

发文量

审稿时长

63 days

期刊介绍： Electronic Commerce Research and Applications aims to create and disseminate enduring knowledge for the fast-changing e-commerce environment. A major dilemma in e-commerce research is how to achieve a balance between the currency and the life span of knowledge. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications will contribute to the establishment of a research community to create the knowledge, technology, theory, and applications for the development of electronic commerce. This is targeted at the intersection of technological potential and business aims.