Influencers have become a critical component of marketing strategy to increase awareness, encourage consideration, and drive purchases. A new type of influencer, computer-generated and artificial intelligence-powered avatars, has emerged amid this boom. Despite the mixed marketing results virtual influencers deliver, they are generally thought to create similar engagement as human influencers. Consumers appear capable of developing complex psychological processes when engaging with virtual influencers. Even though the positive impact of influencers is evident, there is a growing concern about how they can affect consumers' well-being. The feeling of envy is a significant well-being concern in the social media world. Assuming virtual influencers can deliver similar emotional effects as human influencers, can we feel envy towards virtual influencers?

Previous research has suggested that if WOM (word-of-mouth) receivers are exposed to a video message in which a person tell that he/she had great effort to earn money and purchase a desirable product, they feel benignly envious and increase WTP (willingness-to-pay) for the recommended product; if they are exposed to another message in which a person tell that he had no effort to earn money and purchase the product, they feel maliciously envious and increase WTP for a related, but different, product. However, it may not be true in the context of e-WOM (electronic word-of-mouth) through SNS (social networking sites). This research conducted three laboratory experiments in the context of e-WOM, unlike the context of face-to-face WOM. The results showed that: (1) receivers were less likely to feel maliciously envious to friends and increase WTP for the products; (2) receivers were less likely to feel maliciously envious if they are exposed to the message as a tool for marketing; and (3) receivers were less likely to avoid the recommended product even though they feel maliciously envious if they have any other measures of retaliation. With these findings, this research contributes to a progress in the field of e-WOM through SNS.

This study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of social media marketing as a tool in communicating a “populist” (Scott, 2015) luxury fashion brand’s good intentions toward ordinary people; it also seeks to identify whether luxury fashion brands frequently perceived as exclusive and “envied” could become approachable and “admired” brands, simply by expressing “warm” intentions on their social media sites. Ultimately, we aim to investigate whether positive relational outcomes can be derived from the brand repositioning process, from envy to admiration. This study builds on the brands as intentional agents framework (Kervyn, Fiske, & Malone, 2012), which categorizes brands in terms of their “intentions” and “ability”: “able/ill-intentioned” luxury brands are categorized as “envied brands,” while “able/well-intentioned” brands elicit the general public’s admiration. Our pre-test results confirmed that consumers can sense a brand’s good intentions and ability via its social media site. We then conducted an online selfreported survey among 488 US women aged 18–49 years who were following or “liking” at least one luxury fashion brand’s official social media site. Using structural equation modeling, we found that intentions have a negative impact on consumer envy, and that they have a positive impact on consumer admiration. Ability was found to have a positive impact on consumer admiration of the brands, while it has a negative impact on consumer envy. Although we confirmed negative directions, consumer envy of the brands had nonsignificant impacts on both emotional brand attachment and brand forgiveness. However, consumer admiration of the brands had a positive impact on both kinds of brand responses. In conclusion, while most luxury fashion brands have stuck to exclusivity, the findings of this study imply that by continually showing good intentions towards ordinary people, luxury fashion brands could reposition themselves as admired brands, which would in turn enhance emotional brand attachment. In this way, these brands could cultivate affectionate and passionate consumer–brand relationships making consumers feel more connected to them. In doing so, luxury fashion brands can acquire through social media powerful consumer allies (Phan, Thomas, & Heine, 2011), who are willing to forgive their failures.

In the world of SNS, once ordinary users get recognized for discriminated fashion taste, they affect other users’ choice of fashion products. Fashion companies capture the importance of these influencers and tries to take advantage of their ability. However, the benefits offered to influencers such as financial compensation may provoke negative consumer reactions. The purpose of this study is to identify what aspects of SNS influencers and how they influence other fashion consumers. We suggest that influencers’ self-disclosure and authenticity of posts are important factors which elicit positive response from consumers. We also investigate the psychological mechanism of envy which can mediate the impact of self-disclosure and authenticity on consumer response. This study was conducted by an online survey of 120 Korean women in their 20s and 30s with a 2 x 2 between-group experimental design. The data was collected from 28 November to 5 December 2016. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS 23.0 for ANOVA analysis and regression analysis. The results were as follows. The main effect of authenticity was confirmed, while self-disclosure did not play a significant role, which indicates authenticity is the main factor in exercising influence on consumer response. The interaction of authenticity and self-disclosure was also observed. The participants of high in both self-disclosure and authenticity showed the strongest consumer reaction. However, the participants of high self-disclosure and low authenticity induced the weakest consumer response. For the impacts of self-disclosure and authenticity on envy, the participants exposed to the condition of both high self-disclosure and authenticity showed benign envy. On the other hand, malicious envy was aroused when both self-disclosure and authenticity were low. In relations between authenticity and consumer response, partial mediating effect of benign envy and malicious envy was confirmed. But, there was no mediating effect between self-disclosure and consumer response. This research on consumer response to influencers’ posts will provide key implications to fashion companies in building marketing strategies. In order for influencers' posts displaying their daily lives to have a positive impact on consumer response, not only self-disclosure but authenticity has to be considered. Such posts can induce benign envy and subsequently impact consumers indirectly. Influencers’ posts which narrow the gap between daily lives and products and raise the authenticity are important keys to successful marketing.

Luxury brands are explicitly marketed to appear rare, exclusive, prestigious, and authentic (Phau & Prendergast, 2000; Turunen & Laaksonen, 2011; Tynan, McKechnie, & Chhuon, 2010). The glamour and distinction that these brands generate appeal to consumers’ desire to signal their accomplishments, success, or social superiority (Mandel, Petrova, & Cialdini, 2006; McFerran, Aquino, & Tracy, 2014). It is, therefore, unsurprising that the marketing communication of many luxury brands explicitly portray images of successful, sophisticated, and confident people expressing their social superiority. However, the empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of such portrayal in luxury communication is scant. Only a pilot study showed that exposure to a story of a similar successful other may increase desire for luxury goods (Mandel et al., 2006). In the present research, we propose that envy is a key determinant of how consumers perceive display of pride and social superiority. Our findings from two studies showed that benign (malicious) envy predisposes consumers to perceive portrayal of social superiority on luxury marketing communication to be an expression of authentic (hubristic) pride. This relationship between benign (malicious) envy and authentic (hubristic) pride enhances (reduces) the luxury perception and positive brand attitude toward the luxury brand in the advertisement. These findings were replicated in a correlational study on genuine advertisements (Study 1) and an experiment that successfully manipulated consumers’ experience of benign envy (Study 2). Separate studies have recently shown that experience of benign envy can increase consumers’ willingness to pay toward the envied product (Van de Ven et al., 2011) and that the experience of authentic pride increases luxury consumption (McFerran et al., 2014). However, no existing research has explored the complementary effect of envy and pride on consumers’ response toward luxury marketing communication. The current research is therefore the first to demonstrate the differential effect of benign and malicious envy on: (1) consumers’ interpretation of social superiority as an expression of authentic and hubristic pride; (2) consumers’ response toward the portrayal of social superiority in luxury marketing; and (3) how portrayal of social superiority enhances or reduces luxury perception and brand attitude of a luxury brand. These findings also provide insights into the complementary relationship between envy and pride in consumer psychology. Lange and Crusius (2015) suggested that other’s authentic and hubristic pride expression may evoke the experience of benign and malicious envy, respectively. The current research, however, shows that the Luxury brands are explicitly marketed to appear rare, exclusive, prestigious, and authentic (Phau & Prendergast, 2000; Turunen & Laaksonen, 2011; Tynan, McKechnie, & Chhuon, 2010). The glamour and distinction that these brands generate appeal to consumers’ desire to signal their accomplishments, success, or social superiority (Mandel, Petrova, & Cialdini, 2006; McFerran, Aquino, & Tracy, 2014). It is, therefore, unsurprising that the marketing communication of many luxury brands explicitly portray images of successful, sophisticated, and confident people expressing their social superiority. However, the empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of such portrayal in luxury communication is scant. Only a pilot study showed that exposure to a story of a similar successful other may increase desire for luxury goods (Mandel et al., 2006). In the present research, we propose that envy is a key determinant of how consumers perceive display of pride and social superiority. Our findings from two studies showed that benign (malicious) envy predisposes consumers to perceive portrayal of social superiority on luxury marketing communication to be an expression of authentic (hubristic) pride. This relationship between benign (malicious) envy and authentic (hubristic) pride enhances (reduces) the luxury perception and positive brand attitude toward the luxury brand in the advertisement. These findings were replicated in a correlational study on genuine advertisements (Study 1) and an experiment that successfully manipulated consumers’ experience of benign envy (Study 2). Separate studies have recently shown that experience of benign envy can increase consumers’ willingness to pay toward the envied product (Van de Ven et al., 2011) and that the experience of authentic pride increases luxury consumption (McFerran et al., 2014). However, no existing research has explored the complementary effect of envy and pride on consumers’ response toward luxury marketing communication. The current research is therefore the first to demonstrate the differential effect of benign and malicious envy on: (1) consumers’ interpretation of social superiority as an expression of authentic and hubristic pride; (2) consumers’ response toward the portrayal of social superiority in luxury marketing; and (3) how portrayal of social superiority enhances or reduces luxury perception and brand attitude of a luxury brand. These findings also provide insights into the complementary relationship between envy and pride in consumer psychology. Lange and Crusius (2015) suggested that other’s authentic and hubristic pride expression may evoke the experience of benign and malicious envy, respectively. The current research, however, shows that the

Purpose - When indulging in hedonic items is construed as wasteful and evokes anticipated regret or guilt, consumers are more likely to seek reasons to justify their indulgence. Justification requirement for spending on indulgences over necessities could lead to the places of their finding the ways that mitigate the anticipated regret and guilt. However the previous research focusing on consumers’ own great effort leading to positive outcomes has not given much attention to other’s outcomes induced from his or her little or no efforts, by which consumers could feel envy. The guilt associated with consumers’ indulgence could vary according to envy type felt according to their evaluation about other’s outcomes and their self construal level. Current research explored the envy type’s effects on consumers’ spending on hedonic products, and moderation effects of self construal level on the envy type’s effects. Research design, data, and methodology – 2(envy type: benign versus malicious) × 2(self construal level: high versus low) between-subjects design was employed. Data for empirical analysis were from 173 undergraduate participants. ANOVA was used to verify hypotheses. Results – The tendency of choosing utilitarian product versus hedonic product was moderated by the envy type. The participants who felt benign envy were more likely to choose utilitarian product versus hedonic product than those who felt malicious envy were. And the tendency of benign envy-felt participants’ choosing hedonic versus utilitarian product was more weakened to those with lower-level self construal than to those with higher-level self construal. However the tendency of malicious envy-felt participants’ choosing hedonic versus utilitarian product was not moderated by the self construal level. Conclusions – This research could advance the theory related to indulgent hedonic consumption by exploring the effects of self construal level and envy type on hedonic indulgence. In view of the results from current study, marketers should make efforts of communicating and selling utilitarian products to persuade consumers with lower-level construal when they feel benign envy to others. And they should conduct marketing acts for hedonic products to persuade consumers when they feel malicious envy to others.