Partner or Servant? The Impact of Virtual Streamer Role Types on Consumers' Purchase Intention
Description
Based on the Stereotype Content Model and the Theory of Attitudinal Functions, and combining theoretical analysis with research hypotheses, the findings are as follows. Firstly, the results of Study1 revealed significant differences in purchase intention across virtual host types. Consumer purchase intention induced by partner-type virtual hosts was significantly higher than that induced by servant-type virtual hosts, supporting Hypothesis 1.This result indicates that, in the current e-commerce livestreaming context, consumers’ demand for emotional companionship and empathetic interaction, to a certain extent, outweighs their demand for professional efficiency and functional services; the partner-type role is more likely to stimulate purchase intention (Fournier, 1998; Mayr, 2021). This result runs counter to the findings of some existing literature. Most prior studies have suggested that in AI-driven service scenarios, servant-type agents tend to enhance consumer trust and purchase intention more effectively due to their professionalism, efficiency, and reliability. (Jang et al., 2025). However, this study does not support the conclusions of the aforementioned research; this discrepancy is likely due to cultural and user differences, as domestic live-streaming users are more accustomed to social, companion-style communication rather than purely utilitarian services(Wu et al., 2023). Secondly, based on the SCM model, this study included perceived warmth and competence as mediating variables in the relationship between virtual streamer type and consumer purchase intention. The results revealed that, on the one hand, compared to servant-type virtual hosts, partner-type virtual hosts promoted consumer purchase intention through the mediating effect of perceived warmth; that is, when consumers encountered partner-type virtual hosts, the warmer the virtual host was perceived to be, the higher the consumer purchase intention. This finding is consistent with previous research(Li et al., 2025). On the other hand, compared to partner-type virtual hosts, servant-type virtual hosts promote consumer purchase intention through the mediating effect of perceived competence; that is, when consumers interact with a servant-type virtual host, the higher the perceived competence of the virtual host, the greater the consumer’s purchase intention. This is similar to the findings by Harris-Watson et al., who discovered that when employees need to collaborate with AI to complete tasks, perceived enthusiasm and competence influence their acceptance of AI teammates (Harris-Watson et al., 2023). Finally, attitudes towards AI moderated the relationship between the type of virtual host and consumer purchase intention. In partner-type virtual host streaming scenarios, when consumers were AI admirers, perceived warmth promoted purchase intention; however, when consumers were AI aversive, the effect of perceived warmth on promoting purchase intention was not significant.