Purpose As a disruptive innovation in digital endorsement, virtual influencer (VI) endorsements can enhance luxury brand desire yet also trigger scepticism. This study examines how VI cues shape authenticity fit, association fit and benefit fit and the subsequent luxury brand authenticity and desire outcomes. The study also examines the main and conditional effects of VI type and product type (hedonic vs. utilitarian). Design/methodology/approach Study 1 surveyed 865 Chinese followers of human-like VI AYAYI, and Study 2 surveyed 941 followers of anime-like VI Luo Tianyi. Both used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and combined importance-performance map analysis. Study 3 used a 2 (VI type) × 2 (product type) experiment to test a moderated mediation model. Findings Form and behavioural realism influenced authenticity and association fit but not benefit fit, while competence and warmth influenced association and benefit fit but not authenticity fit. Credibility and prestige influenced all fit dimensions. Brand authenticity was the strongest importance-based driver of brand desire, while benefit fit and credibility were the main necessary conditions. Study 3 showed that VI type affected authenticity and association fit but not benefit fit. Product type moderated only the benefit fit to brand authenticity pathway and its indirect effect on brand desire. VI type had no main effect on brand desire, yet its interaction with product type was significant. Originality/value The study empirically validates VI-brand fit as three different forms of judgements with different antecedents, consequences and boundary conditions. It shows that different VI cues matter for different types of fit. VI effectiveness depends on how cue configuration, fit dimension and product context combine to support luxury brand authenticity and desire.
Purpose This study synthesises and critically interprets the emerging literature on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) in marketing. It examines how RAG architectures, applications and governance conditions shape interactive marketing, customer engagement, market sensing and responsible AI deployment. Design/methodology/approach An integrative literature review guided by the SPIDER framework was conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar and Emerald Insight for publications from 2020 to 2025. A final corpus of 25 marketing-relevant RAG studies was analysed through qualitative coding and thematic synthesis. Adjacent peer-reviewed literature on AI in marketing, recommender systems, customer analytics, data-driven marketing capability, AI-augmented co-creation and immersive digital environments was used to contextualise, rather than expand, the primary corpus. Findings Five themes emerge: adaptive and knowledge-graph-enhanced RAG architectures; multilingual, real-time and hyper-personalised customer interaction; intelligent and context-aware retrieval; marketing intelligence and decision support; and robustness, hallucination mitigation and responsible deployment. The review shows that RAG can support retrieval-grounded interaction and market sensing, but evidence is stronger for technical and prototype demonstrations than for longitudinal customer, conversion or strategic outcomes. Responsible deployment requires transparency, privacy safeguards, fairness controls, human oversight and auditable knowledge sources. Originality/value The study advances a marketing-specific interpretation of RAG as a socio-technical marketing capability. It contributes by shifting personalisation from predictive targeting to retrieval-grounded interaction, linking market sensing to dynamic knowledge grounding and positioning governance as intrinsic to the capability rather than a downstream safeguard.
Purpose High-intensity gamified interaction has become central to live-streaming commerce; yet, existing interactive marketing research largely conceptualizes gamification as a static engagement stimulus. This study reconceptualizes gamified live-streaming commerce as a dynamic interaction-structured retail service process. Design/methodology/approach Taking live-streaming matching games as the focal context, a multi-method design was adopted. Study 1 employed content analysis of live-stream comments to identify systematic topic–sentiment patterns. Study 2 drew on initial and follow-up interviews to develop a Gamified Consumption Experience Dynamic Model, reconstructing how participants described and reinterpreted their participation processes over repeated interaction episodes. Study 3 applied fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) as a triangulating configurational extension of the interview findings by examining whether broader comment-based patterns correspond to the consumer participation orientations identified in Study 2. Findings The findings suggest that gamified live-streaming participation is better understood as a dynamic process of interaction, appraisal and adjustment than as a one-off response to static engagement stimuli. Across the three studies, consumers’ reported participation experiences were shaped by repeated negotiations between affective arousal, cognitive appraisal and self-regulation, giving rise to differentiated consumer participation orientations and broader configurational patterns. Originality/value This study explains how value and disvalue emerge through the same dynamic process of high-intensity gamified interaction, as the relative salience of affective arousal and cognitive appraisal shifts across repeated participation. It identifies the misalignment between affective amplification and consumers’ legitimacy judgments as a trigger for cognitive reappraisal, self-regulation and differentiated participation orientations.
Purpose As reliance on online mental health communities grows, the lack of physical presence poses a challenge to service effectiveness. While existing literature predominantly frames virtual touch as a universally positive tool for building digital intimacy, its impact on psychologically vulnerable users remains theoretically ambiguous. This study examines how text-based virtual touch can shift from a supportive cue to a psychological threat, ultimately reducing service satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Secondary data and three experiments were conducted to examine the effect of virtual touch on Q&A service satisfaction. Findings Results indicate that virtual touch from service providers negatively impacts Q&A service satisfaction, primarily due to heightened perceived social boundary intrusion. Furthermore, when users experience non-interpersonal (vs. interpersonal) mental distress, the above main effect of virtual touch is reversed. Originality/value This research uncovers the adverse effects of virtual touch and its underlying mechanisms, contributing to the literature on embodied cognition and virtual interaction within the context of digital marketing. Furthermore, it offers practical implications for platforms and service providers, helping them develop more effective communication strategies.
Purpose This research examines how animal-based haptic imagery, the mental simulation of tactile contact with animals used in product production, functions as an interactive marketing tool in digital environments. Drawing on construal level theory, we investigate how such imagery shapes consumer choice between genuine and faux leather alternatives. Design/methodology/approach Two experimental studies using interactive social media stimuli tested the proposed framework. Study 1 examined the main effect of animal-based haptic imagery on consumer choice and its mediation through reduced desire for faux-leather alternatives. Study 2 tested boundary conditions, focusing on animals associated with low haptic comfort and whether the baby schema restored the influence of haptic imagery under this condition. Findings Animal-based haptic imagery increased the likelihood of choosing genuine leather products by reducing desire for faux alternatives, shifting evaluative attention from distal, abstract, non-sensory considerations to proximal sensory experience. The effect was attenuated when the imagery involved animals perceived as low in haptic comfort, but it re-emerged when baby schema was present. Practical implications Animal-based haptic imagery is a double-edged tool in digital marketing: it can enhance engagement and increase the likelihood of choice for genuine leather brands by foregrounding the sensory experience, but it may undermine positioning built around abstract, non-sensory benefits such as ethical concerns, animal welfare, or sustainability, for cruelty-free brands. Managers should deploy such imagery strategically, considering brand values, product materials, and the potential consequences for how consumers weight sensory versus non-sensory product attributes in interactive digital environments. Originality/value This research introduces animal-based haptic imagery as a novel source-based form of tactile simulation, extends construal level theory to interactive digital contexts, and identifies boundary conditions that shape sensory persuasion in digital consumption settings.
Purpose This research examines how post-hoc explanations in the algorithm-driven personalization process influence consumer receptivity, defined as consumers' willingness to allow a brand to use personal information for personalized recommendations. Drawing on HAII-TIME and PKM, we distinguish retrospective post-hoc explanations, which clarify how user data generate current recommendations, from prospective post-hoc explanations, which clarify how user actions influence future recommendations.Design/methodology/approach Three experiments using consumer-triggered micro-interactions test the proposed framework. Study 1 employs a 3 & times; 2 design to examine the joint effect of retrospective post-hoc explanations and prospective post-hoc explanations. Study 2 tests instrumental motive inference as the mediator. Study 3 examines algorithmic awareness as a moderator of the normative motive-inference pathway.Findings Consumer receptivity depends on explanation configurations. It is highest when retrospective post-hoc explanations are acceptable and prospective post-hoc explanations are available, and lowest when retrospective post-hoc explanations are unacceptable and prospective post-hoc explanations are unavailable. This joint effect operates asymmetrically through motive inference: unfavorable configurations increase instrumental motive inference, whereas normative motive inference emerges conditionally under higher algorithmic awareness.Originality/value This research shifts attention from explanation presence to temporal post-hoc explanation configurations in personalized recommendation encounters. It identifies asymmetric motive inference as the mechanism linking explanation interfaces to consumer receptivity and positions explanation interfaces as communication tools for sustaining consumer participation in algorithm-driven personalization of branded content.
Purpose - Drawing on symbolic interaction theory and embodied cognitive theory, this study scrutinizes the mechanisms of symbolic interactions between social media content (SMC) and tourists' behavioral willingness (TBW) through tourism expectations and tourism experience. The outcomes of this study add significant value to the existing knowledge of tourist behavior in destination marketing. We offer valuable insights for both academia and marketers regarding the role of SMC in marketing practical application. Design/methodology/approach - In order to systematically reveal the influence mechanism of SMC on TBW, this study employs a mixed-methods research design. Our survey data from 384 respondents support the hypothetical structural equation model. We then employ experimental methods with manipulated SMC conditions to explore causal relationships between focal variables. These two methods complement each other and are progressive. Findings - This study identifies SMC as a key antecedent and stimulus that exerts a significant direct positive impact on TBW. It verifies the existence of a chain mediation mechanism between SMC and TBW, confirming the following mediated transmission pathway: SMC -> Tourism expectation -> Tourism experience -> TBW. However, neither tourism expectations nor tourism experiences, as single mediators, support the significant impact of SMC on TBW. Furthermore, tourists' cultural intelligence (CI) is found to act as a negative moderating factor, attenuating the positive influence of SMC on tourism expectations. Originality/value - This study integrates symbolic interaction theory and embodied cognitive theory, contributing a symbolic-embodied interaction model to the tourism interactive marketing literature by identifying a more precise transmission mechanism by which SMC shapes TBW. Specifically, it shows that the indirect effect of SMC on TBW operates only through the full expectation-experience chain, rather than through either tourism expectation or tourism experience alone. The study also identifies cultural intelligence as a negative boundary condition that weakens the influence of SMC on tourism expectations, addressing a gap in this field.
PurposeArtificial Intelligence (AI) is playing a transformative role in branding, bolstering competitive advantages, and enhancing consumer-brand relationships. As organisations embrace AI, interactive branding is reshaping value co-creation and customer engagement. The existing literature on branding with AI is vast and fragmented, limiting a cohesive and unified view of AI-driven interactive branding that can fully unlock its potential. Thus, the present study aims to address existing gaps and offered an integrated view of branding in the era of AI. Design/methodology/approachThe present study employs the SPAR-4-SLR framework, which encapsulates both quantitative performance mapping and qualitative intellectual structure mapping. Thematic and content analysis of the topical clusters reveal the breadth and depth of the domain, with poignant dimensions to guide future research and practice. FindingsThis study provides a comprehensive overview of AI-driven interactive branding, highlighting emerging trends, key research areas, and relevant future research directions. The intellectual landscape of AI-driven branding emphasises dynamic consumer-brand interactions and immersive consumer-brand engagements. Originality/valueThe present study pioneers in unpacking a holistic conceptual framework on AI-based interactive branding, highlighting both individual and collective dynamics.
PurposeVirtual influencers (computer-generated characters on social media) have rapidly emerged as pivotal marketing personas. However, prior reviews lack integrative frameworks and often overlook recent conflicting findings. This study synthesizes the literature, resolves contradictions and proposes future research directions. Design/methodology/approachDrawing on affordance-actualization theory and cognitive behavioral theory, this study conducts a framework-based systematic review of 88 peer-reviewed articles published between 2016 and 2024. FindingsThe analysis identifies three core dimensions: (1) affordance characteristics (sensory, social and functional), (2) actualization processes (cognitive and emotional mechanisms) and (3) behavioral outcomes (e.g. purchase intention and engagement). Conflicting findings are reconciled, and 13 research propositions are proposed to guide future inquiry. Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides a comprehensive framework for virtual influencer research by integrating affordance-actualization and cognitive behavioral theories. It addresses gaps in fragmented literature, reconciles conflicting findings and proposes 13 future research directions. The framework organizes virtual influencer impacts into affordance characteristics, actualization processes and behavioral outcomes, offering a structured approach for advancing theory in this emerging field. Practical implicationsThe study offers actionable insights for brands using virtual influencers, emphasizing the importance of image, interactivity and content in driving consumer decisions. It highlights risks like consumer skepticism and privacy concerns, suggesting transparency and authentic content to build trust. Policymakers are urged to balance innovation with consumer protection, fostering a sustainable digital economy. Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first review to systematically integrate fragmented virtual influencer research through dual theoretical lenses. It offers a structured framework for academics and actionable strategies for practitioners.
Purpose Historical figure avatars (HFAs) have emerged as compelling tools in cultural and tourism marketing to embody cultural heritage and engage tourists, yet limited research has examined how different HFA form styles influence tourists’ evaluation. This study aims to address this gap by clarifying how HFA form styles (human-like vs. anime-like) are most effective for different types of involvement with historical figures (situational vs. enduring), and how these HFA form styles align with distinct nostalgia advertising appeals (personal vs. historical). Design/methodology/approach Drawing on constructive authenticity theory, we conducted four studies to systematically examine how HFAs influence tourist evaluations. Findings The results reveal that human-like HFAs lead to higher tourist evaluations than anime-like HFAs, with constructive authenticity serving as a key mediator. Additionally, historical figure involvement (enduring vs. situational) and nostalgia advertising type (historical vs. personal) moderate this effect. Specifically, anime-like HFAs generate higher evaluations among tourists with enduring involvement, whereas human-like HFAs generate higher evaluations among tourists with situational involvement. Meanwhile, human-like HFAs paired with historical nostalgia appeals and anime-like HFAs paired with personal nostalgia appeals further enhance tourist evaluations. Originality/value This study provides insights into how destination managers can leverage HFAs to develop effective advertising strategies.
Purpose While AI shopping assistants aim to streamline consumer choices, they often create a paradox: abundant information can overwhelm consumers. This study investigates a counterintuitive digital nudging strategy - recommendation cue redundancy - which can bolster consumer confidence after an item has been added to a shopping cart. It further examines the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions that shape this effect.Design/methodology/approach Four between-subjects experiments were conducted across diverse product categories. Statistical analyses were used to test the proposed mediation, moderation and sequential mediation effects.Findings High-redundancy (vs. low-redundancy) recommendation cues significantly increase consumer decision confidence. This relationship is fully mediated by information supportiveness. The effect is moderated by consumer risk tolerance: the positive impact is significantly stronger for consumers with low risk tolerance and is attenuated for those with high risk tolerance. This study also validates the effect of this strategy relative to the no-recommendation condition and demonstrates a sequential indirect effect on purchase completion intention.Originality/value This study extends digital nudging theory to the final decision stage of AI-assisted shopping by showing that recommendation cue redundancy can function as a stage-specific decision-assistance nudge. Practically, the findings offer guidance for designing AI shopping assistants that provide more effective and personalized support at the final stage of purchase.
Purpose This study aims to investigate how social distance (proximal vs distal) and self-construal (independent vs interdependent) interact to influence the virality of social media challenge campaigns.Design/methodology/approach We employ a mixed-method approach comprising two empirical studies. Study 1 analyzes field data of 512 Instagram posts from South Korea's "Thanks to Challenge" using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to infer self-construal. Study 2 is a controlled online experiment (N = 290) that manipulates social distance and measures participants' chronic self-construal, with perceived accessibility serving as a mediator.Findings A matching effect between message source distance and self-construal significantly enhances virality. Specifically, interdependent self-construal combined with proximal sources and independent self-construal with distal sources (e.g. celebrities or politicians) lead to greater engagement or participation intention. Furthermore, perceived accessibility mediates these matching effects, especially for those with higher interdependent self-construal.Originality/value This study is among the first to integrate message source, linguistic cues and individual predispositions in the context of social media challenges. It contributes novel insights into the psychological mechanisms of virality, advancing construal level theory and organization-public dialogic communication frameworks within marketing.
Purpose This study examines the effects of regulatory focus (RF) on webrooming and showrooming (WR/SR) behaviors and their impact on post-purchase satisfaction (PPS), along with the moderating roles of need for touch (NFT) and information processing style (IPS).Design/methodology/approach This research comprised of two complementary studies. The first employed a 2 & times;2 between-subjects experimental design, treating regulatory focus as a situationally induced variable. The second involved a survey-based design, where regulatory focus was conceptualized as a stable personality trait. Data analysis was carried out using PROCESS Macro (Model No. 58) for the experimental study and PLS-SEM for the survey study.Findings Both studies concur that promotion-oriented participants favored webrooming (WR), while prevention-oriented participants favored showrooming (SR). WR has higher PPS than SR; NFT moderates the effect of RF on WR/SR behavior; IPS moderates the relationship between RF and PPS and increases satisfaction for promotion-oriented individuals with abstract processing styles.Research limitations/implications This study advances regulatory focus theory (RFT) by contextualizing it within a dynamic retail context. It also contributes to the literature on sensory and cognitive influences and highlights their important role in consumer behavior.Practical implications Retailers can use these insights to tailor their omnichannel strategies to align with consumer motivational orientations and increase overall touchpoint satisfaction.Originality/value This study extends RFT to the omni-channel context and reveals its explanatory power for cross-channel shopping behavior; by incorporating NFT and IPS, it demonstrates the role of sensory preferences and cognitive styles in shaping consumer satisfaction.
Purpose AI-driven personalization is commonly framed as a tool for enhancing relevance and engagement. This study advances a process-based perspective by conceptualizing algorithmic persuasion as a morally consequential form of interactive influence. Specifically, it examines how AI persuasion intensity activates moral disengagement, shapes ethical judgment and ultimately influences brand trust and brand avoidance. Design/methodology/approach A multi-method design was employed, combining survey data from 451 consumers analyzed using PLS-SEM, qualitative interviews for interpretive elaboration and a controlled experiment involving 306 participants to establish causal inference and examine boundary conditions. Findings The findings reveal a sequential moral process through which intensive AI-driven persuasion increases moral disengagement, weakens ethical judgment, and subsequently shapes divergent brand responses. The structural model supports all hypothesized relationships, while the experiment demonstrates that AI transparency constrains disengagement and attenuates the indirect effects of algorithmic persuasion. These findings indicate that AI personalization operates not only through perceived relevance, but also through moral rationalization. Originality/value This study contributes to interactive marketing research by reframing AI-driven personalization as a conditional moral process rather than a purely technological capability. It introduces moral disengagement as a core pre-evaluative mechanism underlying algorithmic persuasion and identifies transparency as a critical condition governing its activation. By integrating structural, interpretive, and causal evidence, the study provides a more nuanced explanation of how consumers morally interpret AI-driven influence in digital marketplaces.
Purpose As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves from passive tools to autonomous agents, a critical marketing dilemma arises: should intelligent products be positioned as submissive servants or equal partners? This study investigates the interplay between AI autonomy and anthropomorphic relationships, exploring how their alignment shapes consumer evaluations of AI products. Design/methodology/approach The proposed framework was tested across three experimental studies involving 960 participants. Data were evaluated using mediating and moderating analyses to uncover the underlying psychological mechanisms and boundary conditions governing consumer-AI interactions. Findings The results reveal a significant interaction effect between AI autonomy levels and anthropomorphic relationships. Notably, consumers evaluate high-autonomy AI more favorably when it is framed as a servant, whereas low-autonomy AI is preferred when framed as a partner. This effect is driven by self-AI integration, which serves as a crucial mediating mechanism. Furthermore, the interplay between autonomy and anthropomorphic relationship framing is moderated by the consumer’s self-construal. Originality/value This research advances the interactive marketing literature by moving beyond basic anthropomorphism toward a symbiotic consumer-AI perspective. It demonstrates that an AI product’s value relies heavily on a “autonomy- anthropomorphic relationship fit” that encourages consumers to psychologically embrace the technology as an extension of themselves. These findings provide actionable guidelines for marketers seeking to assign social roles that strategically match an AI’s technical capabilities.
Purpose This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) labeling reviews on food delivery platforms influence consumer trust and purchase intentions, focusing on the moderating role of product price. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on signaling and cue utilization theories to conduct two controlled experiments. Experiment 1 tests how review origin cues—human-authored, incentive-driven, and AI-assisted—shape trust and purchase intentions across price levels. Experiment 2 isolates the effect of AI-assisted labeling by holding review content constant and manipulating a transparency-based disclosure. We also test whether perceived trustworthiness mediates the effect of AI labeling on purchase intentions. Findings Across both experiments, AI labeling reduces trust and purchase intentions, although contextual cues shape this effect. Consistent with prior research linking higher prices to greater perceived risk, Experiment 1 shows that premium pricing amplifies this negative effect. In contrast, Experiment 2 shows that although AI labeling lowers trust and indirectly reduces purchase intentions, price does not significantly moderate this relationship. This result suggests that trust remains influential even when price signals premium quality. Finally, trust mediates the relationship between labeling and purchase intentions in both experiments. Originality/value This study demonstrates that AI-assisted review labels function as context-dependent credibility signals rather than uniformly negative cues. It contributes to AI transparency and interactive marketing literature by identifying when AI labeling undermines or sustains trust. By showing that consumers integrate review origin cues and price signals differently across service contexts, the study advances theory and highlights the need for more nuanced transparency strategies on digital platforms.
Purpose This study investigates how facial recognition technology (FRT) experiences influence green consumption. It examines a serial mediating mechanism involving uniqueness perception and acquisitive impression management, alongside the moderating role of the application context.Design/methodology/approach Across three experimental studies, including a real-behavior laboratory experiment, this research tests a moderated serial mediation framework. The design captures both purchasing intentions and actual consumption choices to explore the psychological spillover effects triggered by biometric interactions.Findings Results demonstrate that FRT promotes green consumption choices. Rather than operating as a conventional surveillance tool, FRT functions as an identity-salient cue that awakens consumers' perception of uniqueness. This internal cognitive realization sequentially triggers acquisitive impression management, motivating individuals to select eco-friendly products as costly signals to project a distinct, prosocial identity. Furthermore, the high social visibility inherent in public contexts amplifies this entire serial mediation chain compared to private settings.Practical implications Findings position biometric technology as a psychological catalyst for sustainable behavior, extending its value beyond transactional efficiency. Marketers can strategically deploy FRT, particularly in public retail environments, to activate identity-expressive motives and encourage environmentally conscious consumer decisions.Originality/value This research identifies a serial identity-signaling mechanism linking biometric interaction to green consumption. By integrating self-perception and impression management theories, the study establishes that biometric interaction triggers an internal uniqueness awakening that activates external social-signaling motivations. It extends facial recognition research from adoption antecedents to downstream consequences, demonstrating how application contexts catalyze the translation of digital identity-recognition into environmentally conscious choices.
Purpose This study investigates the effects of fashion streamers' catwalks on product sales in live-streaming commerce. It examines the cross-modal interaction between catwalks and verbal explanations. It further explores the underlying mechanisms of these effects through the lens of vividness theory. Design/methodology/approach We established a novel dataset from Douyin comprising 7,005 video clips and corresponding sales data from 298 livestream sessions. A cross-modal detection model temporally locates streamers' catwalks, outperforming MLLMs (Multimodal Large Language Models) and achieving a superior mean average precision (mAP) of 77.68%. We combine econometric analysis with online experiments to examine the effects of catwalks on sales and the underlying mechanism. Findings Catwalks have an inverted U-shaped effect on sales, with an optimal frequency of nearly 3 catwalks per 100 s and this effect varies across product types. Streamers' verbal introductions notably moderate this effect. Online experiments demonstrate that catwalks affect purchase intention through an inverted U-shaped effect on mental imagery, whereas verbal introductions mitigate this effect by weakening the relationship between catwalks and mental imagery when catwalks are either excessive or insufficient. Originality/value Our findings shed light on the nuanced effects of catwalks on consumer behavior and its interaction with verbal introductions. The results revealed the optimal levels for catwalks, providing practical guidance for professionals in the live-streaming industry.
Purpose This study pursues two objectives: (1) to assess the current state of Metaverse research and (2) to identify the mediating variables shaping adoption intention, implementation, engagement and business performance in Metaverse contexts.Design/methodology/approach A PRISMA-based systematic review was combined with thematic analysis and text mining, supported by multiple quality filters. A final sample of 47 peer-reviewed studies on mediating mechanisms in Metaverse research was analyzed, generating eight thematic streams that informed a consolidated theoretical framework and hypothesis directions for future empirical work.Findings Results map the evolving landscape of Metaverse marketing research, underscoring the intersection of immersive technologies, consumer behavior, and strategic marketing innovation. Eight dominant themes emerged: technological and design aspects, human and social interaction, business and economic impacts, cultural and societal implications, psychological and emotional dimensions, trust and security, innovation and future prospects and theoretical foundations. Across these, two major clusters of mediator constructs were identified: (1) experiential-perceptual mediators (e.g. perception dynamics, soulscape and multisensory experiential states) and (2) capability-strategic mediators (e.g. knowledge capacity, value-motivation mechanisms and strategic adaptability). A comprehensive mediating-variables framework with potential dependent outcomes is proposed.Originality/value This study offers one of the first integrative syntheses of mediating variables within Metaverse marketing research. By combining PRISMA procedures with rigorous thematic analysis, it provides a replicable approach for uncovering latent constructs in this rapidly advancing field. The findings extend marketing theory into immersive digital environments and offer actionable insights for scholars and practitioners designing consumer-centric strategies for the Metaverse.
