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An Emerging Theory of Avatar Marketing
Abstract
Avatars are becoming increasingly popular in contemporary marketing strategies, but their effectiveness for achieving performance outcomes (e.g., purchase likelihood) varies widely in practice. Related academic literature is fragmented, lacking both definitional consistency and conceptual clarity. This article makes three main contributions to avatar theory and managerial practice. First, to address ambiguity with respect to its definition, this study identifies and critically evaluates key conceptual elements of the term avatar, offers a definition derived from this analysis, and provides a typology of avatars’ design elements. Second, the proposed 2 × 2 avatar taxonomy suggests that the alignment of an avatar’s form realism and behavioral realism, across different contingencies, provides a parsimonious explanation for avatar effectiveness. Third, the authors develop an emerging theory of avatar marketing by triangulating insights from fundamental elements of avatars, a synthesis of extant research, and business practices. This framework integrates key theoretical insights, research propositions, and important managerial implications for this expanding area of marketing strategy. Lastly, the authors outline a research program to test the propositions and insights as well as advance future research.
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“This will help recruit digitally savvy talent who otherwise would not have been part of influencer marketing campaigns (Miao et al., 2022).”
From Metaverse beyond the hype: Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy (2022) · cites this paper as Miao et al., 2022
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“The digital communities make it possible for individuals to take their own social avatars (Miao et al., 2022).”
From Metaverse beyond the hype: Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy (2022) · cites this paper as Miao et al., 2022
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, L., Baabdullah, A. M., Ribeiro-Navarrete, S., Giannakis, M., Al-Debei, M. M., Dennehy, D., Metri, B., Buhalis, D., Cheung, C. M. K., et al. (2022) · International Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2022.102542 · Cited by 2,753
Metaverse marketing: How the metaverse will shape the future of consumer research and practice
Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, L., Wang, Y., Alalwan, A. A., Ahn, S. J., Balakrishnan, J., Barta, S., Belk, R. W., Buhalis, D., Dutot, V., et al. (2022) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.21767 · Cited by 969
“Furthermore, events and competitions in the metaverse can be organized like real life, providing more options for brands to engage with their customers (Jin & Sung, 2010; Miao et al., 2022).”
Marketing in the Metaverse: Conceptual understanding, framework, and research agenda
Barrera, K. G., & Shah, D. (2022) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113420 · Cited by 712
Koohang, A. A., Nord, J. H., Ooi, K., Tan, G. W., Al‐Emran, M., Aw, E. C., Baabdullah, A. M., Buhalis, D., Cham, T., Dennis, C., et al. (2023) · Journal of Computer Information Systems · doi:10.1080/08874417.2023.2165197 · Cited by 616
“Metaverse makes it possible for employees to create their own social avatars.(141) Organizations across the globe are gearing up to develop an overarching and comprehensive human resource management strategy that can be of help to set guidelines, while the transition happens to the virtual world of work.”
BackgroundSocial interactions in the metaverse: Framework, initial evidence, and research roadmap
Hennig‐Thurau, T., Aliman, D. N., Herting, A. M., Cziehso, G. P., Linder, M., & Kübler, R. V. (2022) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-022-00908-0 · Cited by 496
“Drawing from Hoffman and Novak’s (1996) pioneering work, we conceptualize the metaverse as a new computer-mediated environment that consists of virtual “worlds” in which people can act and communicate with each other via avatars (Miao et al., 2022).”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Miao, F., Kozlenkova, I. V., Wang, H., Xie, T., & Palmatier, R. W.
- Affiliations
- The University of Texas at Arlington (US)
- University of Virginia (US)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- Miao, Fred
- Venue
- Journal of Marketing
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2021-05-25
- Volume
- 86
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 67-90
- ISSN
- 0022-2429 (ISSN-L)
- 1547-7185
- OpenAlex
- W3127061213
- Cited by
- 688
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 165 · 2025: 191 · 2024: 189 · 2023: 103 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 6
- FWCI
- 28.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Marketing (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (71832015; 72072191)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › AI in Service Interactions
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Marketing and Advertising Strategies
- Keywords
- avatars, behavioral realism, purchase probability, marketing strategy
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