Source Credibility and Emotions generated by Robot and Human Influencers: The perception of luxury brand representatives

Social Robots are increasingly encroaching into our daily lives by interacting with humans on the Internet. Luxury brands use Social Media Influencers to create brand awareness and enrich their emotional values. As the first study on a trending and largely unexplored topic, this paper aims to better understand the perception of Social Media Human Influencers and Social Media Robot Influencers by luxury brand representatives using the Source Credibility model, including Social-Emotional elements. Our study deepens our understanding of Brandto-Social Media Influencers' relationships, mobilizing the wheel of emotions to analyze perceived emotions when using Social Robots to promote brand content and values. The study mobilizes a qualitative approach including 13 semi-structured interviews with luxury brand representatives. Our findings add to the Source Credibility model by identifying that Perceived Humanness enriches the brand perception analysis of Social Media Influencers. Our results also highlight the key emotions expressed by luxury brand representatives during their collaboration with both Human and Robot Influencers, favoring the acceptance of RI for luxury brands' future social media communications.

Automated summary

Social Robots are becoming more prevalent in our daily lives through interactions with humans on the Internet. Luxury brands utilize Social Media Influencers to increase brand awareness and enhance their emotional values. This study investigates the perception of Social Media Human Influencers and Social Media Robot Influencers by luxury brand representatives using the Source Credibility model, incorporating Social-Emotional elements. The findings contribute to the understanding of the relationship between brands and Social Media Influencers, analyzing perceived emotions when using Social Robots for brand promotion. The study involves qualitative research with 13 semi-structured interviews with luxury brand representatives. The results indicate that perceived humanness enriches the brand perception analysis of Social Media Influencers, and emphasize the crucial emotions expressed during collaborations with both Human and Robot Influencers, promoting the acceptance of Social Robots in luxury brands' future social media communications.