IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-05250808.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Rise of AI-Generated Influencers: Cybersecurity, Trust, and the Future of Social Media Marketing in Morocco

Author

Listed:
  • El Mahdi Juiher

    (Université Ibn Zohr = Ibn Zohr University [Agadir])

  • Hmad Ouaddi

    (Université Ibn Zohr = Ibn Zohr University [Agadir])

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence-generated virtual influencers on consumer trust and purchase intention in the context of digital marketing in Morocco. By mobilizing the theoretical frameworks of authenticity, brand trust and perceived cybersecurity risk, the research examines how the type of influencer (virtual versus human) shapes consumer attitudes and behaviors. A quantitative survey was conducted among 230 Moroccan social network users, measuring perceived authenticity, brand trust, purchase intention, influencer type and perceived cybersecurity risk. The results reveal a strong positive relationship between perceived authenticity and brand trust, as well as between brand trust and purchase intention. Human influencers are perceived as significantly more authentic than their virtual counterparts. Above all, the analysis shows that the perception of cybersecurity risk moderates the effect of influencer type on purchase intention: as security concerns increase, so does the preference for human influencers. These results underline the need for marketing professionals to integrate issues of digital trust, transparency and security into the design of their campaigns with virtual influencers. The study contributes to a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with AI-driven marketing in specific cultural contexts, and opens up prospects for future research into digital ethics and consumer-perceived risk management.

Suggested Citation

  • El Mahdi Juiher & Hmad Ouaddi, 2025. "The Rise of AI-Generated Influencers: Cybersecurity, Trust, and the Future of Social Media Marketing in Morocco," Post-Print hal-05250808, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05250808
    DOI: 10.23882/ijdam.25212
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05250808v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-05250808v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.23882/ijdam.25212?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael B. Beverland, 2005. "Crafting Brand Authenticity: The Case of Luxury Wines," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 1003-1029, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David W. Lehman & Balázs Kovács & Glenn R. Carroll, 2014. "Conflicting Social Codes and Organizations: Hygiene and Authenticity in Consumer Evaluations of Restaurants," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(10), pages 2602-2617, October.
    2. Weng Marc Lim & Nishtha Malik & Sahil Gupta & Himanshu Rai, 2024. "Harnessing brand authenticity to promote prosocial service behavior," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(4), pages 449-468, July.
    3. Klaus Heine & Glyn Atwal & Jiaxun He, 2019. "Managing country-of-origin affiliations for luxury brand-building in China," Post-Print hal-02312231, HAL.
    4. Ignacio Alvarez de Mon & Jorge Merladet & Margarita Núñez-Canal, 2021. "Social Entrepreneurs as Role Models for Innovative Professional Career Developments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    5. Fathallah, Ramzi & Branzei, Oana & Schaan, Jean-Louis, 2018. "No place like home? How EMNCs from hyper turbulent contexts internationalize by sequentially arbitraging rents, values, and scales abroad," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 620-631.
    6. Beckert, Jens & Rössel, Jörg & Schenk, Patrick, 2014. "Wine as a cultural product: Symbolic capital and price formation in the wine field," MPIfG Discussion Paper 14/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    7. Hugues Jeannerat, 2013. "Staging experience, valuing authenticity: Towards a market perspective on territorial development," GRET Publications and Working Papers 05-13, GRET Group of Research in Territorial Economy, University of Neuchâtel.
    8. Buhr, Helena & Funk, Russell J. & Owen-Smith, Jason, 2021. "The authenticity premium: Balancing conformity and innovation in high technology industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    9. Bajde, Domen & Chelekis, Jessica & van Dalen, Arjen, 2022. "The megamarketing of microfinance: Developing and maintaining an industry aura of virtue," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 134-155.
    10. Farzana Zainurin & Lindsay Neill & Heike Schänzel, 2022. "Considerations of luxury wine tourism experiences in the new world: three Waiheke Island vintners," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(3), pages 344-353, June.
    11. Grégoire Croidieu & Charles-Clemens Ruling & Bilal-Ahmed Jathol, 2017. "Complex field-positions and non-imitation: Pioneers, strangers, and insulars in Australian fine-wine," Post-Print hal-01609429, HAL.
    12. Alain Debenedetti, 2021. "Luxury stores as home-like places: How domestic meanings are staged and mobilized in luxury retail," Post-Print hal-03171771, HAL.
    13. Marc Dressler & Ivan Paunovic, 2021. "A Typology of Winery SME Brand Strategies with Implications for Sustainability Communication and Co-Creation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, January.
    14. Lv, Xingyang & Liang, Yuqing & Luo, Jia & Liu, Yue, 2022. "Icing on the cake or gilding the lily? The impact of high-modified model images on purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    15. Rondi, Emanuela & Benedetti, Carlotta & Bettinelli, Cristina & De Massis, Alfredo, 2023. "Falling from grace: Family-based brands amidst scandals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    16. Joaquim Rius Ulldemolins, 2014. "Culture and authenticity in urban regeneration processes: Place branding in central Barcelona," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(14), pages 3026-3045, November.
    17. Llamas, Rosa & Thomsen, Thyra Uth, 2016. "The luxury of igniting change by giving: Transforming yourself while transforming others' lives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 166-176.
    18. Justin Frake, 2017. "Selling Out: The Inauthenticity Discount in the Craft Beer Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(11), pages 3930-3943, November.
    19. Morrison, Andrea & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2017. "Gradual catch up and enduring leadership in the global wine industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 417-430.
    20. Brian ‘t Hart & Ian Phau, 2022. "Conceptualising attitudes towards brand genuinuity: scale development and validation," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(4), pages 327-340, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05250808. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.