IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-05250808.html

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. Chau Minh Nguyen & Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno & Yany Grégoire & Renaud Legoux, 2024. "Striking the Right Notes: Long- and Short-Term Financial Impacts of Musicians’ Charity Advocacy Versus Other Signaling Types," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(1), pages 217-233, August.
    3. 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.
    4. Susan Standing & Craig Standing, 2019. "Innovating Authentically: Cultural Differentiation in the Animation Sector," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 32(5), pages 557-571, October.
    5. Pelet, Jean-Éric & Durrieu, François & Lick, Erhard, 2020. "Label design of wines sold online: Effects of perceived authenticity on purchase intentions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    6. Dharmani, Pranav & Das, Satyasiba & Prashar, Sanjeev, 2021. "A bibliometric analysis of creative industries: Current trends and future directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 252-267.
    7. Klaus Heine & Glyn Atwal & Jiaxun He, 2019. "Managing country-of-origin affiliations for luxury brand-building in China," Post-Print hal-02312231, HAL.
    8. Wang, Shuai & Ma, Shuang, 2023. "Is product customization always beneficial in the context of C2M platforms? A signaling theory perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    9. Per Kristav & Izabelle Bäckström & Axel Nordin & Anders Warell & Olaf Diegel, 2018. "A common assumption in product value literature is that authenticity is what contemporary consumers value the most. However, as this paper illustrates, the meaning of authenticity is unclear, and the term appears foreign to product development practi," Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 2(8), pages 46-65.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. Edward Oczkowski, 2016. "Analysing Firm-level Price Effects for Differentiated Products: The Case of Australian Wine Producers," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 43-62, March.
    15. Daina Mazutis & Natalie Slawinski, 2015. "Reconnecting Business and Society: Perceptions of Authenticity in Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 137-150, September.
    16. Trespeuch Léo & Robinot Élisabeth, 2023. "Exploring the Impact of Corporate Philanthropy on Brand Authenticity in the Luxury Industry: Scale Development and Empirical Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    17. 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).
    18. 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.
    19. Goldstein, Guy A. & Carpenter, Gregory S., 2022. "Legitimately luxurious: Creating authentic luxury brands," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(5), pages 631-642.
    20. Olga Filaretova & Marie von Meyer-H?fer & Katia Laura Sidali, 2017. "Is perceived authenticity also desired? Investigating the relation between perceived authenticity and product preference," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 19(3), pages 311-331.

    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.